The Legend of Zelda series is one of the most recognizable gaming franchises on the planet. But with games having graced nearly every Nintendo console from the NES to the Switch, there are bound to be some titles that just miss the mark.
That was the exact topic that popped up in the Zelda community on July 12. While several titles were mentioned, one just seemed to stick out—in a bad way.
2015’s The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a unique series entry for the Nintendo 3DS family. The adventure is one of the very few main series Zelda games designed to be multiplayer. In the title, Link splits into three different versions, distinguished by different colored clothing, and each player controls one Link each.
“Do we even need to count this one,” one Zelda player said. “Honestly I don’t consider it a real Zelda game at this point.”
The only other multiplayer game in the series that follows a typical Zelda-esque story with interspersed dungeons or other puzzles is The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. The 2005 title’s campaign eventually became playable solo, though it was originally released as multiplayer-only to feature the GameCube’s link cable.
Tri Force Heroes is lackluster for a few reasons, players explained in the July 12 discourse. First, a core mechanic of what makes Zelda games so engaging is simply missing. Though the title has a storyline, it mainly focuses on dungeons. Without the signature aspect of seemingly endless solo exploration, players are left yelling at each other to press the right buttons in order to make it through the dungeon puzzles.
“My buddies and I only played it in person due to the lack of communication online and it was a hilariously rage-inducing fun time,” one player added in.
And, although playing the game single-player is an option, it becomes far more tedious, as you then have to use the 3DS’ bottom screen to determine which of the three Links you control at any given time.
Another frustrating aspect of Tri Force Heroes is the lore just… doesn’t make much sense. While fans have carefully determined a widely-accepted timeline of the Zelda franchise that includes timeline switches, the rise and fall of races, and just as detailed a storyline for Ganondorf as for Link, some aspects of the multiplayer games don’t add up.
“The best way they thought up to make a multiplayer Zelda [was] making the whole game centered on dividing Link into multiple copies?” another fan asked. “It feels like an obtuse direction to go with—at this point why not make Zelda playable and [just] give her her own path alongside Link, or something that a second person can play?”
The idea that Link splits himself into several copies might have felt appropriate for one entry in the main series, but the mechanic being reused for two multiplayer adventures in a row got old quite quickly, fans say. Even worse, the actual adventure is weak, with the focus completely on puzzles within various dungeons.
Thankfully, it seems the Legend of Zelda franchise has blossomed in the opposite direction of both Four Swords Adventures and Tri Force Heroes, with both of the newest Switch titles focusing on intricate and individual solo exploration.
For now, Nintendo likely won’t return to multiplayer Zelda anyway.
