A Total War conversion set in the world of Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda series; I didn’t know I wanted it until I saw it.
I could explain this whole thing, but the mod’s creators did such a comprehensive job on the Total War Center forums, that I’m just going to turn it over to them:
Hyrule: Total War is a conversion for Medieval 2: Total War. A vast majority of the iconic races from the Zelda universe have been represented as armies that the player can assemble, command, and ultimately use to destroy their enemies. The Hero of Time has chosen to return to the past, a choice that ultimately has ruined the charts of history and sent Hyrule into chaos. Major wars that were already decided have unmade themselves, allowing fallen armies a second chance at these critical events in Hyrule’s history. This is where you, the player, comes in. You shall choose how to rewrite the history of Hyrule. Do you stick with the proper path and smite the evil in the land in the name of the Goddesses? Or perhaps you feel that the Hylians have overstayed their welcome as masters of the land and would rather the Gerudo forces of Ganondorf lead Hyrule into a new age leadership? Maybe you feel it’s time that the Gorons march from their mountain kingdoms and rebuild their long lost empire, smashing anyone who opposes their will? On the other hand, you might fall in favor of fighting for the Zora Dominion and cleansing the land of imperfect creatures and establishing a new order of purity. Perhaps the forces of nature have won you over, and you would see to it that the Kokiri and beings of the forest rise to power? Or maybe you would act against nature, and infest and consume all life as the infestation of Gohma… There are many races to choose from, and many possible outcomes to your actions. Hyrule’s fate is now in your hands. Will you lead it to a golden age of peace, or dominate it in your name?
Tl;dr? Just watch the video then. At 2:10 you can see Princess Zelda leading a group of Hyrulian soldiers into battle. Yes, there’s a lot of cognitive disconnect with that imagery, but it’s also really, really cool to see.
The best part of this news is that there is a demo of Hyrule: Total War available for download right this very minute. The forum post that produced the above wall o’ text includes full instructions on installing and playing the mod, along with details on all its features. Granted, it’s not the full mod, but you can still play as 15 of the 20 planned factions.
If you’re interested, I’d recommend nabbing this thing quickly. While its creators aren’t looking to make money off of Nintendo’s intellectual property, the gaming giant is still notoriously protective of its copyrights, and is prone to firing off cease and desist requests at a moment’s notice.
Articles publicizing its existence probably aren’t helping things, huh?
Source: G4
