#Character Music (Rhoam)

[fragmentedlegends]

Every muse now has their own Spotify playlist! <3

I love making playlists for muses because it's a fun way to explore various parts of their feelings, thoughts, motivations, etc., and can help me find a unique "voice" for their narrative. I love seeing the differences and similarities between these playlists in styles, tones, and themes!

Randomly pulled lines from each playlist—

Hylia: In the land of plenty, we don't know what the word "no" means. Give it to me, give me all the things I want...we want violence, we want blood, we want superhero love, we want all the answers that you promised us, we want laughter, we want pain...A coronation, a beheading, from the funeral to the wedding, do you think they care where the crown goes?

Rhoam: I'm trying to get up, they're knocking me down, chewing me up, spitting me out, when I need to be saved, you're making me strong, you're making me stand, never will fall, never will end...you make me feel invincible, earthquake powerful, just like a tidal wave, you make me brave, you're my titanium, fight song rising up, like the roar of victory

Astor: Talk to myself, lie in the darkness so content, as the sun begins to rise I can barely shut my eyes, this crazed, delirious mess, laughing at everything I see, my sanity is spent...attention, all insomniacs, please raise your right hand and kindly repeat after me: "I guess I'll sleep when I am dead."

Ganondorf: Anything exceptional gets crushed by common people with jealousy and ignorance and all their common evils, this planet isn't special, collections made of clay, I'm waiting for the punishment, I know it's on my way, so cut me up, fuck me up...the last man standing gets no pity...you wanna win the war? Know what you're fighting for.

Sonia: Here's to us, here's to love, all the times that we messed up, here's to you, fill the glass, 'cause the last few days have kicked my ass, if they give ya hell, tell 'em go fuck themselves...here's to all we kissed and all we missed, to the biggest mistakes that's we just wouldn't trade, to us breakin' up without us breakin' down, to whatever's comin' out way, here's to us...wish everybody well, here's to us.

Link: You thought nothing could surprise you, you thought you’d seen everything but you never saw me coming, all eyes on me, ready or not I’m making waves, ready or not you can’t escape, ready or not I’m on my way, you can’t stop what I got, ready or not.

Demise: I came to stand tall, stare down the barrel of a gun that's aiming, 'cause that's all it ever takes, to change something you know's worth changing...it's what I want, it's towering tall in my heart, confusion between good and evil.

Revali: "You're never gonna make it, there's no way that you make it, yeah maybe you can fake it, but you're never gonna make it." Are you just gonna take that? Make them take it all back. Don't tell me you believe that. Are you just gonna take that? Or will you fucking fight back?

[ganondoodle]

just to note this, as much as i love botw, i am not uncritical of it, like while i personally like the weapon breaking and rain mechanics everyone else seemed to hate i do agree that the bosses and dungeons were kinda repetetive and there could have been more bigger sidequests, some more diverse epic music tracks also wouldnt have hurt tho i fully disagree with anyone trying to claim it didnt HAVE music, im convinced those people played it with sound off bc wth (edit. plus the unfortunately still orientalist design of the gerudo plus that belly dancer outfit for link ... that thankfully got removed in totk as far as i know but the rest still stands)

personal criticism id have that i would have prefered zelda never gaining her sacred powers but instead finding a different way to fight back, bc her gaining them like that kinda made rhoams abuse .. right, like turns out to activate her powers you need to literall kill everyone she cares about (at least thats why i feel a bit meh about that), her maybe not being as sidelined like that (tho youd have to change alot for that .. which totk had the perfect chance to and then kinda did it again but worse lol) and the yiga clan being less of one little side mission

(also way too many people kept hating on botw for the same few reasons, often without giving it a chance, i think we all heard all the endless complaints about usually little things so i dont need to retread all of that)

alot of those little criticism things got adressed in totk, which i LIKED, but overall its so much less in harmony, this should have been a game about rebuilding and recovering about working together and then zelda gets immediately booted off and we get introduced to characters we never learn enough of to really care and yet they still take away the mystery botw had left us for the world to feel more alive, they ripped out parts that were so internally organically connected to the world and pretended they never mattered nor existed, characters act off and i cant help but feel like the main 'plot' is, as much as i hate to use that comparison, a badly written fanfiction ... it builds on nothing and just leaves you .. or me at least feeling empty, like i am playing through a mockery of the game i loved ... like all the fun i had thinking about the things in botw, the theories you could come up with was all wasted time

i honestly cant describe it better than totk, despite the little QoL changes, and the changes i DID like, it just feels ... empty? not in a literal way but more ... mentally? it feels so shallow? like at multiple points i felt like the game was actively mocking me, when i reached the shrine of life and was faced with barren walls and a puddle of water i felt betrayed for caring so much about what botw had done .. i felt like i could hear the game laughing while i stood there not knowing what to think of it, and while this was the time when i felt the most actually physically compeltely betrayed, that feeling of being mocked kept happening, i kept feeling like i was treated like a dumb player character that just eats up anything they say without thinking or remembering the title this was supposedly a sequel of, like i should play with the little toys of glueing things together and forget the world around me like a 5 year old

that may sound harsh but that is how i, personally, feel about it

[loregoddess]

Whoo, finished Echoes of Wisdom today! still plan to run around and try to finish things I skipped over or missed, but overall it was such a fun game, even if it was a bit shorter (it's also entirely possible I went a bit crazy and played through faster than usual). Definitely gonna be a top-5 LoZ game for me, it was so delightful...

some extra spoiler-y thoughts under the cut

Really enjoyed the final dungeon and final boss, bio-castles are one of my all-time favorite environments for fantasy worlds, and the "primordial cosmic horror" feel that Null had as a character is something else I love a lot. Also the way the mechanics were set up to have Zelda and Link fight side-by-side worked out surprisingly well, and the dungeon was fun to navigate with Link as an active partner. I'd love to see a future game expand those mechanics even further honestly, they were a delight, and it's a shame they were limited to one dungeon.

It was cool that the golden goddesses were like, actual characters w/ speaking parts too, I don't think that's ever happened in a game before. Actually, the game overall had a lot of little things I'd wanted to see in a LoZ game in general like, how the King and soldiers actually do mobilize to help Zelda and the citizens of Hyrule (they're unusually passive in most games), or just how natural a lot of the writing felt for characterization in general.

Really liked the King in this game a lot, it's funny since the last Major Hylian King (Rhoam) was Not very popular with fans bc he was a bit of an asshole, and then EoW's King is like, "This is my daughter Zelda, who is amazing and wonderful and I love her so much and will support her in whatever she does" like, very doting father character that doesn't come off as overbearing, which is refreshing (Rhoam was interesting in his own right, but he was also like, dead, so it was interesting more in a "chasing ghosts" sort of way and less in a "this is a character who can actively and presently affect what is going on").

Actually seeing Zelda get to interact with other characters and really shine as her own character was really nice too. Like, all the people in castle town really seem to know her more casually, and seeing her interact w/ other rulers was super fun too. (Not that Zelda isn't a character in other games, but she doesn't always get to be as present as EoW Zelda).

Overall I loved the game a lot, from beginning to end. The gameplay and mechanics were super fun to play around with, the music was very notably present and felt unique to every area, the art style was so pretty and cute, and the story and characters were solid from start to finish. I know I'm a bit biased, having grown up with older LoZ games, but EoW really does play and feel like a classic Zelda game, from the top-down gameplay to the dungeon design to the quirky one-off characters to the bittersweet story ending.

I don't follow the business side of the game industry that closely, but just based off the lack of a line to wait in for preordering the game on release day, I'm worried that EoW won't do as well and therefore Nintendo will be like "well, that game was a flop, so we won't do something like it again" (bc it kinda feels like they set it up to fail, I mean it even released on a Thursday instead of Friday like most games do), but damn do I hope the game actually does really well and pulls off a Metroid Dread, bc I would love to see more LoZ games like this one. Playable Zelda was great, and the entire game design was so fun, I would love to have another game like this but a bit larger/longer.

Anyhow, now off to unblock the tags for EoW and finally take peeks at guides and fanstuffs (I was only missing two echoes at the end of the game and I have NO idea what they are even if I know where they're supposed to be, thanks to the clear-game giving the player access to the number of things they're missing).

Absolutely delightful game, will probably replay it lots and lots.

[sunset-peril]

The loreset known as HFS Minor will now be applied to a Hyrule's Final Stand spin-off series known as Hyrule's Final Stand - A Century Past

The first entry in the series is entitled Link, Wolfbred King and it is based on the Hateno Village subplot in Tears of the Kingdom. Musically, it is based on the 'Title Theme' from Twilight Princess, 'Midna's Theme', 'Midna's Lament' and 'Safe' written by Britt Nicole

The lore differences from the main HFS series is as follows:

Hylia did not feel the need to "safeguard" the Master Sword/Fi. Henceforth, Zelda did not become pregnant before the Great Calamity.

Because Zelda was not pregnant before/during the Great Calamity, HFS' entire Rhoam v Link subplot does not exist in A Century Past. Rhoam is not overthrown by Link, and Link does not become King before dying at Fort Hateno.

Link was never formally recognized as Prince of Hyrule. His marriage remained a secret. Only the Champions, Impa, Purah, Symin, Robbie, Horacio (Kass' Teacher) and King Dorephan were aware of the marriage. Most BotW characters (including Sidon and most of Kakariko) did not know Link was married, much less Prince of Hyrule.

Link and Zelda are King and Queen in TotK. However, due to infrastructure being a higher priority than politics, no one can agree on how to refer to them, and semi-self-governing municipalities can elect or appoint their own leaders. (Elections/appointments can still be overruled by the Queen and/or King. Link and Zelda can also appoint their own person instead of letting the municipality have an election)

Link and Zelda have the following title sets: "King and Queen", "Princess and Swordsman", "Princess and Hero", "Queen and Swordsman", "Queen and Hero", "King and Princess" (for some reason), "Queen and Consort", "Princess and Consort", "Mister Link and Miss Zelda" "Mr. Link and Mrs. Zelda" and "Grandpa/Great-grandpa and Miss Zelda" (by Reede's family and their friends)

The Korok War Crimes are a direct result of all of Link's frustrations + his grief over his wife's sudden disappearance (if you haven't read my Wolfbred post yet, Wolfbred were originally created to be the Queen of Hyrule's perfect, loyal-to-the-death personal army. When the Wolfbred were banned, this overpowering genetic urge was then projected in the following two ways:

A male Wolfbred's "queen" is his wife

A female Wolfbred's "queen" is her pups/children

Henceforth, Link's "queen" is Zelda and he has a specific genetic urge demanding he serve and protect her until he dies.)

The Korok War Crimes are isolated incidents, not wide-spread, and typically are feral-type incidents and injuries. (Not sophisticated, and rarely involving Zonai devices)

[i-mustache-your-opinion]

Meet The Competitors

Preliminaries have officially ended! Combining the winning characters from the preliminaries with the characters who received 3+ nominations during the submission period, we have officially finalized our 128 competitors. It will take some time to get the brackets and Round 1 polls together, so in the meantime here is the complete list of competitors for those who are curious.

Mustache Girl (A Hat in Time)

Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

Damon Gant (Ace Attorney)

The Judge (Ace Attorney)

Marvin Grossberg (Ace Attorney)

Ice King (Adventure Time)

Magnus Burnsides (The Adventure Zone: Balance Arc)

Gordito Delgado (The Adventures of Dr. McNinja)

Captain Archibald Haddock (The Adventures of Tintin)

Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie's Poirot)

Brewster (Animal Crossing)

Heimerdinger (Arcane: League of Legends)

Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Lawrence Betelgeuse Shoggoth (Beetlejuice: The Musical)

Bob Belcher (Bob's Burgers)

Tim Lockwood (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs)

Jet Black (Cowboy Bebop)

Watari (Death Note)

Senshi (Delicious in Dungeon)

Harry Du Bois (Disco Elysium)

The Master (Doctor Who)

Sebastian (Doki Doki Precure)

Cranky Kong (Donkey Kong)

Captain Villads (The Dragon Prince)

The Lorax (Dr. Seuss)

Ramuh (Final Fantasy)

Cervantes (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

Alex Louis Armstrong (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Maes Hughes (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Kintoleski (Futari wa Precure Splash Star)

Kratos (God of War)

Lan Qiren (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation)

Old Man McGucket (Gravity Falls)

Stan Pines (Gravity Falls)

Gordon Freeman (Half-Life)

Mumbo Jumbo (Hermitcraft)

The King of Town (Homestar Runner)

Seneca Crane (The Hunger Games)

Isaac Netero (Hunter x Hunter)

Gyro Zeppeli (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)

The King of All Cosmos (Katamari)

Solomon David (Kill Six Billion Demons)

Chourou (Kira Kira Precure a la Mode)

Ganondorf (The Legend of Zelda)

Daruk (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

King Harkinian (The Legend of Zelda CD-i)

Morshu (The Legend of Zelda CD-i)

Yosemite Sam (Looney Tunes)

Gandalf (Lord of the Rings)

Gimli (Lord of the Rings)

Treebeard (Lord of the Rings)

Daisuke Jigen (Lupin III)

Tim Wright (Marbel Hornets)

Broque Monsieur (Mario & Luigi)

Mr. Sinister (Marvel)

Odin Borson (Marvel)

The Bowler Hat Guy (Meet the Robinsons)

William Murderface (Metalocalypse)

Rich Uncle Pennybags (Monopoly)

Danjuro "Gentle Criminal" Tobita (My Hero Academia)

Shouta "Eraserhead" Aizawa (My Hero Academia)

Yamada "Present Mic" Hizashi (My Hero Academia)

Master Wu (Ninjago)

Maestro (Once Upon a Time...)

Dracule Mihawk (One Piece)

Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate (One Piece)

Franky (One Piece)

Gan Fall (One Piece)

Gol D. Roger (One Piece)

Jinbe (One Piece)

Kaido (One Piece)

Killer (One Piece)

Marshall "Blackbeard" D. Teach (One Piece)

Rob Lucci (One Piece)

Sanji (One Piece)

Trafalgar D. Water Law (One Piece)

Usopp (One Piece)

Zeff (One Piece)

Darius Deamonne (The Owl House)

Dell Clawthorne (The Owl House)

Paul Blart (Paul Blart: Mall Cop)

Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Entei (Pokémon)

Kricketune (Pokémon)

Probopass (Pokémon)

Raikou (Pokémon)

Samurott (Pokémon)

Sealeo (Pokémon)

Stoutland (Pokémon)

Drayden (Pokémon: Black & White)

Captain Kamado (Pokémon Legends: Arceus)

Warden Ingo (Pokémon Legends: Arceus)

Count Dracula (Popular Culture)

Santa Claus (Popular Culture)

Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride)

Julius Pringles (Pringles)

Agent Wyoming (Red vs Blue)

James Ironwood (RWBY)

Remus Sanders (Sanders Sides)

Norville "Shaggy" Rogers (Scooby Doo)

Sea Hawk (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)

Master Eon (Skylanders)

Papa Smurf (The Smurfs)

Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Kamaji (Spirited Away)

SpongeBob SquarePants (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)

Henry Henderson (Spy x Family)

Will Riker (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Mirrorverse Spock (Star Trek: The Original Series)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)

Hades (Supergiant Games' Hades)

King Bob-omb (Super Mario)

Luigi (Super Mario)

Mario (Super Mario)

Toadsworth (Super Mario)

Waluigi (Super Mario)

Wario (Super Mario)

R.J. MacReady (The Thing)

Ricky LaFleur (Trailer Park Boys)

Minimus Ambus (Transformers)

Asgore Dreemurr (Undertale)

Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Jimmy T (WarioWare)

Nigel Thornberry (The Wild Thornberrys)

Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher)

Professor Crumbs (Wizards of Waverly Place)

[gl0st1ck]

TOTBP Worldbuilding Post

I realize I haven't been going into the modern world of my current fic too much as of writing this post, so I wanted to put this out there for anyone who's interested :D

The school system in the modern era is similar to the US school system. There's elementary school for K-5, middle school for 6-8, and high school for 9-12. After that students can go to college, join the army, go into a trade, etc.

The college Link, Zelda, Mipha, Purah, and the majority of other characters go to is Hyrule City University, which is around where Hyrule Field is. Other notable colleges that the characters go to are Hebra Mountains University, Kakariko Technical College, Gerudo University, and Zonai State University, which pairs up with HCU for an exchange student program.

The groups and different nations have grown and expanded since TOTK, so groups like the Rito, Zora, Gerudo, and Gorons have larger territories that are technically theirs. However, the kingdom (country now) is unified under a council that includes all of the races. The current Hylian head of this council is Zelda's father, Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule XIV.

Instead of sports like football, archery, horse sports, track, aquatic sports, and aerial sports take the center stage in college sports entertainment. In general, music is also a huge part of in-person and virtual entertainment, and some people will form groups and practice for months in order to perform at a music festival.

One of the main reasons why Hyrule is so much bigger now is because of the different subgroups of each main race joining into one society, or at least forming alliances. The most notable alliance between subgroups would be the one between the Lanayru Zora (what Mipha and Sidon are) and the Naydra Sea Zora (what Yona is).

Languages like Japanese, Hyrulean, Gerudo, Spanish, and Polynesian languages are all canon in this universe. However, the most prominent language is Hyrulean (which is basically English)

Bonus: Does reincarnation exist? We'll have to see 👁

[regnantlight]

KING RHOAM’S LAST GOODBYE

I get to watch you GROW UP now And make me PROUD, make all of those MISTAKES that make me laugh, oh darling lord how you make me laugh Get DRUNK for me, SING LOUDER than you’ve sung for me, GROW YOUNG each time that thunder in your lungs begins to rumble at the world Cos you were ALWAYS STRONG, When you were young, you’d kick things just to see if they would fall They said ‘that girl she’s WRONG’ But I’ll stick up for you, even though you haven’t got a CLUE, you haven't got a fucking clue And I’m SO PROUD of you And when they laugh at us You’ll feel my fingers down your back And when you scream I’M NOT ALRIGHT And throw my picture at the wall ‘YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY  LIGHT And keep me SAFE against them all How could you LEAVE ME here' you’ll scream And louder, I’ll scream back to you from that unknown And say

I know you’re strong enough to do this on your own

[sheikah-simp]

‼️PSA‼️ Astor is Zelda’s REAL, BIOLOGICAL FATHER.  Don’t believe me? Here’s PROOF 🔮😜

^^(Figure A. unedited footage from game)

FOR STARTERS, let’s start with what we KNOW in the game

1) Zelda was born with HAIR and EYES

^^(Figure B. Zelda with hair and eyes).

WHO ELSE do we know that was born with hair and eyes? Hmm?

HMMM??

ASTOR.

ASTOR AGE OF CALAMITY.

^^(Figure C. Astor Age of Calamity with hair and eyes).

Oh but it doesn’t stop there.

Zelda can often be seen hanging around with a tiny guardian.

A tiny guardian that plays an important song.

That song??

ASTOR’S THEME IN A MAJOR KEY.

This is confirmed. If you don’t believe me listen here for comparisons of Astor’s Theme, and the reprise, Zelda’s Lullaby.

It is very important to note here that Astor’s theme sounds like a music box.  This is significant because music boxes are often given to children, especially children with otherwise forlorn and mysterious pasts.  Zelda has a forlorn and mysterious past because her mother died tragically and mysteriously, and now she is haunted by the song of her tragic and mysterious father

Zelda’s guardian is running around humming her father’s theme hoping that one day she will remember. The only problem is he isn’t evil so he can’t play it in a minor key.

This causes the main conflict of the story, which is that Zelda can’t figure out who the fucking egg is.

Checkmate, atheists.

Oh but we’re just getting started you see. 

Thanks to the brilliant hawk eyes of @sherlocktheravencat​ for this fact, and this fact alone, we made the earth-shattering discovery that:

Astor’s hair?

Braided.

Zelda’s hair?

Braided.

ok now back to facts by me

Astor wears a silly little head thingy.  Zelda is occasionally seen wearing a silly little head thingy.

Like father, like daughter, eh, as they say??

Still not buying it?  Try this on for size:

Zelda was born: at some point in time.  We know this point in time was at least

17 years before the Great Calamity

Astor also existed: at some point in time

likely for at least 17 years before the Great Calamity

COINCIDENCE?? I THINK NOT

Zelda’s mom died when Zelda was six.  This means that Zelda’s mom died six years after Zelda was born. 

She likely existed six years before Zelda was born.

ASTOR ALSO MOST LIKELY EXISTED SIX YEARS BEFORE ZELDA WAS BORN.

This means Astor, feasibly, could have been Zelda’s father.  People who have children generally must exist before the children are born.  This makes Astor a perfect candidate for Zelda’s father.

But if that still isn’t enough for you, we must also consider what King Rhoam has to say in the game:

And lest we forget his writings from Breath of the Wild:

In Conclusion:

Astor is Zelda’s biological father

Yes, I am right about everything I say

The game 100% supports this.  The canon, un-doctored evidence is as clear as day.  What else left is there to say?  The truth is there, right out of the characters’ own mouths.  I can’t believe more people haven’t been talking about this.  But I guess it just took someone as enlightened as me to set the story straight.

This isn’t even getting into how Astor took the other egg from his daughter’s bedroom and turned it evil as a memento because that’s just too deep and too emotional for you fools

If you have any more questions, please, don’t ask.

[blog-of-the-wildd]

BOTW MUSICAL

• Link does not sing at all, but he is an excellent tap dancer.

• Revali has a song about how great he is. He keeps interrupting himself to make sarcastic remarks about how overrated Link is.

• Zelda and Rhoam have a song in which they’re discussing. Rhoam is backed up by a chorus that eventually drowns Zelda’s voice when it’s her turn to sing. Even though Link and Impa are present, they’re hidden in the shadows to convey how lonely Zelda feels.

• Link and Daruk have a duet (Daruk sings, Link taps) about food.

• Zora’s domain is a musical wonderland. That is all. Every single line said by the Zora is sung.

• The Rito instrumentals have a majority of wind instruments in their songs; the Zora, string instruments; the Goron, percussion instruments; the Gerudo, a mix.

• THE MONSTERS HAVE SONGS 👏🏼 Bokoblins, Lynels, Lizalfos and the other monsters sing. The lyrics aren’t very understandable though.

• Mipha has a song in which she tries to confess to Link but fails.

• KOHGA SINGS. THE YIGA SING.

• When Zelda apologises to Link, she doesn’t sing. She speaks to him because she genuinely wants to connect with him.

• When Link confesses why he doesn’t talk (or sing, in this case), he struggles to. There’s silence before a very soft melody starts playing. Link sings only around thirty seconds, but it means a lot to Zelda.

• Impa keeps breaking the fourth wall.

• Zelda sings her prayers. There are pauses in which Hylia is supposed to reply, but as she doesn’t, there is only silence.

• The Champions have an introduction theme and a reprise for when they’re battling the blights.

• The champions do a lot of acrobatics Newsies style :)

• The music gets very chaotic when the Calamity strikes. It is a cacophony and all the characters voices mix together into something unintelligible.

• But then Zelda awakens her powers. A chorus sings Zelda’s Lullaby, but then it stops abruptly when Zelda sees Link... who is dead.

• She cradles his body and weeps. There no music. The lightning turns a cold blue and they’re the only people visible in the scenary. After a moment, Link’s theme starts playing, but it’s distorted.

• Zelda has an EPIC solo as she heads to Hyrule Castle.

• The curtains fall. After a moment of prolonged silence, Zelda says “wake up, Link”

[fragmentedlegends]

Fresh tag dump

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Master Kohga Age of Calamity Trailer Analysis

I’m a speedy boi time for some thoughts on today’s new trailer

Ok first off THIS SHOT. Very important. Look at the Sheikah Slate filter. Last trailer I was able to write it off as some thematic choice since Robbie and Purah were Ancient Sheikah Scientists, but THIS trailer does not have that same connection. Couple this with this screenshot [credit to @rachelsmusicallife​ thanks for pointing this out to me!]

I’m under the impression that these cutscenes might be part of an overarching theme of reliving memories through the Sheikah Slate. Kinda fleshed out out theory on how this might be related to eggbot here.

“Hehehehe... Look. What. You. Did...”

The camera motion here is handheld (yes I know it’s not literally handheld but it has that feel) with Master Kohga here literally holding the camera. I’m assuming because this scene is from the direct POV of another character, perhaps Link. Which would make sense, since he is apparently accusing us of doing something. The lighting is also super weird, we’re in the Yiga Hideout (the area with the large pit where we fight Kohga in botw) but the sun is just setting with a shroud on the area. Although, I can’t exactly place the time of day because I’ve been through the hideout my fair share and no time of the day really lines up with this scene (because of the snowy Gerudo Highlands in the background, so the glistening of the sun is different) 

This is by the Great Plateau. I’m thinking near the Outpost Ruins considering this isn’t Gatepost Town since they Great Plateau’s entrance is not in view. In fact, I could probably specifically place this right....HERE

Flag poles, juts in the Plateau walls, road directly perpendicular to the Plateau. If my three years of staring at the Botw world is correct, [please Nintendo it’s the only thing I’m good at] then I’d say they’re at the Outpost Ruins. The only thing is that the houses seen here are mainly wood, while the ruins have clear stone walls

Well...I don’t mind.

This is not Master Kohga. Different voice actor, new character design, new villain! I’m assuming he’s some sort of second in command or captain, given he duel wields Windcleavers. Also not how he doesn’t have a scar on his mask in this scene

Further note, look at that chimney!!! I love that chimney, I haven’t seen that chimney before... it’s in a style that I can only really place in Castle Town, but the location is clearly not there, so best assumption is that this is another prominent Hylian Village. The Hateno style archway at the bottom right seems to support so. The house shingles definitely mean this isn’t an outpost or military ruin...[this weekend I’d love to hope into the game myself and place it exactly] the background cliffs mean this isn’t Gatepost Town either. The rock formations look like a turn by Scout’s Hill, of the western breach by the Outskirts Stable...I wouldn’t put the Rauru Settlements out of the question either. All in all, I’m hesitant to connect this scene with the other scene because one clearly has a dirt path, and the other a stony road. Plus the house shingles are different

Ok I can pretty much place this scene exactly. At least the bottom one, the top one is a separate scene that doesn’t flow into the other one (you can just tell by the framing and continuity) 

You can see the Great Plateau entrance, the line of sight is at an angle, placing this backflipping Yiga man somewhere here. Only inconsistency would be the trees, but perhaps it’s just grown over after a hundred years, you can even see a building in the middle of this forest in center left of the map.

Link is chasing Backflip Benny over here through to the exit of town, (you can see the town entrance/exit archway on the bottom right, similar to the one seen in the chimney pic) AND you can see that Backflip Benny also has a fresh cut on his mask, presumable gained after fighting Link, which is why he teleports away at the end. 

So that places these two shots definitely after whatever conversation happened on the roof. Yay for timelines! 

The stupendous Chief of the Yiga Clan! Master Kohga!

This takes place at some ruins of some sort. The rocks on the top right actually look Edlin or Akkala, but that might just be the lighting. The stony slabs and etches actually remind be of Zonai, but that doesn’t really seem right...I’ve never seen those designs before I don’t think...you can see from the way the stone slabs are angled that they lead to a circular pattern. It could be the circular pit at the Yiga Hideout, but that area is just sand, not stone. The smooth, plain style of these ruins is actually more in line with Gerudo Ruins so that might actually be the case; we know the Yiga have a history of taking Gerudo Ruins as their own (The Yiga Hideout is canonically an old Gerudo architectural dig)

I’ll also note that this scene has the same lighting as the first shot, and the last two shots which we’ll see later. 

*maniacal laughter* Oo? TWO new characters I see???? O????? 

This is definitely the Yiga hideout, you can tell from the wall design, plus the lanterns, and the general comfort of Master Kohga and Backflip Benny in the background. But, elephant in the room...who are YOU dear sir? 

I’ll talk more about them later, but just keep that Calamity glowing thing in their hand in mind for later.

He’s gonna kill you all...to DEATH! 

This is Master Kohga speaking again, if you couldn’t tell from his....very dramatic and in character dialogue. Maybe this game will actually make me like him now alsdfkjsdlk

Obvious is obvious, this is the Yiga Hideout again, similar lighting to the first opening shot, I’m thinking this might be sometimes before it though, considering he has his minions around. Maybe Link fights off the goons, which prompts him to ask “Look what you did” but we can’t know for sure. 

Also there’s grass? So maybe that other shot isn’t the hideout. Also a spotlight???!? Jazz hands?!?!? Leave it to Kohga to defy the fourth wall huh.

Also I haven’t mentioned this yet but NEW MUSIC it’s so good aughghug I can’t wait.

And...we end on another Sheikah Slate fade out on this mysterious new character. Eyeliner says: Avatar Kyoshi

Ok but seriously I have THOUGHTS!! So firstly, they’re obviously working with the Yiga Clan, perhaps they’re the reason why the Yiga are in the Gerudo to begin with considering they have the Gerudo symbol on their cape. [Cause am I the only one that thought it was weird that the disgraced Sheikah people are living in Gerudo, and not like...closer to Kakariko, or their suposedl arch nemesis of the Royal Hylian family?] Also note that this scene most definitly takes place in the Lost Woods. Perhaps they need something with the Master Sword...or are ambushing someone...hmm..

Based on that rock formation in the background I’m thinking somewhere in one of these three general areas but I really need to just pick up my switch sometimes soon and find it exact...so bare with me it’s only from memory but I’m pretty sure of myself when it comes to locations

My money’s on this being the true mastermind and antagonist, notice how their eye circlet is the same of that of the Calamity goop eye 

This person has...yellow? Brown? Hazel eyes? And light hair with a braid? I don’t think they’re Sheikah, but definetly not Gerudo either. So that leaves them to be some Hylian. A Hylian with an evil Ancient Core. 

[It’s definitly some form of Giant Ancient Core. But there’s runes on the side of it that I have yet to translate]

Thinking on their idenity for another second, you’ll notice that they wear a black robe, but their cape with the Gerudo crest is actually torn and tattered. So, perhaps they were disgraced? A runaway? Or perhaps it’s a disguise, perhaps a spy playing both roles on either side of the war? 

There’s an old theory that the fortune teller who initally told King Rhoam of the prophecy was actually part of the Yiga Clan. Seeing as, their actions led the King to dig up the Guardians, and cement the deaths of thousands of people. So, putting points in order here

Evil Magic dude

Works for the Yiga

Has connected to people in power 

Has an evil Ancient Core

Could it be that this mastermind fully knew that the Guardians would eventually be corrupted? Could they be the “fortune teller” that encouraged the King to excavate the Sheikah Technology? Sheikah Technology, that would be an insult to the Yiga Clan considering their people were banished for creating them in the first place? Hmmm....

Final NOTE! Remember that one scene in the other HWAOC trailer with Zelda holding a mysterious object? 

Hmm...Sheikah Scientists, weird egg robot, and now an evil Ancient Core...you may also remember Daruk mentioning in dialogue that something was wrong with Rudania...and cutscenes from Urbosa and Revali might point to the Yiga being close to the Divine Beasts...lots to chew on. I’m thinking the plot of this game will heaviliy revolve on the idea that there was some sort of plan that led to Ganon corrupting the Guardians and Divine Beasts, but we’ll see!

[catmemey]

I honestly kind of wished I had been able to play all the (major tv console) zelda games before playing BotW (it was the 3rd game I played, after SS and WW respectively), because now that Ive finally caught up after finishing TP, it’s incredible how expansive BotW is compared to previous games, and just how many references there are to previous games

like there are like hundreds of video essays/articles out there about the obscure and not-so-obscure references to major characters/events from previous games so I wont go into that but just like musically speaking, there are tons of teeny tiny themes packed into random places, like the hyrule castle theme is actually part of king rhoam’s theme (before and after you are shown who he really is), and there’s a few bars above the throne in the castle that’s (iirc) zelda’s lullaby, and in the hyrule castle theme alone (both inside and outside) they’ve packed in the original hyrule castle theme (originally from a link to the past? maybe earlier but that’s the one that Ive seen as the oldest), ganon’s main theme from ? not sure which old game, the hero’s theme, and zelda’s lullaby, and who knows which other ones Im maybe missing, if they’ve somehow included more

like I can see how BotW was so incredibly groundbreaking within the series itself for its newness and expansiveness but also how it wouldve been so nice for long-time players to hear or see all the call-backs and easter eggs and man I wish I couldve experienced the game like that tbqh

[ships-n-giggles]

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity; How Nintendo Subverted Expectations and Emphasizes Unity over the Lone Hero Trope

Having played Age of Calamity to death, I was one of the many people who expected the same outcome of a prequel to the much beloved Breath of the Wild; an exciting, battle based game that ultimately confirms the outcome that we see in flashbacks of Link’s service to the princess before his 100 year slumber, a tragedy waiting to happen.

But, spoilers down below, the rug gets pulled from under your feet in the most positive and heartwarming way.

In order to emphasize the message of Age of Calamity, let’s return to Breath of the Wild for a minute. The game shows very clearly that this follows the Hero’s Journey, which we’ve played many times before in Zelda games. This Lone Hero Trope, as I call it, is the dedication of a single person for a greater cause, who shoulders heavy burdens on their own in order to carry out a noble mission. Both Link AND Zelda represent this trope! Not only do we learn of Zelda’s quiet, lone suffering as she struggles and fails to achieve her inner sealing power, but we see it visually when we play as Link, following his quest to defeat Ganon.

Just look at the Memory Images Link follows. When each one opens up, Link and Zelda often stand apart as time begins. Even their fellow Champions stand apart during the first memory where Link is being knighted, expressing doubts and concerns, while Zelda shrinks with reluctance.

But then when we see the opening scene of the first playthrough mission of Age of Calamity, our first shot of Link not only has him teaming up with an entire platoon, but they’re all united. Standing together, roused by a common cause to fight evil, and positioned close together. In many of the cutscenes thereafter, there’s an increasing closeness to all the characters, and a budding sense of familiarity.

What changed? Baby Guardian.

The Baby Guardian is only given a short period of time to be seen by the audience in the opening prequel, awakened by Zelda’s sealing power, and urged to flee back to the past to find her. We see the shift from Lone Hero to Unity right away; Baby Guardian knows they can’t carry out the rescue of Hyrule on their own and instinctively goes to find someone he KNOWS can. In doing so, he finds Link and Impa, who are pulled to Zelda’s side while chasing him. From then on out, this change draws more and more people together.

Now I have my own theory, which you can agree or disagree with. What we see of Baby Guardian in Zelda’s flashbacks of him hark to a childhood when her mother the Queen was still alive. And, to a smaller degree, we can connect this memory to another one not seen, but shown when Zelda gives her father a tool she and her mother found while investigating Sheikah technology.

Though her mother is dead, she is still sending means to protect her family, all of which are only achieved when the characters communicate and listen to each other. King Rhoam would most certainly have perished to the Guardian assault on Hyrule Castle if he had not accepted the tool Zelda gave him, and Zelda would not have developed her power to fight with the Sheikah tools had Baby Guardian not arrived either.

The very fact that there are literal swarms of monsters, more intense challenges, only drives home how hard it is to take someone down when they’re not alone. Any of the playable characters can take down literally hundreds if not THOUSANDS of monsters at a time because in most cases, they’re not doing it on their own. Just look at the characters we can recruit; while Hetsu, the Great Fairies, and Monk Maz Koshia are all aids to Link’s journey in Breath of the Wild, we never receive their aid as staunchly as we do in Age of Calamity. Even Kohga ends up joining the fight, when it becomes clear that Astor is a threat to their existence. And the more that join, the greater the offense.

Why change the future? What turns this prequel into a spinoff with a happy ending? It’s a shift in mindsets; from Rhoam’s to Baby Guardians.

Whether you can appreciate the King of Hyrule as a complex character or hate him for being a terrible father, the fact of the matter is that he is not only a leader, but a manifestation of Hyrule as a kingdom All kings more or less fill this role as a model for what a kingdom could be. Rhoam undoubtedly was raised to follow the Hero’s Journey to the letter, to expect a princess with sealing powers, a Hylian with a sword to seal the darkness and a monster to overcome. But when things don’t happen the way the stories tell him, like when Zelda can’t access her sealing power, he only buckles down on the importance of sole strength.

This ends up being a fatal flaw in Breath of the Wild, as he ends up pushing his daughter away. In his diary, readable in Hyrule Castle if you access his private office, we see his regrets, and decision to accept her no matter what....all far too late by the time he writes them.

But in Age of Calamity, when faced with the huge group Zelda has gathered with Baby Guardian’s help, as well as having been rescued by the very technology he tried to urge Zelda away from, he can’t deny the facts any longer. After Rhoam is recruited as a playable character, we see much less of him as a leader. He’s accepted his daughter’s growth, aided by the help of her friends, and seen the truth for what it is.

That a people united is a people saved.

Now don’t misunderstand me. I love Breath of the Wild. The music, the challenging shrines and boss battles, all of it. However Age of Calamity hit me emotionally and more or less exposed some of the weaknesses of most Zelda games. While there have been mild exceptions, we’re so used to carrying the burden of saving the whole world on our own, we forget just what a crushing responsibility it must be for these young people. We can see it in Zelda’s heartbreaking scene in the Spring of Courage, cursing her fate, pushed to tears, and standing apart. It sends a particularly poignant message to me now, often feeling like the only way something can get done is if I do it on my own.

But Breath of the Wild is evidence to why this doesn’t work. While we can see a true victory over Ganon, a kingdom saved, and a princess rescued, we also see the toll it took before it could be achieved. The Champions, King, and countless other civilians and soldiers are killed. Zelda and Link are left alone again to pick up the pieces of a fractured, weakened kingdom. The Hero’s Journey is set to continue, a long, solitary journey of hardship.

Age of Calamity on the other hand, showed how beneficial and wonderful it is to conquer a daunting world with your friends. Not only does it spirit you to the end of your journey faster, but it reinforces the message that “burdens shared are burdens halved”. And we get to save our friends, by calling upon the ones we made in Breath of the Wild through Riju, Teba, Sidon, and Yunobo. Most of the missions playable in the game, at least for replay, are able to be done by ANYONE. If you play the final battle with Link, you can replay it with Baby Guardian.

Anyone can be a hero if you fight together.

[only-by-the-stars]

the annotated Tome of the Wild

Part five: Babes in the Wood!

- A half-moon the color of yellowed pages hung high in the sky above the figures on the ground OH LOOK IT’S THAT SAME DAMN MOON AGAIN. DESPITE THAT DAYS HAVE GONE BY AND IT DEFINITELY WOULDN’T LOOK THE SAME AT THIS POINT.

- “Idiot child. Perhaps I should've done something to make you more intelligent, instead of just transforming your body.” And here we have confirmation that it was Koume that changed her into this.

- Of course, the centerpiece of this scene is the reveal of what Midna’s been up to this whole time. In the show, the situation for Beatrice is similar: she thought that Adelaide just wanted a couple of kids to do household chores, and was fine with just turning them over to her in exchange for the item she needed to break her and her family’s curse. Until, of course, she grew to like them and have second thoughts, as Midna does here. Which of course lines up with how Midna initially thought to just use Link in TP to help herself and her people, until his actions and Zelda’s made her reconsider her disdain for the people of the world of light. Here it’s her bond with Aryll and Link that makes her hesitate to hand them over: she really likes Aryll, and after a rough start with Link they’re now getting along, and she feels a lot of sympathy for his situation with Mipha. She doesn’t want to keep them from getting home even for a little while, and when she finds out about Koume’s true intentions she draws the line, as her moral code won’t let her hurt others for her own sake and she knows Zelda wouldn’t want her to hurt anyone on her behalf either. This conflict and growth are exactly why I had an easy time casting Midna in this role, and I loved being able to write her and develop the dynamics she has with Link and Aryll.

- “Only the voice of the shadow that lurks in the woods, the king of darkness that rules the night, concerns me...” King of Darkness is one of Ganon’s titles in the series.

- “There is only his way.” A line that will be echoed by the Beast himself much later.

- “Aryll, I know!” Link froze as soon as the words were out of his mouth. We’re at the point where Link is snapping at his beloved baby sister, showing just how stressed out he is right now. He was able to relax more when Midna was around, but now her betrayal is driving him further along that path to despair I’ve been mentioning. He immediately apologizes, to his credit, but he’s still starting to crack.

- “You are in grave peril, and your fate, your very lives depend on if you heed my words or not! The Beast stalks you, seeking your fall into his grasp... but you must not allow him to capture you, you must not give in to despair!” He’s not wrong! Listen to him!

- The shadow laughed, a long, low sound that seemed to ooze up from the deepest depths of the earth where eldritch creatures slumbered, forgotten by time and the gods alike. Calamity Ganon emerges from deep beneath Hyrule Castle.

- “You forget, do you not, that your daughter's safety depends upon keeping me happy?” The first hint of the deception that the Beast is working on Rhoam.

- Aryll is now calling her frog Alfonzo, after the engineer in Spirit Tracks.

- AND THEN THERE’S NAYRU AND KOTAKE. This was one of the most FUN things I got to play with. The episode this portion is an adaptation of is probably my favorite in the show, and I had an utter blast toying with expectations here just as the show did. Maybe even more! The show leads you to believe that the character Kotake replaces is the sinister and evil one, preying on the hapless young girl that Nayru is replacing, only to yank the rug out from under you and reveal that the girl is possessed and trying to eat the brothers.

now, Nayru is from Oracle of Ages. You meet her at the beginning, whereupon she quickly becomes possessed by the evil sorceress Veran. Kotake, meanwhile, is present as a villain in OOT and a linked Oracle game, and as a friendly shopkeeper in Majora’s Mask. We just saw the villainous version of her sister at the beginning of this chapter. So... is she evil too? If you’ve never seen the show, have played OOT and MM but not the Oracle games, you probably got taken in just like a first time viewer of the show is. Only to find out too late, as does Link, that Nayru is the people-eating one, and not Kotake, who is indeed her MM self and not evil.

- Nayru laughed too, a pleasant sound reminiscent of harp strings being played. Nayru gives Link the Harp of Ages in OOA.

- Aryll has switched the frog’s name to Dr. Calip, after the NPC in BOTW who gives you the Cursed Statue shrine quest.

- “It is thanks to you that I shall finally be free to roam the outside world, after all.” DANGER DANGER, the evil spirit wants to roam free and EAT MORE PEOPLE.

- Aryll spots the danger, but mistakes it for her desire to see Link end up with Mipha and no one else. Which we all agree with, of course, but it’s not the real reason she’s uncomfortable. Link, meanwhile, is oblivious to it, at least partially because he’s sinking deeper into despair and contemplating just letting Mipha go out of his intensifying self-hatred over what he’s done to her.

- Nayru's eager whisper broke into his thoughts. He glanced up and saw her eyes gleaming with a sort of hunger as she gazed across the room at him. DANGER DANGER, SHE WANTS TO DEVOUR YOU. Again, I choose my descriptive words very deliberately.

- Eerie purple light glowed around Nayru as she hovered in the air, and her face had been twisted into something that resembled a ReDead mask. Veran’s spirit form is indeed purple, and nobody who’s ever played OOT, MM, or WW can forget the ReDeads. my favorite monster I want them back dammit

- “Link?” Aryll pressed herself against his side and clutched at his arm. “There are a lot of skeletons in here...” Remember how Aryll was so excited about digging up a single skeleton back in Ikana? Not so fun anymore.

- In the show, the whole sequence of trying to avoid being eaten was creepy, but a bit more comedic too. I leaned fully into the horror that it truly would be here, not just because I wanted to write something scary, but also because I needed something that would traumatize Link enough to push him into the breakdown he has in the woods afterwards, setting the climax of the story in motion. His feelings of failure mirror what I headcanon he must’ve been going through just before he fell in Blatchery Plain as well, the despair he would’ve felt over being unable to prevent the fall of the kingdom, the deaths of his friends (especially Mipha, who he’s grieving the most), and knowing that he’s at his limit and about to die before he can get Zelda to safety. Which is another way that the appearance of that painting in the last chapter ties in.

- Aryll’s dream sequence! OH BOY. In the show, this is an entire episode, done in the style of 1930s animation, with musical numbers and everything. That doesn’t quite translate to prose, though, so I had to change and abridge it. More interestingly, though, there’s subtle hints in the show that the dream is not real, and is intended to lure Greg, the younger brother, into the clutches of the Beast. I decided to run with that. One of the hints in the show is that the gates you see seem to be made of ivory; in Greek myth, dreams pass through one of two gates, either horn or ivory. True dreams come through the gates of horn, while false ones pass through the gates of ivory. So naturally Aryll walks through gates of ivory to reach the tower.

The tower itself is the one located in the Cloud Tops in Minish Cap. Which, here, is ruled by Princess Hilda from Link Between Worlds, who has Aryll save her kingdom from the evil Yuga. This is all a HUGE hint that this is false, a trap. Because in ALBW, Hilda was conspiring with Yuga in a desperate bid to save Lorule. And who took over Yuga’s body as part of that plan? Ganon. BAM.

- And now the frog is being called Ezlo, after the talking cap in Minish Cap.

- Link is now so deeply in despair that the dekuwood is starting to grow around him, which is what motivates Aryll to make her deal with the Beast that brings everything to its eventual conclusion.

- A dark shape emerged from the curtain of snow; it was a small, plump man with a beard that covered the entire lower half of his face, rowing a rickety little boat. His eyebrows went up as he took in the sight of Midna lifting the unconscious Link into the air with her prehensile hair. “That is one strange fish you've caught there, missy...” This is the fisherman from Link’s Awakening.

- What Midna sees in the distance is the Great Deku Tree, but I wasn’t about to reveal that just yet.

and that does it for part five!

[sister-dear]

For the ask game: Linked Universe. :D I'm sure you've got some hot takes for us 😘

The first character I first fell in love with: OMG I don’t remember? Pretty sure most of my current favs are also the characters I first fell in love with - Wild, Legend, and Four. Sky came just a tad later.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Sky and Four! I never finished Sky’s game and straight up haven’t played any of Four’s. The combination of Sky’s kind-hearted but competent portrayal in the comic along with the fandom’s interpretation of him having a chronic illness really appeals to me. I also love transformation gimmicks and Four has two of them, plus his utter willingness to just. Throw down with anybody. Hyrule and Warriors have also both grown on me over time. Love Hyrule’s carefree until he’s handing you your ass attitude. I love the fandom interpretation of Warriors as a bisexual disaster, plus his experience of war on a mass scale in a position where he’s actively leading people means he has a very different background and perspective to the rest of the group. 

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: Nobody? There really is not a single LU character that I actively dislike, just some I like more than others.

The character I love that everyone else hates: Going off script a bit, but. The utter lack of variety that the fandom takes when it comes to the character’s religious attitudes can get pretty irritating. Not all deeply religious people are obnoxious about it! Not all atheists are going off on mental rants against the gods with every other breath! Not everyone who goes through hardship winds up hating their religious figures because of it! Almost all of these characters should by all rights be polytheistic! Nuance, people! Give me the nuance! *cough* Ahem. Hylia. 

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: Time, though it’s more that his games remain some of my favorites and I was so disappointed when LU didn’t use any of the parts of the character that appeal to me. Give me that Time who bounces around between body sizes, who uses magic and music and masks all at the drop of a hat! And my favorite interpretations of his personality are either sweet, socially awkward, or Legend-style angry, rather than that aloof irritation thing LU Time has going on. Still like the character, he’s just near the bottom of the list of Links I like in LU.

The character I would totally smooch: Nobody, but goshdang Sky and Twilight both look like they’d give amazing hugs. Provided they took off the chainmail. Chainmail ain’t comfy. And any of the nature lovers in the group would be fun to talk shop with.

The character I’d want to be like: It will surprise no one that my answer is Sky. 

The character I’d slap: King Rhoam. Wait wrong fandom. XD Ok I love Legend as a character, he is one of my favs, but he would absolutely drive me up a wall if he was actually standing in front of me.

A pairing that I love: SunflowerAro put me on to queerplatonic Legend/Ravio and. Yes. Love it. Give me that delicious aroace rep. Also you all already know this but SKY AND FOUR FRIENDSHIP. YES. Also Four&Twilight with their shared secrets, Sky&Legend chronic illness solidarity, Wild&Hyrule genderqueer adventure buddies... I could go on. The huge variety of potential platonic combinations are what keep my interest in this fandom alive. 

A pairing that I despise: Not a specific pairing and despise is a strong word, but the comic-canon romantic relationship are all m/f. That certainly doesn’t mean the fans can’t interpret those as bi, ace, poly, etc. Or come up with other pairings of their own. But the lack of queer rep in the comic itself does bother me. (The only one of those ‘canon’ relationships I’m not overly fond of is Twi/Midna. Never really shipped it and have yet to find anything that’s changed my mind. Again, despise is a strong word.)

[cheekbites-moved]

ok i still havent gotten the secret ending but farming for it might take me a bit so im gonna make a thoughts post for age of calamity now:

Major spoilers obvs so ill put it under a read more

things i enjoyed:

revali beatdown simulator

the controls for the divine beasts are a bit clunky, but i think the angles they used for them did an excellent job at really making the player feel like we were actually controlling a divine beast. so i think it was done well.

link’s personality really gets to shine full force in this game with the amount of cut scenes and it was wonderful to see

every character clearly had a lot of love put into how they operate. they truly all feel unique, & all of their play styles fit them really well in my opinion

the game does a really good job of making you understand what a real threat the monsters are. like in botw they’re intimidating at first, but once you’re far enough into the game they become just an inconvenience to work around if anything. this game managed to actually make certain monsters intimidating for me again, and i think that’s a real accomplishment

the blight battles are actually somewhat challenging in this game and that is truly a commendable achievement lol i think all the bosses are good tbh. i didnt rly dislike or not enjoy any of them.

the way daruk and link’s friendship & urbosa’s motherly relationship towards zelda got to shine was. so good. it’s all i could’ve ever wanted

seeing the descendants again was really nice & it was awesome to see the champions interacting with them!! especially sidon and mipha omggggg. that was. really fucking good shit

kohga. just. kohga in general. getting to see more of him was really rad, he’s such a fun guy! and his english va was Excellent. you could really tell he was having a lot of fun playing him, and it was lovely to see! :)

zelda getting to really shine in this game was also lovely to see. and her being so assertive and badass by the end? omg. it was so wonderful especially after botw. man. 

the combat is done very well imo. im rly glad that they took so many elements from botw, but also added their own flares to make it feel fresh. it was rad.

sidon’s tagline is “winning smile” and his power is “boundless optimism” and i think that’s beautiful

the music in this game is SOOOOO good oh my god. multiple times during playing i had to pause to just appreciate it. it’s pretty much all remixes of botw with a few originals for the new characters, but they all slap. there was not a single song in this game i didn’t like. it is definitely one of my favorite video game soundtracks officially. maybe one of my favorite overall soundtracks in general tbh.

the visuals obviously look just like botw, but it still looked fucking gorgeous at some points. like. man. they really went off to make it look not only faithful to botw as far as appearance goes, but also as far as capturing botw’s beauty and it was. excellent to see!

if anything is true to botw’s backstory, it’s definitely how op link is. cause he was established to be op in botw, & when u finish botw he is also op as hell. he is so fun to play as the higher leveled he gets. he absolutely kicks ass. especially with a two-handed weapon??? daaaaammmmnnn. thats my badass baby boy!!!!

link eating rocks not once, but TWICE. just showing PEAK gremlin energy. 10/10 for those scenes they were great

the ending was really beautiful actually and i did cry like a little baby for it what about it

things i didn’t like:

obviously first and foremost.. this is not the game we were advertised. and no matter how much i overall enjoyed the game, it will always have some layer of being tainted attached to it due to the false advertising. this is not the prequel we thought we’d be getting. & not using “prequel” specifically doesn’t matter when all the advertising, including the box art talks about this being the story of what happened 100 years ago. with no indication it wasn’t the story of what happened 100 years ago in the botw timeline, but a separate universe/timeline entirely. i do hope we get dlc for the game at some point giving us what we were advertised, but at the same time... rly wish that the story that’s in the final game was dlc, & the story we were promised was the original :/ or just having the game have two separate storylines originally would’ve been cool. i just wish it wasn’t falsely advertised. 

fort hateno can fucking eat my whole entire shit WHY is that part so needlessly obnoxious compared to everything else oh my god

being forced to fulfill revali’s power fantasy TWICE hurt my soul

fuck any mission where you have to protect the useless hylian guards. i hate them. they suck.

the ai for player characters when you aren’t playing as them can also be pretty useless. it was really frustrating failing missions because my fellow party members weren’t helping me, and i was basically expected to be in two places at once to get shit done myself. :/ ik you can just switch between characters to make it easier, but like. i like playing as link the most. he’s my favorite character, & ofc since he’s mandatorily played for most of the story, he’s gonna be the most leveled up character regardless so he’s just the best to play as in general especially for harder missions. it was annoying to be forced to play as other people Solely cause the ai was so useless.

king rhoam’s attempt at a redemption arc. i’m not sorry that i just fucking hate this man. i don’t mind him entirely in botw bc you can see clear, genuine remorse during the cut scene at the end of the great plateau. but the redemption arc he gets in this game? after all the fucking shit he does in this game? especially when after his ~redemption arc~ i had to sit through a cut scene of him being an absolute fucking asshole to baby zelda after her mother just died????? absolutely fuck that shit. i don’t appreciate that crap at fucking all. he’s a verbally abusive piece of shit and i hate his guts.

obviously there was gonna be some retconning of how certain things worked in botw in order to make this kinda game work but the way sheikah technology works in this game is so goddamn confusing i do not get it. the works of botw are never outright said or explained completely, but it’s straightforward enough that it doesn’t really matter. this game does try to explain certain things and it just becomes. really clunky and confusing very quickly. 

the story is alright, i guess, but..... really confusing/convoluted as hell at times to a point that it’s. really fucking distracting. especially in comparison to how straightforward botw’s story is. like..... cannot help but be annoyed that such a problem wouldn’t have been a thing if they stuck to botw’s story.

i was sad when the egg thing died but i dont like the egg thing.... it is the MAIN reason shit was retconned so much & i just. dont get its purpose. but i did really like the reveal that zelda made it herself. that was good shit!

also the egg glitched out like. a LOT. idk what the fuck was going on with the poor thing but there was multiple times during a cut scene or when i was just sitting there that it was freaking out in the background and it was rly weird

elemental overworld boss monsters................. obnoxious. especially elemental guardians like goddamn bro what the fuck

i know warriors’ games aren’t about exploring anyway but the limitations for exploring was really sad/frustrating. this is still somewhat the world of hyrule before the calamity, which is something we’ve always wanted to see. not being able to explore even the immediate area at certain points because of shit like timed missions was really upsetting, man. :( i just wanted to see hyrule castle Before the calamity why was did they have to rob us like that.....

creepy corrupted egg’s transformation. why. what was that. what the fuck

even though i did enjoy the boss fights, it did get. incredibly taxing eventually to have to fight the SAME bastards so many times. like yeah botw is also guilty of this with the blights, but goddamn.... at least i have a choice to avoid certain encounters with them? this game has you fighting the same bitches like upwards of 3-4 times. it was. really annoying tbh. like the fights themselves are enjoyable, but damn we added new characters and it still inevitably lacked variety in boss fights.

no playable kass >:( if he’s available later in dlc then fine but i wish he was playable in the original game. so many random choices you’d never expect are. why couldn’t he also be there >:(

overall:

it will forever have that sour taste for the false advertising attached to it unfortunately, but that aside, i overall did enjoy the game! i think it has a lot to love in spite of the issues i encountered. as someone who has this as their first warriors game as well, it did lend itself to letting me see the appeal of them. idk if i’ll get more, but i do get why they’re so beloved/popular now. it was an alright time, with some amazing highlights that i’m gonna think back on very fondly for a very, very long time. if i had to rate it..... 7/10