In the most recent issue of Famitsu, there was an article on the game currently known as Hyrule Warriors with a great deal of new info. Some of it is confirmation of what might have already been expected, but nonetheless, it's the most information on the game that's come out since the initial reveal trailer. Some of the more interesting tidbits (that have been scattered about in numerous links because Siliconera couldn't be arsed to put it all in one article):

• There are multiple player-characters, just like in a standard Warriors game. Impa is one such player character. The identities of other player characters and the total size of the roster are still anyone's guess.
• The game is actually being codeveloped to some degree by Omega Force (the studio behind the Warriors franchise) and Team Ninja.
• The combat system will include Zelda-style Z-targeting.
• The plot of the game will, at least in part, feature Zelda being kidnapped by an evil witch named Shea/Shia (different people are romanizing the name in different ways) and Link fighting to rescue her. Either way, it's a new villain.

God, I can't wait for this game. I dunno how I feel about multiple playable characters, though. In story mode I mean. I have no problem playing as people other than Link, but I hope it's not just " each character has their own little story mode! ", 'cause I really, really dislike that. I just find that way of story telling so lame and uninteresting. But whatever, I guess it is a Zelda game, but I actually quite like Zelda stories. >.>

Also this game totally has the best Link design out of all of them.

I forget this game even exists and then it will randomly pop up and I will think "What a completely random idea"

I can't wait to see it in action though

Not going to lie I totally want a playable Tingle.

Omega Force has gotten pretty good with their story modes as of late. Dynasty Warriors 7 revamped that series's entire approach to narrative by giving each faction their own storyline with a presentation that is very suitably that of an Asian historical drama. Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 (which technically wasn't an Omega Force game) adapted the vast majority of the manga into a linear narrative where the character you play as changes as you progress. And Warriors Orochi 3 is structured in a timeline where each stage has up to three "recommended" characters that are integral to the stage's primary narrative, but otherwise lets you use whoever you like.

So there's a great possibility that the story will feature a level of complexity that allows for multiple characters to be playable along a single narrative track.

Yeah, he's looking pretty sweet.

Sweet Playable Zelda! Finally!

• The plot of the game will, at least in part, feature Zelda being kidnapped by an evil witch named Shea/Shia (different people are romanizing the name in different ways) and Link fighting to rescue her. Either way, it's a new villain.

d@mnit

In all seriousness, this title is sounding more interesting all the time!

Probably the first thing to really tempt to get a WiiU

Hey, the fact that she's been kidnapped again doesn't mean she won't be playable in any context!

What they've shown and said so far seems really cool, but I hope they do more with the, "Zelda is kidnapped!" thing. If they're allowing multiple playable characters I can't see how they get away without her being playable at some point.

I appreciate them attempting to leave a mark on the franchise, though. Its understandable why Nintendo attempts to stay away from new villains because so far they haven't been great at them in Zelda games, but this seems like the right place for somebody allowed to work on the franchise to do something interesting.

It comes out in the middle of August in Japan so if they don't plan on saying anything around E3 about it, we'll at least have that to go on.

Jesus Christ man, don't even joke about that...

I'm really curious how the game is going to stack-up content-wise in comparison to Dynasty Warriors.

Playable Ganon or no buy.

Okay I'm gonna buy regardless, but I'll buy it FASTER if Ganon is playable.

So, are the people getting hyped for this big Dynasty Warriors fans? Because if not, I have a feeling a lot of you are going to be incredibly let down.

Impa?

I was getting all excited for this game, and then I realized it would only be released for the WiiU due to your comment... Mega-bummer. I guess it didn't cross my mind since people kept associating it with Dynasty Warriors.

Team Ninja returns to nintendo....... ugh, I'm not liking this, but I'm curious what their development time is now if it's 2 studios working on this? How much pressure is Nintendo giving them? And finally, is Ganon in this one?

@starvinggamer: First Warriors type game in a series has less but more dynamic and individual characters; in my opinion that's superior to having more identical content; though they seem to be getting better at individualizing 120+ characters, only took like 15 games. The first Hokuto Musou was great.

I hope one of those characters is Zelda with *wizard powers* and her rad sword from Twilight Princess. I also hope the evil witches extremely illegal outfit isn't representative of all the female character design in the game. Also Omega Force better be handling the story and not Team Ninja.

Man, this game.... This, X, and SSB are the games that will make me cave and get a Wii U.

Playable Skull Kid?

I have no idea why I'm curious about this. I don't own a Wii U, I've never properly played a Dynasty Warriors game and the first Zelda game I ever enjoyed was A Link Between Worlds which I finished two weeks ago.

But I am curious and godamn I'm not one to get in the way of positive thoughts.

It's not uncommon for studios under the same roof to collaborate on projects. And Team Ninja does have experience of working directly with Nintendo. I haven't specifically heard anything about Ganon, but it honestly wouldn't surprise me if he were in the game in some form or another. (Someone jumped the gun and added him to the character list for the game in the wiki, though. I should probably take care of that.)

If Zelda is playable, I'm really curious as to what form that will be in.

@angethedude:

If we're going that direction:

And where the hell is Vaati?

Can't wait to bust down Hu Lao gate with Link and get to beat up Lu Bu. Or is that not an option here?

Dynasty Warriors isn't good, though. I thought we all settled on that truth... so why would dropping a bunch of Zelda characters in instead of Cao Pi and Lu Bu make it any better?

@ottoman673: Who says it isn't?

YOU"RE WELCOME

@iigrayfoxii: Impa's looking badass!

Man, those screenshots look great. I was sold on this as soon as it was announced, but bad-ass Link and even more badder-assed Impa have really sealed the deal.

@hailinel: I agree. Here is a better look:

The person editing this wiki is on top of his / her game and added all of the screens here.

The Skyward Sword designs give me hope for Ghirahim appearing in some form.

Or Groooooose??

When has any Zelda character looked like this? (not counting Midna...whatever she is).

Impa's looking good. I wonder who else they'll have.

Oh man Impa is looking Boss!

I could see a scenario where "Zelda" is captured but "Sheik" is free. Possibly she has to keep up the pretense of being captured for political reasons or something ("if they think I'm free they will burn Kakariko Village to the ground!").

That of course I suppose depends on where or if this game falls in the Hyrule Timeline, as to which Zelda it is.

I wonder if at long last we will see an in game depiction of the (external link) Imprisoning War!

@hailinel: to be fair, Team Ninja is a developer like any other and it could be to help them along with development. It's just that Team Ninja hasn't done anything good since Ninja Gaiden DS and that was 6 years ago, remember how when Metroid Other M came out everyone went "don't worry it's the Ninja Gaiden DS team working on this not Ninja Gaiden 2 team." Their reputation is always in question, but then I'd also question Namco also as they work on Smash Bros also because it's an interesting relationship that you hear about maybe on Assassin Creed games because they are still inside the publisher umbrella.

hehe, I was joking about Ganon. But I mean Zelda games without Ganon tend to be really weird and interesting.

@crithon: I like Other M. What's your point?

@hailinel: meh, a bit more cautious and also curious about how they work on a project like this. Maybe they know Nintendo Hardware better then Omega Force and are helping them get a nice 60 fps at 1080p?

@aegon: Tecmo.

@crithon: WiiU can't do 1080p 60fps. The only game that managed it is Rayman Legends and the only other one that tried it is Monster Hunter 3 and it has heavy frame drops which end up averaging to a little above 30. Most aim for 720p 60fps.

@corruptedevil: Meh, I wouldn't know, just throwing something out there at random to just ask what Team Ninja is adding to this development.

There really is a lot that they could potentially do with the game's story that wouldn't realy fit in the context of a typical Zelda game. Whether that be depicting the Imprisoning War or some other event, it's bound to be an interesting twist in probably the most surprising Zelda game made in years.

The working title of Hyrule Warriors is apparently no longer "working." It is officially the game's western name. Which makes sense, given that it's what everyone's been calling the game for close to half a year now.

Wow, I actually like the way Impa looks for once. I wonder who else will be playable. I'm assuming a lot of the cast is probably just gonna characters new to this game.

I'm really interested in seeing some more of the enemy types too. (maybe even non-monster opponents? :P) So far I've only seen Skyward Sword recycling which is a little lame....Although there was that one Dodongo.

From the studio that brought you Metroid: Other M...

I'm guessing people are going to keep saying this to be snarky. I loved Other M so that's not really a detriment.

Genuinely kinda wanna play Other M because of how many people seem to hate it. For some weird reason, that seems to be a pretty big sign that a game is great nowadays.

Can someone remind me why Nintendo chose to lend their most iconic franchises to Tecmo and Sega instead of companies with talent and original ideas? Looking at those screenshots, you can easily see yet another DW clone.

Developers at Tecmo Koei thought it would be interesting to make a Warriors game with Zelda characters. They pitched the concept to Nintendo and presented some of their past crossover Warriors work as a demonstration. Aonuma gave the thumbs up.

It helps that Nintendo and Tecmo Koei have had a pretty solid working relationship for a while now. They've worked together on the latter entries in the Fatal Frame series (which Nintendo now co-owns), the Wii version of Samurai Warriors 3 has a whole mode based on an old Nintendo-produced Famicom game, and they put together a rather well done strategy RPG in Pokemon Conquest. Team Ninja has worked with Nintendo before on multiple occasions (Other M, DOA: Dimensions, NG3: Razor's Edge). In addition to Hyrule Warriors, TK and Nintendo are working together on a Wii U Fatal Frame currently, as well.

This isn't some out of the blue thing. Tecmo Koei has what amounts to one of the closest relationships any third-party has with Nintendo. If any outside developer were to be granted this much license with the Zelda franchise, they'd be more likely to receive it than most.

@steadyingmeat: