Hyrule Warriors And Sonic Boom: A Closer Look At Nintendo’s E3 Line-Up

When Nintendo announced Hyrule Warriors and Sonic Boom at the E3 gaming conference, many fans were unsure what to think – at the convention, they only got a sneak preview of what was in store.

Hyrule Warriors was Nintendo’s proverbial bone to throw to The Legend of Zelda fans eagerly awaiting the release of a new adventure with Link. Its style, while pulling much of its inspiration from the classic Zelda universe, is radically different from that of the rest of the LoZ games. The easiest way to put things? Hyrule Warriors is the lovechild of The Legend of Zelda (Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time) and Dynasty Warriors.

As seen in the trailer, it is a hack-and-slash game: you play as a single character (Zelda, Link, Midna, Agitha, Lana, or Impa, as so far revealed) and wipe out mobs of moblins. It does not seem story driven – a point that irks some Zelda fans. Others believe the game is a good segue between Zelda stories.

As for Sonic Boom, it plays off of the Sega series, starring Sonic the Hedgehog. “Sonic Boom is a transmedia movement incorporating a new cartoon and loads of merchandising as well as these two games. For this revival, Sonic and co, have been given a makeover, which seems to involve a lot of fabric and muscles,” VG 24/7 said when describing the game. It is a new turn for the blue hedgehog, but perhaps a much needed one. The Sonic franchise has been suffering in the past few years.

Fans, whether excited, or unenthused by these new releases, will have two more games to try from Nintendo. Hyrule Warriors will be released for the Wii-U on September 26th, with Sonic Boom rolling in November.