Article by Joshua Jordan
To set the stage I am a big fan of the original Hyrule Warriors game when it released on the WiiU back in 2014. I had never played a Dynasty Warriors game prior to playing Hyrule Warriors but I was a fan of all things The Legend of Zelda so I knew that this was going to be a game I needed to play. The game impressed me so much I spent countless hours fighting hoards of classic Zelda villains and trying to unlock every weapon and character. Not to mention that I also bought the 3DS version that released two years later and the Definitive Edition released on the Switch in 2018. From the get-go, I could tell that there was a lot of love of Zelda history put into the game. Yet I feel the one downside of the game was its story. Which wasn’t bad but I feel it could have been better. Yes, I know that the story wasn’t the focus of the game it was just a springboard for the fact that all these Zelda characters were in the same place. Yet Zelda games for the most part have always had a compelling story and with that expectation, Hyrule Warriors missed the mark for me. That minor flaw has seemed to be dealt with in the new game Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity which was announced several months ago. In the announcement trailer we go a brief look at the story of Age of Calamity and found out it was is a prequel to the events in the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Then out of nowhere just recently, Nintendo dropped a Direct Mini online with a closer look at the Age of Calamity and the announcement of the release of a demo. After hearing of the demo’s release earlier in the day of the writing of this article I had to try it out and I thought I would share my thoughts on it. 
My Impressions of the Demo
Warning: Gameplay spoilers ahead! However, there will not be any story spoilers
The demo throws you right into the action after a pretty lengthy cut scene setting up the premise of the game. If you played Hyrule Warriors previous to Age of Calamity you will have no problem with the control scheme as it is identical to the original but there are a lot of new additions. In the first game, it was definitely a pretty mindless button masher. You have combos and defensive moves that you could perform but they weren’t really all that important to progress. In the demo, it gave me a variety of button commands that I could implement to do a wide variation of attacks from using my default weapon to using the Sheikah Slate and even being able to pick up weapons dropped by enemies similar to Breath of the Wild. This gives the gameplay more diversity and different ways you can address a situation. The best part is that I didn’t feel overwhelmed but encouraged to experiment with my different attacks.
One of the biggest ways this game will be much different than its predecessor is the art style, cut scenes, and environments look exactly like they do in Breath of the Wild. So much so that at times while playing the demo I almost forgot I was playing a different game. This was heavily talked about and shown in the original announcement trailer but it’s different once you actually play the game. I love this because even though the gameplay is different it feels like one cohesive narrative, which is much appreciated.
If you played Breath of the Wild but haven’t played Hyrule Warriors I wouldn’t worry too much as the game’s story acts as a prequel to the events in Breath of the Wild and the gameplay is very simplistic. I am not sure about just going into the Age of Calamity without playing Breath of the Wild though as I feel you defiantly get more appreciation for the Age of Calamity’s story if you already know the just of the story from Breath of the Wild. I would only hazard a guess that it could be possible to play the game and enjoy it but more enjoyment would come from actually playing Breath of the Wild.
The demo is much longer than I expected as I clocked in almost 2 hours before the demo ended. I feel if you want to get a good feel for what you’re in store for come November then I highly suggest downloading the demo which is now on the Nintendo E-Shop as of today. On top of that if you play the demo the save file you create will carry over to the full game once it releases. If your a fan of Zelda games and especially Breath of the Wild you will not be disappointed by this demo.
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game play was great, and the characters were interesting. However, the one character from that game I really enjoyed was Midna. Midna’s character was very similar to Navi from Ocarina of Time in that she would give you tips on how to defeat monsters, clues on where to go next, and so on. Unlike Navi, Midna wasn’t annoying I actually enjoyed her company for the entire game. Furthermore her character was really interesting, sarcastic at times, and was weaved into the story very well.
Skull Kid (Majora’s Mask) – The Skull kid is a very interesting character in the Majora’s Mask game. Unlike most main villain characters like Ganondorf, Skull Kid seems a little more fleshed out and had a less “because I’m evil” type of attitude. As you go through the game you learn more and more about the character which makes you almost sorry for the kid near the end.
main reason I like this character is not really because of her character but because of the dungeon that she helps you in. Wind Waker was a little unique from most Zelda games were mostly you are all alone fighting your way through a dungeon. Wind Waker shook it up by adding a lot of dungeons were almost designed to be like a co-op experience. Which got me to wondering what a co-op Zelda dungeon would feel like? This game was almost a set up for The Legend of Zelda Four Swords Adventures which came later.
Link (All Legend of Zelda games) – Before you throw something at you computer screen and boo me for the next two please let me explain. The reason I like Link is not because he is the main character or because in some games he is a fleshed out character. The reason I like Link is a very simple reason: because in any Zelda game Link is me. Every Zelda game you have the option of naming your character and I always put my name. Why, you may ask? Because it makes me feel like I’m the one who is running around defeating bosses and saving Hyrule. Even though he may not look anything like me in the cut scenes or I can’t customize his looks like other games. It doesn’t matter because most of the time I either only see his back or the very top of his head so it lets my imagination go crazy.
Zelda is my favorite character from the Legend of Zelda games I don’t even think that I can list all of them but I will try. Reason one is mostly because she is not the typical damsel in distress in fact in many versions the only reason that she is captured is because the bad guys know that she could whip them. An example would be in Ocarina of Time she disguises herself as Sheik to help you out without letting the villains know that it is her. Another good example is Wind Waker were for most of the game she is Tetra a tomboyish Pirate Captain with a temper and attitude to match. For the record I would like to say that Tetra is one of my favorite versions of Zelda. Reason number two is because out of many of the game she is written very well. You find out a lot about her character in some games which makes you want to help her. For example in Skyward Sword they spend a good amount of time in the beginning of the game letting you know what close friends you and Zelda are so that later on in the game you want to save her. Another example is Ocarina of Time, the first time you meet her and she gives you the low down on what’s going on. This speech also gives you insight on the kind of character the Zelda is in this game and it makes you want to go find the gem stones in those dungeons. Reason three is because unlike some other Princesses she is not perfect and at times in the games is the whole reason that you are in the mess that you are in. Ocarina of Time is a great example because she sends you to get these stones to open the Temple of Time but because of this you open the door for Ganondorf allowing him to take over Hyrule and putting you to sleep for seven years. There are a lot of reasons why I put Zelda at the top of my list, but the three main ones are; she isn’t the typical damsel in distress, she is written well in the games, and she isn’t the perfect little Princess.
