Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is the latest addition to The Legend of Zelda franchise. Although the game is quite different than most entries into the series, it adds value in terms of drastically mixing up the gameplay, as well as filling in major plot points of the story. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a spin-off from the mainline franchise, but it is still connected via characters and the lore.
Koei Tecmo’s take on a hack and slash title in the long-running series may not be as impressive as the best Legend of Zelda games, but Nintendo can still learn from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 will be better because of it.
Breath of the Wild 2 is a highly-anticipated video game. The first was so successful and beloved, many can barely wait for what Nintendo has in store, but there is some room for improvement with Breath of the Wild and its sequel. A few smart changes would help the game improve, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity has set the table for success for Breath of the Wild 2.
The original Breath of the Wild has stayed a top 10 Switch game in terms of sales since it launched, proving that there is a continual appetite from fans to play the game. In general, Zelda games often sell well, but Breath of the Wild took the game to new heights. Breath of the Wild 2 will obviously take a lot from the original, but it can and should also be a better game thanks to Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and thanks specifically to interesting game mechanics, the story that Age of Calamity set in place, and the pressure that it has taken off of Breath of the Wild 2.
While a title like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is considered a masterpiece, the Hyrule Warriors games are not quite on that level critically. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity did receive relatively positive reviews, however, providing players with a fun twist in gameplay to the typical Zelda experience, and right inside the world of Breath of the Wild no less.
In many ways, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is proof that the Zelda franchise should expand and try new things. Games like Cadence of Hyrule and Link’s Crossbow Training are few and far between. While the Mario series has seen countless spinoffs, Nintendo holds Zelda a little closer to its chest. But Breath of the Wild also brought so much new to the franchise, it was a leap of faith in many ways. What Age of Calamity does is show that Nintendo should allow the Zelda series to continue to evolve and grow. Experimenting with the franchise should be encouraged as long as the core DNA of the games remain.
While Breath of the Wild 2 shouldn’t be a hack and slash beat ’em up by any means, it could certainly learn from both specifics of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and from a philosophical level. Specifically, Age of Calamity shows that the weapon breaking system from Breath of the Wild perhaps can be tweaked. The world can be explored without slippery mountains. And perhaps even allowing other characters to be playable, like Zelda, would be a fun change of pace. And even if a one-to-one idea from Age of Calamity isn’t used, Nintendo should know that the Breath of the Wild sequel should explore new ideas. Simply giving players the exact same game with a new story won’t be enough.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity takes place 100 years before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 2017’s Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2017. The game revolutionized the series in many ways. In terms of story, Breath of the Wild opened up new possibilities in the franchise, including moving the games to a more mechanical future with the Guardians and the Beasts and their powers.
But the game also presented a lot of questions. How did Hyrule get so destroyed? Why has Link been sleeping for so many years? Where did these Guardians come from? Where is Ganon? While the game answered some of these questions, there was still a lot of mystery, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity filled in some of those story gaps.
With Age of Calamity being a prequel, the “how did we get here” type questions have now been mostly answered. What that means for Breath of the Wild 2 is that it doesn’t have to worry about answering specifics about the war, the champions, and more. Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi personally pitched the idea of Age of Calamity, and Nintendo worked with Koei Tecmo on the project. The story has the blessing of the team, meaning now Breath of the Wild 2 can simply work around the foundation that was built with both the original Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
Most rumors place Breath of the Wild 2 as a 2021 release. Between the original and the sequel, that would be a four-year wait. With series like Half-Life, Doom, Battletoads, and Earthbound either seemingly vanishing or having huge hiatuses between entries, four years isn’t a long wait. However, with how great the original Breath of the Wild was, the anticipation leading up to its sequel is immense. In some ways, thankfully, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity has taken away some of the pressure.
Age of Calamity bridges the gap for that four-year wait for Zelda fans, giving them a game directly in the Breath of the Wild world. Age of Calamity has sold so much better than the first Hyrule Warriors partially because it is in the Breath of the Wild Universe. While it isn’t an open-world exploratory adventure, it gives players a taste, and therefore temporarily curbs the appetite. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity simultaneously allows players to go back to Hyrule while building anticipation for what is next.
There is something to be said about not wanting to be the game that comes directly after a masterpiece, because it seems impossible to meet those expectations. The Breath of the Wild sequel now is able to follow up Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. And while Age of Calamity has sold very well and is enjoyed, it is not considered in the same “all-time classic” realm as Breath of the Wild, which is somewhere that the sequel likely wants to be as well.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is available for the Switch. Breath of the Wild 2 is currently in development.
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