The latest Nintendo direct mini unexpectedly dropped the news about DLC for Cadence of Hyrule. I always wanted to go back to the game since my review – which can be found here – but never came around to actually doing so. As I was figuring out this first DLC pack that’s out now, it fully renewed my love for this game again.
Season pass
In case you missed the Nintendo Direct Mini, here’s the rundown of what’s to expect for Cadence of Hyrule. The first DLC pack was dropped immediately after the Direct Mini and features 5 new characters to add to the 3 existing ones. DLC pack 2 will feature 39 songs which will be mostly remixes and covers from the existing songs out of the Zelda realm. If these first 2 packs might feel a bit like fillers it’s because they probably are because solely pack 3 will feature actual new story content and Skull Kid as another new character. All of these packs can be bought separately or can be bundled by purchasing the season pass. When the final DLC drops, a physical version featuring all the DLC will be released as well. ETA for that is October.
Shadow characters
In Cadence of Hyrule, you either play as Link or as Zelda throughout the main story. After a few updates, Octavo became available also and even a new story path was available with him. Anybody expecting the same with the newly added characters will be disappointed. Each character is available to play the main story and the dungeon mode with no real addition to the story. Playing with shadow Link and shadow Zelda makes that blatantly obvious. Starting the game with either of these skips the whole intro and starts you right at Link’s house. When greeting Cadence who sets you on your path, she doesn’t even acknowledge you’re in “shadow form”.
Shadow Link and shadow Zelda seem to be purely aesthetic additions to the game as they play more or less the same as their normal counterpart. Special powers look different and got a new name but behave just the same as before. Some animations look different but playing the game with them will feel right at home for those familiar with the game.
Frederick, Aria and Impa
If you played Cadence of Hyrule, chances are you laughed when encountering Frederick. He is the shopkeeper who you can hear singing like he’s performing an opera. He plays more or less like Link but often starts singing along the music when performing well. His special ability, vocal burst, adds a new feel to the game. When Frederick belts out, he emits a quick burst of sound, knocking back and confusing all adjacent enemies. This ability can be a real lifesaver when surrounded by enemies.
Aria, who is Cadence’s grandmother, is the character you need if you are up to a challenge. Those initiated in the world of Crypt of the Necrodancer might be so familiar with the world and the beats, they can breeze through the game. Playing as Aria might put these people to the test. Aria only has half a heart which means she can only take one hit before dying. Unlike the other characters, you can’t upgrade your life meter and are stuck throughout the whole game with just that. To make things even harder, Aria takes a hit when a beat is missed. This makes getting through Cadence of Hyrule with Aria the hardest challenge available. I tried… and failed miserably despite being pretty OK with the ‘normal’ game.
Last but not least Impa enters the battlefield. Impa has always been a Zelda fan favorite but is mostly just a supporting (non-playable) character in the games. In Cadence of Hyrule, she can be picked to play the whole game and is actually the most badass character out of them all. She starts out with a lance, a weapon that can attack 2 spaces away. Having this weapon right from the start makes getting through the world a whole lot easier. If you, despite the lance, still happen to struggle, Impa also has a special ability where she uses a decoy when hit. This essentially means, she can be hit once before actually taking damage.
Conclusion
With Impa and Aria, I feel they added a difficulty setting with Impa being easy and Aria being hard. The rest of the characters add some extra spice with Frederick probably being my favorite. If you haven’t played Cadence of Hyrule, you should – even without this DLC.
