Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

[KHCast]

A new Hyrule Warriors game was just announced. Game is out Nov. 20th, so will be the holiday Nintendo game

 

-Prequel to BotW set during the calamity war

-playable Zelda and champions 

-Shekiah slate will be integrated into gameplay 

-Amiibo support confirmed

[Wraith]

Promotional art: 

Screenshots:

Ladle 

 

[KHCast]

Gotta wonder if they’ll include bonus characters here. I mean, they have the assets from the first game, so it’d be easy bonus content to add in. Having stuff like Skull Kid or Toon Link or Ganondorf or even Lana show up would be awesome. 
 

boxart btw

[Thrippa]

I don't need another Hyrule Warriors - I haven't finished the first one despite having three versions!  But oh, yeah, I'm gonna get this one too.  Sigh.  If I weren't an essential worker, I might have been able to clear some of my backlog earlier this year.  Add another to the (semi-virtual) pile.

[Wraith]

eagle eyed @Soniman spotted what seems to be a young version of impa

 

[JezMM]

I'm wondering as well whether we'll get to see Purah in her youth or whether they'll keep the "heard but not seen" gag from the flashback at the end of the DLC going throughout the entire game.

[KHCast]

Character artwork of Zelda and Link

[Blue Blood]

Guys... I can't even with this game. Hyrule Warriors had to do a lot to win me over, but when I finally got the game (I waited until it was on the Switch), I absolutely loved it. And every since then, I've been thinking about how perfect the Dynasty/Hyrule Warriors set up would be for a BotW prequel that explored the Great Calamity and the events leading to it and let you play as the Champions. This exact game, man. This exact game.

It's like Nintendo are making this just for me. It even launches on my birthday. It's fucking perfect.

-

Anyway, to talk about the game itself, it looks really interesting so far. This is the first time that the Zelda series has had anything like this. We've got the BotW direct sequel, and now a direct prequel too. The series has a timeline and some games taking place more or less directly after others, there's never been any kind over-arching plotlines to connect the games before. BotW has gone from being a standalone soft-reboot of sorts (I know it wasn't technically a reboot, but it was plot-wise completely disconnected from the rest of the series) to its own  sub-series. That's insanely cool. 

BotW was criticised near-universally for its lacklustre story, and relegating what little of it there was to the memory cutscenes. To actually see the world around those cutscenes and presumably have many of the blanks filled in a a spin-off/prequel is so exciting. This doesn't mean that BotW's plot-related shortcomings are no longer as issue, but it it certainly seems like it's going to make up for it in the best way possible. I can't wait to see the worldbuilding that goes on here. 

Gameplay looks a lot like HW. I won't say that HW didn't get monotonous and repetitive, but it was a good romp from start to end. And it was my first Dynasty Warriors game so I don't yet have anything else to compare it too. The maps look rather different this time. Instead of  square-shaped keeps connected by long corridors, there are much more organic layouts. And everywhere is set within the already-known map of BotW's Hyrule. Seeing how it all connects from mission to mission will be fun. I'm pretty certain we'll get to go to the pre-calamity Hyrule Castle and Castle Town as well.

I'm so ready for this game.

[Diogenes]

17 minutes ago, Wraith said:

eagle eyed @Soniman spotted what seems to be a young version of impa

Ooh nice, I was literally just thinking about her.

I'm already really excited for this game; the first HW was a hell of a lot of fun, and it'll be interesting to see them flesh out the stuff that BotW left pretty vague.

Looking at the screenshots with the HUD, the maps look a lot more organic than in the last game. A lot less "straight paths connecting square keeps", and that hyrule field one in particular is all over the place. No magic meter either, which makes sense for BotW but makes me wonder how the mechanics are going to be different.

[Soniman]

Logged in 50 hours in the original HW. It was kinda shallow but it was a lot of fun so.....yeah I'm down for this. I love the concept 

[Wraith]

Hyrule Warriors's gameplay came up pretty short for me and it was mostly carried by it's fanservice. I was kinda hoping for a sequel with BOTW stuff to....just kind of add it in on top of what was already there, plus some more bells and whistles from across the series. 

This angle has it's own advantages though. I'll be pleased with it if there's a lot of completely new characters and mechanics to set it apart from the first game.

[KHCast]

11 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

No magic meter either, which makes sense for BotW but makes me wonder how the mechanics are going to be different.

Probably the sheikah slate will replace magic

[Diogenes]

3 minutes ago, KHCast said:

Probably the sheikah slate will replace magic

I dunno about that; I'm thinking the slate is Zelda's main weapon, since we've seen her using several of the runes (though Link also has rune bombs somehow?). And purely mechanically, there's no meter for it like the magic meter in HW, so it'd have to work differently.

[shdowhunt60]

I never picked up the first Hyrule Warriors.

This looks neat, I might pick this one up.

[Sonicka]

I hope to heck this is good. Please Tecmo Koei don’t do this half arsed like last time. 

I can honestly understand Nintendo taking this approach to set a prequel as a Warriors spinoff... It’s smart, resourceful on the company and contextually makes sense given the premise.

I know Plenty of folks that really wanted more knowledge of the events that led to what happened in BOTW. Personally I loved the Champions Ballad DLC but it wasn’t enough for me. So Internally I was screaming inside at this announcement as I have been clamouring for this prequel and a reason to return to the BOTW world...
 

...but not as a Warriors game. 

Now, I’ve played a few Dynasty Warriors games in my time and my mate pretty much owns ALL of them (this is how I got my measure of the series as I used to be his player 2 in multiplayer and campaigns). Ordinarily these musou games ain’t my jam... BUT I figured for Zelda it must be a bit special a least. That is why I ultimately found Hyrule Warriors to be a pretty shallow experience overall... and the further I got in the game the less interesting it became.

Even with the amazing and absurd fanservice it provided for the legacy of Zelda... it still didn’t win me over in the end. The main problem was that Hyrule Warriors (despite good intentions) was mostly half arsed in it’s creation, although this also is true for a lot of the Warriors games these days. 

Tecmo Koei are pretty resourceful/lazy when it comes to recycling content, and a lot of Hyrule Warriors Maps, Missions and situations Structures were just ripped straight from past Dynasty Games but given a new overcoat of Zelda paint. It’s sneaky, as I suspect that they were banking on most players being so new to their series coming from playing Zelda games that they wouldn’t realise. 

So whilst it appears on surface that HW is pretty big on content and things to do... in truth it’s actually quite lacklustre when compared to what other Musou titles offer, which is literally more of everything. HW just leans very heavily on offering Nintendo fans more of a Zelda tribute rather than delivering a worthwhile and more enjoyable gameplay experience.

So It’s the only reason I’m a bit concerned about this. That being said... the initial trailer does appear to be at least a bit more promising. The fact that this is focused on one era and a particular set of characters as well I think will play to it’s advantage. 

However I’m a bit scared of being taken for a ride again. I’ve preordered this despite everything I mentioned above because I love the world of BOTW that much that I want to revisit it in any capacity. Nintendo and KT know this. So I just got to hope to high hell that this is worth my trouble this time and they’ve crafted a better experience. Fingers Crossed!

[KHCast]

36 minutes ago, Son-icka said:

Please Tecmo Koei don’t do this half arsed like last time. 

 

37 minutes ago, Son-icka said:

Tecmo Koei are pretty resourceful/lazy when it comes to recycling content, and a lot of Hyrule Warriors Maps, Missions and situations Structures were just ripped straight from past Dynasty Games

37 minutes ago, Son-icka said:

in truth it’s actually quite lacklustre when compared to what other Musou titles offer

Lol yeah no to this

[Sonicka]

2 minutes ago, KHCast said:

 

Lol yeah no to this

Haha, well it’s sadly true - it’s just what they do otherwise I would’t have bothered to respond like this XD

Glad you still enjoyed Hyrule Warriors though. 

[Perkilator]

Man, this is so cool! Especially the idea of making it a prequel to Breath of the Wild's main game,

This makes me want a Fire Emblem Warriors that mainly takes place between Parts I and II of Three Houses, along with some chapters dedicated to major plot points left open.

[MetalSkulkBane]

Look at that, after all those years Zelda finally has ongoing Spin-off. It's a little funny that it's not in continuity with first HW, but hey, gotta cash on more popular game.

I'm most curious what new characters they can add. FIrst game was pretty thorough. Only people missing for me are Groose,, Vaati,, Nabooru and Deku Scrub representative ( (either Link or a princess). Maybe Agahnim, Twinrova and Fierce Deity if you insist. I suppose they can use DS characters and Oracles, but that's gonna be small niche demand.

And what new characters can join, other than 4 champions? Their present day family? Paya and Purah? Link in a Gerudo Outfit?

 

[Sonicka]

Yeah, considering they’ve done the Zelda series service game as a whole already, I think/hope they keep it limited to BOTW characters personally for consistency (100 years later characters would be fun unlockables though)

So there is plenty to draw from in the past and present that I can think of including;

- Old man/King Rhoam

- Hestu

- Monks

- Pura

- King Doraphan

- Prince Sidon

- Bolson

- Riju

- Kass

- Beedle

- Paya

- Great Fairies

I’m sure there are more I’ve forgotten that I met on my travels across Hyrule that would make for interesting picks.

 

 

[Blacklightning]

I've been trying to put together who could be in this game even if you stick strictly to the BotW continuity alone, and I think I've come to a few conclusions.

CONFIRMED

- Link, Zelda and the Champions. This part goes without saying, obviously. Not only are they instrumental parts of the initial conflict, they're also the one main thread linking everything we already know of those events from BotW 1.

- Impa. Some people already spotted a younger version of her in the reveal trailer - it's pretty hard not to imagine it will be a playable role at the end of the day, especially given her close ties to the Sheikah and the Sheikah's role themselves in the discovery of the Guardians in the first place.

LIKELY

- Paya. She was apparently about 20 years old when the calamity struck, and Koei are probably starved enough for choices that she'll probably be one of the first characters they look to in order to boost the roster into the double digits. She's inventive enough that I could see them basing a whole moveset around that.

- Probably at least one original character. HW1 showed us they're not afraid to inject their own ideas into the mix if it suits the narrative, though if that's the case they've been weirdly shy about showing anything of the sort.

- King Hyrule. Koei's never been shy about leadership figures being on the field personally, and we even had a Hyrule playable last game already. I doubt they'd skip over him.

- Doctor Robbie. He's already a weaponsmith by trade, and was definitely alive during the calamity just like Paya and Impa. If he's not the representative of the inevitable crafting system, he'll probably have a wide selection of Sheikah weaponry all his own in his moves, and I could honestly see him piloting a mechanized suit if not an actual god damned Guardian as parts of his moveset.

POSSIBLE

Most of these in general, with a few exceptions, are held back mostly by the 100 year gap, but are memorable enough that I could see them as non-canon unlockables like most of the characters you get through HW1's Adventure mode.

- Kass. He's easily one of the most famous side characters in the original game, and Koei have never had a real problem with weaponizing musical instruments. Considering most of his songs were passed down from generations before him though, I feel like it's also possible they could realistically play off a distant ancestor in his place.

- Master Kohga. I don't THINK he was alive during the calamity? But his fighting style is wacky enough that I'd LOVE to see Koei's interpretation of it, even if it's just launching gigantic spiked balls everywhere and nothing else, basically acting as the Zant of this game.

Spoiler

- Maz Koshia. Already a boss fight in the BotW DLC and the only animated monk in the game besides. If they were to pick just one of the Sheikah monks to show off in their prime, I would bet on it being this guy.

- Hetsu. There's plenty you could do with just dual maracas alone, nevermind the Deku associated stuff that could come along with it. Honestly could see him standing in for a lot of the same elements the Deku Staff in HW1 had, spontaneous Great Deku Trees included.

- Probably an ancient Zora or two I'm forgetting the names of. I seem to recall Zora's Domain had a few Calamity veterans scattered around the place, and I could probably imagine one of them fighting alongside Mipha.

[Blue Blood]

On 9/9/2020 at 9:45 AM, Son-icka said:

Yeah, considering they’ve done the Zelda series service game as a whole already, I think/hope they keep it limited to BOTW characters personally for consistency (100 years later characters would be fun unlockables though)

So there is plenty to draw from in the past and present that I can think of including;

- Old man/King Rhoam

- Hestu

- Monks

- Pura

- King Doraphan

- Prince Sidon

- Bolson

- Riju

- Kass

- Beedle

- Paya

- Great Fairies

I’m sure there are more I’ve forgotten that I met on my travels across Hyrule that would make for interesting picks.

As far as the story goes, I wouldn't like to see characters like Riju, Paya, Kass or anyone else from post-calamity Hyrule. These characters were all born long after the events of the calamity. So whilst I wouldn't mind them showing up in a non-canon capacity, I'd rather the story focused on characters from 100 years ago (Hestu, Impa, Purah) and new characters. And considering how much potential there is for storytelling and world-building here, new characters would be great. This isn't a case of characters like Lana and Linkle being created for a non-canon spin-off feeling like they're getting in the way of more direct fan service and references. 

HW had an enormous cast of characters, most of whom had no story roles at all, so there'll undoubtedly be plenty of the same here. I just hope they include new material and don't rely entirely upon BotW references.

[Sonicka]

5 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

As far as the story goes, I wouldn't like to see characters like Riju, Paya, Kass or anyone else from post-calamity Hyrule. These characters were all born long after the events of the calamity. So whilst I wouldn't mind them showing up in a non-canon capacity, I'd rather the story focused on characters from 100 years ago (Hestu, Impa, Purah) and new characters. And considering how much potential there is for storytelling and world-building here, new characters would be great. This isn't a case of characters like Lanka and Linkle being created for a non-canon spin-off feeling like they're getting in the way of more direct fan service and references. 

HW had an enormous cast of characters, most of whom had no story roles at all, so there'll undoubtedly be plenty of the same here. I just hope they include new material and don't rely entirely upon BotW references.

Yup, completely agree. I think the post 100 years would make for good bonus content (hopefully not payable DLC) - but certainly they shouldn’t be included in the story events. Like you say there is some great scope for crafting new characters here as well. 

[KHCast]

7 hours ago, Son-icka said:

Haha, well it’s sadly true - it’s just what they do otherwise I would’t have bothered to respond like this XD

Glad you still enjoyed Hyrule Warriors though. 

See again, I don’t see how Hyrule Warriors was a lazy half assed game at all when objectively looking at it.

 

8 hours ago, Son-icka said:

comes to recycling content, and a lot of Hyrule Warriors Maps, Missions and situations Structures were just ripped straight from past Dynasty Games but given a new overcoat of Zelda paint.

Do you have evidence for this claim? I’ve never seen ANYONE say this before

 

8 hours ago, Son-icka said:

So whilst it appears on surface that HW is pretty big on content and things to do... in truth it’s actually quite lacklustre when compared to what other Musou titles offer, which is literally more of everything. HW just leans very heavily on offering Nintendo fans more of a Zelda tribute rather than delivering a worthwhile and more enjoyable gameplay experience.

Again, what? People have literally dumped 100’s of hours into this game, it’s pretty content filled Id say, especially when you compare it to Dynasty Warriors games of the last decade. Where is the lackluster feeling? With all the unlockables, the main story, adventure maps, etc. it’s objectively filled with a lot of content. Whether that content is enjoyable to you is subjective, but there is a lot of shit in the game. I’m hard pressed to think of how it can’t compare to even the best dynasty warriors titles on that front. 

[Sonicka]

I really need to learn to not paste my thoughts into forums at 2am haha. XD

Ok...

57 minutes ago, KHCast said:

See again, I don’t see how Hyrule Warriors was a lazy half assed game at all when objectively looking at it.

First of all, if anything I'm probably able to be completely objective about it not being a massive fan of Warriors games in general. I've played many of their titles (as I mentioned above) and apart from visual differences in their numbered entries (or if it's a spin-off into another franchise like Samurai, One Piece, Fire Emblem etc...) and the core mechanics (understandably) are pretty identical in each entry. 

Fan's of the series are well aware of this since Koei effectively have over 40+ Warriors titles under their belt with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach being the most common staple of the series as a whole. 

I suppose when I say it's a "lazy game" - I just mean HW squandered it's true potential. I could have worded this better. The fanservice for the Zelda content is insane, and that reached me wholeheartedly. I can't not give them credit for that because the premise grabbed me hook line and sinker.

1 hour ago, KHCast said:

Do you have evidence for this claim? I’ve never seen ANYONE say this before

I'm more surprised you haven't to be honest. You only need to read reviews, look on message boards or speak to fans of the series to be well aware of the "phoning-it-in" staple that Koei Tecmo have become labelled for with a lot of their Warriors titles. They ain't all bad - but a LOT of recycling goes on.

1 hour ago, KHCast said:

Again, what? People have literally dumped 100’s of hours into this game, it’s pretty content filled Id say, especially when you compare it to Dynasty Warriors games of the last decade. Where is the lackluster feeling? With all the unlockables, the main story, adventure maps, etc. it’s objectively filled with a lot of content. Whether that content is enjoyable to you is subjective, but there is a lot of shit in the game. I’m hard pressed to think of how it can’t compare to even the best dynasty warriors titles on that front. 

Sure. I agree with you here. Enjoyment is subjective no doubt. There's plenty of Sonic titles I've sunk my teeth into and loved despite them getting a critical panning. 

Personally I think Hyrule Warriors panders to Zelda fans in delivering a just baseline Warriors experience (based on what I have played) and nothing more. This isn't just limited to the gameplay, but lackluster Cut-Scenes, Voice acting, guide systems, maps (again - a lot of retooling has gone on here for it to "appear" different), the amount of enemies that are on screen are less than mainline titles... I digress. I don't know, I just think they could have done more IMO, it comes across to me as though they shoved a huge amount of their love for Zelda... but didn't carry across their love for their own titles. 

I can say I don't care particularly for the cast and contents of a normal DW title, especially as much as the Zelda content in HW - but undisputedly those games have 60-80+ characters to unlock. Not to mention the attack patterns and weapons from certain Warriors in those games were basically transposed onto our Hyrule Heroes (not something I personally noticed, by my DW fanboy mate was sorely outraged about). 

I would also say to not forget that it took them until the Definitive edition (TWO re-releases later) for it to contain any real wraith of content that made it slightly more worth it's money, the original launch game was pretty poor IMO - and that's why I'm sad that 2 versions later it wasn't really that much more definitive.  

Honestly? I wanted to like Hyrule Warriors a hell of a lot. But often I came away very deflated by the experience during playthroughs. The Zelda theme is only what kept me going a lot of the time. This is why I'm hopeful (but also worried) about a tie in game to BOTW. Because it's sound in idea, but I'm concerned about the execution. 

Just my thoughts. If you feel otherwise that is completely fair enough :)