From harps of the Goddess to time-travelling ocarinas, music has always played a major role in the Zelda series. The franchise also has some of the most celebrated compositions in the biz and considering this, a crossover game with the rhythmic, dungeon crawling gameplay of Crypt of the Necrodancer starts to make a whole lot of sense. Zelda’s musical elements are not only pushed into the forefront, they are being down right celebrated in the joyous Cadence of Hyrule.
The adventure starts you off as Cadence, Crypt of the Necrodancer’s protagonist, as she crash lands into the world of Hyrule. She plays out the brief tutorial before you select playing as either Link or Zelda (Don’t stress too much, you unlock the other hero a bit later on). Aside from having slightly different defensive moves (Link uses his trusty shield, Zelda uses magic) both characters play about the same, but how they move and fight in this world is totally different.
“Cadence of Hyrule sheds off many of Necrodancer’s rouge-lite elements in favour of a cohesive adventure and the experience is all the better for it.”
Every action, be it moving, swinging a sword or drinking a potion must be done to the funky beat of the music. Foes also move at the mercy of the music and since their shapes ain’t as fresh as yours, beating them on the dance floor calls for memorising and taking advantage of their predictable dance patterns. Skipping a beat not only cancels your juicy rupee multiplier, it can leave you open for attack so step in time unless you wanna be punished. This system ensures that every encounter turns into a mesmerising dance-off and once you get into the groove of it all you’ll never want to stop.
Luckily, I played my fair share of Guitar Hero back in the day so I can keep a steady beat, but if you’ve got a tin ear then the game offers a handy ‘Fixed-Beat Mode’ which effectively turns the disco tiles into a chess board. Enemies will only perform actions after you with this mode enabled and you have all the time in the world to plan out your strategies – a welcome feature for those lacking an internal metronome.
Now, dancing around the world wouldn’t be much fun if the soundtrack wasn’t brimming with some stone cold bangers from the Zelda catalogue. Danny Baranowsky’s has remixed 25 classic tracks and they’re predictably excellent, don’t be shocked to find yourself tapping your feet as you hack up foes to the beat. Fret not, Gerudo Valley is definitely here, remixed with some blaring mariachi trumpets that we never knew we wanted.
Uncovering new tracks to bob along to is just one of the many reasons to explore Hyrule. Things like heart containers, upgraded gear and secret shops are littered around every new screen and you’ll want to get your hands on all of them if you want to stand a chance in this world. Death is a lot more forgiving than in the original Crypt of the Necrodancer, you’ll keep all your equipment and upgrades but you’ll drop all your rupees and over-world enemies will respawn. Cadence of Hyrule sheds off many of Necrodancer’s rouge-lite elements in favour of a cohesive adventure and the experience is all the better for it.
“Creative bosses wait to tango with you at the end of each dungeon and these guys are among the adventure’s highlights.”
Once you get into a dungeon, that’s when things get a bit more Necrodancery. Its a ‘find your way to the staircase and don’t die on the way’ affair and while there aren’t any real puzzles to solve, the sheer number of beefy enemies in these dark caves will make sure you’ll find a stiff challenge. Dungeons are procedurally generated every-time you enter one, so if you die, you have to tackle brand new, re-rolled floors which keeps you on your toes. Creative bosses wait to tango with you at the end of each dungeon and these guys are among the adventure’s highlights. The awesomeness of fighting bosses is matched only by their punny names – how can you not smirk as ‘Gohmaracas’ or ‘Wizzroboe’ boogie towards you for battle?
Despite being downright goofy at times, it’s impressive to see just how bright the core spirit of Zelda shines here. From the get go, it’s clear that despite Necrodancer’s rhythm-based gameplay, this is very much a Zelda game at heart. Everywhere you look you’ll find some of that classic Zelda magic. Beating dungeons still imbues the player with courage and hearing Zelda’s Lullaby will still make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Hyrule has also never looked this vibrant. Characters and enemies rock an adorable chibi look and colourful environments compel you to explore and interact with this world.
Cadence of Hyrule is like being invited to a Zelda-themed greatest-hits rock concert and it’s a total blast from start to finish… Assuming you’re willing to cough up the dough for tickets. The main quest clocks in at around four hours, so initially the game’s ‘premium indie’ price-tag may seem a bit steep. Fortunately, everything about this package screams quality and even after beating the story there are oodles more hidden secrets to find. If your a total masochist there’s even a permadeath challenge to try out. If you also see the value in an infinitely regenerating Zelda game then you could enjoy this for years to come.
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