I first heard of the Dynasty Warriors series through Hyrule Warriors, a hack-and-slash game using characters and locations from the world of Zelda. I spent countless hours playing this game and its ports, yet I never tried any other games in the series. To everyone’s surprise, Nintendo dropped Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, another Warriors game which is set 100 years before the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity follows the Kingdom of Hyrule and its preparations to fight the prophesied coming of Calamity Ganon. The story focuses on Link, Impa, and Zelda in their attempts to find pilots for powerful ancient machines known as the Divine Beasts, find a knight who can wield the Master Sword, and awaken Zelda’s sealing power. Characters like Impa and the Champions, who seemed relatively unimportant in Breath of the Wild, are very important here. Keep in mind that while Age of Calamity is technically a prequel, it is important to have played Breath of the Wild first.

I love having a story that gives detailed versions of many events mentioned in Breath of the Wild, but I’m a little torn on it. I can’t say too much without giving away major spoilers, but there are a handful of inconsistencies with Breath of the Wild’s story that were implemented to avoid being too predictable. While some of these aren’t too bad, many of them greatly hinder the story for me.

Age of Calamity’s story is told entirely through voiced cutscenes, with most of them replicating Breath of the Wild’s beautiful cell-shaded art style. I find this method of storytelling far more interesting than using text boxes, like most Zelda games. The English voice acting isn’t the best, but the actors have definitely improved since Breath of the Wild.

Like all Warriors games, the gameplay pits the player against hundreds of enemies; most of them don’t pose a threat and can be defeated easily, but others can jeopardize a mission if left alive, and need to be attacked when vulnerable to be defeated quickly. While fighting enemies, the player often has one or more goals to focus on, such as capturing bases or defeating certain enemies. These goals are normally much more relaxed than those in the previous Hyrule Warriors, which often required multitasking.

The combat is much more polished than the previous Hyrule Warriors and has a few notable changes. Flurry Rushes and parrying enemy attacks were implemented from Breath of the Wild, both of which encourage the player to take risks. The awkward item system from the previous entry was greatly improved; the player can hold L and press a face button to pick a consumable item to use, and hold R and press a face button to use a Sheikah Rune, which changes to fit each character’s playstyle.

Speaking of characters, the player can play as Link, Impa, Zelda, and the four Champions. Each has a unique move set that takes time getting used to. I used Link with a one-handed weapon the most, as he plays the closest to a normal Zelda game, but he can use two-handed weapons and spears for variety, just like in Breath of the Wild. I do find that the player isn’t usually compelled to play as multiple characters, which can be a good or bad thing depending on their tastes.

To mix up the gameplay, there are a handful of missions where the player controls Divine Beasts to defeat thousands of enemies. These missions play like on-rail shooters, with the player attacking enemies while moving along a linear path. The Divine Beasts feel sluggish to control, but I find this acceptable as these are supposed to be slow machines.

In between missions, the player can manage characters by leveling them up, upgrading their weapons, and in Link’s case, equipping armor (it’s only cosmetic in this game, though). There are also hundreds of sidequests to complete here, which involve supplying certain materials found in missions. Completing them unlocks quality-of-life features and upgrades for characters. Farming materials to complete these sidequests is quite tedious, but not nearly as much as the first Hyrule Warriors, which almost lost my interest due to the grind.

The enemies and terrain are surprisingly detailed for a hack-and-slash game. Enemies match their appearances in Breath of the Wild perfectly, and the terrain has plenty of decorations, including rocks, houses, and foliage. Age of Calamity unfortunately pays for this with the most unsteady frame rate I’ve seen in a Nintendo game, capping at 30 frames per second, and often dropping way below that.

The sound design isn’t the best for a Zelda game, but it gets the job done. The same familiar sound effects from Breath of the Wild are used here. Breath of the Wild’s slow-paced songs were given excellent fast-paced arrangements. The new compositions, however, only include a few memorable songs.

There is a twenty-dollar DLC pack that will be released in two parts. The part released at the time of writing adds new weapon types for Link and Zelda, along with a new character. Since only one part of the DLC is released right now, I can’t give a recommendation on it yet, but there is an important thing to note. Though it will likely be fixed, people who don’t buy the DLC seem to be suffering from a glitch that removes a feature involved with upgrading weapons.

The moral content is very similar to the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The player defeats hundreds of monsters, skeletons, and humans, all of which disappear in puffs of smoke upon death. There is a cutscene that shows human corpses, but there isn't any blood. A few female characters have revealing outfits. Some of Link's returning armor sets from Breath of the Wild include female attire. Both the player and enemies use magic, primarily in the form of magic wands. One of the villains is referred to as a seer, and Calamity Ganon is portrayed as a demonic force who can possess creatures and machines. Various characters worship goddesses. Like in all Zelda games, Link and Zelda are mentioned to have been reincarnated.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity uses Warriors-style gameplay to tell an epic story (though not without many inaccuracies) set before the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While there is a lot of content, there isn’t as much as Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, but the improved gameplay more than makes up for it. If the moral content didn’t bother you in previous Zelda games, it likely won’t bother you here. If you are on the fence, there is a demo, which gives a good sample of the game. I would recommend Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity to any fan of Breath of the Wild who likes Warriors gameplay.

-Tyler Ferguson