Fans of Zelda may not have tuned in to Nintendo's E3 Digital Event. After all, it was known beforehand that the next main series entry in the franchise, the Wii U Legend of Zelda, was going to be skipping E3 2015 entirely. However, Nintendo still had a couple of Zelda surprises on hand for E3 attendees in the form of two new 3DS games, Hyrule Warriors Legends and The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes.

Whereas Hyrule Warriors Legends was leaked prior to Nintendo's E3 2015 showcase, The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes came as a complete surprise to everyone. The game features a very similar art style to the popular A Link Between Worlds, but instead of being another solo adventure for Link, it focuses on cooperative gameplay for up to three players. Most assumed that Triforce Heroes would allow just two players to play in co-op as well, but as it turns out, that is not the case.

Simply put, those wanting to enjoy the co-op aspects of Triforce Heroes need to have a full team of three players together in order to do so, according to the game's director Hiromasa Shikata. What's strange is that the entire adventure can be played through solo through the use of AI partners that can be controlled directly with the touchscreen. There must be a reason why a single AI partner can't fill in for the missing person if only two people wanted to play co-op, but Nintendo has yet to elaborate on that matter.

That being said, Triforce Heroes will allow just two players to play its competitive multiplayer offering, the Colosseum. Details on this versus multiplayer mode remain scarce, but it will allow for one on one or three way battles.

The good news is that Triforce Heroes will have online functionality. This is in contrast to most Nintendo games, including the upcoming Star Fox Zero, which will not have online multiplayer. While exact details on the online functionality of Triforce Heroes are not available at the moment, based on the online multiplayer in past handheld Zelda games, one has to assume that this will apply to both the co-op and the competitive multiplayer, so this will make it a little easier to put together the required full party of three players.

Overall, Triforce Heroes has turned out to be a pleasant surprise for the Zelda faithful. While some may have been initially turned off by the focus on co-op gameplay, it's reassuring to know that Link's next adventure can still be played entirely solo if one prefers. It's also nice to know that there will be plenty of Zelda on the way between now and the end of next year. Besides the two upcoming 3DS Zelda titles, Nintendo insists that the Wii U Zelda is still coming in 2016.

The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes is due for release this fall, exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS.

Source: Kotaku