While many Zelda fans were disappointed when The Legend of Zelda on Wii U skipped E3 2015, Nintendo still brought a new Zelda game to the show. This was in the form of a The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, which came as a surprise announcement for the Nintendo 3DS.

After releasing a trailer that focused on cooperative gameplay, Nintendo teased fans by being vague about the release date, only saying that it will be available before the end of the year. A couple of months removed from E3, Nintendo has announced when Zelda fans can look forward to Link's next grand adventure.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes will release on October 23rd, exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS. The game can be played solo or with two other players either locally or online. The main gimmick in the game, besides the co-op gameplay, is Link acquiring new abilities by wearing costumes, which should result in some unique gameplay opportunities for the series. Furthermore, the game has a competitive multiplayer aspect as well, in the form of the Colosseum.

Unfortunately for Nintendo, this newest Zelda game has been a bit more controversial than the games usually are. For one, some fans were upset when they found out that Tri Force Heroes does not support 2-player co-op. On the contrary, the game either requires three people to partake in co-op, or players are forced to play by themselves and control all three Links.

Another source of controversy stems from the game's lack of female playable charactersThe Legend of Zelda franchise has featured a male Link as the primary playable character since its inception in the 1980's, but due to the game's co-op focus, many were disappointed that Nintendo decided not to include a female version of Link. That being said, the game is certainly not subscribing to societal gender roles anyway, with Link able to cross-dress as Princess Zelda, for example.

That being said, perhaps Nintendo should look into introducing a female Link in the future. While some may consider such a move blasphemy, there was significant buzz when people thought that the Link in the Wii U game was female. Such a decision could potentially generate an even greater deal of interest in a future Zelda game. Alternatively, they could make Zelda the main protagonist in a game, and perhaps flip the script a bit, with Zelda having to save Link instead of the other way around.

Tri Force Heroes isn't the only Zelda game on the horizon. Besides the aforementioned Wii U The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo also has a second Zelda game in the pipeline, albeit in the form of a Dynasty Warriors flavored spinoff. Nintendo is planning to release a follow-up to Hyrule Warriors called Hyrule Warriors Legends, which is scheduled for a release in early 2016, and focuses on characters from The Wind Waker.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes will be available October 23rd, exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.

Source: Nintendo