It comes with a slight catch, but characters from the 3DS’s Hyrule Warriors Legends can be played in the previous console version of Koei Tecmo’s Zelda spin-off.
Hyrule Warriors is a Wii U exclusive Legend of Zelda spin-off from developer Koei Tecmo. Unlike the traditional exploration based gameplay of other Zelda titles, Hyrule Warriors blends the assets of Nintendo’s franchise with the gameplay of Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty/Samurai Warriors saga.
A handheld version was announced last year as Hyrule Warriors Legends. The 3DS remake features several new characters not present in the Wii U version, including the Skull Kid, “Toon Link”, Tetra, the King of Hyrule/Red Lions, and original character Linkle. Shortly before the Japanese version’s launch last week, retail listings revealed that physical releases of Hyrule Warriors Legends would include a DLC code for the Wii U version. The code inside would allow owners of Hyrule Warriors to add the five new characters into the console version as DLC.
The promotion may change in time for the North American release, but the current and only method for obtaining the extra characters involves owning both a copy of Hyrule Warriors and Hyrule Warriors Legends.
Nintendo and Koei Tecmo have not confirmed if the five Legends characters will release as stand-alone DLC on the Wii U eShop in the future. Hyrule Warriors Legends will release for the 3DS in North America on 3/25.
ThePlatformer 
Let’s hope that they do eventually release as separate DLC. I for one do not own a 3DS