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1 day
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January 14, 2020
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GOTY 2020 - NUMBER SEVEN
Video version
Age of Calamity is an odd one. It kind of feels like one of those manga tie-ins that takes massive liberties with the established canon to add a bunch of stupid bullshit. It could have taken that form. What we’ve got instead though, is a Musou game, and that was a really good idea.
Breath of the Wild was a game that tried to convey a sense of melancholy. The big events happened 100 years ago, and you were left tidying up. It was natural that fans would be curious about the war, but that would never have made a good Zelda game. It would be a mess of fights… A Musou game.
Musou games are stupid and repetitive, but they’re also fun. A part of me was holding off on making any solid GOTY choices before playing this, because it’s Breath of the Wild, but I’ll level with you – A Musou game’s never getting to the top of one of these lists. I was kidding myself. These games are sloppy, trashy nonsense. They’re still fun though. And Age of Calamity’s the most I’ve liked one of them.
The original Hyrule Warriors was a celebration of all of Zelda, but Breath of the Wild was so distinct and captivating, it makes sense to give it a Musou all of its own. The diverse open world provided so many opportunities for compelling gameplay experiences, you can easily just chuck a new game on top of it. Omega Force have stretched the game’s cast to their limits to provide a full roster, but the end result is something that works to both games’ favour.
The story is simultaneously the big thing to draw Zelda fans to play this, and not something to take seriously. If you approach it with the right attitude, there’s a lot to enjoy. It’s shallow, but getting to see Zelda’s journey from a coddled teenage princess to a hero who will seal away Calamity Ganon has some really fun moments of melodrama. It’s like shonen anime, and it’s a laugh to see Princess Zelda go through the tropes.
Another divisive feature of Breath of Wild was the absence of music. It wasn’t entirely gone, but it was generally more of an ambient thing than the heroic BGM we’ve come to expect from the games. It was used to complement the idea of a Hyrule in ruins, sparsely populated. Now we’re seeing Hyrule in its prime, it makes sense to fill the air with music, and it’s great. Not your standard Dynasty Warriors buttrock arrangements, it’s very much focused on filling out what was introduced in Breath of the Wild. That’s the atmosphere that Age of Calamity sticks to.
What’s really admirable about Age of Calamity is how distinctive its characters’ movesets feel. Link is fairly familiar, while Zelda uses mad Shieka Slate powers and Impa’s full of high-flying Naruto jutsu nonsense. This carries through for all the Champions and all the daft surprise characters. Breath of the Wild rarely gave many of these characters an opportunity to shine, so it’s fun to get more of an idea of each personality and their place in the war.
Age of Calamity threatened to be something every Zelda fan had to play. It should come as a relief that it’s not. If you don’t like Musou games, this isn’t going to convince you otherwise, and I expect it’s probably too Zelda for a lot of Dynasty Warriors fans. It’s a game that you should only approach if you’re in the mood for it. Would you buy a dumb manga about Breath of the Wild’s backstory? That’s your answer. I would, I did, and I’m glad.
Video version
Age of Calamity is an odd one. It kind of feels like one of those manga tie-ins that takes massive liberties with the established canon to add a bunch of stupid bullshit. It could have taken that form. What we’ve got instead though, is a Musou game, and that was a really good idea.
Breath of the Wild was a game that tried to convey a sense of melancholy. The big events happened 100 years ago, and you were left tidying up. It was natural that fans would be curious about the war, but that would never have made a good Zelda game. It would be a mess of fights… A Musou game.
Musou games are stupid and repetitive, but they’re also fun. A part of me was holding off on making any solid GOTY choices before playing this, because it’s Breath of the Wild, but I’ll level with you – A Musou game’s never getting to the top of one of these lists. I was kidding myself. These games are sloppy, trashy nonsense. They’re still fun though. And Age of Calamity’s the most I’ve liked one of them.
The original Hyrule Warriors was a celebration of all of Zelda, but Breath of the Wild was so distinct and captivating, it makes sense to give it a Musou all of its own. The diverse open world provided so many opportunities for compelling gameplay experiences, you can easily just chuck a new game on top of it. Omega Force have stretched the game’s cast to their limits to provide a full roster, but the end result is something that works to both games’ favour.
The story is simultaneously the big thing to draw Zelda fans to play this, and not something to take seriously. If you approach it with the right attitude, there’s a lot to enjoy. It’s shallow, but getting to see Zelda’s journey from a coddled teenage princess to a hero who will seal away Calamity Ganon has some really fun moments of melodrama. It’s like shonen anime, and it’s a laugh to see Princess Zelda go through the tropes.
Another divisive feature of Breath of Wild was the absence of music. It wasn’t entirely gone, but it was generally more of an ambient thing than the heroic BGM we’ve come to expect from the games. It was used to complement the idea of a Hyrule in ruins, sparsely populated. Now we’re seeing Hyrule in its prime, it makes sense to fill the air with music, and it’s great. Not your standard Dynasty Warriors buttrock arrangements, it’s very much focused on filling out what was introduced in Breath of the Wild. That’s the atmosphere that Age of Calamity sticks to.
What’s really admirable about Age of Calamity is how distinctive its characters’ movesets feel. Link is fairly familiar, while Zelda uses mad Shieka Slate powers and Impa’s full of high-flying Naruto jutsu nonsense. This carries through for all the Champions and all the daft surprise characters. Breath of the Wild rarely gave many of these characters an opportunity to shine, so it’s fun to get more of an idea of each personality and their place in the war.
Age of Calamity threatened to be something every Zelda fan had to play. It should come as a relief that it’s not. If you don’t like Musou games, this isn’t going to convince you otherwise, and I expect it’s probably too Zelda for a lot of Dynasty Warriors fans. It’s a game that you should only approach if you’re in the mood for it. Would you buy a dumb manga about Breath of the Wild’s backstory? That’s your answer. I would, I did, and I’m glad.