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Hyrule Warriors, come out to Play! Let's Play HW Definitive Edition!

Red Silvers

Red Silvers

Pokemon Red w/ 1 Nidoran
A long, long time ago, back in the 90's, a fighting game came out on the PlayStation 1, a game by the name of Dynasty Warriors. This was a time in my life where playing fighting games or other multiplayer games in a group setting, couch play, was the norm, and while I've never been the best at fighting games, my friend owned this game and we played it from time to time alongside others like Darkstalkers 3 and Marvel Vs. Capcom. Unknown to me, the characters in Dynasty Warriors were based on the Three Kingdoms era on China (and some Warring States era of Japan) and that these eras were well known in older games of other styles from publisher Koei. I don't remember a lot about playing the game, it was just kinda there.

Years later, my friend was excited to show off the sequel, Dynasty Warriors 2, but this was not a fighting game at all! This was a completely different game where you took your playable character and played hack and slash gameplay! I was not thrilled with the change in style, and I never got into the game, but my friend did, and kept playing games in the series, as newer and newer games in the Dynasty Warriors and later Samurai Warriors series came out. I didn't pay much attention to the series, but that would all change. You see, aside from these series, there were also licensed games that came out with similar gameplay, with games based on series like Gundam, Fist of the North Star, and One Piece. And there then was a game announced in 2014 that caught me by surprise: Hyrule Warriors, an upcoming Wii U game using the Zelda series with this style of gameplay.

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To say I didn't know what to expect would be an understatement. By this point, I barely remembered my brief time playing Dynasty Warriors 2, but I do love Zelda, and the drip feed of information only served to get me more and more interested, starting with a stylish blue scarf for a new Link design, badass fighter designs for Impa and Zelda, and then it got more and more interesting as other playable characters started getting announced. You see, this wasn't just a hack and slash game based on a particular Zelda game... this was a game based on the Zelda series itself.

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(picture is from the Switch version, not the Wii U, but let me continue on with my story all the same)

As the drip feed continued, it was clear that while there were original designs for some characters, and the new villian and her henchmen were also original characters, there were characters returning from other games. Characters for different points in the Zelda timeline. Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword were also involved in the massive Zelda crossover I didn't know I'd wanted. And eventually, my local Best Buy had a demo where you could try the demo. And that was the final taste I needed to get hooked.

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Familiar Zelda enemies, but now you were slicing through hordes of them in a dopamine-fueling barrage of swordplay, special moves, and spectacle. This was the game I didn't know I'd wanted. This was the game I didn't know I'd needed. But it was the game I grabbed up as soon as I could, and it was the game that went on to dominate my time on the Wii U. Because I didn't know what I was getting into. Not only was there a decently sized story mode to the game, but there was more. Much, much more, as it turned out.

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Because there was also the Adventure Mode, a 128-stage map based on the original NES The Legend of Zelda, and this map was full of new challenges, new unlockables, and new weapons and characters to find and enjoy. This was a lot of content already. But it got more and more crazy from there. Because then came the DLC. There was a lot of DLC for the Wii U original. There was the Master Quest pack, adding in a second map based on the Second Quest from the NES game (Master Quest seems to be the official term for that Second Quest, now, but I know my old school gamers will know the Second Quest term more). A Twilight Princess pack that added a map based on Twilight Princess. A Majora's Mask pack that added characters from that game. And a Boss Pack that added in new challenges based on the many boss fights. And all of this content included new weapons and characters, and costumes and collectables for the rest of the roster.

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This was already a lot of game, though for better or worse it was a game on the Wii U, perhaps not as popular a system as it could have been, but it was one of the top 20 best-selling games on the system.


Fast forward a couple years at this point. The game was freed from Wii U, there was a port to the 3DS called Hyrule Warriors Legends. Aside from the DLC from the Wii U being built in, this 3DS version came with new storyline content, as there was a new story called Linkle's Tale involving another newcomer, a female heroine based on Link but who was her own character. as well as new story taking place after the end of the main Hyrule Warriors storyline that featured content from The Wind Waker, and a new Adventure Mode Map to go with it. There were some hits to the graphic quality to get the game to run on the 3DS (and I think it was practically required to use the New 3DS for a good game experience, but I have no first hand comparison since I only had the New 3DS). More importantly, the 3DS port came out at a time I was living on my own, relying on public transit, and had no internet and limited funds. A version of Hyrule Warriors I could play during my commutes? This was the right port at the right time.

Like the Wii U version, the 3DS version got DLC as well. And in what had to be a deliberate choice based on the portable system, the DLC was mostly focused on the portable games of the series. The exception was the Master Wind Waker pack, a 'Master Quest' map for Wind Waker. The other packs were the Link's Awakening Pack, the Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks pack, and the Link Between Worlds pack, each with new characters and new Adventure Maps. You could even get these characters in the Wii U version with codes, but they didn't have the unlockables and such, and the Maps and story content were not available.

Eventually the Nintendo Switch came out, and shortly after, another game came out, one that I snatched up to scratch the same itch: Fire Emblem Warriors. Let me clarify something for you, dear reader. At this point in time I had not played a Fire Emblem game. The only experience with the series I had at this point was from the Smash Brothers series. But by this point I was so hooked on Hyrule Warriors that I played this game and got to know the characters through this same Warriors gameplay. And I loved it.

I mentioned before that the Wii U wasn't the most popular system in Nintendo's repertoire, but Nintendo knew this as well, and they started porting games from that system to the Switch. And now we come to near the end of my tale, as Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition was a game with a similar treatment. Content from the 3DS and Wii U versions both in glorious Hi-Def, some quality of life changes, and all the previous DLCs from both versions raring to go right from the start. Truly the all-in-one package, and indeed the 'definitive' version of the game as it was called.

And now here I am, putting my new Elgato to use to record this game for you all. I'm clearly a little insane, but come along for the ride anyway. First video goes up on June 8th in celebration of my birthday.
 
Video Table of Contents
Legend Mode
Prologue​
Ocarina of Time​
Twilight Princess​
Skyward Sword​
Epilogue​
Ganondorf​
Grand Finale​
Linkle's Tale​
Her True Self (#19)​
Cia's Tale​
Wind Waker​
​
Adventure Mode
Master Quest Map (#75) (#85) (#86) (#88) (#94) (#98)​
Master Wind Waker Map (#83) (#84) (#90)​
Twilight Map​
Termina Map​
Koholint Island Map (#25) (#58) (#80) (#92)​
Grand Travels Map (#43) (#57) (#64) (#69) (#81) (#96)​
Lorule Map (#47) (#59) (#77)​
Reward Map (#87)​
​
Challenge Mode
Ganon's Fury (#50)​
​
​
Full Video Playlist

(in progress)
​
 
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Today we start with the only mode unlocked at the start of the game: Legend Mode! Legend Mode serves as the 'story mode' of the game and you enact the War Across the Ages. The Wii U version consisted of 23 Scenarios, while the 3DS and Switch versions contain 32. Aside from giving us a bit of plot, you actually have to complete the first stage of Legend Mode to access the rest of the unlocked characters and play the additional modes.


Legend Mode - Prologue - The Armies of Ruin

We start with Zelda playing the Goddess Harp in a field (Hyrule Field, perhaps?) when a dark force attacks her. Harp dropped, the flood of darkness envelops her... and she awakes from her dream. A bad omen, or a premonition? At a point in time where the Legendary Hero has not made themself known. soldiers train like every day. But this is not just any normal day, as a horde of enemies march on the castle, monsters pulled from every era of Hyrule's past, with hordes of Bokoblins, Bublins, and Stalkids at the forefront, and a mysterious wizard and a draconic spearman seeming leading the charge.

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Map: Hyrule Field

The map representing Hyrule Castle and areas surrounding. Aside from the nearby castle, there's a mineshaft of some sort, and a Fairy Fountain.


 
OH SHIT IT'S ZELDO MUSO

Been following this on youtube but just read the thread now. Keep up the good work Red Silvers!
 
Prologue - The Sheikah Tribesman

Weeks after the battle at Hyrule Castle, Princess Zelda is still missing, leaving Impa and Link to lead the army of Hyrule against the horde of monsters. But when news of more fighters in the nearby woods, led by a woman, gets their attention, they decide to meet up with the fighters by taking a route through the nearby Eldin Caves. While the exit to the caves is not far, the winding paths of the caves do mean a bit of tricky navigation.

This stage introduces Bombchus as a mechanic. Not the small bombs you may remember from Ocarina of Time, the Bombchus in this game are massive siege units, capable of taking out a target quickly. In this stage they're used to create bridges, but later on we'll see them as units we either need to protect, or to eliminate, to facilitate the control of Keeps.

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Map: Eldin Caves

Likely named for the Eldin Volcano from Skyward Sword, the large caverns of Eldin Caves reach around in a massive upside-down U shape. While the volcanic inspiration is clear, the northern area of the map instead takes on a blue crystalline appearance complete with an alternate version of the background music.


 
Prologue - The Sorceress of the Woods

The encounter with the dark wizard Wizzro behind them, Link, Impa, and Sheik reach the Faron Woods, home of the Deku Tree. As reported, there is a resistance in the woods fighting, but the leader is not Zelda, but instead Original Character and J-pop star Lana, a sorceress using her magic to defend the Deku Tree. Lana also explains that a member of her tribe. Cia, is the leader of the enemy army, but before she'll tell the heroes more, she wants them to help protect the forest.

New mechanic introduced in this stage are Deku Babus, which set off a circular area filled with poison that will damage nearby units and can't be meleed. Instead, it's the new Item found in the stage, the Arrow, used to defeat them from afar. It's more of a minor annoyance than a serious threat, though they can and will be used in more interesting ways in Adventure Mode. Like the bombs in the first stage, the item is also used for the upcoming stage boss.

Another mechanic specific to the 3DS and Switch versions are Owl statues that can be activated and then warped to using a Fairy Ocarina item. It's fast travel though it can be situationally helpful. In this stage you just have one target to warp to, though later stages may have multiple statues.

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Map: Faron Woods

Faron Woods as a map takes inspiration from the area of the same name in Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, as well as the Kokiri Forest and Lost Woods of Ocarina of Time. A large square arena with the Deku Tree located in the center, along with a Fairy Fountain to the northeast, this is generally a open map easy to traverse.


 
Adventure Mode - Adventure Map

The actual bulk of content in the game is the Adventure Mode, several maps with 100+ stages apiece with various different mission and goal types, and collectables like Heart Pieces and Containers, alternate costumes, and additional characters that weren't unlocked by default, like Young Link. The Adventure Mode maps in 3DS and Switch are similar to the Wii U ones but they are not the same, the maps were reworked on the 3DS version to make the level balance more linear as well as to rework the locations of unlockable weapons to be more logical.

This video will only have a handful of stages and I didn't plan it out in advance, but let's talk a bit about the stage types we'll see today:

Challenge Battle: Defeat (X) enemies in time!
A time attack battle to reach a certain number of KO's in time. Generally the time limit is more than generous enough, since you'll want to do it earlier to earn an A Rank. Mechanically, you'll have limited enemies until you defeat Captains or Commanders who in turn summon more and more enemies, and also Giant Bosses will show up to distract you (though can be good to farm materials.)

Adventure Battle: Duel with the Dragon Knight!
A standard battle with Volga as the enemy Commander.

Adventure Battle: Fight as a warrior of (Element)
Standard battle with a Recommended Element type. I believe these are designed to take the enemies unique elemental weaknesses into account.

 
Glad to see you diving into this mode basically right away. I've owned this like, since launch, but never got around to trying this bit.
 
I remember trying to play a little of this but never got that far. I think I rented it from Gamefly but then it was expiring and I immediately had to return it? This is neat!
 
Prologue - The Sorceress of the Valley

With the Deku Tree safe, Lana leads Link and Impa to the Valley of Seers, a canyon and gorge where Cia has opened the Gate of Souls and is using its power to summon the monsters of the Dark Forces. While it's not known if Lana tells the others, thanks to a cutscene we know that a fragment of darkness long sealed away had corrupted Cia, who was a Seer who had watched over time, and who had become obsessed with the soul of the Hero who was reincarnated in times of Hyrule's need.

While searching for Cia, Impa has other concerns on her mind. Who is Sheik, and why are they claiming to be from her tribe?

New mechanic for this stage? A Wall of Vines, a barrier that can only be bypassed by the new stage item, the Boomerang. Honestly, this particular barrier doesn't come up much in later stages. It's there sometimes, but far less than things like the Deku Babas or the Beamos statues that use other items. Or the other obstacle we'll see, Manhandla Stalks! Another new mechanic, added to the 3DS version and Switch version, are bonuses that you get when gathering near Giant Bosses to make them easier to take down by recharging the Magic Meter.

I actually have a personal theory about the Giant Boss change. On the Wii U version, it was possible to exploit an underflow glitch with Rupee drops from Giant Bosses when combined with a Rupees+ weapon, making the game glitch and drop the max of 9,999,999 Rupees. This wasn't hard to do with a little practice and while I'm not sure if they ever removed it from the Wii U, they certainly did rework it in the later versions.

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Map: Valley of Seers

The inspiration for this map might not seem obvious in the English name, but the Japanese name of Lanaryu Gorge or variations of Lanaryu Canyon in other languages are more direct (though some other languages use the English name as a basis). A large castle or fortress sits at the top of the map while the east and west are set in the canyons, and the mountain at the center houses a Fairy Fountain.

 
And so Cia uses the power of the full Triforce to fully open the Gate of Souls, linking three different times together...

But that's not our tale for today. Today, we have some 3DS content.

Linkle's Tale - The Girl in the Green Tunic

In a small village, a young girl named Linkle awakens to hear the other Villagers discussing the recent army marching on Hyrule Castle. Quickly dressing in her traveling gear and weapons, Linkle announces that she is the "legendary hero" and that her grandmother gave her a magic compass as proof. The other villagers scoff, that's what everyone's grandmother says, but Linkle is determined and marches off toward Hyrule Castle. She checks her map, nods with confidence, and marches off... toward Faron Woods.

While lost in the woods, Linkle encounters a Skull Kid, who snatches her Compass and runs off. That precious gift from her grandmother stolen, the hero chases after, determined to retrieve her Compass and make her way to Hyrule Castle.

Map: Faron Woods
This is the first time Legend Mode will reuse a map, so we've seen this one before.

 
Adventure Mode - Adventure Map

Going into today's video my goal was to find and collect a Fairy for the My Fairy feature. There are a handful of stages in Adventure Mode that have these fairies hidden in a plain brown jar in a specific keep. Having a My Fairy unlocked is also required to later find Fairy Food and Fairy Clothing drops. We don't get all of those unlocks, but we get the first My Fairy at least!

Having a fairy companion allows you to use your Magic Meter to unleash Fairy Magic, a massive AOE that will get a lot of KOs (though only a fraction will count as KOs toward a weapon skill) and various other effects.

Here's new battle types we're seeing in this video!

Challenge Battle: Defeat all Giant Bosses in time!
A stage with 2 or 3 Giant Bosses spread across the map. While they start out seperated, eventually a Boss you're not attacking will be drawn to one that you're fighting, and then they will team up, making it harder to dodge their attacks. Random captains containing power ups to enable your Focus Spirit or Special Attacks will respawn periodically.

Adventure Battle: Defeat the (X) Forces!
A standard battle type, the gimmick is that the Captains on the map are usually the listed enemy type and could be handy for tracking down specific drops.

Challenge Battle: Watch out! All attacks are devastating!
This stage is the epitome of Glass Cannon: enemies die in one hit, but you also take lethal damage from one hit (I believe you get a mercy hit, so the first hit drops you to a half heart, and then next is a death, but getting a hit either way will invalidate your shot at an A Rank). I show off the cheesy way to deal with this stage type, but don't worry, some variations of the same battle type will stop us from using this method.

Challenge Battle: Fight through the (X) quiz!
Instead of hordes of monsters, these battles have you go through a series of three Keeps, each containing two enemies, and you're given question or statement and must defeat the enemy fitting the clue, without defeating the other.

 
Twilight Princess - Land of Twilight

With gates to three different eras opened, the Hylian Army splits up to tackle all three eras at the same time. We'll start with the two levels set in the Twilight Princess era. It falls to Lana to explore the Twilight Field and figure out where Cia is hidden. Though the effect of the Twilight on the map makes it hard to navigate and explore, that's not the only challenge in the way, as there is also someone calling for help in the nearby village of Kakariko.

While not as common a mechanic as some others, the Twilight mechanic obscures the map and surrounds Keeps, making it hard to see where the enemy forces are. In the context of this stage in Legend Mode, it also powers up Midna when more Keeps are covered in Twilight. While this mechanic doesn't come back in Legend Mode, it does serve as an optional obstacle on the Twilight Map in Adventure Mode, where some stages are covered in Twilight, with extra difficult rules, but you can remove it on the overworld before the stage start.

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Map: Twilight Field

Pictured here with the Twilight effect active, the Twilight Field is one of two stages representing Twilight Princess. The map itself represents the Eldin Province and includes areas like Kakariko Village, the Hidden Village, and the Bridge of Eldin. I can understand not wanting to use the name Eldin since we already had the Eldin Caves earlier.

 
Twilight Princess - The Shadow King

With the battle of Twilight Field resolved, Lana has convinced Agitha and Midna to join her cause in tracking down Cia and the Gate of Souls that was opened in the Twilight Era. With the Goddess Butterfly they are able to locate the Gate of Souls, found deep within the Palace of Twilight. Unfortunately, while Cia is nowhere to be seen, there is someone else to deal with: Zant, the self-proclaimed King of Twilight, who has allied with Cia, and taken up residence in the Palace.

Less of a mechanic in general, but this stage introduces the Hookshot item, which can be used in very specific places to climb a ledge. You'll see it get a lot more use against the newest Giant Boss, Argorok.

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Map: Palace of Twilight

The inspiration for this level is the dungeon of the same name from Twilight Princess, with a similar exterior layout spread in three sections. The interior is condensed down but in exchange we have a Fairy Fountain.

 
Skyward Sword - Land in the Sky

While Lana heads to the era of Twilight Princess to chase after Cia, Link heads to the era of Skyward Sword to fight the Gate of Souls in that era, but arriving at Skyloft they find the Skyloft soldiers fighting the Dark Forces, so Link's Hylian Forces join up with the Skyloft Forces. Aside from the forces being led by Volga, they are also being aided by Ghirahim, a demonic sword spirit from the lands beneath Skyloft. Fortunately the forces of Skyloft have other allies like the Great Spirit of the Sky, Levias.

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Map: Skyloft

Taking its inspiration from Skyward Sword, the islands in the sky seem to be made up of features from a few different locations (the island containing the Pumpkin Landing in Skyward Sword has collided with Skyloft, for example). The center of the map contains the Goddess Statue and there is a Fairy Fountain for storyline purposes.

 
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Skyward Sword - Sealed Ambition

With Skyloft saved and Volga dealt with, Link and Fi continue their search for the Gate of Souls. At Fi's suggestion, they move to investigate the Sealed Grounds. Arriving, they find not only the Gate but also Ghirahim, who had retreated to the temple after the battle at Skyloft. While the heroes seem to have a decently sized army, there are shenanigans afoot, and soon a new Giant Boss to face.

Unfortunately, the new mechanic they feature in this stage is a mildly annoying one: Turncoat Soldiers! These units that appear friendly will turn hostile and continue to spawn until their corresponding Turncoat Leader is taken out. These generally take the appearance of Hylian Captains, though I think Goron Captains can be as well.

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Map: Sealed Grounds

Once again the map takes a lot more than just inspiration, with the Sealed Grounds and Sealed Temple of Skyward Sword being represented.

 
Am I correct in remembering that you can't easily save and quit to come back later? I seem to remember that being a struggle for me but am not sure if it was the game not allowing it or that I would just forget. Really neat to share this game, thanks!
 
Violentvixen said:
Am I correct in remembering that you can't easily save and quit to come back later? I seem to remember that being a struggle for me but am not sure if it was the game not allowing it or that I would just forget. Really neat to share this game, thanks!
Click to expand...
Yeah, you can quit a stage at anytime, but not save your progress mid-battle. The Legend Mode stages will set 'checkpoints' in case you lose, but these aren't permanent either.
 
Ocarina of Time - Land of Myth

With two eras behind us, it's time to check on the third era, the era of Ocarina of Time. It is Impa who takes charge of seeking out the Gate of Souls here, but to her curiosity and possible annoyance she is joined by Sheik. Before she can fully confront Sheik about the lack of anyone in her tribe sharing that name, a fairy cries for help! The Goron Tribe of Death Mountain has gone on a rampage, seemingly after meeting with Princess Zelda.

The stage mechanic this time is that we get keeps that launch giant boulders at our Allied Base, which will wear the base down in time, but we can counter by capturing the keeps. We also see Bombchus controlled by the enemy and have to prevent them from capturing our keeps.

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Map: Death Mountain

While obviously taking inspiration from the Death Mountain area of Ocarina of Time, the dark and dusty color scheme is also very reminiscent of both the original Legend of Zelda and Link to the Past. The northern section of the map is representative of Goron City as well.

 
Ocarina of Time - The Water Temple

With Darunia and the Gorons subdued, and Ruto rescued, Impa and Sheik confirm that it was indeed a meeting with Princess Zelda that set off the events here. In pursuit of Zelda, and locating the Gate of Souls in the ancient Water Temple, they head off to Lake Hylia, only to find the Temple sealed off and Zelda barking out harsh orders that demoralize the heroes. Fortunately, while access to the Temple is blocked, Ruto knows the secrets to get inside.

True to the referenced Temple, the stage requires the gimmick of changing the water level to access the full map. However this is more of a couple of keep captures, not a series of rising and falling water, so not nearly as tedious as the dungeon in Ocarina of Time.

Also as a fun easter egg, you can see an Ocarina of Time era King Dodongo optionally in this stage! It's not required to encounter or defeat, and you don't exactly see the model many other places, so I certainly consider this a bit of an easter egg.

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Map: Lake Hylia
Aside from the namesake Water Temple taking up the southern half of the map, the center features landmarks from Lake Hylia of Ocarina of Time, while the north of the map features sections of the frozen Zora's Domain from the Adult Era of Ocarina of Time.

 
Adventure Mode - Adventure Map

Today we'll actually make progress toward the actual goal of the Adventure Mode map. Like the first Legend of Zelda on the NES, your objective is to defeat the eight dungeons to get access to Death Mountain, where you'll find the dark beast Ganon. Since the Adventure Mode map is based on that first game, the eight dungeons are also located in the same places, and that leaves LEVEL-1 located north of the start on a little island. I also appreciate that this particular map incentivizes you to use the first character we found on the map, Young Link.

Generally these 'dungeon' stages are a standard battle map, with a couple twists. First is that the Enemy Base is locked with a Key you have locate within a certain Keep. I think the Enemy Base also usually has an Elemental Barrier so finding the Elemental Fairy is also a help. And lastly, after defeating the final Commander in the Enemy Base, they will summon a Giant Boss. The challenge generally comes from the time limit to get an A Rank, <15 minutes, as some Bosses can be quite tanky.

New battle types, though nothing super exciting this time:

Adventure Battle: Defeat the Enemy Forces!
Standard battle type, though the map does have 'Levels' indicating the difficulty of the battle compared to others of the same title.

Adventure Battle: Defeat the (X) Beast!
This is the dungeon map I mentioned above, with the (X) standing for some term identifying the specific tile, like LEVEL-1 being 'the island beast'.

 
Linkle's Tale - Powers Collide

Following the events of 'The Water Temple', Impa and Zelda leave ahead of Darunia and Ruto to reunite with Link and Lana's groups. With Darunia and Ruto on their own, Volga sees an opportunity to launch an attack of his own on Lake Hylia. Linkle finds herself in the middle of this battle, and despite still being lost on her way to Hyrule Castle, she can't leave them alone! Rushing into battle just in time for Darunia to seal the majority of their army inside the Water Temple, it's time for the hero Linkle to find a way to rescue Darunia and deal with Volga!

(Sometimes the timing of Linkle's story seems to contradict the 'main' storyline, which may be because the Linkle's Tale was written after the Main Scenarios as well as Cia's Tale. The main storyline implies that Darunia and Ruto leave with Impa and Zelda immediately, and that Volga was already dealt with by Link, but I think you can accept that Volga came here while Link and Fi were still dealing with Ghirahim in Sealed Ambition, and that Darunia and Ruto rejoin Zelda and Impa shortly after this map.)

Map: Lake Hylia
The same map we saw in The Water Temple, but one tweak I like is that the stage is set during a different time of day, closer to sunset. This was something they did in some of the 3DS stages just to give a little visual variety.

 
Linkle's Tale - The Demon Lord's Plan

Still on her way to Hyrule Castle, Linkle finds herself in a confrontation between Fi and Ghirahim at the Sealed Grounds. Ghirahim has (re-opened?) the Gate of Souls and is once again trying to summon The Imprisoned. But this time the summoning doesn't go to plan, and instead of summoning the Giant Boss we fought before, it's... miniature versions of The Imprisoned? Without controlling the entire temple, Ghirahim is unable to summon the full Imprisoned and instead unleashes groups of these miniatures. As Ghirahim works to strengthen the spell, and to deal with Fi, it's Linkle to the rescue!

I'm not sure if this is meant to take place before or after Link goes to Skyloft, since the Gate is open again, and also with Volga in the previous stage it seems odd that this would be set before Link's story. But who knows.

Map: Sealed Grounds
Unlike the previous stage, I'm not sure that this one takes place at a different time of day.

 
Epilogue - The Sacred Sword

The oddly titled Epilogue section of Legend Mode picks up after closing the three Gate of Souls, with our heroes from across the franchise all gathered together. Revelations from Zelda and Lana also make sure that everyone is up to date on all of the plot bits from the previous stages. As the heroes reconnect, Cia is also confronted by Ganondorf, now that her actions have freed three of the four pieces of his soul that were sealed away. As Ganondorf attempts to wrest the Triforce from Cia, she makes the surprising choice to release Wisdom and Courage back to their rightful wielders rather than let Ganondorf take it.

While unaware of the confrontation with Cia, Link and Zelda are immediately aware of the return of their Triforces, and Lana is certain that Cia can be defeated. Zelda however feels that there is one more thing they're missing: the Master Sword. Impa realizes this is a double-edged sword, since the Master Sword is indeed powerful, but has also been used to seal away one fragment of Ganondorf's soul. Aware of the possible concerns, they still decide to head to the Temple of the Sacred Sword to take up legendary weapon.

In terms of gameplay, the Master Sword is basically a souped-up version of Link's Hylian Swords weapon, with a base attack power of 300 (comparable to a Level 3 normal weapon, which considering we've got a bare handful of Level 2 weapons at this point should explain the power difference when even the best of Level 2 weapons can only be attack power 225 and all the rank 1 can only be 120!) Aside from this attack power difference, some of the Master Sword combos are faster, and after getting a little further in Legend Mode you also unlock the additional effect of sword beams with some combos! The Master Sword is certainly the best weapon in the game. And this is both a plus and a minus, because having overpowered stuff can be fun, but it also allows players to fall into what I can 'The Master Sword trap'. What is this trap? Simply put, since you have an overpowered weapon, you can use the Master Sword to mop up a bunch of Adventure Mode without getting better at playing other characters, even using Co-Op to bypass character restrictions. One other comment about the Master Sword, you may have noticed I said that attack power only compares to a Level 3 weapon, but as you collect other weapons you'll eventually unlock the ability to raise that attack to 500 and eventually 900! 500 putting the Master Sword at level with a basic Level 4 weapon and 900 being stronger than even the best of Level 4s.

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Map: Temple of the Sacred Sword

Though using the name Temple of the Sacred Sword, the Temple is very clearly inspired by the Temple of Time from Ocarina of Time, and perhaps a bit of Castle Town for the outdoors. Though this does make me wonder why the Temple is so far from Hyrule Castle. The semi-ruined nature of the area predates the Temple's appearance in Breath of the Wild.

 
Epilogue - A War of Spirit

With the Master Sword safely obtained and Wizzro dispatched for now, the Hyrulean Forces march on the Temple of Souls, where Cia is hidden. The strange warped temple is protected by Cia's magical barriers, and the dark sorceress is expecting them. Meanwhile, it seems like Link read my huge write-up about the Master Sword in the previous post, because, with some encouragement from the fairy Proxi, Link is rushing into battle with eager zeal and leaving Impa worried he's getting too reckless. And as Cia and Link's armies clash, a third force is watching from outside.

Since this map is the single best place to farm ReDead Knights, as well as a decent secondary Commander who shows up in the story, I tend to play this map ignoring the objective to capture keeps right away, leaving a constant respawning source of ReDead Knights.

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Map: Temple of Souls

The twisted Temple of Souls is a unusual warped structure, with twisted hallways and overlapping architecture. It gives the impression that Cia's temple reflects her mental state, so the impossible nature of parts are a mirror of her warped mind. The temple contains various images of various incarnations of Link, like how this screenshot shows off Young Link, Wolf Link, and Skyward Sword Link, and there are portraits of Hyrule Warriors Link as well. The rose gardens outside could also be a sign of the twisted romantic thoughts that Ganondorf exploited to corrupt Cia.


 
Linkle's Tale - Her True Self

Let's rewind a little, before the battle at the Temple of Souls. Link has acquired the Master Sword, and the army is preparing to confront Cia. But meanwhile Zelda senses an ominous dark magic coming from the Palace of Twilight. Without telling anyone, Zelda leaves to investigate this dark magic draining all the light from nearby. And her absence is noticed by Midna.

Near the Palace of Twilight, Midna runs into Linkle, who is transfixed on a strange black crystal. a Shadow Crystal from Twilight Princess. Once Midna touches the crystal, she transforms from her cursed imp form to her true Twili form. Linkle joins Twili Midna in her quest to locate Zelda. At the Palace of Twilight, Zelda is locked in the King's Hall Keep, locked in battle with Dark Twili Midna, and guarding the keeps is a Gatekeeper in the form of Dark Zant.

Notably, this level features Twili Midna in a story role, but does not actually unlock the character, who was DLC in the Wii U version but in the 3DS and Switch versions is located on the Adventure Map.

Map: Palace of Twilight
Once again a repeat map, but if there is any change like a different time of day, I haven't noticed it.

 
Epilogue - Shining Beacon

With the Dark Links handled, and escaping from Ganondorf, the Hyrulean Army heads back to the Valley of the Seers to confront Cia for the final time. The terrain leaves the army split and with low morale, and Cia has been using dark powers and her own life force to power up her army. The magic is strengthened by specific Sanctums that Cia controls, but Lana figures that capturing these Sanctums will weaken Cia. But with the Dark Sorceress cornered, there is no telling what lengths she'll go to.

Map: Valley of the Seers
We return to the same map that we encountered Cia at before, though this time the Fairy Fountain comes into play. Also notably the background music is a different theme than the previous version, Eclipse of the Moon as opposed to Eclipse of the Sun.

 
Adventure Mode - Adventure Map

With the final battle with Cia finished, before continuing in Legend Mode, it's time to take another detour to Adventure Mode, where we can pursue some new weapon types and costumes. Notably, the Naginata weapon for Impa has been right near the start of the map this entire time, and we've seen hints of it existing in other places, like the Statue in the Temple of Souls. There are also a large, large variety of costumes scattered around Adventure Mode on the various maps.

New Battle types incoming!

Adventure Battle: Defeat the commanders of two armies!
A standard battle with a twist, there are two opposing enemy forces, who fight each other as well as us, and doing well against one army can boost the morale of the other.

Challenge Battle: Defeat all enemies!
These battles have you go through a series of three keeps, where you're locked inside with 2-3 enemies you have to take out. At high levels, the cramped space can come into play as you may be locked with a Giant Boss as well as strong Captains or Commanders.

Adventure Battle: Prevent reinforcements from arriving!
This battle features enemy Bombchus that will try to capture enemy keeps. The namesake of the battle comes from the Summoner enemies that will summon weaker mobs.

 
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