Kotaku recently had the chance to interview The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes game director Hiromasa Shikata. When asked how the idea for Tri Force Heroes came about, Shikata stated that Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma “wanted to revisit multiplayer at some point” after the first portable multiplayer Zelda game, Four Swords. Though multiplayer was never considered for A Link Between Worlds, the pair discussed the possibility of another multiplayer game during its development:
Mr. Aonuma and I were both commenting on how we both wanted to experiment with some multiplayer action, and that’s really where this project gets its start.
Shikata went on to elaborate a little bit more about the story. As previously revealed, the game takes place in a fashion-obsessed kingdom. Some large “event” happens, and because of it the King of this land sends out of call-to-arms for any would-be heroes to gather. In this land there is a prophecy – of which the King is a firm believer – that talks of three heroes joining forces to come together as one unstoppable totem in a time of need. The true hero of legend is described as “someone with these long sideburns, a particular hair style and long ears”.
When asked about the new chat icons, Shikata had plenty to discuss:
“I think with these, for example, you can just be sitting there hitting the one icon that you want: ‘Hey, we have to get in a totem here, totem here,’ or ‘Use that item, use that item, use that item,’ or ‘Hey, come here, come here,’ whatever it is. For those people who are in the mood to do so, they will cooperate, and sometimes maybe they’re not going to be listening to you, no matter how many times you send out the same message.
I think we’re seeing a really unique form of communication in that because it can be a little difficult using just eight icons to communicate some complicated ideas. When you’re able to—through your choice, and which panel, and what timing, and what order you’re selecting them in—be like, ‘Wow, I actually made my point,’ you feel pretty happy when the person does what you just asked them to do.
But on the other side, the person who’s like watching you hit all these different icons and goes, ‘Oh wait, I think he wants me to come over here, use this thing to do that thing,’ and you go over and you do it and it works, there’s a sense of satisfaction on both sides that you’re not gonna see in a game that has maybe a regular voice-chat implementation.
I really think, again, that satisfaction you get time and time again when you’re able to communicate effectively on both sides, from conveying the information and receiving the information, the more you are able to succeed at doing that, and as you progress in the game based on that, it really really heightens that sense of satisfaction, and really matches the sense of cooperation we’re trying to focus on in this game.”
Shikata also confirmed there will be no overworld map in this game. There are, however, a castle, a town, and a colisseum battle mode. The health bar is also shared across all 3 players, as was demonstrated during E3, because the dev team felt that it was a better idea for the game. Since it’s a multiplayer game, you’re able to save at any time and the game will automatically save if somebody drops out.
Finally, when asked how long the game would be, Shikata stated that there would be about 30-45 hours of three-person gameplay, but there are also “a lot of extra elements and things you can do in this game. If you’re a completionist, you’re gonna be playing for a long time.”
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is due out Fall 2015.
