Japanese game reporting titan, Famitsu, has released some of the first details about Hyrule Warriors.

Since Hyrule Warrior’s announcement in the December Nintendo Direct, very little has been heard one way or the other about the Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors crossover. The producer, Tecmo Koei Games, has finally come out of the woodwork and released new information about the title.

Hyrule Warriors will focus around a version of Link that is in training to become a Hyrule warrior until he is called to action due to a kidnapping by a suddenly-evil witch. Impa and other famous Zelda characters will be making an appearance in the title.

On the more technical side of things, Hyrule Warriors will have an August 14th release in Japan for $79 retail and $69 digitally. The collector’s edition will be $115, which includes a Triforce-shaped clock and six unique costumes.

The game is being specifically developed by ωForce (Dynasty Warriors) and Team NINJA (Ninja Gaiden/Metroid: Other M) while being specifically supervised by Eiji Aonuma (director/producer of every Zelda title since Ocarina of Time).

On the gameplay side, Link will be sporting different weapons, all with different physical properties (depending on the weight of the weapon).  Further, there will be a weapon and skill upgrade system to mix some RPG elements into the classic Zelda gameplay.

If this is really revving your engines, you won’t have to wait too long to see the game–it’s going to be available at E3 and is nearly 70% complete

For more on the game, check out the original reveal video:

My Opinion:

Aaron: I saw nothing in this announcement that I didn’t like, so color me excited. The trailer we saw last time around looked super fun, but a bit rough around the edges. The new screens, however, look really nice, and it’s great to see that they’ve worked on the visual polish since the last showing. The new gameplay details sound great as well – I’m really looking forward to seeing more of the character roster, and how many of those characters are returning from past Zelda titles.

For the record, I’m a big fan of Team Ninja and actually enjoyed Other M, so hearing that they’re involved is a boost as well. If their track record continues, I expect a game with awesome visuals, ridiculously satisfying combat, and a story that… could probably be told a little better. Overall, my anticipation has been raised, and I’m curious to see how it plays at E3.

Lou: I told myself not to be interested in this game. While I love that Nintendo is mixing it up with third parties, this game seemed like the Other M of The Legend of Zelda, and I just don’t want to be burned like that again. However, this really is strangely starting to get me excited. I would be lying if I said E3 won’t be a major deciding factor.

Aaron Dobbe is an editor at MONG specializing in Nintendo but playing a bit of everything else too.

Lou Contaldi is MONG’s Nintendo Specialist and senior editor. 

Translation provided by “StreetsAhead” on NeoGaf.