Anica Ancheta

Bought this game when it came out, on my brother's birthday, and played it absolutely blind. I've played Hyrule Warriors Legends before and enjoyed the gameplay as well as the story. Although they did take away a few aspects in Age of Calamity that were present in Hyrule Warriors, it more than makes up for it with its new features. The Sheikah runes are a very interesting addition, but kind of overpower the gameplay in two-player mode and can be substituted with Zelda's initial weapon. The roster itself is very diverse, especially with the unexpected additions such as the monk, the fairies, and others. Just like the previous Hyrule Warriors, my brother and I had the tendency to main certain characters we were comfortable with, displaying the vast array of movesets with the characters. Remixed soundtracks are another reason to play, if only to listen to them while doing your hacking and slashing. I absolutely love what was done to the initial Champions' themes, as well as the covers of various BoTW songs. There's no wild guitar like in Hyrule Warriors, but orchestral arrangements, which blew the fights out of the water with how well they were executed. The framerate wasn't too bad while my brother and I played in two-player mode with the switch docked and hooked up to a TV, though it had dipped to horrible framerates at times. This stands out when you play as an Impa-Urbosa combo, especially, going down to 5 fps on a bad day. As for the story itself, it was definitely not what my brother and I were expecting. (SEMI-VAGUE ENDGAME SPOILERS AHEAD) The whole time travel thing really threw us off. I personally thought it was a great addition, even though it was really out of left field. My brother, on the other hand, felt cheated out of the tragic story that was supposed to have occurred a hundred years prior to Breath of the Wild. I really believe it is up to personal preference on the experience you want, whether it is a happy, almost cliche, ending, as is present in this game, or not. However, the thought of being able to play as more characters than just the initial Champions comforts me, so maybe it will to you too. Interactions between the older and newer Champions in cutscenes were alright, nothing too characterizing that I can remember off the bat except for Impa and Purah. They share some cute moments, like Mipha with Sidon, but I felt that the custcenes were just fodder for me to finish the game. All in all, I don't regret getting this game, and neither does my brother. It's a good buy for someone who has experienced the story of BotW and won't get discouraged by the writing. For me, the story didn't greatly overshadow the stellar gameplay and soundtrack, so it's five stars from me.