A loose thread.

by Mike Mahardy on October 21, 2015

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a drastic departure from series tradition, and at
times, it shows real potential, with clever design rivaling the best of the series’ past. But
those moments are few and far between. The rest is just filler in a shallow game that tries a
slew of new things, but accomplishes only a few.

Tri Force Heroes is Nintendo’s second original Zelda title on 3DS after 2011’s stellar A
Link Between World. This new incarnation, however, is structured as a multiplayer title
with a loot system, gear crafting, and cooperative dungeons with short run times.

The story opens on Hytopia, a realm wherein a witch has cursed Princess Styla with a
brown, form-fitting body suit. The princess feels ugly in her new garb, and the Hytopian
king puts out a call for adventurers to break the curse with a grand ballroom dress. From
there, you wade through a series of puzzles and combat arenas in search of materials to
break the curse.

Nintendo has told farfetched Zelda tales before, but Tri Force Heroes pushes that sentiment
even farther. It tells a story of fashion gurus and designer dresses, complete with eccentric
personalities and fashion tips. At first, the whimsical plot was so weird, it captivated me.
But as it progressed, it deteriorated, with such poorly written characters and such
inexplicable plot points, I dreaded every cutscene’s approach. This game’s final boss
embraces the fashion angle so literally, it feels as if Nintendo talked itself into a corner,
only to justify the grievous plot at the last second.

Despite a few great bosses, most demand similar cooperative maneuvers to bring down.

During your travels, you’ll collect materials to fashion your own new outfits. This loot
system provides a rewarding feedback loop at first: complete dungeons, gather materials,
fashion outfits, and gain new abilities. The Kokiri Clothes let you fire three arrows at a
time. The Goron costume grants the ability to swim in lava. Some outfits change the way
you approach dungeons entirely, making this new approach to character perks one of the
entertaining ideas present in Tri Force Heroes.

But earning these bonuses becomes a chore. Tri Force Heroes doesn’t present the
traditional Zelda open-world structure--instead it implements what feels just like a series of
challenges. A warp room in the castle brings you to the Drablands, where you solve puzzles
and slay monsters in expected Zelda fashion. Yet these dungeons are repetitive. Each
begins with item acquisition, and proceeds through two more rooms before the boss or
wave-based skirmish rear their heads.

And these dungeons are short--I finished most in under 15 minutes. This is an effort to
facilitate the loot system that demands repeat playthroughs, but it has a negative effect. The
puzzles--except for a few--seem too simple. You learn how to use each item. You learn
their applications. And just when it seems Nintendo might delve deeper into the branching
possibilities of the challenges at hand, the dungeon ends.

More often than not, there's a boss at the end of each area. My favorite is a giant Stalfos
skeleton that only crumbles after all three heroes use their unique items to bring it down.
But this is one of a small number of clever bosses, in a game with a slew of repetitive
others. The vast majority of them ask the same question: how many heroes do you need to
stack on top of one another, and when should you do so?

In Tri Force Heroes, puzzles center around Totems. This gameplay conceit allows players
to carry one or both of their partners, and sometimes throw them in the hopes of reaching
distant ledges, or attacking taller varieties of monsters. It leads to rare great moments when
teams solve a puzzle not as individuals, but as a collective council with three essential
members.

Heroes can throw each other across gaps, only to retrieve the one left behind with a
subsequent boomerang throw. Others require stacking to hit otherwise untouchable
switches. And I adore the fire temple, complete with all of its disappearing platforms and
hazardous machinery. It encourages teamwork more than any other area. It’s one of those
shining places where Tri Force Heroes capitalizes on its conceptual potential, comprising
puzzles that encourage teamwork, vertical thinking, and careful motor skills.

There's a taxing dichotomy between the solo and cooperative modes, and the
overall experience feels fractured.

But a day later, I replayed the same puzzles. Only this time, I tried them in single player.
And when it comes to this mode, Tri Force Heroes stumbles. In place of fellow humans,
Nintendo provides you with doppels--heroes that, when not being used, become lifeless
statues. You can switch between them with the handheld’s touch screen, but moving each
hero to the exit means carrying the others for much of the time.

By choosing to play by yourself, you invite a level of micromanagement that transforms

otherwise clever dungeons into heavy slogs. The solutions to the puzzles are the same, but
some bosses, and some dungeons, are exponentially harder on your own.

Because there's no online voice chat, emotes are essential to communication.

One example: a certain early boss focuses on one hero at a time, leaving its vulnerable tail
open to other human players’ swords. But in single-player, switching between doppels,
throwing the lifeless shells onto ledges for hearts, all while avoiding nearby lava pools, is
an ordeal. There’s a taxing dichotomy between the solo and cooperative modes here, and
despite the few puzzles that balance the two well, the overall experience feels fractured.

This rings true when returning to puzzles as well. Once you’ve beaten a dungeon’s boss,
Nintendo offers challenges that alter your approach. One removes your swords, arming you
only with bombs. Another hangs monsters from the ceiling, forcing your team to keep
moving at a hurried pace. Another adds balloons to each room, asking you to pop them
before moving to the next, all the while focusing on enemies, as well as the puzzle at hand.

These twists can make multiplayer more fun, as your group adapts to the changes imposed
on them. However, some of them are near impossible on your own. It widens the gap
between multiplayer and single player even more.

There are several barriers preventing Tri Force Heroes from being great. But through it all,
one of the series' greatest traits remains strong even here: the exceptional music. Lilting
flutes, snappy strings, and tense battle drums pervade every area. The music reminds me
how compelling this franchise can be, and how great it often is. Nintendo has deviated from
the norm with the series before--but this time, many of its changes don't work.

Consider this: in single player, Nintendo grants you the option to skip entire sections of
each dungeon, so long as you're fine with the prospect of less loot. I avoided this route, but
considered it often. There are hints of a great game here, and when three players are
cooperating in frantic battles, or working through dynamic puzzles, it shows.

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.
Analysis text
1. Text and function.
 Review of a videogame
2. Type of text.
 Narrative “The story opens on Hytopia, a realm wherein a witch has
cursed Princess Styla with a brown, form-fitting body suit. The princess feels
ugly in her new garb, and the Hytopian king puts out a call for adventurers
to break the curse with a grand ballroom dress.”
Narrative text have to do with real-world events and time.

 Descriptive: “Tri Force Heroes is Nintendo’s second original Zelda title on 3DS
after 2011’s stellar A Link Between World. This new incarnation, however, is
structured as a multiplayer title with a loot system, gear crafting, and cooperative
dungeons with short run times.”
Descriptive text provides backgrround information which,
perhaps, sets the stage for narration.

3. Source.
 This genre of text can be found in magazines or sections of magazines about videogames
or videogames' blogs.
 In this case the source is the website www.gamespot.com

4. Author
 Mike Mahardy (Editor and Journalist) Education: Syracuse University - S.I.
Newhouse School of Public Communications

5. Audience:

 Male Teenagers
 Computer Geeks

6. 5 elements of cohesion
 Referential cohesion: Tri Force Heroes is Nintendo’s second original Zelda
title on 3DS after 2011’s stellar A Link Between World. This new
incarnation(here it can be analysed an anaphoric reference, which refers to
the previous concept ‘Tri Force Heroes …’ ), however, is structured as a
multiplayer title with a loot system, gear crafting, and cooperative dungeons
with short run times(…)
The story opens on Hytopia, a realm wherein a witch has cursed Princess
Styla with a brown, form-fitting body suit. The princess feels ugly in her new
garb, and the Hytopian king puts out a call for adventurers to break the
 curse with a grand ballroom dress. From there, (here it is notice an
cataphoric reference that refers to what I to follow in the sentence)you wade
through a series of puzzles and combat arenas in search of materials to
break the curse.
 Demonstrative reference: Tri Force Heroes is Nintendo’s second original
Zelda title on 3DS after 2011’s stellar A Link Between World. This new
incarnation, however, is structured as a multiplayer title wit.h a loot system,
gear crafting, and cooperative dungeons with short run times. (Demonstrative
reference, this)
 Comperative reference: These twists can make multiplayer more fun, as
your group adapts to the changes imposed on them (Comperative, more fun)
 Ellipsis And these dungeons are short--I finished most in under 15 minutes
(Here, “dungeons” is not repeated)
 Conjunctions: However, some of them are near impossible on your own. It
widens the gap between multiplayer and single player even more.
(Conjunction, however)

7. 5 intertextual markers

 Nintendo,
 series tradition,
 loot system,
 gear crafting,
 3DS.
8. What do 5 sentences do?

 Consider this: in single player, Nintendo grants you the option to skip entire
sections of each dungeon, so long as you're fine with the prospect of less loot.
(Explanation about what you can do if you are a single player)
 The solutions to the puzzles are the same, but some bosses, and some dungeons, are
exponentially harder on your own.
(A piece of information about what you can find in the game)
 You can switch between them with the handheld’s touch screen, but moving each
hero to the exit means carrying the others for much of the time.
(Giving instruction to play the game)
 My favorite is a giant Stalfos skeleton that only crumbles after all three heroes use
their unique items to bring it down
(Giving and opinión about editor’s ideas)
 The princess feels ugly in her new garb, and the Hytopian king puts out a call for
adventurers to break the curse with a grand ballroom dress.
(A piece of information about the story of the game)
9. What do 5 paragraphs do?
I. But earning these bonuses becomes a chore. Tri Force Heroes doesn’t present the
traditional Zelda open-world structure--instead it implements what feels just like a
 series of challenges. A warp room in the castle brings you to the Drablands, where
you solve puzzles and slay monsters in expected Zelda fashion. Yet these dungeons
are repetitive. Each begins with item acquisition, and proceeds through two more
rooms before the boss or wave-based skirmish rear their heads.
 Theme: What the gamer need to do in the fantastical world of the game.
 Rheme: The game can become boring

II. And these dungeons are short--I finished most in under 15 minutes. This is an effort
to facilitate the loot system that demands repeat playthroughs, but it has a negative
effect. The puzzles--except for a few--seem too simple. You learn how to use each
item. You learn their applications. And just when it seems Nintendo might delve
deeper into the branching possibilities of the challenges at hand, the dungeon ends.
 Theme: Information about the puzzles
 Rheme: Editor’s opinion about a negative effect to repeat playthroughs

III. More often than not, there's a boss at the end of each area. My favorite is a giant
Stalfos skeleton that only crumbles after all three heroes use their unique items to
bring it down. But this is one of a small number of clever bosses, in a game with a
slew of repetitive others. The vast majority of them ask the same question: how
many heroes do you need to stack on top of one another, and when should you do
so?
 Theme: Different kind of bosses in the game.
 Rheme:We can read about the editor’s opinion related to the difficulty of the game.

IV. In Tri Force Heroes, puzzles center around Totems. This gameplay conceit allows
players to carry one or both of their partners, and sometimes throw them in the
hopes of reaching distant ledges, or attacking taller varieties of monsters. It leads to
rare great moments when teams solve a puzzle not as individuals, but as a collective
council with three essential members.
 Theme: How puzzle can be solved by collective teams.
 Rheme:The function of the puzzles, strategy to play the game.

V. Heroes can throw each other across gaps, only to retrieve the one left behind with a
subsequent boomerang throw. Others require stacking to hit otherwise untouchable
switches. And I adore the fire temple, complete with all of its disappearing
platforms and hazardous machinery. It encourages teamwork more than any other
area. It’s one of those shining places where Tri Force Heroes capitalizes on its
conceptual potential, comprising puzzles that encourage teamwork, vertical
thinking, and careful motor skills.
 Theme: It explains how the game is, how the heroes can move across the areas.
 Rheme: There is an editor’s opinion about his favourite area in the world of the
game.
 10. 5 examples of concepts from Hatim Mason.
Concepts from Hatim Mason

Register Neutral

Temporal dialect

Social dialect

Mode of discource

Discource

Bibliography:
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/mike-mahardy/56/6b5/707