Cadence of Hyrule
Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda is one of the strangest and most charming Zelda spin-offs ever made. Indie studio Brace Yourself Games took its rhythm dungeon crawler, Crypt of the NecroDancer, and dropped it straight into Hyrule. Every step, sword swing and shield block happens on the beat of remixed Zelda music.
It was also a first for the series: Nintendo had never before handed The Legend of Zelda to an independent studio. The project started out as a planned add-on for Crypt of the NecroDancer, but grew into a full game. It came out on the Nintendo Switch eShop in June 2019, with a boxed version (including all of the extra content) following in October 2020.
The Story
Cadence, the hero of Crypt of the NecroDancer, is pulled through a portal into Hyrule. She arrives just as a mysterious musician named Octavo uses his Golden Lute to cast a spell of sleep over the kingdom, putting Link, Princess Zelda and the King under its spell. Octavo has spread four magical instruments across Hyrule, each one guarded by a champion. Cadence wakes the hero and the princess, and together they set out to take back the instruments, reach Hyrule Castle and put a stop to Octavo's song.
How It Plays
Every action happens on the beat. Moving, attacking and digging in time with the soundtrack builds a combo multiplier that earns you more Rupees. Enemies also move to the rhythm, so learning their dance is the key to every fight.
Like a roguelike, the overworld and its dungeons are shuffled every time you start a new game, so the map is never quite the same twice.
The Hookshot, bombs, the Bow, Deku Leaves, the Power Glove and more all return, along with spears, broadswords and other weapons from Crypt of the NecroDancer.
When you're defeated you lose your Rupees and some items, but you keep your Diamonds and permanent upgrades. Sheikah Stones act as warp points and places to start again.
You can switch between Cadence, Link and Zelda as you go. Zelda can use Din's Fire and Nayru's Love, while Link has his trusty shield. A two-player co-op mode lets a friend join in.
A Fixed-Beat Mode lets the world wait for you, turning the game into a more relaxed, turn-based adventure. There are also permadeath and Hero Mode options for anyone after a real challenge.
The Music
The soundtrack is the heart of the game. Composer Danny Baranowsky remixed around 25 classic Zelda tracks, including the Overworld theme, the Lost Woods, Gerudo Valley and the Hyrule Castle theme. Each area has calm and battle versions of its music that swap seamlessly when enemies appear. The soundtrack was nominated for Best Score and Music at The Game Awards 2019.
The Bosses
Octavo's four champions are giant monsters that each play one of his magic instruments, and their attacks follow the beat of their own boss songs:
- Gohmaracas, a Gohma that shakes a pair of maracas.
- Wizzroboe, a Wizzrobe that teleports around the arena playing an oboe.
- Bass Guitarmos Knights, a pair of Armos Knights that play a bass guitar.
- Gleeokenspiel, a Gleeok whose heads strike a glockenspiel.
After that comes Octavo himself, waiting at Hyrule Castle.
Extra Content
A season pass added three downloadable packs: a character pack with extra playable characters, Symphony of the Mask, a new adventure in which Skull Kid becomes playable, and Octavo's Ode, which tells Octavo's own story. All three are included in the boxed version.
Game Info
Release Dates
- US
- June 13, 2019
- Europe
- June 13, 2019
- Japan
- June 14, 2019
- Worldwide
- October 23, 2020
Developer
- Developer
- Brace Yourself Games
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Japan Publisher
- Spike Chunsoft
Game
- Genre
- Rhythm, Action, Roguelike
- Platform
- Nintendo Switch
- Mode
- Single Player, 2-Player Co-op
Ratings
- ESRB
- E (Everyone)
- PEGI
- 3
- CERO
- B