When Hyrule Warriors first was released on Wii U in September 2014, Nintendo already has revealed their DLC plans for the game at launch with the "Hero of Hyrule Pack". Likewise, even before the release of Hyrule Warriors: Legends on the Nintendo 3DS in March 2016, we got the DLC plans laid out for the game with the "Legends of Hyrule Pack", where both of these season passes contained four individual DLC packs.
Now, with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity things are looking quite different. It's been over a month that the game has been released, but other than mentioning the possibility of the Lucky Ladle and Training Sword bonus items becoming paid DLC, there haven't been any news about downloadable contents at all.
But this doesn't mean that there won't anything for download later, instead the current pause is most likely a consequence of how Nintendo has marketed the game this time around. A majority of the playable cast has not been revealed as such, where they were left as surprises in a Warriors game that is much more story-focused than the one before.
And with that people need time to play through the game and find out themselves how the current roster of playable characters looks like. If Nintendo had announced DLC right at launch, it would have raised questions and maybe even spoiled surprises of the main game, which they didn't want to be revealed yet.
So, it's only a matter of time and rest assured that a Warriors game as successful as this one will be getting some add-ons... Now that this blog has reached the very end of the game (with only a few Challenges left) and thus has seen the full picture, it's finally time to speculate about what contents could enrich Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity digitally throughout 2021.
Warning: there will be spoilers about the full playable cast and some story parts, so don't read this article, if you're still planning to find things out for yourself!
New Playable Characters
This is the most obvious part, so let's start here. Of course the game will most likely get a couple of character additions, where some ground work already has been laid out. First of all, it couldn't possibly be any simpler to add new characters to this game, where there are already a couple of bonus characters that don't have many attachments.
All a new playable character needs is a Training Challenge, as well as a small number of Quests to unlock Bonus Combos, Bonus Hearts and additional Special gauges, as well as their enhanced ability. That's all there really is, which is why Koei Tecmo could potentially sell DLC characters on their own again, which is something that they already did with the first Hyrule Warriors in Japan.
However, things didn't work out too well in that case, because in Hyrule Warriors the normal characters had Pieces of Hearts, Heart Containers and additional weapon unlocks to obtain from almost everywhere in the game. And the paid DLC characters, like Twili Midna or Tingle, didn't get any of this and therefore felt somewhat lacking in comparison...
Now, in Age of Calamity things are set up very differently and additional DLC characters could be integrated the same way as the other bonus characters, like Monk Maz Koshia. It's only a question of how they will be unlocked, which could be happening via new Quests, Challenges or story scenarios.
And the game already has a number of suitable candidates, who are currently non-playable characters, but who could potentially be upgraded to fully playable characters via DLC. These are mainly the following four:
- Purah
- Robbie
- Sooga
- Astor
Astor and Sooga are pretty much in the same position as Cia, Volga and Wizzro used to be, when the first Hyrule Warriors got released for Wii U. They are original boss characters that are already part of the game's action, where a lot of the work is already done. Cia, Volga and Wizzro therefore even got released as playable characters in a free update, but you still had to buy the "Master Quest Pack" DLC to get their weapons and additional Heart Containers.
Anyway, Sooga's weapons would be a special type of Yiga wind blades and he could simply be added as a bonus character after you've unlocked Master Kohga, maybe with some small story details about what happened to him after fighting Astor.
Astor himself, however, won't fit as easily anywhere in the current game, but more on this later. His weapon would be different corrupted Guardian parts, like Giant Ancient Core that he keeps using.
As for Purah and Robbie, they only appear as pure NPCs on the battlefield, where they don't take part in the fighting. So, unlike Sooga and Astor, they don't already have moves and weapons in the game, which could be used for their playable versions, but in the least they already have character models.
Purah could fight using a Torch, which is curiously absent from Link's large inventory, where she lights ancient machines with a blue flame to aid her. Robbie on the other hand could come up with Cherry and invent his ancient weaponry, like the Ancient Bladesaw, 100 years earlier in this story, where he could use these items for combat himself.
Otherwise there are some variants of Ganon in the game that are currently a boss, but could potentially become playable. About that...
For now let's go with Purah, Robbie, Sooga and Astor. With these four characters the roster would grow to 22, where two more slots are available without completely re-arranging the character select screens. And there probably isn't much need to do so, because Koei Tecmo has done a remarkable job of covering most potential characters, where there isn't much left without getting too obscure.
The biggest fan favorite left from Breath of the Wild, who isn't playable yet, is arguably Kass. And if there's one more character who could have been called from the future by Terrako, then it's certainly the Rito minstrel, who has guided Link through his adventures in 100 years.
Kass would have the bandoneon / accordion as his weapons and fight with music, which used to be a little bit more common in the first Hyrule Warriors. But all the more reason to add Kass to the game.
Otherwise there don't seem to be many characters left. King Dorephan would be a possibility in the current timeline, but he might actually be too large, where he's even bigger than the currently largest fighters in the game, who are so big that they need to be teleported through the bridges at the Sacred Grounds...
Another candidate, who has already made a cameo appearance in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, seems to be Kilton, where you can get his monster masks from a couple of Quests. It could be an ancestor of Kilton or he simply is very old in Breath of the Wild, we don't know yet. But we do know that Kilton loves monsters and that the Spring-Loaded Hammer isn't part of Link's current weaponry, much like the Torch... And this could lead to something. (The weapon is actually in the game's data, but it's not obtainable as of yet.)
Last but not least, there is one more merchant, who could finally take action in battle: Beedle. It's likely that one of his many ancestors has already been around 100 years before Breath of the Wild. After all Beedle lived during the times of The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, but also about 100 years later in Spirit Tracks. And he has been around long before that in Skyward Sword and The Minish Cap.
Now, with all of this in mind, it's possible that Koei Tecmo might want to save Beedle as a playable character for the next Hyrule Warriors game. But never say never and maybe he'll already be searching the battlefield for beetles in 2021. He would with all certainty an addition that's recognizable to all Nintendo fans out there.
New Weapons
It's also possible that existing characters will get new weapons and with that new movesets. But the front-runner here is arguably Link, who already has three different weapon types, but where one of the most interesting additions would be the Master Cycle Zero. This could be similar to adding Epona as one of the first DLC weapons in the first Hyrule Warriors.
New Story Chapters
Adding new characters is good and all, but for a certain amount of spice and excitement it will be better to add them alongside new story scenarios, which could act as a prologue, another epilogue or a side story. The Legend Mode in Hyrule Warriors (Legends) got even expanded in a similar way.
Here are some ideas that all go hand in hand with adding some of the new characters mentioned above:
- Astor's Tale
- Ancient Research
- The Song of Time
Astor's Tale would be basically like "Cia's Tale" in Hyrule Warriors, where you primarily play as the bad guy and learn where he originally came from. You could experience his first encounter with Harbinger Ganon, how he "cooperated" with the Yiga and so on.
Ancient Research would be an epilogue story about Purah and Robbie, where they are put in a situation, which gives them the need to defend themselves instead of relying on the other heroes. This is where they learn to utilize their technological know-how in order to fight.
The Song of Time would be a side story about Kass, who came from the future to experience the birth of a new world, where things are taking a much more hopeful turn. He might also meet the younger self of his Sheikah teacher during his new adventures.
Master Mode
Unlike the Master Mode that came with the DLC for Breath of the Wild, this shouldn't be a do-over, but more of a New Game+. You would switch between the modes on your map using the ZR and ZL buttons. Both modes keep your unlocked characters, weapons and Quests, so all this progress is shared between the two modes.
The story scenarios and Challenges will be different in Master Mode, however, where you can play through the Chapters again with increased difficulty and unlock new Challenges on the way. The scenarios in the Chapters would be altered in the following way:
- The recommended level is raised, even further than during Blood Moons, starting from Level 81 onwards.
- More foes appear and enemies will be upgraded in their tiers, if possible.
- There are new Korok Seeds and Treasure Chests to find in different locations.
The upgrades of the enemies will work in the same way as in Breath of the Wild, where this would not affect elemental or Malice enemies. But this also means that there will be new enemy variants added to Age of Calamity:
- Golden Bokoblins, Lizalfos, Moblins and Lynels
- Blizzrobes, Meteo Wizzrobes and Thunder Wizzrobes
- Guardian Scouts II
Completely new Challenges will be unlocked when playing through the story again in Master Mode, so you won't be playing through all 161 old Challenges a second time. These could range from recommended level 81 onward, but there wouldn't be as many as in the base game. They are mainly used to add some new rewards...
EX Quests and Levels
With the new playable characters and more Korok Seeds to find comes also a series of new Quests on the map. These are labeled as "EX Quest" and probably shouldn't count towards the overall contribution rate of the game.
Some of the new EX Quests would benefit all characters in the game. The new Korok Seeds could go towards a third weapon page for every character, there could be another rod upgrade for a sixth usage and there could be additional bonus hearts and stat increases for all characters.
With the raised level recommendations in Master Mode, the level cap of all characters would have to be increased as well, where 100 is the current maximum. This could go to 150 or 200, but probably not to 255 again, since there is no need for any 8-bit references.
The
current maximum of Heart Containers for every character is 33, which is
a really odd number and creates a third row of Heart Containers waiting
to be filled as well. This could at least go up to 40, but not
necessarily the full 45, because you can get five bonus hearts from
food.
Actually, you can get twelve of the yellow bonus hearts from food, where the 33 normal Heart Containers really might be the intended maximum. With that in mind, there also wouldn't be a need for increasing the level cap of 100.
Additional Attire
Of the 107 armor pieces that Link gets to collect and wear in Breath of the Wild, 60 of them return in the base game of Age of Calamity. The exceptions are the following:
- Old Shirt and Well-Worn Trousers
- Nintendo Switch Shirt
- Ancient Soldier Gear set
- Divine Beast Helmets
- Korok Mask
- Items based on other The Legend of Zelda titles (33 in total)
- Salvager set
It's likely that some, if not most of these items will make a return as DLC later on. As a start, the Old Shirt and Well-Worn Trousers would a perfect bonus item for a season pass.
The Ancient Soldier Gear could go hand in hand with some new Challenges or Quests that get unlocked together with Robbie as a playable character. The Divine Beast Helmets could then be the reward for some new Challenges for the Divine Beasts. Likewise, the Korok Mask could be a reward for collecting some of the additional Korok Seeds in the Master Mode DLC.
Then there's all the cameo items from other Zelda games, like Midna's Helmet, Majora's Mask, the Hero of Winds set, Tingle's set and so on, which either came with the DLC for Breath of the Wild or were amiibo unlocks. Well, they all would be perfect for some 35th Anniversary celebration, where these items cover all previous 3D Zelda games, as well as A Link Between Worlds. Of course none of them are really new, but it would still be nice to get them all in Age of Calamity as well, just for fun.
Only the Nintendo Switch Shirt and the Salvager set from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 might be a little bit questionable here, since these were promotional items for other things, but it's not impossible that they could be re-added as well.
As for other characters, Zelda still doesn't have her blue dress available for her attire, the one that she wears at the beginning of the game and during some ceremonies. You can play in her winter outfit, so why not this one as well? And while other characters don't have such things, Koei Tecmo could come up with some completely new items for them, e.g. a Goron Link outfit for Daruk.
Keep in mind that the original Hyrule Warriors on Wii U also didn't have many alternate costumes at first, only a few for Link and the pre-order costumes based on Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword for Link, Zelda and Ganondorf. Everything else was added later on via DLC and Hyrule Warriors: Legends. So, it's not unlikely that Age of Calamity will get a lot more outfit stuff for everyone.
Improvements & New Features
Next to new content via (paid) DLC, the game will most likely see a couple of free updates for improvements and such. The performance of the game won't leave everyone happy, especially those playing in two-player co-op, and there were already have been a couple of small bugs discovered, where Koei Tecmo should take a look at these things.
Otherwise the game actually leaves quite little to desire, where Koei Tecmo has thought of almost everything. The only real suggestions right now are the following quality of life improvements:
- The Classic Zelda button layout should return from the the first Hyrule Warriors.
- The options menu should provide the "Retry" and "Restart Battle" functions during battle without the need of being defeated.
- There should be a new service that lets you refill your elemental rods and apples in between battles. Here you could trade your excess Trophies for the refills.
- The Blacksmith should get a new feature that lets you upgrade seals to their "++" variant.
- The Blacksmith should get a new feature that lets you increase the base damage of any weapon up to its maximum.
While weapons found in Breath of the Wild also had random base damage values, there everything broke anyway, so it didn't really matter. As for Age of Calamity, it's quite disappointing to build a strong weapon only to realize that you could have found an even better version of the same weapon later on. But with this new feature, every weapon could still reach its full potential.
Both of this would heavily decrease the need for grinding and that's a good thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment