Hands-On Impressions of Tri Force Heroes’ Hardest Demo Level: Hectic and Satisfying Team Gameplay

The Zelda Informer E3 team was lucky enough to go hands-on with The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, and we’re happy to report that it’s satisfyingly fun! Every aspect of the game is built for communication and cooperation including the puzzles, mechanics, and even boss battles. After a bit of yelling and some frantic teamwork, fully exploring a dungeon in Tri Force Heroes with friends proved to be every bit as exciting and enjoyable as your traditional Zelda game.

Adam “The Podcast Man” Cohen, Jeff “CE Master” Edelstein, and I approached the Triforce-shaped 3DS station and prepared ourselves for the adventure ahead. There were four different dungeons to choose from in our demo: Forest, Temple, Fortress, and Volcano. With the Volcano stage being the most difficult of these scenarios, we of course had to give it a try.

Before starting our Volcano adventure, we three Links were assigned colors; Adam was red, Jeff was green, and I was blue. Sadly, there was no purple…

From there, we were ready to choose our unique costumes; the big new feature in Tri Force Heroes. A thirty second timer counted down as we scrambled to choose the costumes that would best suit our chosen dungeon. The game let us know that the Volcano required the use of a bow, so Adam (our destined archer) chose for himself the “Kokiri Clothes” which allows a bow to shoot three arrows at once. I chose the “Lucky Loungewear” which saves a hero from damage occasionally, while Jeff chose the fabulous “Zelda Dress” which allows hearts to be found more easily. Needless to say, a cross-dressing Link is as adorable and awesome as it sounds.

With our costumes fitted, we were dropped into the first area of the Volcano dungeon. Three different items to choose from were placed on pedestals at the area’s start: a bow, a boomerang, and a gust jar. All three items were required in the dungeon, so we had to make sure to have one different item per person. Every scenario was built with specific item combinations in mind, and we were excited to see how our different items would work together later on. Like in A Link Between Worlds, items make use of a purple energy meter which actually suited the co-op nature of the game. There’s no need to track down individual ammunitions for each item. After a few test shots of the bow and a few gusts from the jar, we were ready for action.

Our first challenge was to cross a pit of lava, which called upon my handy gust jar. I beckoned Adam and Jeff to stand on the edge of the platform so I could shoot a strong gust of air directly at their behinds. Both players were launched across the lava and to the safety of another platform. However, they were no longer in my field of vision, so I had to rely on verbal communication to know of my partners’ safety. It’s probably a good time to mention that we learned of a screen-sharing mechanic later on that let Links see their partners’ screens. Though we didn’t learn of this feature right away, we still agree that relying on word-of-mouth was effective and fun in our adventure.

After my friends were gusted out of my immediate view, I knew it was my turn to cross the lava. I first tried to shoot a gust of air in the opposite direction, perhaps to propel me in the right direction. That didn’t work. So, Jeff and I then started bouncing ideas off each other to get me across. Out of desperation, Jeff decided to try his boomerang; he threw the item across the lava, which picked me up and carried me back to Jeff. It turns out that the boomerang can pick up your teammates too. This puzzle, though simple, showed off how Tri Force Heroes will require creative combinations of items. One player with a gust jar could only get half the team across the lava; I actually needed the help from the player with a boomerang to finish the job.

The rest of the room was fairly simple (even though we did die once). Adam shot a switch sitting atop of lava while we ran across moving platforms. I should mention that in Tri Force Heroes, all three Links share the same set of hearts. All three team members need to try their best to keep each other alive. After completing this room, we approached a glowing Triforce on the floor. Each of us stepped on a piece of it and we were transported to the next area.

This next area involved a mini-boss encounter with some Cyclops enemies. Each Cyclops rode a mine cart, whose track circled the arena, and tossed bombs at us in the center. Adam tried shooting these foes with his bow, but the arrows just bounced off the cart. Instead, we tried to make use of the bombs that landed on our platform and chucked them into the carts. Adam and Jeff quickly discovered how difficult this was, as throwing bombs at moving targets required a lot of agility.

I noticed that there were bomb flowers suspended over lava between us (on the center platform) and the mine cart track. Because I had the gust jar in my possession, I decided to make use of them. I lined up the jar to launch a bomb at the Cyclops as his cart passed by. It turns out that this method proved much more effective against the mini-boss. My Lucky Loungewear also helped me out a lot during this encounter, as I frequently dodged bomb damage accentuated with a little “Lucky!” pop-up on screen. So as Adam and Jeff continued to toss bombs with their hands, I used my gust jar to launch them at the foes.

This battle showed us how enemy encounters could be approached in different ways in Tri Force Heroes. The gust jar player could launch bomb flowers toward the boss, the boomerang player could pluck bombs from the flowers and throw them, and the bow player could swiftly throw the Cyclops’ bombs back into the cart. If this is encounter is any indicator of the rest of the game, I’m excited to see how other bosses can be bested in multiple ways. A boss encounter in which each Link has his own unique task sounds really fun.

As the last bomb exploded, taking the last Cyclops to the grave, we moved on to the next area. We walked across a metal grating suspended over lava, with spires periodically rising and falling through square openings in the grating. A single switch was raised in the center of the room, and a giant stone block sat on the left side of the area. At first, I thought two of us should be thrown onto the stone block, so that we could stack one Link on the other and shoot the switch with an arrow.

Jeff had a different idea. He found that we could all (in true Zelda fashion) push and pull on the block. However, because of the stone’s massive size, all three Links were needed to actually push the thing. So, we pushed the block over one of the square openings in the floor, expect

ing a lava spire to raise the block higher. It just did that, and we were ready to put my plan into action. Two Links were thrown onto the block as it was lowered, and waited for the lava to rise. The lava lifted, the archer was picked up by his partner, and the switch was shot.

This moment showed how the cooperative element can help to solve puzzles. Both Jeff and I realized different pieces of the puzzle’s solution. I wanted to get two Links on the block to shoot the switch, and he knew we needed to push it. In explaining our different solutions to each other, we realized both were correct and we worked together to combine them. Only after we explained our plans to the team did we start to make progress.

While the other demo scenarios really emphasized Tri Force Heroes‘ new totem pole mechanic, the Volcano didn’t actually ask for Links to stack on top of each other often up to this point. This fact changed when we took on the boss. In an arena surrounded by lava, iconic Zelda boss Moldorm confronted us at the end of the demo. I knew what to do when I saw this guy; once his tail was exposed, I took swipes at it quickly. This approach worked pretty well at first, but then, unexpectedly, Moldorm raised his tail. I could no longer reach the dang thing!

I suddenly realized we needed to utilize Tri Force Heroes‘ totem pole mechanic. One Link needed to be stacked on another in order to reach the tail. The plan sounded easy enough, but Moldorm proved to be more cunning than what we gave him credit for. The boss actually targeted one Link at a time by its color, chasing that Link unrelentingly. If that Link happened to be part of the totem pole, he was going to have a hard time reaching Moldorm’s tail.

We failed to notice this pattern for a while, but ultimately realized that Moldorm’s eyes would glow a certain color depending on who it was chasing. If it was chasing red Link, its eyes turned red; if it was chasing green, its eyes turned green. As we began to realize this visual tell by the boss, we began to coordinate who should distract it and who should move in for the attack. The frantic pace of the battle, with Moldorm’s eyes changing color rather frequently, we were forced to quickly adjust our team strategy and yell out our next moves.

Frequently did Jeff or I pick up and toss Adam to the other player, showing how seamless the totem-making process is. A Link can be tossed and caught without any hassle, and we made much use of the maneuver during this battle. There was a great deal of satisfaction when I successfully tossed our archer over to Jeff as Moldorm found me in his sights, and my teammate landed a successful hit while I distracted the beast.

Moldorm wasn’t done toying with us, though. After taking a few more hits, the boss decided to lift his tail even higher. This meant that we had to construct a full three-Link totem pole to reach its weak point. Morldorm’s eyes went crazy and the boss began moving around sporadically, meaning our three-Link totem had just enough time to strike. We opted to put Adam on top, as his three-arrow shots would more likely hit Moldorm’s raised tail. I should say now that the bottom Link in the totem pole controls movement and the top Link is free to attack. Sadly, the middle Link is left to simply sit back and watch the action. I was that guy a few times, and it’s a little irritating.

With our totem pole system worked out and a furious wave of communication, we ultimately landed a final arrow blow to Moldorm’s tail and defeated the boss. I’ve felt a significant degree of satisfaction in killing Zelda bosses before, but something about achieving such a feat with two other friends made the experience that much more satisfying.

The three of us shared a flurry of high-fives and celebrated using the goofy in-game emotes. I tapped the bottom screen to give my teammates a thumbs-up and to wave some pom poms. The little elements in the game really helped to reward our accomplishments as a team.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes was a fantastically built team game. Every player had a defined role to play, the puzzles played to the strengths of each teammate, and mechanics were implemented to facilitate communication. Unlike other cooperative Nintendo games like New Super Mario Bros U, in which multiplayer seems chaotic and unproductive, Tri Force Heroes presented constructive and clear goals that require players to work as a team. As well, the customizability – from the costumes to the items – gave each player a specific role and a specific identity.

But is it a good Zelda game?

In short, yes. Tri Force Heroes plays, looks, and feels like a Zelda game should. The combat and mechanics are ripped straight from A Link Between Worlds, so you won’t feel at all out of place swinging Link’s sword or firing Link’s bow.

The puzzles in the game are as inventive and creative as any other Zelda game, but with more emphasis on multiplayer. If anything, this emphasis on teamwork makes the puzzles even more inventive, as players must think beyond themselves and consider solving puzzles with others. Zelda games already do a great job building creative challenges with specific items in mind, fully developing the use of an item in its puzzles. Now, the team in Tri Force Heroes serves like an item too. Every group of puzzles aims to develop possibilities with the team dynamic, offering interesting and creative puzzles for teams to solve.

The boss and mini-boss encounters are easily one of the most exciting aspects of this game. As with any Zelda boss, players must find creative uses of items and environments to exploit a boss’ weak point. As I said before, teamwork is as much an item as a bow or boomerang. Players will need to find creative ways to work with their teammates to defeat their foes; from creating a totem pole, to throwing teammates around, to combining items together. Not to mention that bosses could potentially be damaged in several ways, giving each Link a unique role in approaching an enemy encounter.

There is a lot to flesh out in Tri Force Heroes, and I’m excited to see what crazy, creative things the game will share with us. I can’t wait to again feel the satisfaction of taking down a boss while strategizing with and yelling at my friends. The game is a lot of fun; there’s no doubt about that.

You can check out our video playthrough of Tri Force Heroes‘ volcano stage on our YouTube channel right here. Don’t forget to subscribe and look out for more gameplay footage from E3. And don’t forget to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!