Tri Force Heroes: The Pinnacle of Man’s Creation

Ever since the dawn of time, art and literature has been a way to express oneself. While it may have not been physical, but rather verbal, art has manifested from the creativity of the human soul. Looking back on even the oldest, written story we have, The Epic of Gilgamesh, human beings have expressed their longings, yearnings, and outpouring of the souls in stories and art. We gamers look at video games in a similar way, taking in the majesty of amazing games such as Superman 64, E.T., and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and seeing the love and care that made these games so amazing. However, there is a series far greater than these, and if you’re an avid reader of this site, you obviously know that I am talking about The Legend of Zelda.

While there are many different games in the beloved series, they all take on a life of their own, differentiating themselves from the others in some way. In this series, we find a gem hidden in a vast desert of mediocrity, though. While games like Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild struggle to maintain audiences, there is one game that sours above the rest in every aspect. That’s right: Tri Force Heroes.

What is Tri Force Heroes?

I think a better question is: what isn’t Tri Force Heroes? Is it one of the weakest games in the series, characterized by odd design choices and draining gameplay? Absolutely not! How dare you assume such a thing! It is a work of beauty that surpasses even the heavens themselves. The Bible says that no man has ever seen the face of God and lived, but obviously, they never played this game. Its glory and majesty are like that of a deity as it surpasses everyone’s expectations. Tri Force heroes is a co-op masterpiece unlike any we’ve seen before! There are many things that Nintendo heard us yearn for and they delivered. They knew that everyone would want to play a game where you and two others vaguely communicate across sketchy internet servers to sold puzzles and trust each other. They heard the market’s cry for customization and delivered on it tenfold.

Sure, in Breath of the Wild, you can change different pieces of Link’s armor to better suit the environment and the enemy that you are fighting, but can you dress Link up like a cheerleader? Yea, I didn’t think so. Cooking? Why would you want to cook when you can create a human centiped- I mean totem pole of Links? If you cannot see the beauty in this, then you are truly lost.

The Story to End All Stories

When you think of winning combinations, what comes to mind? Chocolate and Peanut Butter? Cats and Motivational Posters? Obviously, the best example of a combination that makes perfect sense is The Legend of Zelda and fashion. Fashion is the one thing that every Zelda game has been missing and has since forgotten. Spoilers for Anyone That Hasn’t Played this Beautiful Game. The game Hytopia, a kingdom obsessed with fashion. Move over Princess Zelda because there’s a new Princess in Town: Princess Styla (get it? Like “style”). People love her and her fashion sense (as they should; fashion is the most important thing here) until a witch known as “The Lady” curses her, forcing an unremovable brown jumpsuit upon her. King Tuft (get it? Like a tuft of hair?), Hytopia’s ruler and Styla’s father, sends our a call for the hero.

See, there’s this prophecy that tells of three heroes coming together to form a totem pole. You might be thinking: yes. This prophecy is so much better than any we’ve had in a game before. And you would be right. This hero is, of course, be Link. He and two teammates travel to the Drablands (get it? Because if you’re drab, you don’t have style) to vanquish The Lady, allowing them to lift the princess’ curse. The mastery of storytelling goes above and beyond the paltry cutscenes and voice acting that we’ve seen in Breath of the Wild. There’s such a nuance to the jokes and the names of the characters as they subtly work in puns. This is why I had to explain the names; I thought them to be too clever and subtle for anyone to tell what they meant. I certainly had to do my own research before coming to such thought-out answers.

Best Zelda Gameplay

While Four Swords/Adventures “made sense” in having four-person co-op, who even has four friends that they can get into one room with their Gameboy Advances to play it? Now three friends: that’s doable. The basic premise is similar to FS in that the players go through different levels, completing them as a team. But Nintendo knows that we don’t have the attention to play through complex levels, so they’re short and sweet. They knew that the real puzzle would lie in the acquiring of and working with a team. People may find the lack of players in the game disturbing, but that’s no reason to fear. This is due to the game being so elite and taxing that very few people have the resolve and steel to play it.

Communication is key in any co-op game, but Nintendo has mastered the concept of communicating with the other players in a way that has never before been seen. Understanding Millennials’ love for emojis, the Big N went above and beyond by replacing communication that some would wrongly consider “viable” and “easy to use” with Link emojis. You can cheer people on, get their attention, tell them “No!” and more. Gone is the need for words: emojis are the future of online gaming.

Conclusion

Only the true Zelda fan and hardcore gamer can appreciate a game with the gravitas and nuance that Tri Force Heroes has. Casuals will say “but this isn’t a real Zelda game!” or “there’s literally no one to play with in this wasteland of a game.” To them I say: you’re not trying hard enough. The Legend of Zelda series can only go downhill from here. We have reached the top and come to the completion of years of trial and error. It is a sad state, to be sure, but at least we have this magnificent glory to bask in for all eternity.

This is because I lost the E3 bet between Andy and I on the Zelda Informer Podcast.