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I think that may be a case of somebody trying to disguise their complaints and frame them as general audience complaints. I would remove the shoehorned complaining.
From what I could tell, Tri Force Heroes's comedy themes aren't the problem that turns off fans and potential audiences (beside the Zelda series has had comedy elements before). It's gameplay/online issues this time.
1) Weak single player. This game is designed to be best enjoyed with up to three people whether online or offline. The Zelda series is known for being primary single player (Four Swords aside).
2) Online issues. There's no voice chat or 2-player mode online. It's always either single player offline or three-player online. Worse yet if a player quits in three-player mode online, the other two players are kicked out back to the lobby. There's no host migration/join-in-progress.
There's a TRS thread about Audience-Alienating Premise if people are interested in helping resolve misuse like the above here:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1424934113034254900
Thank you for that. I saw something similar in the Yo-kai Watch.
- Internationally this was, and still is, considered an issue. In Japan it is popular because of the premise. The concept that in your normal Japanese town Yōkai can exist to befriend, and that are causing your problem, is vastly interesting. Outside of Japan that appeal is lost thus we're left with the Gotta Catch 'Em All aspect. The series is heavily Japanese and often times yokai heavy series are considered 'too Japanese' to gain much popularity outside of Japan.
Wouldn't this be Culture Clash?
I would say it's not Audience-Alienating Premise OR Culture Clash. Because it's not as if the idea of invisible creatures screwing with people and causing bad luck has never existed in any other culture except Japan's.
Sure, the creatures themselves are unique to Japan and the fact that Westerners would be more familiar with boggarts and spriggans rather than kitsune and bakeneko might be a fair argument. But saying that no other culture can even identify with the basic premise, is... just wrong.
I can't speak for everyone, so I guess if you have examples of reviewers have citimg the cultural issue as a complaint then I'd have to yield. But for me at least I'm guessing the reason it's had a weak reception outside Japan is probably because it looks a lot like a ripoff of Pokémon.
EDIT: As for Triforce Heroes... the argument here seems to be that the way the game is so different from other games in the series is turning people off. That definitely sounds like Audience-Alienating Premise to me. It's a premise, and it's alienating the audience. (At the very least I know it made ME not want to buy the game.)
EDIT 2: To be clear - if your question is "would this be Culture Clash or Audience-Alienating Premise?" then the answer is, as written, that entry belongs under Culture Clash. I'm just saying, I don't really buy that argument.
Edited by wrm5But the Zelda franchise suffers a perpetual Broken Base. Every new game is decried as the worst Zelda ever by the Zelda fanbase and at the same time, the fanbase praises the previous released game which at its original time was decried as the worst Zelda ever. Sure this swaying fanbase may cause some general audience members to not get a particular entry in a Zelda franchise, but they also cause some audience members to look into the title more wondering why it's getting all the fuss.
Most reviews (critical and by players of the fanbase and in general) state the game's themes and premise aren't the turn-off, it's the gameplay and poor online functions. The game tries to shake up the Four Swords premise of the past, but the gameplay and online options end up holding the game back.
Personally to me, it was the lack of care in the gameplay and online functions that turned me off to the title.
That's true... but I don't know, to me the style of gameplay (less exploration, more multiplayer) is part of the premise, and is a major turnoff.
But I guess it only counts as an Audience-Alienating Premise if it's alienating to a MAJORITY of the audience, isn't that how that trope goes?
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes.
I do not think that Tri Force Heroes is an example of an Audience-Alienating Premise. Four Swords have even less plot than Tri Force Heroes and Spirit Tracks is plenty comedic and neither games are said to alienate audiences.
Edited by Chytus

I have a question regarding Audience-Alienating Premise. It is in regards to this entry on The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes:
This reads more like Base Breaker since my understanding of Audience-Alienating Premise is that the theme itself is too scary, too weird, or too controversial for a general audience. This entries is unappealing to a certain section of the fan base and not necessary the general audience.