The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

It looks fantastic, it plays exactly how it should, and there’s plenty of both material and challenges to keep playing for a long time. The Colosseum might be underwhelming, and the picture-taking stuff is basic, but the rest is damn fun.

Even with the focus on multiplayer, this is an adventure that is just as enjoyable for lone heroes, especially for those who fancy a challenge.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a good game, has a sensational soundtrack, great puzzles, entertaining combat and cooperative gameplay that hooks everybody. However, it's also too simple, the difficulty is not well adjusted and it's far from being innovative.

The Legend of Zelda Tri Force Heroes takes an original concept and takes it everywhere you want it to go. There is plenty of fun for three players, but the experiences takes a hit when you go at it alone. Recommended for all 3DS owners.

Despite being a low budget game built with assets from A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes is a great Zelda designed for co-op. [13/2015, p.74]

A nice three player co-op action game. It's not an adventure, since the levels are small and sequential. The puzzles are a bit too repetitive, though. [Nov 2015]

It may be a bit overly simplistic at times when traditional Zelda fans come into it, and the single player can be a bit boring with micromanaging each Link, but if players can find some friends to play either online or locally, there’s some great fun to be had, especially if you allow the crafting bug to bite you.

Very well designed multiplayer Zelda experience. Online and especially local multiplayer are incredibly fun. Do not waste your time if you are planning to play alone though.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes can occasionally get tedious when playing alone, but the multiplayer is one of the greatest handheld co-op experiences around.

TLoZ: Tri-force Heroes is better than we expected... when played with friends. If you're going to play with people you know, you'll find a great coop experience. Alone or with unknown people, it's not that enjoyable.

Tri Force Heroes is a clever and extremely funny multiplayer game for a local bunch of heroes wannabe. It's a shame that its online mode lacks the voice chat. Also: the single player campaign can be really boring at times.

Tri Force Heroes combines the best of the Zelda series (well-designed dungeons, interesting puzzles, challenging boss fights…) in a multiplayer and strong cooperative game. It lacks interest on storytelling and we miss more activities to do, but it's still a very recommended and enjoyable entry in the franchise.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a fun co-op adventure that's best played with two friends.

It's a price to pay for sticking to their guns, but honestly, if games like Destiny can get away with subjecting players to hard limits without taking a beating, I don't see why Nintendo isn't allowed the same permission for what's ultimately a rewarding experience. Nintendo deserves, if anything, some recognition for what Tri Force Heroes accomplishes when requirements are met.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a must have if you have two more friends to enjoy it. Its great game mechanics and stunning level design, makes it an amazing addition to your 3DS collection. Do not play it in solo mode, this title doesn’t work that way.

There’s plenty of content to be found in Tri Force Heroes, with a healthy set of stages that – despite its clear multiplayer leanings – are still fun to play through on your own. It’s blatantly never going to rival the Ocarinas or Wind Wakers of the world, but as a game for Zelda fans to get stuck into while they wait for the next main event, it’s an excellent stop-gap.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a game that’s far better than its shackles allow it to be. Even as hampered as it is by online chicanery and distinctly “Nintendo” hassles, it’s still a great deal of fun and one of the best handheld online adventures you could undertake. It just requires some patience to get working, with a reward that’s well worth it...Also, come on… it’s gay as hell. And I kind of love that.

Clever puzzles, fun boss fights and crazy costumes make for a charming and enjoyable experience. However, there are too many things that can go wrong to easily recommend the game to those who may not have a dedicated group of local friends to play with.

It might all sound like light hearted fun on paper, and it largely is, but once you get into the dungeons themselves, this is pure Zelda (albeit with a twist).

Not your usual Zelda game, that's for sure, but still brilliant when it comes to level design, and extremely fun if played online or with friends. It has some limitations, but it's still a bright example of good level design. Singleplayer is the only weakness of this Zelda game, since it doesn't work as well as the co-op component.

There’s no denying that this thing serves up big heaping piles of fun.

Nintendo has once again managed to take a series that we all know and love, tell us that they’re going to do something unthinkable to its formula, and somehow have us walk away not hating it.

With three players it's huge fun, albeit a bit too drab in the long run. Singleplayer on the other hand is a test in patience for masochists. All in all a great multiplayer Zelda.

A slightly different Zelda game that delivers a funny and frantic multiplayer experience. Unbalanced in single player but still recommended for beginners and seasoned players.

When it comes down to it, it's the communication and that sense of shared success that makes Triforce Heroes such a joyous and satisfying release.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force is quite a good game even if some puzzles seem well-known for veteran players. A very nice game indeed.

Zelda does definitely work as a co-op multiplayer game, assuming you can find suitably competent allies, in this fun and charming spin-off.

The costumes are an evolution of the masks of Majora's and provide new features for the traditional Zelda puzzles. It's fun to play, but things like the unbalanced single player and the deficient communication between players keep it from being outstanding.

Played alone it can be a chore, but with a group of friends or like-minded people, Tri Force heroes is inventive and fun; wonderfully distilled co-operative take on the Legend of Zelda.

A fantastic game for playing with friends, but not a game for loners.

It's a game made for cooperative play, in the end. It might change the missions' structure when you turn to single-player, but it won't be able to offer the same depth other games can. Still, if you have friends to play with, this will be a nice experience.

If you’re looking for some fun and hectic gaming moments with your friends then Triforce Heroes along with its clever puzzles, fun visuals and beautiful soundtrack is sure to please. For those interested in the game because of its Zelda association just be prepared for a less fulfilling experience than you’re used to.

This is quite a good Zelda, especially if you like to team up with other players. If that isn’t exactly your thing, you’d better skip this one. [Sept. 2015, p. 068]

Fun but lacking in depth, the co-op dungeon crawling action of Tri Force Heroes does not fail to amuse in local play, but is totally dreadful for the loners. A fine game, but at the end of the day it doesn't offer much.

Tri Force Heroes offers some fun new features, but gameplay-wise it is simply not dynamic and refined enough. This game definitely does not feel like a full-on Zelda game, but more a fun spin-off.

The game has its flaws, but when the elements come together this is an amazing Zelda-title that mixes in the best things out of Four Swords. Working together is fun, but it does get boring after a while. To be frank, the matchmaking is bad, there are connectivity issues and this causes so much frustration that it ruins the rest of the game.

Tri Force Heroes shines in local multiplayer, but the main storyline is no way as interesting as it should be. Extra missions are a great add; fun and nice with friends but not so much interesting alone.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes isn't the definitive co-op Zelda experience, but is a fun and entertaining game with two friends on your team.

Tri Force Heroes is a lot of fun when you’re playing with friends, but make sure you have two buddies who can dedicate some time. The experience just isn’t as engaging when you’re alone, and you lose a lot of the social elements when you play with strangers over the Internet.

Tri Force Heroes does co-op well, but the repetitive gameplay loop simply isn’t satisfying.

Classic Zelda puzzle-dungeons in a simple, in-and-out format.

Uneven but occasionally inspired, this multiplayer jaunt is ultimately a minor entry in the franchise. [Dec 2015, p.68]

Quotation forthcoming.

Tri Force Heroes is hit-or-miss depending on how you play it, but overall it's an adventure worth experiencing. [Issue #18 – November/December 2015, p.70]

The puzzles are well implemented, but nonetheless it would have worked wonders if Nintendo had given more time to TriForce Heroes in order to polish the gem that’s hiding under the surface.

An enjoyable multiplayer Zelda experience, but one that has trouble holding up too well over the long haul.

There are glimpses of a fantastic game in The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, but you'll have to play under specific circumstances in order to experience it.

Clearly, The Legend of Zelda: TriForce Heroes isn’t going to stand among the greatest Zelda games. Instead, it will go down as one of the more experimental entries Nintendo’s decades-old series. And without much of a story, franchise fans who opt to skip it really won’t be missing much.

It’s a silly game with an equally-silly concept, but Nintendo somehow does just enough to make it work, if not excel.

Because it is based on co-operative gameplay Tri Force heroes does not stand as a good game if you are playing it on your own, but shines when you have some good company -locally or online.

This 'interlude' between bigger Zelda games can be really engaging at times, but it's not very satisfying when playing solo, and the lack of decent communications system is sometimes a problem.

"One for three, and three for one" looks like a great motto, but the quest of Tri Force Heroes is only accomplished when all those Links align together - physically.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes follows the footsteps of Four Swords Adventures and brings forth a very well designed multiplayer experience, whether local or online, and a significant degree of challenge, even for experienced players. While it seems odd that a Zelda title dispenses with the eponymous princess and with Link, Tri Force Heroes does its job in an irrepressible manner.

Tri Force Heroes can be a thrill when played with a group of three friends. But try playing it solo or with just one pal, and things might not be so fun.

It may have the character, control and theme down to a tee, but the dungeon design is nowhere near as tight as those from the main franchise.

Fun, but a little shallow.

I would outright suggest that you avoid Tri Force Heroes if you plan on going at it alone. The good news is that the online portion works wonderfully, and with download play, you can get a local three-person game running up in no time. If you don't fit that criteria though, you can probably pass on Link's newest adventure.

A playful co-op experience that shines with mates, but isn’t as precise or polished as a mainline Zelda.

A hard game to dislike, but equally hard to love.

If you’re a stalwart fan with a pair of dedicated friends, you will likely have a pleasant time with the game’s puzzles and combat, but it’s hard to recommend this game to anyone that hasn’t already sought the Triforce for a much more admirable purpose.

Despite its good intentions and ocassional co-op fun, Tri Force Heroes lacks the depth — and charm — we’ve come to expect from the franchise.

We've seen so many of these puzzles before. [Dec 2015, p.121]

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a disappointing entry in the long-running series.

A game that leaves you wanting more, for better or worse. You want more loot, or at least confirmation that when you go through the same tedious level again, you'll find exactly the item you need waiting at the end. You want more of a balanced challenge, with a single player that feels like it could be handled alone or a multiplayer that performs perfectly under any condition and is worth replaying. Most importantly, you want a real reason to keep returning to the game and not just a prospect of a pretty new look for the Link-alike.

Tri Force Heroes isn't a bad game, but it's not on the same level as its illustrious predecessors.

Tri Force Heroes is a Zelda game in name only. When you dig just past the surface, poor gameplay mechanics and key missing elements for a Zelda title tarnish what is otherwise a serviceable adventure game.

It’s worth a play, but this is a rare Zelda game that will leave most fans underwhelmed.

Caters to hardcore Zelda fans who want to pass the time while waiting for the next full breed Zelda-entry: The Legend of Zelda WiiU. It has moments of fun puzzle experiences, but it requires you to have 1-2 good friends you can go on a local network.

Tri Force Heroes isn't a bad game, but it's not a great one either. It feels more like an apology from Nintendo for delaying Zelda Wii U to 2016. A lack of polish and depth holds the experience back and there's very little reason to replay anything once you're done the first time around.

But like its story of fashion and surface appeal, there’s not much depth here, and the facade fades with time. Tri Force Heroes offers us the means to work together, but not enough reason to do so.

But Heroes’s oddest design choice is surely its violation of a Zelda tradition since time immemorial (i.e. 1986): Link can’t jump.