The Legend of Zelda For Wii U Is Picking Ideas Up From Hyrule Warriors

Speaking with the Reno Gazette-Journal back in September, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma talked about what elements of Hyrule Warriors he would like to adopt for The Legend of Zelda on Wii U. (Thanks, GoNintendo)

Hyrule Warriors is a hack-and-slash game developed by Koei Tecmo’s OmegaForce studio, which has worked on games such as Dynasty Warriors and One Piece: Pirate Warriors. Unlike most Zeldas, it’s more focused on combating enemy troops in large fields rather than traipsing into dungeons and solving puzzles. Aonuma says that it’s one of the combat aspects he’d like to lift from—specifically the boss fights.

“One aspect of Hyrule Warriors that really left a big impression on me was how the big bosses can actually move across the map while you’re fighting them,” Aonuma said. “For example, you can have a boss start by heading toward your stronghold and you’ll attack and then follow them.”

“That’s something you don’t usually see in a Zelda game because bosses are usually in enclosed spaces so that kind of gameplay feels fresh to me. It also works really well in an expansive world, which is what we’re planning to do for the next Zelda game. It’s going to be a really open world so that’s the kind of gameplay we’d really like to incorporate.”

Nintendo have already teased the prospect of bosses being able to chase you around the map once before. In the reveal trailer for the new Zelda, they showed a six-legged enemy chasing Link through a field and cornering him. At the time, Nintendo claimed that trailer consisted of actual gameplay, and this would seem to confirm it.