Hyrule Warriors review: The making of a legend called Zelda

The worst thing one can say about a prequel is that it shouldn’t have been made in the first place. With Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, players uncover a story that’s worth being told. It features the same visual language as its source material, the instant classic The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but that foundation is used in a way that will be unfamiliar to longtime fans.

The game starts with Calamity Ganon laying waste to Hyrule. As Zelda’s powers awaken, a diminutive Guardian takes a portal to the past. It ends up 100 years before the events of Breath of the Wild, and the R2D2-like machine joins Zelda, warning her about the future. She embarks on a quest to stop Calamity Ganon by venturing into the other kingdoms and persuading their best warriors to pilot ancient machines called Divine Beasts that have the power to stop him.

Through the game’s seven chapters, Link and Zelda will gather their squad and several extra characters, outfit them with the gear and move forward with the seemingly doomed encounter. Unlike previous efforts, Zelda, not Link, is at the center of this tale as she’s the driving force behind gathering the champions and her struggle trying to unlock her potential takes center stage. Hyrule Warriors is her story though she may not be in all the missions.

Combat revolves around mashing the buttons for regular and strong attacks. Players have to efficiently and quickly dispatch foes. Run long enough and the players sprint across the screen. If players have an ally, they can direct them to an important part of the map and switch over when they get there. The most compelling part of combat involves tougher heavies and bosses that require the heroes to pummel them so the Weak Point gauge zeros out, leaving them open to a heavy-damage strike.

Each hero has a different set of attacks and powers, making each one feel unique with their own weapons and tactics. It gives the combat variety and the campaign feels more like an ensemble adventure led by Zelda than anything else.

Hyrule Warriors can grow a little rote, especially toward the end. It feels like a lost opportunity to understand the relationship between Link, Zelda, Mipha, Revali, Urbosa, Daruk and the other unlockable heroes they meet along the way.

Still, the game does one big thing right: It makes you want to jump back into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The prequel hits the right notes for fans by scratching that nostalgia itch and scraping the inner lining of their Zelda memories. Players will be battling a horde and the setting will take them back to the grander adventure as they hunt for the hidden story, tragedy and surprise behind the beloved original.