At the gate to the castle, the guard stops Link for inspection, and determines he’s got the ear, hair, and sideburns to be a Tri Force Hero, and allows him to enter the castle, to the consternation of another would-be hero (dressed in green, with pink hair like Link’s sprite from A Link to the Past, heh). Inside, Sir Combsly also inspects Link and declares after several who didn’t measure up, he’s finally found someone with the attributes to be a Tri Force Hero. He gives Link the necessary materials for a Hero’s Tunic and sends him to Madame Couture. On the way, Link talks to the pink-haired guy again; something about Friendly Tokens which are earned through multiplayer play and unlock exclusive outfits and wow am I even more likely to not bother.
Link takes the materials to Madame Couture, who agrees if Sir Combsly vouches for Link, she’ll work her magic. She makes the Hero’s Tunic and directs Link to the changing room to put it on. Outside, the Bearded Baron directs Link to give thanks to the Tri Force Hero statue (i.e., save his game). Link returns to Combsly, who welcomes him back and explains the rules: “It’s literally too dangerous to go alone, so you’ll need a team of three.” However, for those who insist on going it alone, there’s another option through a smaller door to the right of the main door. (It doesn’t matter to me, but there doesn’t seem to be an option for two players. Weird.)
Through that door, Link finds a wizard and two wooden dolls. The dolls are Doppels, which can serve as vessels for a lone hero’s spirit, transferring among them so one hero can solve puzzles meant to be solved by three. There’s also a skip button which lets the hero sacrifice a resurrection fairy to empower the Doppels to skip a section of a level, which also means one of the treasure chests at the end of the level will be empty. The other core mechanic is that the Links can carry each other in a stack like the statue in the city, referred to as a totem. (During this, the music mix changes depending on which position Link is in.) Link can use the topmost Doppel’s sword and item from any position in the stack. Finally, Link and the Doppels share a life meter and energy meter. (Doppels can’t wear different outfits, but Link can; Link can wear his original outfit, but it has one less heart and causes him to take double damage. So, for challenge seekers.)
There are eight areas in the game, and each has four levels. The first area is the Woodlands, and its first level is Deku Forest. It’s divided into four stages. In the first stage, each of the Links can take an item – in this case, all three get bows. The objective of each stage is to activate the portal at the end and reach it. There’s no true need to collect rupees, unlike in Four Swords where more rupees means better keys, or Four Swords Adventures where the Force Gems are the required collectible to make it out of the stage, but you can probably spend them on stuff in town. In the first stage, Link and the Doppels must strike orbs on platforms of varying heights, mastering totem tricks to get there. The second stage is full of buzzless Blobs, and the portal appears when they’re all defeated. The third stage has a string of platforms and orbs Link needs to manipulate to make it to the end. Near the end of the third stage is a Squiddy, a creature that Link can juggle with his sword and drops items as long as he keeps juggling.
And then the final stage is another fighting stage, this time against four Totem Dekus, Deku Scrubs that rise to different heights to be attacked by Link in various totem sizes. Overall this is very fast-paced; each stage can be done in a couple minutes; probably even under a minute if rushing. Of course, this is the first level, so they may get longer. One annoyance is that every time Link picks up a heart or rupee or opens a treasure chest, a little banner scrolls across the screen declaring what Link has just done. This is probably useful for multiplayer where the other players need to know what one is doing, but for single player it’s grating. After leaving the final stage, Link returns to the castle, and the Doppels disappear. Link gets to choose one of three chests, each of which has a treasure item.
Back in town, people recognize that Link’s accomplished stuff. More interestingly, two new shops are open. Daily Riches is a chest game with a prize in one of four chests. It’s free to play, and playing each day increases the odds of winning until the fourth day when winning is guaranteed. The other location is the Miiverse gallery, and while the Miiverse is no more, the Photo Bro still gives Link a camera so he can take pictures while exploring the Drablands.
Next: The rest of the first area.
