#looks at the aoc dlc

[bldmnrises]

not me thinking of adding purah....

[multbasa]

Some major differences between BotW and AoC cutscenes and characterization

In the Champions Ballad DLC for Breath of the Wild, we see Zelda recruiting the four Champions and Link is mentioned by both Revali and Mipha. Revali already has his sort of rivalry going on where he belittles Link as the "little knight with the darkness-sealing sword" while Mipha asks Zelda about the other Champions which includes Link by name.

This is compared to Age of Calamity where the Champions are recruited long before Link gets the Master Sword.

We see Mipha and Link reunite for the first time since their childhood in Age of Calamity where Mipha comments that he hasn't changed despite his growth. Not only does this show Mipha being recruited as a Champion before Link even acquired the sword, they actually reunited earlier in BotW according to her diary where she talks about reuniting with Link and noticing his change in personality before Zelda approached her about becoming a Champion.

Revali's relationship with Link is also very different because Link so far into AoC is just a knight who is leading the Champions based on his skills alone. He looks down on Link in AoC for being a 'nobody' whereas in BotW he's quite jealous and declares in his diary that HE should be the one fighting Ganon not "that pathetic knight."

After Link does acquire the Sword, Urbosa reassures that he isn't any different from the simple knight Zelda grew to know.

This is in stark contrast to her relationship with Link in BotW which started off rocky and only grew once Zelda realized that Link wasn't silently judging her and actually suffered from the same crushing weight of his responsibility to live up to his destiny that Zelda suffered with as she described in her diary.

In BotW, Urbosa comments on Zelda's negative feelings towards Link early on in the Subdued Ceremony memory:

This ceremony which Daruk insisted on is meant to celebrate Link's appointment as Zelda's personal guard which she is very much not happy with and expresses her displeasure with Link in memories and in her diary. None of this happens in Age of Calamity because her introduction to Link lacks the reason why she feels so inadequate next to him: the Master Sword.

Furthermore, in Daruk's Champion Ballad memory, we see Zelda talking about how her father will assign her a knight and she doesn't know who it is yet but she hears that the "top contender is the most accomplished swordsman in all of Hyrule." It seems that she does not associate the one with the Sword as the most accomplished knight, and we know that Link did not get the position just for acquiring the sword because later on Daruk hears about Link deflecting a Guardian laser blast with a pot lid to protect Zelda and "not long after that, he was appointed to guard Zelda" according to Daruk's journal. Unlike Zelda, Daruk always believed Link to be the most accomplished swordsman even though he is not around Hyrule Castle to see all the different knights in action.

On the other hand in Age of Calamity, Daruk and Link only first met when Link accompanied Zelda to ask Daruk to become a Champion. This is contrary to BotW where Daruk's journal states that he met Link before Zelda approached him.

The differences between these stories are really significant. Age of Calamity does not retcon Breath of the Wild because it tells a completely different tale from the very start of the game. The differences didn't just occur when Terrako brought the future Champions into AoC because it was always different from the story told by Breath of the Wild.

And here's a link to the comparison timeline I made for BotW vs AoC if you would care to read it:

I do wonder what will happen in Age of Imprisonment and whether it will be an alternate story like Age of Calamity was for Breath of the Wild. Eventually I will probably compare the two games and dig into the lore in Tears of the Kingdom. I hope that everyone can appreciate each story without erasing one because of a personal preference in how the story is presented.

Tears of the Kingdom does seem to have a lot less content depicting the Imprisoning war as there are less first hand accounts in the form of journals, but it is still worth exploring. We know nothing about the Sages, not even their faces, so there is a lot less of a possibility of contradiction if the game is truly meant to be the canonical retelling of the Imprisoning War. I am excited to find out later this year even though I don't plan on purchasing a Switch 2 any time soon. There'll be plenty of Let's Plays to watch which will be a lot of fun.

Until then, I will continue to point out the differences between BotW and AoC because I like both games for different reasons and appreciate their stories separately.

[wayfayrr]

The Menace Anon is back but with a Self Aware ask because I got an idea as I tried to mod my Switch. How about that Zelda is aware in the Game? There is already Zelda's Ballade a Mod for BotW so Zelda replaced Link/ Wild. So what about Zelda being the one who is aware and works together with her Link as in Age of Calamity it's possible to play as Zelda. And now there are two Zeldas and maybe one Link/Calamity as he is probably aware of Reader with all the DLCs and if Reader is anything like me they get 100%. I did that to BotW and am working on it in TotK. Zelda would be extremely clingy especially Flora, BotW Zelda, as she lost everyone who is important to her. Maybe she gets Wild to help her. Fauna and Calamity have Terrako and this little thing shoots through the screen with his laser. TAKE COVER READER!

this is gonna be a funny thing to answer as someone who isn't the fondest of zelda in botw/totk (she had the potential to be really good I just don't vibe with how she was written lmao - so many missed opportunities)

but that also has the potential of introducing the fact of what if you didn't like the characters story when they were aware - because that would be awful for her wouldn't it?

she loves you more than anything but because of the way her story was written you don't like her? Even going as far as to apologise to link about what he got put through in the story? so she's stuck hearing you give him your pity as she's trying her HARDEST to get you to see her in another light, while link is either looking on smugly at your blatant favouritism or staring on blankly as he is simply a puppet of the game who isn't even alive either one being a good spark to why she'd be more willing to work with the aoc pair.

I think they'd have more potential to work together in aoc as compared to either botw/totk (also time to give cal some time in the spotlight like you mentioned) seeing as he has the most "history" with zelda, whereas wild/tears have no incentive to (they're the only playable character so what does she have on them?)

Zelda from her actions alone at the opening also seems to be more reckless in her safety than link, so her hopping into another game earlier than when she'd have a good grasp on how to do it without many issues seems in character for her. hence, now there's two different zeldas in your aoc file? That shouldn't be something that happens right? you've watched the cutscene many times and she never appeared with the other botw characters - so why is she here now? But the other members seem to acknowledge her so maybe you're just misremembering? They'll make sure to keep a note of anyone who might try to convince you otherwise as well.

when the three of them finally do get out - and probably after apologising for scorching a wall or something, then they have the perfect place to start winning you over properly <3 trying to prove to you that they're more than simply the character that Nintendo wrote them as, that you should give them a chance to show you how much they care for you!!!

just, just don't choose link over them, else you may not see much of him anymore - as while they can work together, they aren't exactly willing to work with a threat, but as long as you treat them equally there's no issue right?

[doomed-era]

I wanna look into the body language and mannerisms of the Yiga Footsoldiers. As a resident Yiga enjoyer, have you seen any good refs for that?

As far as I'm aware, there are a few references for that, but might as well create some based on my incomplete observations! This is mostly based on BOTW/TOTK, but I'll probably stick a little AOC in there too, for fun. It's just because I haven't played AOC yet unfortunately.

Yiga Footsoldiers are the lowest ranking of Yiga warriors in the clan. Based on TOTK, they seem very antagonistic towards members of similar rank, and blademasters don't seem to like them much either. The Yiga Footsoldiers located in the Tears of the Kingdom hideout have pretty standard NPC movements, so they're nothing to really write home about. Most of the good stuff is with the enemy Yiga we see in all three games.

Like this illustration from Creating a Champion, the Yiga really do move very acrobatically! There's two standard versions of Yiga Footsoldiers, the Duplex Bow user and the Vicious Sickle/Demon Carver/Eightfold Blade user (it will forever annoy me that they randomly changed the weapon types that the Yiga use in TOTK. oh well. ignoring my seething hatred for a second) Both types of footsoldiers can teleport short distances across the map.

Bow users will spawn randomly across the map in BOTW (given you've triggered the correct event), and have one main attack. They'll jump up into the air and attack you while suspended there! Occasionally they'll also do a flip and go higher to attack you again. All their movements are very animated!

Melee Yiga Footsoldiers have a charge attack, and a...ground pound? I have no idea what to call it. Either way, they'll usually teleport away, then either run at you and slash, or they'll try to drop onto you.

An interesting thing I noticed about footsoldiers is that they tend to be very hunched over, even when they don't need to be. If you look at the Champion's Ballad DLC cutscene for Urbosa, they don't crouch as much, suggesting that it might be because of Link's height, but in Age of Calamity they also crouch, which muddies the waters (also blademasters don't seem to need to do this.)

Another thing! Some fun stuff Yiga footsoldiers will do in Tears of the Kingdom if they're driving Zonai devices:

As you might notice! They're not super hunched over here, again suggesting that it's a fighting style choice. The Yiga with the magic circle around them also has their hand up, suggesting that this is how they're sustaining it. If you sneak up behind them, they will continue sustaining it with that hand, too. They just kinda stand there and look scared out of their minds, it's so cute. ❤️

As someone mentioned before, Master Kohga makes gestures commonly associated with Kabuki Theatre, and though I don't know if footsoldiers do this, they do imitate Kohga in multiple cutscenes, so I think it makes a lot of sense for them to use similar exaggerated gestures as a headcanon. There really is a very limited amount of information with the Yiga, so a lot if the time it's kinda just. making stuff up lmao

[darkdragon768]

I may dislike, hate even, quite a lot in this game but my god, this final battle might be my favorite, beating even the Twilight Princess one. I just love the dragons so muchhhh.

Anyway, I, in general, like the bosses in totk way Way WAY more than in botw. I'm sorry but I just fucking hate the Blights with everything I own. They suck so so bad.

Well, but for now I'm enjoying the credits.

And for a last time:

Glory to Master Kohga

Should I replay totk as in a celebration of today?

[crazylittlejester]

Ayyy it's been a while since I've shared a random headcanon through ask on here, so here's one I just imagined after seeing a really cool Akira slide edit on Tiktok

Sun has done the Loftwing Equivalent of the Akira Slide multiple times. She actually did it during her own knighting ceremony, and while Sky thinks it's badass everytime she does it, that time was his favourite purely because of how cool she looking holding the statue while doing THE THING!

Flora has also done it before. HAVE YOU SEEN THE AOC DLC!? MY GIRL IS KILLING IT ON A BIKE!

Even though Wild and Flora are STILL trying to figure out where tf the Mastercycle is during LU, by TotK, Flora is driving that thing around Hyrule ALL THE TIME! SHE'S AKIRA SLIDING AND BRINGING LINK OUT ON MASTERCYCLE RIDE DATES 24/7! IT IS THE ONE PIECE OF SHEIKAH TECHNOLOGY THAT SHE REFUSES TO LET GO OF, SHE LOVES THAT DAMN BIKE AS MUCH AS SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG LOVES HIS!

(it seems my tumblr inbox still loves corrupting your asks and not letting me answer them, which is so awful and mean of it because i do love hearing from you)

I SO AGREE. I SO SO AGREE.

ALSO FLORA DOES COOL TRICKS WITH THAT BIKE AND SAYS ITS 'FOR SCIENCE' I KNOW THIS IN MY HEART.

[cupcakegal25]

notes and thoughts on the switch 2 direct

did this just for fun and because i have brainrot <3

under the cut because there is... a lot

we knew it was coming, but finally. a new mario kart game after like. a decade

it’s fucking OPEN WORLD MARIO KART JGKLASJHGLAKHJ

we’re getting so many directs lately goddamn

THEY PUT DISCORD IN THE SWITCH 2 HELPPPPPP

IT’S LITERALLY JUST DISCORD HELP

i highly highly highly doubt this works as well as it says it does in terms of filtering but okay

oh shit open access period that’s great

oh man gameshare that’s AWESOME

the screen seems like it’s pretty similar to the oled

magnetic attachment is GREAT

MOUSE CONTROLS??????

the new stand looks great ngl

wow the storage increase is INCREDIBLE

are there any nintendo switch games that aren’t compatible with the switch 2? i can’t tell

also do joycons from the switch still work cause if not that’s a lot of money i'll have to spend again

the nintendo switch 2 welcome tour looks kinda like nintendo land but worse and more gimmicky

it’s PAID?????? ew

oh my god do i need to get a new microsd card MINE’S LIKE 72GB

again are the old switch controllers still compatible because that’s a lot of money to sink again, i just got a new pro controller last year

JUNE 5???????? there’s no way that’s WAY too soon

also why bother with the last direct at all at this point if it comes out in june??? it’s not like any of the games announced will be worth playing on the original probably (i am looking directly at you, legends za)

nintendo switch 2 edition is going to be added to SO many games oh my god. at least scarvi will be (hopefully) mostly playable now (i personally didn’t have too many issues with it but oh my god)

do we need to buy another copy of these games for nintendo switch 2 edition btw? cause if so i'll RIOT

oh my god we DO

like ig it’s just an “upgrade pack” but STILL

honestly the graphics in botw and totk were good enough for me i don’t need that to be upgraded

zelda notes???

man FUCK OFF that looks SO COOL and i need to buy the switch 2 editions to get it

i’ll never get the one missing korok i have in botw without this goddammit

a new story in forgotten land? this shit’s INSANE omg

okay prime 4 i will give a pass ONLY BECAUSE it hasn’t come out yet

the mouse controls look awesome jfc

same thing with legends za that gets a pass because it’s NOT OUT YET

how much even ARE the upgrade packs because it already sucks but depending on the price it may suck more or less

drag x drive… not super interesting to me personally

also looks like it would be too slow because you need to use the mouse controls and you can only drag so fast

third party games… let’s see here

elden ring, hades 2, street fighter 6, daemon x machine, split fiction, ea sports fc, madden nfl, hogwarts legacy, tony hawk’s pro skater 3+4, hitman world of assassination, project 007, bravely default, yakuza 0… a respectable selection

also it sounded like most of them would be coming out on launch day so probably same deal as switch 1, where there’s one big og launch title (which seems like it’ll be mario kart) and a bunch of third party games to pad out the library for a bit

ZELDA???????

ma’am i love you ma’am

IS THIS THE DLC WE WERE LOOKING FOR WHERE YOU PLAY AS ZELDA IN THE PAST PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

oh my god it looks like aoc and it said koei tecmo was part of the team

IT IS!!!!!!!!

HYRULE WARRIORS AGE OF IMPRISONMENT LET’S GOOOOOOOOO

hopefully now we’ll learn the FUCKING SAGE’S NAMES

also hopefully she’ll talk about the champions and not just iGNORE THEM LIKE TOTK DID

nintendo switch online plus expansion… let’s see

it’s probably like a gamecube emulator or smth

CALLED IT LMAO

More third party stuff…

DELTARUNE LET’S GOOOOOOO

OH SHIT CHAPTER 3 AND 4 ARE COMING OUT SAME DAY (i think) LET’S GOOOOOO

other third party stuff… borderlands 4, civ 7, wwe 2k, nba 2k, survival kids, enter the gungeon 2, star seeker, cyberpunk 2077, final fantasy 7 remake… not bad

oh rapid fire okay let’s go

kunitsu game path of the goddess, silksong, story of seasons, goodnight universe, two point museum, wild hearts s, witchbrook, puyo puyo tetris, rune factory, marvel cosmic invasion, star wars outlaws, nobunaga’s ambition, fast fusion, shadow labyrinth, raidou remastered, no sleep for kaname date, reanimal, fortnite, arcade archives 2, professor Layton, tamagotchi plaza, and human fall flat 2… interesting

the silksong bit is fucking fake btw no chance that game comes out this year like it said lmaooo

okay last third party game (i'm p sure at least)

the duskbloods, huh. neat!

it gives bloodborne so i know a lot of people will be excited about that (not to mention it’s a soulsborne sooooo)

kirby??

kirby!!!

PLANET ROBOBOT?????

no this is a new game i just got excited when i saw the engines

WAIT KIRBY AIR RIDE SEQUEL???

KIRBY AIR RIDERS!!!!!

SAKURAI AS DIRECTOR LET’S GOOOOOOO

okay last trailer let’s see here

DONKEY KONG!!!!!!

donkey kong bananza… incredible

alright no more games… are they going to tell us the price?

yeah yeah bundle whatever

alright guess that’s it then!

[smilesrobotlover]

ooh hyrule warriors? the regular one, not aoc

Oh gosh I love this game. It’s so silly and insane and it embraces that, yet it’s deep at the same time? I love this incarnation of Link and Zelda, this Ganondorf is one of my favs, Impa is also one of my favs, and Lana is such a lovely character and a joy to watch. The story overall is fun and the game is a BLAST to play through! Every character is fun to play for me and some of the music that aren’t an adaptation of classic Zelda music are so good. I really like this game and am trying to 100% it, it’s just a slow going process 😅

I mostly wish that Cia didn’t look like that. Like… this is a zelda game does she need to wear that outfit? If it was a more mature game I really wouldn’t care, but it doesn’t fit the whole vibe. I also wish she and Lana shared the same skin color. Like why on EARTH is Cia darker skinned than Lana even tho they’re the same person? What are they implying with that. Very weird and not a fan. I overall don’t like Cia much as a character. I also…. Just… no Groose??? There’s no groose at all? The twilight era has two heroes and a villain. The era of time has two heroes and sorta a villain if you wanna count Volga? But the era of skies??? It only has Fi and Ghirahim?? Where is Groose? He’s the best characyer ever why isn’t he there? The groosenator is there so why isn’t he??? Is it cuz he’s not easy on the eyes or somethin??? C’mon groose deserves to be in this game 😭😭😭😭 and this is more of a personal gripe but I despise Agitha. Why isn’t groose there but this weird bug lover npc is??? Why couldn’t Rusl or even Ashei be there?? They’re actual fighters! They have an important role to the story! Why is Agitha there I will never let this go. I get so upset over it HDKSBSKS

I also kinda wish the enemy in the dlc with Tetra and Daphnes was more unique and not… phantom Ganon. Like imagine if it was Bellum :o that would be cool

Idk I do like this game a lot it’s very silly and fun and I like the characters :) except Agitha. And cia, and Wizzro lol

[noirandchocolate]

Me: *restarts Age of Calamity (on gf’s account so I don’t lose my first save)* Aw man I gotta wait so long to get My Best Guy and it’s weird not having all my combos.

Me: *finishes first mission* Oh right and I can’t even fuse weapons yet what the hellllllll everything I have is so weak I can’t believe I actually have to PLAY the GAME in order to PROGRESS through the GAME.

AoC: Unlike the first time you played, this time you have the DLC from the start! Here! Have some janky-looking armor aaaaaand!

AoC: A base power 36 Prototype Ancient Sword!

Me: Everything is going to be 0k.

[giosprey]

Woah.

Okay. How long is it since I last wrote something on tumblr? Like two years and a half? Right now I’m feeling so overwhelm by mixed emotions I still don’t know where to start. But my intention isn’t to write a long rant.

There is a specific thing that happened in these last two days that lead me to this decision.

Anouma said that it’s the end of the Wild Era and that they won’t make a totk sequel

While a part of me kinda expected this, I cannot help but feel a bitter feeling of sadness. Not because botw was my first Zelda, I still treasure it like it came out yesterday when in reality it’s been more than 4 years. It’s because of how much I expected from totk.

Do you know what they usually tell? Do not rely on expectations.

I made this mistake. I really felt this wait. But… was it actually worth it? Of course I’m not saying that I don’t like this game. It’s just I can’t believe they just left us with all of these plot holes.

When botw came out there were some plot holes as well but at least they overcame them after the Champions Ballad DLC, and it wasn’t even necessary since you got to see more of the characters than you actually do in totk.

Calamity Ganon was a mystery, yes, they didn’t actually tell us why and how it was born, but it felt right not to tell. Botw developers didn’t want players to focus on a distant past (as they did in totk), so it was okay not to fuss about it.

But in totk not only did they focus on a distant past by they purposely showed us some cutscenes of it despite letting the player play in the present. But what do we know about the past?

Absolutely nothing. This game was focused on the Zonai tribe. I remember when people used to make a lot of videos about them and their influence on the Hyrule chronology. But what did they tell us about them? Nothing. We don’t know why they got extinct. We don’t know how Hyrule was born and why they descended from the sky. We don’t know how we got Zelda since both Soniah and Raul died. And I could just mention so many other examples.

And as for Ganondorf? I don’t even know where to start. They purposely made him good looking but at what cost? Why? For the solely purpose of fan service or because it was actually useful for the plot?

Oh, right. What plot? The plot where he just wanted the secret stone just to… be powerful? Okay, I can see that he’s “pure malice” and so on, but come on. Give at least a little bit of context. It’s GANONDORF. And it’s been fifteen years since his last appearance. And what did you do? You made him a one dimensional, boring and flat character…

And do not get me started on the champions descendant and the Depths. I simply don’t want to talk about them because there is nothing to say you don’t already know. 🙃

Anyway, long story short: should they have made a DLC? No. Not necessarily. Or at least that’s what I thought. In the very few hours I read the interview. But given how few much they have done to contribute to the botw plot… yes, maybe they should have.

Well… goodbye Botw era. At least botw did touch me and inspired to create my OC with my own prequel (I will not accept AoC as a prequel since it’s not canon sorry lmao). I just feel sad that after playing totk I just didn’t feel anything. No particular excitement. Nothing.

I just hope the next Zelda chapter will be more than that. Until then, we’ll have to wait.

[sunset-peril]

Villain here. Yeah fr. I was kind of a jerk in my post/tags but only because (especially on that day) I was quite frustrated and fed up of the "m*phlink happens in aoc" "um aksually m*phlink is canon in aoc ☝""zelink can never happen in aoc" arguments I kept seeing online in various places.

I do understand wishful thinking and all but it has felt like nobody saying these things actually played the game (or watched the cutscenes all the way through), just purely repeating what others said and running with the fact the champions are alive while ignoring the actual content presented in hwaoc.

Like, if I was a writer setting out to make m*phlink canon, I would not give her a single scene of focus (her introduction) and then have her in the background for the rest of the game, while writing zelink scenes like that castle hallway moment that feel pulled straight from a fan's pre-calamity zelink fanfic lol. Koei Techmo/Nintendo's intent seems pretty obvious (especially since they went and added an entire extra zelink montage in DLC content), so I really don't know how "m*phlink canon in aoc" became such a popular idea?

There's also the robot in the room: Terrako. The name means "earth child" and becomes glued to both Zelda and Link as if they're his parents. I mean one of the DLC scenes even makes them both look like out-of-breath parents who have been searching high and low for their missing toddler (the comedy of the moment being that Terrako is actually more than fully capable of handling himself and they just missed the intense battle that happened)

NOTE: If anyone decided to reblog this, please do not add any ship tags for anyone. That's gonna be my policy moving forward for content like this.

~~~

Completely and entirely understandable. No judgement here. Can't judge actually, I'm a problem sometimes. I've been guilting of misinterpretations too. I had my crap called on my characterizations of Rhoam called out this year, and I've had to revisit both BotW and AoC to fix it. If I blocked everyone who had One of Those Days where they decided to pick a fight against the Fandom, especially for a mischaracterization, I'd be blocking all my mutuals, a lot of people I respect in the Fandom, and also I'd be blocking myself. We're human it happens. So long as you don't endorse being a butt.

I lose my lid on misinterpretations a lot more than I really want to admit. Especially when they have that real coercive wording of "accept the thing as canon or else," or just refuse to acknowledge itself as a headcanon, then get butthurt when they are (very politely or gently) fact checked by someone else. Both of which could have been entirely avoided if people were upfront with whether the Canon had been regarded or not (which is usually what sinks my battleship).

I've sniffed both ends of the skunk (does that saying work?) concerning this whole mess with AoC and BotW and all that jazz just from fic writing alone. Having ZeLink be canon and have there be a true reason for the Zora Armor's existence? Yikes. Piss keyboard warriors on both sides off. (the gist of it being that Link was part of a dying sub-tribe to the Hylians and agreed to an arranged marriage to Mipha to prevent himself from having to commit inc*st, however, Mipha was clear that she knew Link didn't love her and that he only agreed in order to save his sister, and also willingly dissolved their contract when he fell in love with Zelda instead. But that's another post)

But I'd never try to coerce someone into accepting that as the reason for BotW's semi-confusing set up. For all canon purposes, I blame the Zora themselves for not critically thinking about Link's current situation, and believe that they may have been unintentionally manipulative to him simple because they weren't really thinking about Link's complete absence of memory/sense of self. Yet again, not something I'd force somebody to believe as canon. And emphasis on "unintentionally," because I really don't see malice in any of them. Especially Sidon (and whoo, he's a whole other dumpster fire)

As someone who would easily place Age of Calamity into the My Top 3 Zelda Games (shoot me, I know), I've spent a stupid amount of time analyzing that game. The idea for ZeLink being pregnant at the time of Calamity innocently enough came from me and my cousins analyzing the game together and actually making fun of the sheer waistline difference between the white Prayer/Priestess Dress and her pre-Calamity armor. And don't you know that would make people boil if I tried to present that as canon 😂

I fully believe Terrako is 10/10 intended and written to be Zelda and Link's "son." But I wouldn't use any fanon discourse to try and prove that. I don't think I need to with the game in hand. There can be a bit of "stretch" I think that ZeLink fans pull in determining how early in the game Terrako "decides" Link's his dad (I don't believe this happened in the cutscene where Link defends Zelda from the Yiga and Terrako beeps a ton and kind of bites at his ankles, which is where I've seen a lot of ZeLink-ers say it happens). But to me there's absolutely no doubt that Nintendo and Koei intended for Terrako to be their child. And some fans' decisions to try and define One Instance™️ that Zelda/Link/Terrako became one family doesn't detract from the fact that the game heavily appears to be going in that direction. I mean, Zelda is clearly his mom, don't need a degree in Nintendo to figure that one out, which raises the question of why Terrako is almost always following Link around instead of his "mom." I also won't force people to accept that if they don't want to, as long as they at least acknowledge what the canon is actually saying and not what their fanon desires. Points for the newbie fans/offline fans for that one because they're not in this discourse mud all the live long day! (I also watched the Restoring Terrako cutscene again to make sure I'm not accidentally lying, and when Terrako wakes back up and recognizes Zelda, Link does that nod + very slight smile thing that he does to Zelda when Calamity is defeated. He nods a lot in the game of course, but I think those are the only two times he's nodded and smiled. Don't quote me I didn't rewatch the entire game)

The DLC at times definitely feels like Link and Zelda dealing with their little toddler, haha. That picture he takes of them both at the end OOF.

Honestly, it really feels like Mipha is ignored once the Zora Princess plotline is over. Unless I'm severely miscounting, she has about as many "alone" moments with Daruk as she does with Link. And ain't nobody shipping them in AoC! (as far as I'm aware, I'm sure there's someone)

I feel like if Link was supposed to have any chance of falling in love with Mipha in the BotW storyline/universe at ALL, they would have made that astoundingly clear in Age of Calamity. But they don't. It feels even more like a joke in AoC than it did in BotW/TotK. The DLC slams the lid on those fingers even harder.

In fact, we could sit here for the whole night debating about whether or not any ZeLinkness in TotK was already written/known to Nintendo when this game was made AND whether or not they specifically made this game Heavy on the ZeLink or Not Heavy on the ZeLink simply because of whether or not there would be ZeLink in TotK. Because there was at least some time where there was production overlap between the two games. No clue how much, but there was some.

Actually, despite whether or not I wanted to make Link end up with Zelda/Mipha, I still wouldn't have cast her aside like it did. After the Zora Princess plot when Mipha bonds with Ruta, it starts feeling like her only driving motive is her affections for Link. Which we know from Champion's Ballad, the Zora Princess plotline, AND when Sidon/Riju/Yunobo/Teba fall out of the sky that her love for her brother, father and people equates (I would actually say "exceeds") any Link-related motives or personality points that Mipha had. So I would force the story/game to put Mipha in places where Link is completely out of sight out of mind. Because there are some parts of BotW/AoC where it acts like Link's her only purpose in life. Which is a problem.

If I wanted to make sure the public knew that Link was supposed to love her and not Zelda, I would have made it dang sure it was obvious. And the only thing I really find obvious in AoC is that her affections are played almost like a joke (or at best a subplot where everything but the beginning and end were cut from the game last minute). I can't remember how to unlock the Zora Armor in AoC, what quests you have to do, but I do remember it was a LOT. Like, the fact that you have to do a LOT of mediocre side quests (I think you have to be post-game to unlock it? I cant remember, but it raises more points if you do) to unlock it instead of it being accessed through the main story says something about Nintendo's intentions, and to me that "something" smells like "included for reference/fanservice only". It was actually one of the last clothing items I got simply because there were a lot of hoops to go through to get it. (I mainly wanted to unlock it to read the description, and the description almost sounds like Link is making a joke of it, or if he's actually concerned that he could GET IN TROUBLE for having it which... raises a lot of flags).

I would have made sure Link got that armor during the main story if he was supposed to love Mipha. I would've made sure to include a part with Zelda and Terrako that more or less says "I know you like him, but he's not your dad" if he wasn't supposed to end up with Zelda. However, neither of those things exist. And they would HAVE to exist (or something very similar) to outweigh everything else occurring in that game.

The whole rest of the game smells so heavily of a ZeLink fanfiction, I actually want to laugh. I couldn't have based ZeLink fanfiction so heavily off this game if there was no ZeLink.

What also makes me want to laugh? Every interaction Urbosa and Revali have in that game. HYLIA she seems so done with him.

[fwoosh-prompts]

Prompt: Five Champions Chilling in a Hot Tub Very Close Together Because the Shrine of Resurrection Is Only So Big

Where the pilots of the Divine Beasts were ejected from the beasts as they fell to the Blights attacks and their people found them dying and for X reason had found out about the Shrine of Resurrection and took their Champion there only to discover all the others had the same idea. They decide to place all five in the shrine. It's barely enough to cover them but they make it work, and then all they got to do is wait...

Does it still "only" take 100 years or does it take longer?

What sort of clothing did they leave for the other champions? Do the other even get any clothes or is it only Link and Urbosa that get "new" clothes?

How will the remaining Champions handle the complete memory loss?

When/how do they regain their memories, if they do?

What about their powers? Will they have to reactive them somehow or is it rediscovered by muscle memory etc?

Do they get more than one paraglider?

If they only get one, how will they get down from the Great Platau? Will they try to climb?Will they craft their own? Send down Daruk and have him dig out the blocked part where water have collected? Something else?

How will the reunions with their people/family look like? Will there be people who are sceptic to believe they are who they say?

If any of the Age of Calamity plot is included:

Assuming Kogha and the Yiga have turned against Ganon like in AoC after having their own killed/severly wounded by the Calamity, what have the Yiga been up to the last 100 years?

Will Kogha have snuck in a dying Sooga into the shrine too after he got hurt by a Guardian/malice/etc?

How will an amnesiac Yiga handle recovering memories of trying to kill his companions? Is his first memory triggered by bananas or by meeting Yiga spies? Or is it something else? Maybe Link or Urbosa (the two he would've fought the most) handing him a fruit in a similar way to how Kogha did when he was starving in the dlc flashback?

How will Kogha handle Sooga not remembering him?

Do they still steal the Thunder Helm? If so, why? Is it to lure the group into their lair to see if they can jog Sooga's memory? Or are they worried Riju would try to go after Vah Nabooris herself and possibly get hurt?

[dykesbites]

hi! so I absolutely do agree with you that Revali's AoC art looks way cooler (and more accurate color-wise, etc.) but fun fact about the Champion's Ballad: each champion actually makes the exact pose from their BotW key art in their respective flashback cutscenes, including Revali! so unfortunately, he HAS canonically posed Like That. in BotW. head-tilt and all. (it's when he's talking about Link at the end of the cutscene)

i didn't want to believe this so i rewatched the memory and he does in fact do the ugly pose very briefly at the end. point taken. i still think the pose is a really weird choice to highlight though. for example.

Image description: A screencap from the Breath of the Wild DLC memory featuring Urbosa. She has her hand on her hip and looks over her shoulder at the viewer dramatically. End I.D.

This shot comes right after Urbosa defeats the Yiga members and it's both a dramatic pose and comes at a key point in the memory and thus is . memorable.

I.D: The official art for Urbosa from Breath of the Wild. She is in a similar pose as the previous image, with a few slight differences. In this art, she wears her champion's clothing she received from Zelda. End I.D.

This is a great choice for a pose! not only is the pose itself really cool, but it's relevant to the character in the story.

Similarly I don't have problems with Daruk's art, aside from personally disliking the painterly style used in all of the BotW champion art. I can distinctly remember seeing that Exact Shot of him in his memory (I don't remember Mipha posing like her art and it also seems like a poor choice for her but its overall not as egregious to me as Revali's).

I feel like of all of the poses to use of Revali during his memory, the one they chose is the Literal Worst. Why would you have your official art of him be standing on the ground when a key part of his design that sets him apart from the other champions (a la the ganon returning memory where he is the one who flies up to confirm that hyrule castle has fallen) is the fact that he can fly?

It's also a VERY brief blink-and-you'll-miss it shot of him to choose. Urbosa stands in her pose for a few seconds and it's cemented in the viewer's mind. It's a distinct stance that she does, whereas Revali's feels less like a pose and more like a position he passes through while talking. Again, Daruk's is also a good choice because him laughing like that is a familiar sight-- we know him as a hearty laugh, dad who loves to grill, slaps you on the back as affection kind of guy, and his laughing pose brings all of those parts of him to mind.

A better pose to me besides "literally every other shot of him in the memory" could be the one where he draws his bow to shoot the first three targets, or the one where he almost falls out of the whirlwind before soaring back in with renewed energy. both of these moments are dynamic and are key aspects of his personality: his impressive skill and his drive to be the best despite experiencing failures.

I.D: Two screencaps from Revali's Breath of the Wild DLC memory. The first is of Revali drawing his bow in mid-air, loaded with three bomb arrows. The second is of Revali's second attempt at his signature gale, after he almost falls out of it again. He stays in the air and surges back into the whirlwind with determination. End I.D.

[gensnix]

Something that bothers me about botw is how come no one talks about the old champions.

No no no I’m not talking about these guys

I’m talking about the 10,000 years past champions. Why don’t we ever hear anything about them? We hear some stories of the Zelda and the hero from 10,000 years right? So why not talk about those that helped them. Wouldn’t those guys be an important role in each of their respected culture. Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali get that treatment (i.e statues, monuments, having things being named after them, etc..) but that could just be because their legacy’s are only 100 years old and there are still people alive who knew these. 

So maybe they were just lost to time, their monuments might have fallen 10,000 years is a long time, perhaps back then the divine beast didn’t need pilots back then. They where apparently very advanced back then 

…Or maybe just maybe something bad happened to them. 

I mean it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen someone get consumed by malice and turned into something unrecognizable 

[ellenent]

new Peach outfit!!

[sheikah-simp]

the dlc is great guys