We Are the Champions | Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Review

Prequel to Breath of the Wild? Sequel to Hyrule Warriors? Whatever it is, here's my review of Age of Calamity!
If you like what I do, please consider supporting me on Patreon!
/ arlostuff
TWOOTER: @ArloStuff
BOOKFACE: ArloStuff
This video was edited by the excellent Yoshiller!
/ yoshiller
"Reloaded Installer #11" by LHS.
/ @lhschiptunes

[@ArloStuff]

I'm sure some of you will be disappointed that I avoided spoilers when the game has been out for a good while now. But do not fret! I'll be doing a full spoilery discussion on the game at some point. Just got to decide on the format.

[@MinerFun]

Pog!

[@dittom3426]

Hopefully that won’t take another 5 months.

[@pigglesgoomshby7249]

I mean you could do it when some dlc releases

[@pigglesgoomshby7249]

@@chancethompson3388 Why not like both?

[@skillyoshi]

Hello Arlo

[@masterspongebat2387]

This must be part 1 because for some reason the video isn’t 4 hours long.

[@WallJumpGames]

I didnt know we are watching MockRock

[@WallJumpGames]

I say this because Arlo is 3hrs, MockRock is 4

[@rev0lverocel0t]

I think they serve completely different purposes on youtube but alright

[@treganfilms]

@The Second Son’s Its not a AU however it is a new timeline split

[@DevinAK49]

@@treganfilms either way. Doesn't matter.

[@umbramaticnyx3593]

This game and Animal Crossing New Horizoins had one thing in common for me: Eventually, I got kinda burnt out. But when I was hooked I was REALLY hooked

[@hadleym2247]

EXACTLY

[@davitkhachatryan3721]

Just like me and Undertale

[@jakhow6641]

I loved the game so much, yet I only got halfway through until I ran out of steam

[@DanielVCOliveira]

Exactly. I'll take my time with it when we get the DLC, I don't want to burn out again

[@rhettmitchell]

@@jakhow6641 halfway through is when it really ramps up though

[@greyrifterrellik5837]

"It's all repetitive, but when you're hooked in you just don't care." is quite possibly the single most accurate description of why these games can be so fun, that I've ever heard. Well done.

[@netweed09]

That's such a Cop-out though. Just because he makes a special exception for Repetitive = Fun this time, in no way means it actually is. If it were $25 I'd understand but of course it's not. It's boring & repetitive when taken in to account being a $60 game.

[@greyrifterrellik5837]

@@netweed09 I get that the warriors gameplay style isn't for everyone but just because *you, personally,* don't like it doesn't make it a bad or boring game. All it means is that it's not something YOU'LL enjoy. Meanwhile those of us that do enjoy the genre? "Repetitive" is just plain irrelevant to us. We know the games are repetitive, *we just don't CARE.*

[@netweed09]

@@greyrifterrellik5837 Exactly; that's classic Bias for you. But while that's even fine and it's good you at least admitted to it - my point was regarding the price. It's so objectively 1-dimensional - how could they even possibly think of charging over $40 for this at launch? It's like charging almost $40 for Space Invaders 'LED TV 30th anniversary version'.

[@greyrifterrellik5837]

@@netweed09 Because the actual target audience of the game think it's worth the price? Have you considered that possibility? I wouldn't pay *any amount* of money for a horror game because it's just not my thing, but that doesn't mean there aren't people who love the genre and are willing to pay for a decent game within that genre. I wouldn't know what's good value or not in horror, but horror fans WOULD know. Age of Calamity is *absolutely* a $60 value warriors game.

[@netweed09]

@@greyrifterrellik5837 ​ By that 'logic', a company could charge $60 for _any_ piece of garbage though. ''Oh the niche audience we are targeting will find this fun!1'',, bam: $60. Nope; you may think you're trying to 'educate' me but this is all your opinion - and I'm not buying that, that's for sure. You're on your own on that accord. I just find too many Influencers online have double standards nowadays and just apply hive mentality to what they like/dislike. Easy views & likes too. But hey, enjoy and buy what you like.

[@PhDMario]

Fun fact. In BOTW there's a memory where Link has ONE scratch in his arm after defeating an army of enemies, Lynels included. They even show the path full of dead monsters. You can argue that 100 years ago Link was as powerful as shown in AoC just by that cutscene.

[@BrynnBeverly]

I really like this line of reasoning. Looking back on the memory where Link almost dies, there's a TON of dead guardians--now it makes sense

[@matthewmuir8884]

@@BrynnBeverly Could you imagine if we had gotten to actually play that moment? A mission where you play as Link and you have to protect Zelda while getting her away from a pursuing horde of corrupted guardians, and when you get to the final location near Fort Hateno, the mission becomes just, "Protect Zelda" and you make your stand; fighting an endless horde of guardians until you're inevitably overwhelmed (and I'm not talking about losing in a cutscene; I'm talking about fighting until you *lose).* That could have been quite a moment.

[@mattblack3813]

@@matthewmuir8884 I honestly thought that’s how this game would go, somewhat disappointed this wasn’t what it was... Kind of a FF7: Crisis Core vibe

[@matthewmuir8884]

@@mattblack3813 Yeah; I know what you mean. We all thought that this was going to be a proper prequel like Halo Reach, Final Fantasy Crisis Core and Torna: the Golden Country, because that's what Nintendo kept advertising this game as being. I'm sad that we didn't get an actual prequel, and I'm angry that Nintendo and Koei Tecmo lied about it.

[@infinitygames9317]

@@matthewmuir8884 Every time I mention this I get bombarded with how "Nintendo never said that" and "It's your fault for getting your hopes up" I liked the gameplay but the story was unforgivable really.

[@jacobweisz9684]

I’m exclusively calling Stasis the “hold it right there” and the resurrection shrine the “underwear bath” from now on.

[@sethfeldpausch4337]

I prefer Kohga’s old man “SLOW DOWN” for stasis😂😂😂

[@Bramblestar9339]

Honestly same, that was brilliant. 😹😹😹

[@ZeldaUniverseTV]

We need more Purah and Robbie; they’re the legendary duo we didnt think we needed.

[@drewce390]

Hey.

[@dougdelyser2734]

I wouldnt be surprised if they become playable characters in the dlc

[@vgf64-27]

@@dougdelyser2734 I'm 99.9% sure they will make it.

[@liambecker558]

I wanna see how Robbie reacts to seeing tiny Purah

[@ShadowStarkiller]

@@dougdelyser2734 iirc dataminers found evidence that they are

[@NintendoBlackCrisis]

The performance dropping in this game is real. Especially when you eventually unlock a specific character with specific abilities which utterly destroy the frame rate. 😅

[@JJGamezMC]

Impa? or is it someone else? I don’t remember anyone causing framerate dips as bad as she did.

[@NintendoBlackCrisis]

@@JJGamezMC One of the last characters you unlock in the game who isn't unlocked in the main story.

[@JJGamezMC]

@@NintendoBlackCrisis spoiler warning don’t click read more if you haven’t unlocked all the characters i 100%ed the game so I assume you’re talking about calamity ganon? I don’t remember him being as bad as impa but maybe i’m not remembering it well. Impa went down to like 5 fps at times and I don’t remember ganon being that bad.

[@whodatninja439]

what terrible performance, how embarrising.

[@DeityHorus]

@@JJGamezMC IT'S TIME

[@zechariahdsiler]

When talking about if the characters were as strong as they are in this game... there is a memory in BOTW that shows Link having killed what seems to be an army by himself.

[@becca1chan8773]

I will say that the English voice acting is improved in Age of Calamity.

[@sirjackofscklownced7260]

I know they really stepped it up, hopefully they’re even better in BOTW 2

[@christapinder8205]

Very true, they improved alot. I still stuck to the Japanese voice acting though as I'm used to it from botw.

[@Novarcharesk]

I've never had a problem with it. Zelda's shakiness to me sounds like direction, rather than the VC's actual ability. Daruk and Mipha did sound a bit overdone. Shout to to Urbosa's VC. She sounds awesome.

[@thelordstarfish]

Yeah speaking as someone who insisted on only playing the first game in Japanese because I could not stand Zelda's voice... and who admittedly only experienced Age of Calamity through KZbin videos since I played the demo and the gameplay just didn't appeal to me... I think the English voice acting is indeed significantly better in Age of Calamity. There is still some residual clunkiness, like, there are some characters (Hestu being a big one) whose lines are just *so anime* that they just sound super weird in English, but the performances have improved substantially.

[@Novarcharesk]

@@thelordstarfish Hestu being all anime isn't the voice actor's problem then. It's the bizarre continuation of cringey Japanese dialogue just moved to English. The cringe remains regardless of language.

[@shadyshyguy4058]

14:11 There is memory 8 in BoTW. It shows that link has defeated 3 silver lynels and an army of bokoblins alone. Also other memories showed Urbosa and Daruk could easily fight multiple enemies at once. So Link and at least the champions could have fought and defeated as much monsters as they fight and defeat in Age of Calamity.

[@nickioleary8577]

True. And to be fair, we don’t really see any of the other characters in fights, so for all we know, those characters could always fight as well as they do in this game. Or at the very least I can’t think of any evidence to disprove anything

[@diccchocolate416]

​@@nickioleary8577 we see revali go nuts in the dlc so that's believable

[@Atomicrow]

One of the smallest details that i love is that some of the quests reference small things around BOTW's map that you never even considered. I think in Rito villiage theres a quest that, once completed, says that you made a ring of flowers to put on the Hylia statue. In BOTW, its still there. It may be an alternate timeline, but i like to believe that even after the Calamity, they kept replacing the flowers after they wilted for so long, that they dont even know who started it in the first place.

[@Temlorddadragunkilla]

Yeah i appreciate that too

[@skittles536]

Urbosa’s A special is the perfect example of the frame drop satisfaction

[@CLopez63]

YES

[@lewa3910]

Speaking knowledge right there!

[@aidenpons9584]

In Co-op in rain it's even worse, game drops to about 1 FPS

[@bobross4886]

Haha frame drop satisfaction

[@ericwindsor339]

Yeah that move feels epic

[@KumaOso16]

English voice acting performances got beefed up big time going into AoC. Patricia Summerset as Zelda took all the criticism from BotW and really shined in this game. I hope she gets more work.

[@candidpepper]

While I do think people were hard on her during that time I agree that she improved with this game.

[@KumaOso16]

@@candidpepper She said that actually helped getting into character because she could relate her burden with Zelda’s.

[@Fff99901]

I actually think she's worse in AoC. Every single line she delivers sounds like she's about to burst into tears which sort of works in BotW because Zelda is frustrated or upset in most of her scenes but in AoC there are moments that are meant to be hopeful or triumphant yet still Zelda sounds like she's on the edge of a tantrum.

[@KumaOso16]

@@Fff99901 I think that may be due to the fact that as royalty, she talks different from everyone else. You'll notice that almost every royal figure in the game talks in an RP accent (see Melia in Xenoblade). I think the only one that doesn't is Urbosa.

[@Fff99901]

@@KumaOso16 I don't think that's it at all. I'm British, I'm used to hearing people with actual RP accents speak, they do not all sound like they're about to start crying.

[@kenji6492]

One time my Revali took out multiple miniboss enemies with a single special move and the game just froze on the frame of impact for like...3 seconds. I loved it

[@Rvchnoob51]

Satisfaction

[@not_the_vampire]

STEEL YOURSELF; I AM READY...for an entire game centered around this version of Impa. I've never felt like more of a murderous badass in any game than I did playing as Impa.

[@jecwick]

Arlo: The story was confusing in certain parts. Also Arlo: I played in Spanish, but don't understand the language.

[@ChoiceSnarf]

Well, he can still read.

[@cullenlatham2366]

confusing design decisions more than anything else. I cant say much more without spoilers, but even the trailers showed time travel as the explanation for eggbot's presence in the past, and with it comes more shenanigans around the implications as the game progresses. The story itself isnt bad, but start thinking about it on more than just the surface level it presents and confusion is bound to arise to some extent, whether just questioning the choice or theorizing the implications.

[@novustalks7525]

Right? Lol

[@juanayala4608]

What’s there to understand? Smash shit! 🤣💪🏽

[@AgentMS]

In English, you still have to make more inferences than with most stories. It's a weird combination of the story simultaneously being too basic and too confusing.

[@scolipede491]

kohga's english voice acting is incredible though. it's partially because of erik braa's performance that i'm somehow invested in this character now edit: i feel the need to clarify that this is not for amazing, deep characterization reasons. master kohga is a hammy, nonserious antagonist and the english voice actor plays this up to a fantastic degree. he's your best guy!

[@Viktoria_Selene]

His voice is spot on

[@lh9591]

He gives “inconceivable!!!” vibes and that’s just perfect for master Kohga

[@ssgssmo2218]

at first i thought it was arlo doing the voice

[@pigglesgoomshby7249]

“THE STUPENDOUS CHIEF OF THE YIGA CLAN MASTER KOHGA! Is gonna kill you all! TO D E A T H!”

[@Zeldinion]

Astor's and Soogas were really well done as well.

[@Mystic-Aidan]

“I did not know what was going on and it wasn’t fleshed out enough” “I played the game in Spanish” What

[@AttackingTucans]

I thought age of calamity was addicting and I 100% it in the first few weeks! It made a much larger fan of the breath of the wild universe and I think it would be amazing if breath of the wild 2 allows us to play as some of these amazing characters. I think more playable characters could be a great addition for the sequel. I’m so excited for the DLC! and I can’t wait for your spoiler filled opinions review

[@girlwithoutafairy]

Eyy it's Tyler

[@yocupofjoe]

This shit is bananas

[@evdestroy4121]

Yeah these characters are (hopefully) dead in the sequel so...

[@madsquid9943]

@@yocupofjoe B Q L E M P T

[@whiteemerald_6802]

@AttackingTucans Stop lying. The game requires more than a few weeks to complete. You are just trying to impress people with a video game. Sad.

[@chriskoloski32]

Also: we know Link has to be this powerful because of that memory in breath of the wild where Link had hundreds of enemies dead around him including lynels and all he had was just the master sword, no shield or bow

[@nachocabo4221]

I am a Spanish speaker and just because of you I realized that our dub was good! WTF?! Why did I played this in English!? Btw: I didn't knew it sounded poetic to other people lol

[@lopesdoria]

As a fellow spanish speaker I'll say that I didn't mind the english voice acting that much, but when I hear the spanish dub I can't help but cringe. It might just be me, though.

[@Chick_NCC]

El latino tiene buenos actores de voz como Enzo Fortuny (la voz de drake) y Daruk es el que dobla a Jack Sparrow (se me olvidó su nombre), no se como sea el español de España, pero el doblaje latino siempre ha sido bueno, aunque la voz de mipha me decepciona mucho en español...

[@ShadowStarkiller]

Foreign languages always sound sexy, especially the Romance languages. You could say "Take out the trash, you filthy pig" in French, and it would probably sound sexy.

[@ksaem052]

I haven't played it yet, but now I'm going to do it with the Spanish dub. I replayed the whole Blasphemous game after 100 percent it, dlc and all, using the Spanish dub because it just feels way more authentic.

[@andr0zzsenpai]

El doblaje latino es buenísimo, creo que son los mismos de BoTW, a eso le llamo dedicación.

[@simonditomasso9868]

Fun fact, you can also play as a Goron in phantom hourglass

[@Scarabola]

hopefully BotW 2 has Goron Armor to roll around in

[@simonditomasso9868]

@@Scarabola That would be Pog

[@CubeMasterTV]

Oh the cocky goron kid... I remember....

[@Raythar]

"Why are there so many disaster synonyms that start with ca-?" Just cause.

[@Novarcharesk]

According to Wiktionary, it is a perfect coincidence :P

[@denstsunogemaandrewvelasco8339]

Personally I think Astor voice in English is the best compared to the others. He always just sounds like he’s gonna snap at anytime. With the exception of the Deutsch voice at the end that one took the cake

[@cookedghost]

Ikr! He (and Kohga and Sooga to a lesser extent) feel like the only ones who talk naturally and/or in line with their characters. It's a shame for the rest of the cast, but always a joy whenever they pop up.

[@waterninja5099]

I don’t get why everyone thinks it’s bad

[@colton.421]

I just wish they did more with the character, hopefully they will in the upcoming DLC

[@matthewmuir8884]

@@cookedghost As much as I am not a fan of the story, I do think Sooga was very-well voice-acted. His voice and some of his more snarky lines honestly reminded me a lot of Obito/"Madara" Uchiha from the English dub of Naruto Shippuden, to the point where I actually double-checked to see if it was the same voice actor (it wasn't).

[@christapinder8205]

I got hooked on the Japanese voice acting.

[@doommustard8818]

Obviously arlo decided to do this for me since I just beat this game

[@56Bagels]

Legitimately the same for me, finally beat it last night.

[@bikokeki]

Duh! 😌

[@nartia1619]

Saaaaaaame beat it last night. Such a great game.

[@americanduckling]

He's a psychic

[@shoriforvictory8645]

Same here. I got all Koroks, side quests, upgrades n all!

[@Casual_PKBeats]

I'm so sad that I just don't like the gameplay format of the Warriors games, but I avoided Age of Calamity because of it. This, paired with the certain story route they took, it's a shame that I just couldn't find a reason to buy it. Looks like a great game for those who are into it :( Hopefully BotW 2 scratches some itches better

[@Viktoria_Selene]

I never liked warriors games (warrior games?), but I really wanted to give this game a try, even if the demo dissapointed me. So I got the full game, and played through it, and it was fun, despite the repetitivenes, and it had some great moments, even outside of cutscenes. While the story is derivative, and so is the formula, I had a great time, and I dont know why I wrote this much

[@nolanv6089]

I agree. I didn’t like the warriors format but the story was amazing. Also, hello.

[@EmerlyNickel]

If you're interested in still getting the story, the cutscenes have been posted on KZbin

[@cedrickterrick]

This is the most unlike Warriors Warriors game there is. It feels more BotW than Hyrule Warriors itself. As a Warriors fan, I would have liked more Warriors elements in it. Try it if you like BotWs combat system!

[@SomeYouTubeTraveler]

You sound like the one vegan at the party telling everyone how sad you are that you don't want to eat the pizza.

[@ThePTurtle115]

Slowmo will happen whenever you magic cast, fury rush or shekiah sleight. So when the framerate actually drops; it just feels like epic slowmo.

[@Rvchnoob51]

It does its so good

[@nickb6425]

19:15 Arlo you just described why so many anime fans love Japanese audio 😂

[@ritster21]

Yep. Weeboos!

[@shinji2898]

So far I can kinda get a lot of the points in this review, but I don't get the VA complaint. I felt that it gotten way better after the first game, even if certain characters for some reason feel as if they basically just changed accents.

[@ecota8150]

Yeah, and me as native spanish speaker always cringe at spanish dubs for some reason, I normally don't but it happens a lot with video games. I'm more comfortable with english, which was the case with this game.

[@g.t.3186]

@@ecota8150 I think people are just more comfortable with any language that isnt their native one tbh. I'm a native Portuguese speaker and I cannot play games in my langauge because it feels off; I have to use english or spanish instead.

[@KingofAwesomness14]

@@g.t.3186 same and i speak english, sometimes I'm like, "oh god why!?" so i switch.

[@danette26]

@@ecota8150 tbh it depends on the quality of the dub for me. I will forever cringe at the English dub for BOTW and AoC but the LATAM Spanish cast is perfect. But then you have Nintendo games like Fire Emblem which always has marvelous and beautifully acted English dubs. There are good and bad dubs imo so I just pick the language I find has the most compelling acting. I played botw master mode in French and it's a 10/10 as well and I don't speak a word of the language

[@theconsumerofpenguins81]

*spoilers* I’m still pissed about the king’s fakeout death

[@fluffynator6222]

This actually happened in BotW too. His grave can be found on Mount Hylia.

[@corruptedteka]

@@fluffynator6222 Hey wait you're right. I never questioned why his grave was there but that makes sense. I'm more disappointed by the fact that NOBODY died or got seriously injured. ( Terrako does not count, of course ) It's... kinda frustrating. A great big war that was supposed to kill so many important people end up killing none. And yes, many soldiers probably died in the war, but we the viewer are not attached to them at all.

[@PYRESATVARANASI]

@@corruptedteka this was my biggest problem with the game overall. How anyone didn't die.

[@crazysilly2914]

@@PYRESATVARANASI because it was in an alternate universe...

[@Christopher-md7tf]

@@corruptedteka I'm so with you. When you market a game as a prequel to BotW, then it should be a goddamn prequel to BotW. They had the opportunity to actually do something interesting and tell a captivating, tragic, harrowing tale and what did they do? Pull a fucking FFVII Remake move, so they can, against all odds, spin it into a happy-go-lucky story where nothing happens to any of the good guys.

[@samus20018]

"Or a Gerudo! Ha! There's one!" But Ganondorf (Hugs original Hyrule Warriors)

[@HybrydaArt]

Things I didn't think I needed but loved... Top Banana... I mean Khoga and his right hand Sooga : D fun duo every time they were on screen

[@beneciotheperson]

Let's face it. They're obviously a power couple :)

[@pigglesgoomshby7249]

Sooga was an absolutely FANTASTIC addition to the cast, and it makes so much sense that the goofy, lazy leader would have his serious right-hand man do most of the hard-work within the clan

[@matthewmuir8884]

Considering that the Yiga Clan in BOTW were an odd blend of silliness and seriousness (they're bananas for bananas, and yet they murdered Dorian's wife and blackmailed him into giving them information), it makes sense for them to have had a silly leader and a serious enforcer. I just hope that, in BOTW2, Kohga's successor is similarly no-nonsense, but more reflects the scheming side of the Yiga Clan; I'm thinking someone seemingly skinny, appears and disappears whenever he wants, is highly skilled in Shiekah techniques, wears a longcoat over the typical Yiga Clan bodysuit, keeps a guardian sword hidden in his sleeve, and/or turns out to be an amputee with prosthetics made from Shiekah tech. He could even have nothing but contempt for Hyrule.

[@i-sore]

One thing I found impressive about the music is how they adapted the more melancholy themes from BotW into epic orchestral pieces in AoC, Mipha's theme in particular. (Also spoiler-ish part below) Zelda's Lullaby was really cool to hear, especially in the context given in this game.

[@Chick_NCC]

Miphas theme in this game (and for that matter all of the champions themes) was bonkers

[@emmapegouske]

Also Spoilers The context was fun but jesus if that robot standing over Zelda's crib wasn't the creepiest fucking thing I've seen in a video game recently.

[@lewa3910]

I didn't mind the menu music's repetition cuz i just found it too beautiful. Especially at points in the game where it changes to something more foreboding cuz of the part of the story i was at, that when it changed back it was like honey to my ears again. I especially love the post story menu music, so heart warming for me

[@annalovescrafts3959]

I feel like every time I watch one of your reviews, you have almost the exact feelings about everything that I do. It's amazing

[@cam15432]

I’m honestly surprised that I ended up loving this game. I’ve never played a hack and slash game before, much less a warriors game. But I got it back at Christmas and immediately fell in love. I’ve only played 60 hours so far, but I have a lot left since I’ve been playing on hard.

[@misomie]

If you want to play more of the genre, Fire Emblem Warriors is also super satisfying. The characters aren't as unique but I'm a big fan of their ai and they'll actually do stuff when you command them to vs just running over there.

[@DarkLink1996.]

The biggest missed opportunity: Vah Medoh doesn't control like an Arwing

[@facepwnagewtf]

Geee I've been saved by Link, how swell.

[@matthewmuir8884]

Compared to the Arwing controls in Star Fox Zero, Vah Medoh's controls are an improvement (though that's not saying much).

[@DarkLink1996.]

@@matthewmuir8884 The Arwing itself controls like it always has. Its just aiming that requires motion controls. Which, by the way, so does Vah Medoh.

[@matthewmuir8884]

@@DarkLink1996. I see. I just wanted to make a joke about Star Fox Zero because I thought the moment was too good to pass up, and I didn't bother double-checking the controls. My bad.

[@Raindrop_2401]

@@facepwnagewtf that sounded so much like something that Revali would say that I actually didn't realise it was a Falco quote for a good 5 minutes and was trying to figure out where the joke was

[@moev29]

I like that your reviews always show up months after a game has been out (that’s not a dig. I realize it sounds that way) because it gets me excited about games all over again in this world where we move on so rapidly to something new. I’m watching this and feeling excited to go back and play it this weekend because I really enjoyed it. They’re always reslly thorough and well thought out. I get more out of your reviews than the early ones others put out

[@dukewojcik7753]

I actually agree about liking the dipping frame rate with the increase in action. I’ve always felt like that heightens your immersion into an intense battle where it feels like a million things are happening within the span of a few milliseconds, and your focus is so split trying to process everything that your brain skips a few frames itself.

[@fluffynator6222]

Ironically, animation uses this kind of stuff apparently.

[@arms.3559]

it feels the same way for me the same way you feel epic when activating bullet time in midair in botw

[@Christopher-md7tf]

"It's not a bug, it's a feature"

[@followtheakubra8749]

It was the most marvelous journey and tribute they could offer to Breath of the Wild fans. Gotta say the music was not just good, but quite bombastic too. What a gem of a game, couldn’t put it down til completing it over good 50-60 hours, and I’m no completionist at all

[@wrenjablonka6090]

the music was honestly awesome. i was surprised. i loved how the main theme changed throughout the story and stuff also i totally agree with you about not being able to put it down, i haven’t 100% completed breath of the wild but AOC i just could not stop

[@matthewmuir8884]

Personally, I think a more marvelous tribute would've been an actual prequel like what was advertised. I mean, if you look at the pre-release trailers, all the top comments are people having been extremely hyped about the idea of playing a prequel to Breath of the Wild.

[@followtheakubra8749]

@@matthewmuir8884 I felt it was a prequel, just not one with a final chapter of champion death after champion death , which was an obvious outcome originally. The way the story was put in a - ocarine of time-ish parallel timesplit - allowed pure enjoyment with the heros, championing over the bad and more content and characters to appear epically haha 100% satisfied

[@matthewmuir8884]

@@followtheakubra8749 The definition of a prequel is a story that chronologically precedes the events of a previously-established narrative. Alternate-timeline stories like this and the reboot Star Trek films don't really count as prequels because they don't actually precede the narrative that came before them. Ocarina of Time's use of time travel was nothing like this; it was a self-contained use of time travel by the OoT characters to resolve the plot of OoT; no one was coming in from A Link to the Past to prevent the Imprisoning War or anything like that. I can understand wanting an alternate timeline where the champions live and the calamity's defeated 100 years early purely for fanservice and I have no intention of wanting to take that from you, but I and many fans wanted to see the actual past that led up to BOTW. I wanted to learn more about what happened than just what was in flashbacks and journal entries, I wanted to play as Link desperately protecting Zelda from guardian after guardian until being inevitably overwhelmed, I wanted the final mission being Zelda facing off against Calamity Ganon by herself in an epic boss fight that ends with her sealing away Ganon for 100 years, and I wanted the game to end on a montage of Hyrule going from how it is post-Calamity to how it is just before BOTW, with Zelda then saying the familiar line: "Open your eyes. Wake up, Link." That, I think, would've been a real tribute to BOTW fans.

[@followtheakubra8749]

@@matthewmuir8884 alright, personally I’m way not convinced that it would have been better that way, because somehow I deem those events quite self explanatory by themselves - the champions, link and zelda being at some point overwhelmed and failing without allowing you to really “succeed” gameplaywise in the missions... but I understand you preferring to stick to the real story narratively and with more extension on those saddening events. I just can’t get mad nor disappointed at what was given because I sense one epic moment after another 😬 really happy if that is not the “real truth” and just an age of calamity lullaby haha

[@luisemmanuelsolanotinajero1686]

As a Mexcan myelf, I am just glad you used the Latin Spanish dub. The voice actors are so good in their performances. I am not sure if they use the Cheesy lines of the English dub but I adore it. My favorite actor is Jose Antonio Macias in the role of certain Zora in the story.

[@migaDbr]

As a Spanish person who loves our dubs whole-heartedly, I have nothing but respect for Mexican voice actors and actresses. They do an absolutely stellar job! Having such a strong dub culture is something worth cherishing :D

[@fluffynator6222]

I personally really liked the German dub. Maybe because it's my native language. ^^"

[@luisemmanuelsolanotinajero1686]

@@fluffynator6222 I may listen the German dub later on. It sounds very cool actually

[@javiervasquez8995]

Jessica Ángeles was a bit dissapointing for me considering how "calm" some of her dialogues came off during some of the later chapters in the game. Personally i still think Patricia Summersett is far better in comparison considering all the amount of real emotions she managed to convey pretty much the entire game from beggining to end. Hopefully Jessica does a better job in the sequel to Breath of the Wild otherwise i'm definetly playing it on the english language. PS: On the issue of the dub for BotW2 seeing as we're finally getting a Ganondorf with voice acted dialogues i would be willing to give the mexican dub a chance if they were to cast voice acting veteran Carlos Segundo(Piccolo in Dragon Ball) as the official mexican voice of the Gerudo King of Theives. Man is he a Legend with that deep voice of his so if he does end up been chosen to play Ganondorf then i'm definetly checking the mexican dub out.

[@novustalks7525]

From the bit he showed the Spanish acting sounded really out of place

[@TheLEGOZora]

I was expecting an epic tragedy that is more gloomy than other games, one that really shows the sorrow of losing. ah man

[@matthewmuir8884]

I hear you, though I personally wasn't exactly hoping for gloom; I was hoping that it would show the war while ending on a specific hopeful note: I was hoping that the game's last mission would be Zelda marching through the burning ruins of Castle Town, alone and armed with her newly-awakened sealing power, before confronting the Calamity Ganon in an epic boss fight that ends with Zelda sealing the Calamity for 100 years. The game would then end on a montage of Hyrule going from it was post-calamity to how it is just before BOTW, and then the player would hear the familiar line: "Open your eyes. Wake up, Link."

[@sithsaber1296]

My review: loved the gameplay, hated the story

[@TheLEGOZora]

@@matthewmuir8884 That could have been cool

[@TheLEGOZora]

@@sithsaber1296 agree

[@fluffynator6222]

@@sithsaber1296 Nah, A***r made it good enough.

[@Vegeta241]

"Or a Gerudo! Ha! There's One!" - Arlo ...so, who's going to remind him that you could play as Ganondorf in the original HW?

[@KaytoShields]

That is true also let's be honest here Hyrule Warriors Ganon looked sooooo cool compared to all of his other iterations.

[@sonpo6177]

The time where Arlo cuts the map's theme to prove a point. And almost plays the Miraculous Ladybug theme with the cuts.

[@misomie]

This has been driving me mad playing. Like I like it but the map theme and another theme keep telling my brain that it's Miraculous Ladybug and so it starts humming that theme

[@hadleym2247]

HAHAH THATS EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGH TOO

[@zelda574]

😭😭😭😭😂😂😂

[@marianamora4203]

Ohmygod I thought I was the only one! xD the Miraculous theme is the only reason I can stand the main menu theme of this game.

[@MrsYasha1984]

But the Miraculous Ladybug theme is a Rip off of the song "Laura non c'e" by Nek. So, my brain is totally confused now. I hear the sound reom the game and my brain randomly picks the words from either the italo pop song or the german ladybug intro and mixes both into an unholy mishmash 😆

[@billyrubin7713]

Looking at this video's length, I assume it is the intro to the eventual full review

[@flarfschnikelman6780]

@Daniel Thompson Arlo > Scott the Woz

[@murtymcfly]

@Daniel Thompson arlo.

[@-inFinity05-]

I actually think the English voice acting improved immensely in this second game. They really fell into their characters this time around. It was surprisingly incredibly good.

[@g_in_garage]

i really like that you had the video fully subbed! i hope you continue to do this in future videos

[@WhoEvenIsAndr]

*spoilers* I have no idea if what I’m about to say will make any sense but here we go. I’m still mad about how they handled the story. I really do not like how time travel was involved. The idea that you were fighting in the war 100 years ago, the one that everyone wouldn’t shut up about, was so cool and a perfect idea. Almost to perfect. Everything in the story made sense in the context of BOTW and seemed like it would fit in perfectly, and we would have a prequel filling in the shoes to BOTW’s lack of story. But in the end, it felt like nothing mattered. Near the end of the game I was on the edge of my seat, excited to see how the champions would be bested, but in the end I was waiting for a moment that never existed. When king roam was blasted by a guardian it was exactly what I was expecting and it was amazing. The tension that was building was truly great and was my favourite part in the story.Sadly this was short lived and literally two seconds later king roam is just chilling at the temple of time perfectly fine. This was were I realised something wasn’t right and I knew the whole end just wasn’t going to work and live up to the” BOTW prequel “ I had imagined it would be but now all I can say is that it was a really good concept that I sadly will not look back to as fondly compared to BOTW. This decision with not killing of king roam gives of the idea that Nintendo is to cautious about showing us their characters die and it really disappointed me and I’m sure many others. There are so many good things too and it would have been so easy to make it fit in with BOTW and have no time travel shenanigans, but no. Mainly I’m mad that they got my hopes up expecting one thing, but then gave me another.

[@captainpep3]

Fair, but worth what they did I think they handled it well. People are upset that they didn’t get what they expected, but I think with what was given to us was done really well

[@Andrew-hz5zc]

@@captainpep3 Basically yeah. It's a great thing, but we were given it instead of the great thing we were expecting and bought the game for. Knowing the way the story goes probably would have influenced many people's decision on getting the game, so it kinda felt weird.

[@juangutierrez673]

Yup, true pretty dumb. I’m sure many wouldn’t have bought the game if they knew the ending.

[@captainpep3]

@@Andrew-hz5zc I agree. But maybe with luck they could add dlc showing the ending that leads to botw, I’m sure people would love that

[@Andrew-hz5zc]

@@captainpep3 I would certainly like that, but unfortunately the small trailer we got for the dlc doesn't hint at anything story related. Maybe they will release even more dlc after it, but who knows. Maybe story stuff is actually coming, but it doesn't seem like it.

[@undergalaxy775]

As a native spanish speaker, I always found spanish to be a budget language and english to be sophisticated and cool, so you saying Spanish is beautiful sure puts things into perspective

[@beneciotheperson]

I cant imagine how difficult it is to learn our language with its idioms and homonyms and weirdness. The word was was once is, but now was is was. IM SO SORRY

[@undergalaxy775]

@Caitlyn McMunn it's pretty understandable. Weirdness has a certain charm to it, and the more used to it you are, the lamer it will be. French is to me what spanish is for you lmao

[@undergalaxy775]

@@beneciotheperson I wasn't aware of that lol, someone should get fired for that. I honestly can't say how easy or hard it is to learn. You get taught english not long after learning spanish and a decade later it just comes naturally. If I tried to learn it now it would probably be hell

[@MarkHogan994]

As someone who is a native speaker of French and English both, and who has some basic knowledge of Spanish and Italian, I feel like Latin languages are generally *much* more sophisticated than English. English really is a very, very straightforward language. If you find it cool that's a matter of taste, but in terms of sophistication and complexity it doesn't come close to what you can express in Latin languages. Even at its most elegant, it's still really basic.

[@undergalaxy775]

@@MarkHogan994 don't get me wrong, I know latin languages are harder than english. When I say sophisticated I mean, say, a technician will probably sound more convincing and smart by using it, which is also a matter of taste I guess

[@lucmorris9183]

Glad to see another review, I like the news roundups but the reviews are where its at!

[@L337M4573RK]

The game itself is great, and the difficulty can get pretty challenging in some of the later quests/missions. A couple downsides to note are the numerous invisible walls that can be found throughout the game, and the camera that starts to go haywire if you're too close to a large enemy or if you have your back against a wall (or invisible wall)!

[@JamSwoosh]

I loved Age of Calamity, one of the few games I couldn't put down since I was eager for Breath of the Wild story

[@Tyrisalthan]

But if you were eager for the story, weren't you disturbed by all the inconsistances between the games? Like how all characters could have the sheikah slate simultaneously? Or how the sheikah slate had magnesis, cryonis, etc, when Link only aquire them 100 years later when the shrines became active? And how were towers here when they are buried deep underground till 100 years later? Or how characers from 100 years from the future could fight beside their ancestors (or in case of Sidon, be an adult in a time when he is supposed to be a kid)? Weren't you bother by any of those? For me, they rendered this game unplayable for me.

[@JamSwoosh]

@@Tyrisalthan Those are fair points there. But no those didn't bother me. All the characters having the Sheikah slate made sense for gameplay purposes otherwise you'd always have to have one particular character on hand. Story-wise I completely understand what you mean there. The characters coming from the future I really liked and Age of Calamity shows a different timeline because of that and the ending hinting it. Plus the Sheikah Towers I thought made sense, I assumed they would be there since they'd be needed, then when calamity hits they're sealed away so they don't get destroyed, like how Link is saved in time before he dies with the shrine of resurrection. Feel free to comment any reasons why the Sheikah Towers are sealed away that are or may be canon since I'm personally unsure. I feel bad that those bothered you, but I see why. I hope Breath of the Wild 2 will be better for you :)

[@salsitamexicana1157]

@@JamSwoosh The biggest inconsistency was Link not having the Master Sword since the beginning for me

[@JamSwoosh]

@@salsitamexicana1157 Oh, was he supposed to already have it by that time in the story? I genuinely had no idea that was a plot hole

[@salsitamexicana1157]

@@JamSwoosh Yeah not a lot of people know that lol because its in Creating a Champion and it says he got the Master Sword and he was 12 thats why he was choosen as the knight lol

[@anthonyhand8424]

Age of calamity was one of the best left field Nintendo games I never saw coming but wanted oh so bad

[@TheWolfess]

I always love listening to your reviews! And this one was worth the wait. Looking forward to the spoiler discussion as well!

[@agentdangercup9218]

I freaking love age of calamity! When I bought it, it was the only game I played for almost 3 months. Just the shear scale of the characters we got to play was amazing. The *Surprise Ninja Ally Friend* was by far my favorite character of all. "Am I Even allowed to be This strong?" XD

[@Alfonso88279]

For the same reason you watch the scenes in spanish, I watch them in english. I hate the spanish dubbing, but since my english level is more limited, I understand the words without getting things like bad accent.

[@bubblesnopemporium5880]

23:16 🧐 Oh Arlo, I must inform you that cataclysm does not start with a "kuh" sound. My good sir, it is actually a "kah" sound Here's a turtle 🐢

[@nintendoge1575]

I will take that turtle and raise him and call him George

[@vaderwalks]

Very helpful review Arlo, wasn't very interested before but that gameplay loop sounds like my kinda thing.

[@11Legorex]

Glad to see another review from you Arlo, hope all is well on your end of the states!

[@nocturnalnathan]

I know exactly what you mean about the frame rate dips making you feel more powerful, I thought the same thing when I was playing!

[@Hawlo]

I'm not sure what you mean about the combo system being different? In both games, you perform strings of weak attacks and your combo depends on when you press X. You're definitely correct about the lack of strategy compared to the first game and it was one of the few things that stood out to me when playing the demo. And oh, God, the Divine Beast missions are NOT mindless, what the hell. You try doing the Vah Medoh missions just by spamming attack buttons, you'll be blown out in seconds by hundreds of Guardians and Wizzrobes. Vah Naboris is the only mindless one, I'd say.

[@KalebDaubMooshra]

The divine beasts felt pretty mindless to me and I've only played on hard. I just get into a big group and fire tge laser. Only one mission did Iose even half of my health bar.

[@Nicholasryan17]

I completed the game and every single Divine Beast mission was mindless.

[@novustalks7525]

Naboris is the only decently designed one

[@Salmon_Samurai]

Literally the only time you have to put any thought into the Divine Beasts missions is 'don't press A too early or you lose'.

[@evdestroy4121]

I don't really get how the game lacks in strategy compared to the first one. Is it the fact that you don't have to run to a fairy fountain midway through every mission? Or is it the fact that you don't have to button mash your way through bombchus? Maybe the fact that you aren't forced to cycle through weapons every couple minutes just to open a path with an obvious solution to unlock? Otherwise the gameplay is basically identical, except it adds strategy with the runes. Hell, I had much more trouble with AoC than I did with the original HW.

[@BerserkerNosaj]

Hey man, I needed this! Getting another Arlo review is just that awesome thanks for this, also Teba might be my favorite character!

[@dajie3197]

so lively and fresh, just great the way Carlo reviews. I picked it up during spring festival deal on HK shop.

[@chandlersparkman3162]

Oooooo ive been waiting for this review. Cant wait for the spoiler-y follow up.

[@franciscovelasquez9660]

I speak Spanish and personally I like to play may games in English since is my second language but I have to say I’ve beaten both breath of the wild and age of calamity in Spanish and English and I have to say that the Spanish dub is just amazing the delivery in their lines and the emotion they bring to it made me feel and enjoy every moment.

[@ceakoth]

Great review, thanks for putting this together!

[@jurijkratz4792]

I absolutely love your channel Arlo, great content.

[@nathanlasart226]

Story-wise, the "unexpected elements" that meddled with the canonicity wasn't what I expected and initially wanted. But at after a certain point I was able to take it for what it is, flip the skepticism switch off, and just kind of have fun with it the way the developers clearly did.

[@novustalks7525]

It’s canon

[@nathanlasart226]

@@novustalks7525 Yeah, but not *THE SAME* canon. Or more accurately, the same timeline. Which is what I had expected/wanted. Time travel has convoluted Zelda enough at this point, why can't things be more straightforward?

[@novustalks7525]

@@nathanlasart226 because it gives them more options to continue botw as its own mini sub series while also making brand new future main games

[@matthewmuir8884]

@@novustalks7525 They are not going to come back to the AoC timeline.

[@novustalks7525]

@@matthewmuir8884 yes they are

[@ill_luck]

I’m just waiting on that dlc now

[@noivernova9016]

I am surprised and envious that the ending didn’t significantly mar your experience, good for you Arlo!

[@thiagolopes2330]

I really appreciate a game review done with patience!! Some people just rush through a game just to be the first one to post it on KZbin. Thanks Arlo for taking your time and putting out a quality review!

[@questioneverything680]

How can you say the narrative of Link beating up on a bunch of enemies is inconsistent when Link singlehandedly fought an army of guardins and lynels

[@aidenpons9584]

My random thoughts: - The flurry rush system is quite different from BOTW, and I like this one more. In BOTW, certain attacks required backflips and certain attacks required sidehops, which when performed in a frame window, gave you a flurry rush. In AoC, you have to dash through the hitbox of the attack to get a Flurry Rush. I like this more as it doesn't require knowledge of backflip/sidehop and is more intuitive. You can also flurry rush projectiles, which is an amazing addition. - I love how all the runes are different for all the characters. It's a bit hard to get your head around - I sometimes find myself going "oh I wasn't expecting that" - I absolutely loved the story from start to finish. - For the map, you really should have shown just one screenshot of the 100%'d map. That map in the earlygame is... so empty! - Collecting weapons with different runes to enhance them is a little weird and poorly explained, but by wad it's fun and amazing. Every Boko Stick is more XP and a chance to get the lovely runes you're looking for. My Zelda (phase 2) weapon has entirely Special Attack Charge Rate++ modifiers on it and it's AMAZING. Getting weapons from missions that still have an extremely important use despite you not directly using them to smack things is just amazing. - Game is very repetitive with the same enemies, but I somehow don't mind that. Some of the challenge missions feel a little "Lil' Timmy" enemy spam though (especially Vah Medoh's final mission - that's the _worst_ ). - Framedrops are baaaaaaaad, especially in co-op, in rain, and when Urbosa uses her special attack, but somehow the game still feels consistent. It doesn't drop inputs and feels like it gives me more time to think XD - Music is absolutely outstanding, with the exception of Astor's "get hit with rune counter" theme, which is pure noise and incredibly painful to listen to. I love this game's soundtrack.

[@88KACV]

Love love love this game. Been waiting for this review! 😁 Hope to see you talk about the story and theories in the future!

[@kenziebailey9142]

Very much looking forward to the spoilies- I love hearing you talk about this franchise.

[@StubzTurner]

So... was I the only one who played the Power Rangers theme while piloting the Divine Beasts?

[@candidpepper]

I wish I did now that you mentioned it haha

[@Nicholasryan17]

Are you a literal child?

[@chickennoodlegamer915]

The alternate timeline thing really bothered me on my first playthroigh cuz its not what I expected and I felt lowkey betrayed by nintendo. But I replayed it recently with the "alternate timeline mindset" and I enjoyed the story significantly more

[@Starwars4J]

Awesome review, and nice to see you enthusiastic about something for once

[@Fantasmickid1]

This is the Arlo review I’ve been waiting for!

[@wackko300]

I loved this game! The action, the music, the voice acting, the cut scenes...mostly everything is a great experience to me!;)

[@Aidswayz]

I love as soon as someone makes a joke about Arlo taking forever on his AoC review, he just says “about that” and just posts this

[@flarfschnikelman6780]

@Richard Thompson Arlo > Scott the Woz

[@antonbeilin1881]

I loved this review, haven't had one like this in a while but this was awesome!

[@sarahmonster4936]

This is such a great review Arlo! While this gameplay definitely is not for me personally, I very much enjoyed your energy and excitement towards HW! I love hearing abt this game from your perspective! I will def watch your spoilery review also! Thanks for putting time and energy and humor and effort into this video! Very enjoyable!

[@exvangelica4271]

"whooo caaaarrreess??" and this is why I am so happy to have found this channel, thanks for the laugh Arlo

[@Level1Sword]

I absolutely loved the story. Got me all teary-eyed a few times.

[@hadleym2247]

I literally started crying at one point-

[@newairnation6280]

I know this is a controversial take but I genuinely think that AoC made better use of BotW's characters than BotW itself.

[@pigglesgoomshby7249]

@@newairnation6280 I think that’s because since BoTW is supposed to invoke a more lonely feeling, you only get a few moments with each character sprinkled in between your various travels, while here when you meet an important character, they usually stick with you for the rest of the game either through story or being playable. Not to mention the fact that so many characters received full voice acting which elevates their appearances so much more

[@SungWooKoh]

I wasn't sure if I would like this, but in your video you sound so enthusiastic and passionate about it that now I want it.

[@morganic211]

Another great video Arlo!

[@Shadowwing1994]

Yaaay I'm so happy you love the game!! I was waiting for your review. I LOVED age of calamity and don't care about people's issues with the story. It was a really FUN game and I loved seeing a happier ending for the characters I loved. I personally listen to the Japanese voice acting

[@Rotog]

13:13 (pushes glasses up) In Phantom Hourglass you could play as a Goron called Gongoron. That game is always so forgotten haha

[@108BlackSwan]

Because it's trash

[@PoserPosse]

That is awesome!

[@katalbinson6562]

@@108BlackSwan Have you even played the game?

[@richardqustmrk]

I overleveled Link way too much, and now he obliterates everything.

[@BrynnBeverly]

idk why but I'm cracking up at this

[@turtlie7309]

My favorite thing to do in these games tbh

[@izzybeer6863]

@@BrynnBeverly Literally all I can think of: "Please stop praying for my grandpa u are making him too strong. He broke out of the hospital & cops say their tasers don't work on him :("

[@Oboe5life]

I really enjoyed age of calamity. Once you level up your combos, the combat for lost of the characters feels amazing. I actually loved that 4 note music theme- the way it was orchestrated was just so beautiful. I could never get tired of it

[@RRios0027]

i love Magneto and Hold It right there

[@windwaker5088]

The narrative stuff and the map with all the NPCs and stories is so cool, however, I do agree about the divine beasts. Vah Rudania in particular can be super finicky and awkward.

[@WheelieBad]

Loved Age of calamity. I believe I've completed everything on the map and was thrilled to unlock Ganon. I've since bought and played a few other dynasty warriors games on my PC. Great review Arlo, I look forward to more reviews in the future!

[@johnbailey2933]

Enjoyed the review!! Encouraged me to reach into my backlog (literally, I have the physical) and will play it sooner rather than later (maybe). No rush on the spoiler discussion ;-)

[@Al-ok1lj]

What really got me hooked on this game is that it does an awesome job portraying how badass each of the Champions are and how their divine beasts are much more than just giant laser mechanisms. Something that was missing (at least for me) in botw.

[@casualwoomy]

I knew you wouldn’t miss the opportunity to make a botw calamity pun

[@remakeyourself]

Great review. I love that this is so much YOUR review. You're focused on what you liked, and the FUN you had with it. Too many people nitpicked this game, imo. It's bonkers, so let's just have some fun! I still need to finish it though. I spent too much time doing EVERY SINGLE QUEST and just need to finish the game, I'm pretty close to the end!

[@alexmdrkblu]

Just bought the game the other day, this came at a perfect time to motivate you to play it! Thanks, Arlo!