Hyrule Warriors Walked, So Age Of Calamity Could Run

In a time when major announcements are often leaked months in advance, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity showed Nintendo can still pull off surprises. With a fanbase eagerly awaiting the sequel to Breath of the Wild, not even a week after the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary Direct did Nintendo stealth drop this exciting new entry. Succeeding Omega Force’s Dynasty Warriors spin-off from 2014, it differs significantly by acting as an official prequel to Breath of The Wild, whereas the original celebrated Zelda’s history as a non-canon crossover.

Taking place 100 years before Breath of the Wild begins, Age Of Calamity details what happened during the Second Great Calamity and the war leading to Calamity Ganon’s revival. Spin-offs are admittedly nothing new for Zelda, but we’ve never seen their mechanics incorporated into a main game. It’s an excellent fit, though, as that brand of hack-and-slash gameplay suits a war setting perfectly and Age of Calamity looks set to refine it significantly. To understand how, we must first look at Hyrule Warriors’ core premise. 

Playing like any other Dynasty Warriors game, you’d control a single fighter across a massive battlefield, aiming to seize control of the map. To do this, you’d need to crush enemy commanders, take their strongholds and defend them once captured. In typical Warriors style, these battles featured nearly countless enemies to take down at once, making for some immensely satisfying gameplay as you scatter foes in all directions. Featuring an all-star cast of Zelda characters like Midna, Impa, Tingle and Darunia, each came with their own fighting styles, range of weapons and tactics. 

Without detailing this too much, it reviewed well but fell victim to Dynasty Warriors’ more negative elements, like shallow combat and repetition. Combining the many aspects of Legend of Zelda inside a singular experience, it made for an entertaining tribute, but you couldn’t escape one particular truth: it simply didn’t feel like a Zelda game. As a Warriors spin-off, you can argue it was never meant to, but considering this is one of gaming’s most iconic franchises we’re talking about, it’s not unreasonable to expect a degree of familiarity beyond fan service. 

It didn’t end there, however, later receiving DLC support which expanded upon gameplay and added new characters. A 3DS version followed that incorporated Wind Waker content and, like many Wii U games, that inevitable Switch port also arrived, calling itself a Definitive Edition. It adds plenty, though it still felt like a Warriors game with a Zelda skin. It isn’t enough to just unite our favourite characters, you have to consider gameplay aspects. As a result, it created a strong base for Age Of Calamity to build upon. 

Basic combat, weapon upgrades and material crafting are unchanged, but there are some promising additions that factor in Breath Of The Wild’s gameplay mechanics. Weapons durability isn’t included and honestly, that just wouldn’t have been practical. To the delight of completionists, Koroks are still hidden across Hyrule, bringing back the collectable Korok seed system. Cooking makes a return but requires you to find set recipes this time, instead of randomly mixing ingredients. Link’s trusty Sheikah Slate is also back, as are the Sheikah towers, which let you explore different regions. Most intriguingly, Divine Beasts can also be controlled, creating new ways to destroy hundreds of bokoblins at once. 

Doesn't sound like much when picked apart. However, when placing these elements together, Age Of Calamity already feels more like a Zelda game than Hyrule Warriors ever could. That’s not to say the story doesn’t factor into proceedings here, far from it. Breath Of The Wild only ever revealed fragments of the Second Great Calamity via flashbacks and historical accounts, a result of Link’s amnesia after nearly succumbing to his wounds. It's like an incomplete puzzle; the pieces gave us some idea, but it never reveals the full picture.

By putting this all into an official prequel, we’re getting that full picture that’s no longer constrained by Link’s scattered memory, and that alone is incredibly exciting. We can witness the Kingdom of Hyrule before Calamity Ganon laid waste to it, bringing back familiar sights like Lon Lon Ranch and Mabe Village. Robbie and Purah return as allies from the Sheikah tribe, alongside a younger Impa who fights alongside you. Perhaps most significantly, it lets us finally see the Breath Of The Wild’s most interesting new characters at their prime, the Champions, seeing the stories unfold that led to them becoming legends. 

Hyrule Warriors is an enjoyable game that never truly feels at home inside the Zelda series, but it left a solid foundation for Age Of Calamity to improve upon. It’s highly refreshing to see this prequel offer something which we’ve never seen before in a Zelda game, directly linking up with an existing entry and expanding upon Breath Of The Wild’s rich world. Whilst prequels are sadly constrained to a pre-determined outcome, it’s hard not to be excited by the possibilities it brings.