I don't think I've really ever been invested enough to really pay attention to the sheer rate of Nintendo announcements before now, but I have to say: They move at crazy speed. First there was the Pokemon DLC reveal event which literally happened less than two weeks before launch, then 'The Origami King' which was less than a month out, and now a full blown prequel to a game we only thought was getting a sequel. I thought the whole 'announce the day before you go gold' strategy was Bethesda's patented routine. (But then again, since saying that we've only seen their main team release one bad Fallout game, so maybe their example isn't one to ever be lauded.) Either way, I must say that this is the most exciting announcement I've heard this year out of Nintendo and that's because Nintendo are heading my favourite among their brands, Zelda, to my personal 'best' of it's iterations, Breath of the Wild, to flesh out important events in this prequel: 'Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity'.
The Hyrule Warriors franchise (As I guess that's what it is now) goes back to that forgone relic of history known as the 'Wii U'. (Archaeologists still argue over what exactly that piece of antiquated tech was to this day.) Then it was an attempt to supplant the world of Zelda and transpose it into the same sort of game type as a typical Dynasty Warriors title, with their patented '1000 vs 1' gameplay that they go on about ad nauseam. Basically that means gameplay wound up being a hero unit turning around battles through the grace of their sweeping attacks and clever utilisation of magical powers. Honestly, this always did ring hollow for me whenever I played the Dynasty games, because I never liked the way that the sacrifice of hundreds constantly got whittled down to the efforts of one 8 foot man. (Never understood why the generals had to be so oversized either.) In the world of Zelda, however, this does make a lot more sense given the nature of Moblins and the heroes who defended the nature, so I honestly shocked to say that Hyrule Warriors does the genre better than it's namesake. (Unfortunately not many got a chance to play it because it was on the Wii U.)
Age of Calamity hopes to replicate that, but instead of use it as the grounds to tell a unique self-contained story, (which I think fit into the 'Twilight Princess' timeline if I recall correctly) this promises to go back and tell the climatic events of 100 years prior to Breath of the Wild; and I for one couldn't be more enthused. The legacy of Zelda is always played out as a reiteration upon the same formula with the reincarnations of the same people. Link and Zelda are reborn as different versions of the same characters destined to relive events for all eternity. (Or until Zelda gets her act together and disintegrates Ganon's primal form.) Now while this works great for being accessible, it does make it hard to build up a journey and development over multiple adventures because the characters always end-up invariably getting reset. What Age of Calamity, along with the upcoming Breath of the Wild Sequel, portend is a change upon that formula where this one Zelda and Link will go on multiple adventures and grow as they do, making for more satisfying arcs in the tales to come.
For those that can't quite remember Breath of the Wild's plot; that game took place 100 years after an event known as The Great Calamity wherein the kingdom of Hyrule was invaded by the ethereal force known as Calamity Ganon, who turned the might of the Sheikah technology against the heroes and used it to take over the kingdom. This ended with Link being severely hurt trying to protect Zelda and thus having to be stuck in a rejuvenation chamber for a whole century. (Damn, who made this chamber? Naminé?) The war was a time of heroes across all the nations coming together to fight for time as their Princess struggled to meet her destiny, (In vain, as it just so happens, because she would take another 100 years to get there) and the battles they fought against the armies of Ganon must have been legendary. Thus to get the chance at experiencing those legends is truly something to be excited for. (I so am.)
But with that excitement comes a little bit of bittersweet uncertainty, because I must stop and wonder if the very existence of this Age of Calamity doesn't invalidate the entire narrative of Breath of the Wild. One of the weakest parts of that masterpiece was it's plot and the way that Nintendo chose to tell it, not because it didn't have depth but because it focused itself on telling the events of 100 years prior thus robbing the present moment of urgency. It's only really once you face off against Calamity Ganon himself that you enter into the moment and feel like you're fighting for something, but that's literally at the end of the game. The mystery of uncovering the past was, then, the draw of the narrative, but if there's due to be an entire game living in that past then this plotline becomes redundant in about 2 months. (Perhaps evidence that it was weak plotline to put their weight on to begin with.)
Then there's the issue that I'll admit is a lot more of a personal gripe but I still feel is valid to bring up. When that trailer for Breath of the Wild 2 first dropped, as did my bowels, there were quite a few elements that blew me and everyone else away. There was the creepy factor to it all, the backwards singing, the fiery-haired corpse, the sheer excitement of a sequel, and the fact that this was Link travelling alongside Zelda. Finally! This would be the first time we got to play as Zelda (No, those games didn't exist; shut up.) But, as you can likely deduce, Zelda will be playable in November's Age of Calamity and she has the Sheikah plate moveset from the Breath of the Wild main game. It's not a huge point by any stretch of the imagination but it does rob some of the allure from getting to play as the Goddess' heir. (Yes I know she was playable in the original Hyrule Warriors but again- Wii U. IF a game is released on a Wii U and no one was around did it ever really release at all?)
Though on the otherhand I do like the way that having this game creates a Breath of the Wild trilogy in which we'll get to experience Link and, more importantly, Zelda at ever point of the character development. Link as a young prodigy and Zelda as a failing priestess destined for greatness but unable to bridge that gap. Then Link, still as a prodigy, and Zelda at her breakthrough moment battling Calamity Ganon for a century and living up to her birth rite. And then, in the hopefully not too distant future; Link as, yet again a prodigy, and Zelda as the adventurer she always wanted to be, finally reaching her dreams. (Huh, I'm starting to think we need a 'Legend of Link' game to flesh out our silent hero. He's hitting a little one-note lately.)
Age of Calamity excites me to a frankly unreal degree right now. I shouldn't be this pumped about a prequel to a genre that I don't even like that much, but I just adore Breath of the Wild so much that I cannot help but lose my mind at the chance to experience that beautiful world once more. (I literally just started replaying the game the week before this announcement; is that serendipity or what?) I am ecstatic for the precedent this sets for the Breath of the Wild timeline, and I know this is going to ultimately just make the wait for BOTW 2 absolutely unbearable. Dammit, Nintendo! I was angry at you last week and now I'm chomping at the bit for whatever you've got ready for us... I'm too weak...(Why can't I quit you!)
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