Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda (to give it its full, unruly title) is an excellent game that combines the classic adventure of top-down Zelda with the beat-based gameplay for Brace Yourself Games’ indie hit Crypt of the NecroDancer. It harnesses the power of music to put a unique spin on the series we know so well and we can't stop playing it.
That said, you may be struggling to get into the swing of things thanks to its unique rhythm-movement mechanic. The game has got a decent tutorial, but if you are still having trouble, we’ve put together some advice to help you get over the initial hump and start enjoying one of the most refreshing and celebratory Zelda games we’ve ever played.
Here are our beginners' tips for Cadence of Hyrule...
Stick it to the stick
First up, ditch the analogue stick. The window for hitting the beat is pretty generous, but it’s best to go digital and use the D-buttons to reduce response time. The Pro Controller's D-pad works beautifully, and we've got a natty aftermarket case for our left Joy-Con with a D-pad built in which came in very handy. Regardless of your exact gear (hey, if you're more of a GameCube dance mat gamer, go right ahead!), you'll get better response from buttons.
Calibrate for your TV's latency
Depending on your telly, you might also experience some lag which could affect your performance. We didn’t encounter any problems on our LG C7, but different TVs may introduce a delay. Head into the Options screen and go to the bottom for the appropriately titled Latency Calibration. You’ll be asked to push ‘Up’ when you hear a sound, and again when you see a Triforce flash. You can also alter the latency setting manually.
Handheld mode arguably offers the 'best' experience with absolute minimum lag, but Cadence of Hyrule really doesn’t call for the absolute precision of other rhythm games and there's no reason you can't play it on a big screen.
Clear the HUD
The visual aid at the bottom of screen (the pulsing Triforce) might help you, but we found the screen to be busy enough already and we removed it (head into the Graphics tab on the Options menu to toggle it off). There’s generally too much to take in while also keeping an eye on the beat, and the ‘disco’ floor pattern around your character provides all the visual aid you need. Your mileage may vary, of course – do what works best for you! – but we found it helpful to de-clutter the display and remove the beat HUD, relying on audio alone and giving us the best possible view of the play field.
Equip the broadsword as soon as possible
You attack automatically in Cadence of Hyrule by moving towards enemies. The default dagger or short sword will hit only the enemy directly in front of you, but the broadsword’s horizontal swing will hit anything occupying the three spaces ahead (directly ahead, plus the two adjacent 'diagonal' spaces). This gives beginners breathing space to attack packs of baddies without leaving themselves too vulnerable, giving you an extra ‘cushion’, especially at the start. Ditch the dagger as soon as possible and start attacking multiple enemies at once with the broadsword.
Study enemy patterns
Every enemy has a fixed attack pattern with ‘tells’ that indicate what they’re about to do. If a moblin raises its club, it’ll strike if you move into the space ahead of it. The lizard guys ready their weapons before charging. Tektites attack diagonally. Poison mushrooms crouch before expelling their gas. It will take time, but observing and learning how enemies move means you'll always be able to anticipate attacks.
Explore for Heart Pieces
Don't hit your head against a brick wall over and over again; many Heart Pieces sit in plain sight so take a break and explore. Nabbing a couple will build your health up and having a bit extra can make all the difference when you dive into a bunch of baddies.
Enhance your blade
At several points in the game you’ll have the opportunity to enhance your blade with a stone or other material – make sure you do this. Enhancing your weapon with ruby or titanium, for example, affects its damage output, and later on you can even get a poison effect which is a great help for whittling down the hearts of stronger late-game enemies.
Strategise with Fixed-Beat Mode
If all else fails, there’s also the option to switch to Fixed-Beat Mode in the Gameplay settings. This unties your movement from the music and you’re free to move as fast or slow as you like. Enemy movement is tied to yours now; they only move when you do. This means you can essentially ‘pause’ the game by not pressing anything and analyse movement patterns and positioning. It’s a far more strategic version of the game which relies less on instinct (and obviously jettisons the beat-based bit).
It’s a different experience, that’s for sure, but if the constant stress of the beat is getting you down, Fixed-Beat Mode gives you a chance to think, albeit while sacrificing the sync to those sick beats.
Lastly, don’t expect to ‘get it’ immediately
With the look of the game being so familiar, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking the gameplay will be equally second-nature, so it’s important to set expectations accordingly to avoid disappointment. If your brain simply isn’t wired for this brand of rhythm gameplay, that’s another matter, but stick with it – practise moving around an easy area with enemies on the opposite side of the screen and just get used to the music and the beat. Anybody who’s played and enjoyed Crypt of the NecroDancer has a considerable advantage when diving into Cadence of Hyrule, but the only penalty for missing the beat is disrupted movement, so take time to experiment with its four-way movement. Go slow, nail the basics and you'll pick it up eventually.
Hopefully these tips will help you settle into and enjoy a brilliant new Zelda experience. Found anything that's worked for you (beside dogged perseverance) that you think could be added? Share your experiences below with a comment.
Comments 37
I’ve got no rhythm but I still want to get
I'm Sorry to say, but since this a rhythm game, which really isn't my thing. I'm going to need a demo to convince me.
@Aslanmagic @BacklogBlues You can always play the Fixed Beat mode. Which doesn't require any rhythm.
Also the rhythm isn't that difficult. If you can count to 4 you can beat this.
I ended up using Fixed Beat because I have no rhythm and can’t dance to save my life.
For me this was a easy pick, I play a lot of rhytm games.
However even then not every game is the same, I remember playing Taiko on the Vita for the first time and that so much different than all the Hatsune Miku games I played before, later on I got SuperbeatXonic which was the same story, had to learn the game.
I finished the game so quickly. If you wanna get it I recommend wait for a sale. It is quite expensive for such a short game. But all round a great game.
@sanderev I’m definitely going to give it a shot once I have more funds after vacation
No offense, these are good advices, but my constant dying in Zone 1 of Crypt of the Necrodancer as thought me as much and more (althought in a much more painful way XD).
I'm definitely tempted to buy Cadence eventually since everyone says it's not as unforgiving as the original, but I'm in no hurry, it's a good fun gameplay style, but not 100% for me.
I picked up the original game to get an idea of what its like and I have to say I didnt like it at all, for someone like me is this version much different game play wise to necrodancer?
Tap your feet and nod your head to the beat, that's how you play this game.
I am still focusing on not breaking the controller, Switch and TV while being destroyed by Crypt of the Necrodancer (didn't play much though).
Cadence of Hyrule seems to be more my kind of game. I know I'll get tired on dying over and over on COTN and eventually give up.
Looking forward to a nice discount for COH
I have no rhythm, that's why I hated that Necrodancer game. I'd love to get this game for my love of Zelda, but wow I'd hate it. When articles on how to find the rhythm have to be written to even play the game. It's just an excessive mechanic that scares people like me away even if the pull of a new good looking Zelda game for $25 is so strong.
@BakaKnight cadence is not as hard as CotND. In fact I would say cadence is easy compared to crypt. Once you get the broad sword cadence becomes quite straight forward
I’d also add, in dungeons to get the Cane of Somaria first. It may be necessary to get some of the hard to reach heart pieces
@beazlen1 I agree. In CotN you drop whatever weapon you have have a revert back to the dagger every time you die. The diamonds are used to only unlock weapons . The fact that the default settings allow you to keep all weapons makes this a much more forgiving experience.
Also the game might be a little overwhelming early on. And you will die a lot. But keep going and after an hour or so you will improve.
The game kicked my butt for a while, but once I started accumulating more heart containers and weapons, it became very enjoyable
Bought Crypt of the Necrodancer for about €3,- to try this type of game. Very, VERY fun and addictive to play.
Zelda crossover will come as well in my collection.
@BacklogBlues Well the original game is on sale right now for super cheap, i just boughgt it with a view to getting this and in my opinion its rubbish. Quickly gets really boring.
@Trellgoth I found it to be the absolute opposite, got bored of it very quickly. I am a huge Zelda fan but certainly won't be splashing out on this.
Love it.. Top 10 zelda game for me at least. Almost done with my 2nd play through 😁
@Aslanmagic Why are you going ton vacation if you're broke? Don't you listen to Dave Ramsey? Rice and beans, dude. Rice and beans.
I picked up the original on sale and if it wasn't for the bard I would have deleted it by now. The Bard makes the game more of a straight rouge-like (or -like if you prefer), and that alone is what allows me to go back to it occasionally.
@YANDMAN I was afraid I would get bored as well. That's why I found the €3,- deal on the original Crypt a perfect opportunity to check it out. If I got bored, it was only €3,-. But I kinda love it. So that makes the price for the Zelda variant more interesting to me.
@NintendoByNature you like it more than actual Nintendo Zelda games?
@Trajan I rank it at about 9 pr 10, so for some, yes I do. I think it's better than the ds games, the Oracle games zelda 2 zelda 1 but its really only slightly..not by much. I'm sure I'll catch some heat for saying that but it's only my opinion. Everyone has their own that may say otherwise
Edit: the game is an actual nintendo zelda game in my opinion.
@NintendoByNature Interesting. Yeah I don't care for the NES Zeldas much, the Oracle games feel like ROM hacks (They're actually made by Capcom), and I've never played the DS games.
But this isnt a Nintendo game.
My advice, if you've played Necrodancer: take note that you keep your diamonds after you die! I got stuck on the first dungeon for an hour, getting nowhere and hating life, before I realised that I didn't have to keep wasting my diamond on a crummy torch (you pick those things up anyway) and I could just save for a broadsword, which is a complete game changer.
@Trajan the nes games are good but they have their issues. Same with the ds games. The Oracle games just had a lot of filler for my taste but i still really liked them. As for the comment that it's not a Nintendo game, at least for me, when I play the game, it has a total nintendo/zelda 2d top down adventure feel to it that I got when i played Minish cap, links awakening, a link between worlds etc. It very much has that Nintendo charm to it. To me it just felt like another 2d zelda game that I loved. From what I recall reading, Nintendo kept a close eye on the developer and gave a lot of input into the game. Have you tried it out yet or just crypt of the necrodancer?
Beyond just being an excellent game, this title REALLY showcases what a 2D Zelda with procedurally generated levels could be. I'd love to have future 2D Zeldas have post game where an entire new game map could be created and played. Designed levels are better... but having a supplemental random mode would be great. Cadence is proof of concept for me that this could work.
@NintendoByNature No, I'm probably not going to either. Rhythm games aren't my thing and I'm pretty deep in Persona right now. Maybe if it goes on sale for a few bucks.
@Trajan i hear you. Rhythm games aren't my thing either. But this has link in it, plus hyrule etc so I took a gamble on it and ended up loving it to pieces. Maybe when you try it you might see what i mean by saying " it's an actual Nintendo zelda game". I'm sure itll be on sale at least by black Friday
I totally suck at Necrodancer, but the game is so much fun. Have only gone down a level a couple of times and never completed the first area. But I love it.
I want Cadence of Hyrule now, but I feel guilty about accomplishing so little in Necrodancer, so I'm waiting on the purchase. But I'm definitely getting it soon regardless.
I hope to be surprised, but I expect this game to kick my butt. I have the musical talent of a broken doorknob.
After about an hr I became sort of op with a magic infused broadsword that can deal 3 damage when yer in the “zone” haven’t died in a while now- kinda wanna switch to a weaker weapon, but think I’ll do that I. My second play through as Zelda. I’m loving this game! And totally agree about it feeling like a true Nintendo Zelda.
Don’t let the rhythm element scare you away! It’s not that tough!
@Trellgoth Yeah if you like it that's cool for you obviously, i just don't think the premise works. It just feels liek an awkward dungeon crawler to me. Its neither good at being a dungeon crawler or a rhythm game. I played it for about half an hour and could never imagine switching it on again let alone playing a futher 25 or whatever it is for some Zelda dlc.
@Rexy1021 I expect it to have extended lifetime support from Brace Yourself Games just like Crypt of the Necrodancer still has even years in.
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