The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest

The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest is one of 12 "attractions" that make up Nintendo Land, a release title for the Wii U included in the Wii U Deluxe bundle, showcasing a variety of possibilities for asynchronous gameplay between the Wii U GamePad and Wii Remotes. Nintendo Land features minigames derived from 12 of Nintendo's top franchises, including The Legend of Zelda. Battle Quest is a minigame that allows one player using a bow controlled by the Wii U GamePad to adventure alongside up to three sword-wielding players using Wii Remotes.

This is not a full Zelda game, but a Zelda-themed minigame. Instead of Link, players control their Miis in outfits befitting Hyrulean adventurers. The game features multiple copies of the Master Sword, obviously not following the canon of the main series.

Gameplay

Battle Quest can be played with one to four players. The first player uses the GamePad to control an archer character who can pick off enemies at a distance or activate inaccessible switches, while the remaining players fight using swords controlled with Wii Remotes. All players move automatically along a linear, enemy-and-puzzle-infested path toward their destination.

In multiplayer mode, the game demonstrates the asynchronous gameplay made possible through the Wii U's unique GamePad. The player using the GamePad will have a different gameplay experience from the players using Wii Remotes. All players work together with pooled health to combat enemies and tackle obstacles. A colored rupee appears below each lost heart to indicate which player lost it.

Archer

Various motion sensors in the GamePad allow the archer player to look around the environment by moving the controller like a view finder. The screen also displays how much health and how many arrows the player has left. To fire an arrow, the player pulls down on the right analog stick and releases. Once the player runs out of arrows, he or she must lay the GamePad horizontal to refill the quiver. The player also has the option to adjust the view using the left analog stick.

Swordsmen

Like Skyward Sword, the players' swords use Wii MotionPlus to enable direct control of the swords' movements. Pressing 'B' halts the player's movement and raises his or her shield. Several skills are available, including the Spin Attack, and the Skyward Strike, returning from Skyward Sword.

Stages

The game features many stages to play through. These stages include:

• A fortress
• A grassy area
• A forest
• A mountain

Development

Battle Quest was one of five minigames — along with Animal Crossing: Sweet Day, Luigi's Ghost Mansion, DK's Crash Course, and Takamaru's Ninja Castle — shown at the unveiling of Nintendo Land at E3 on June 5th, 2012.

Screenshots

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  Press Screenshot from E3 2012

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  Press Screenshot from E3 2012

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  Screenshot, showing use of the Wii U Tablet and Wii Remote Plus Controllers

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  Scene Artwork

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  Press Screenshots from 9/13/2012

Videos

Brief footage of the grassy level

Nintendo Land trailer, showing grass and mountain levels