Age of Calamity: How the story changes allowed for a massive step forward in the Zelda series, and a tough realization about Link (OPEN SPOILERS)

[karmitt]

Yeah I have a feeling link being mute is going to show up as one of the negatives for BotW2.

Silent protagonist is a drag. For whatever reason I didn't find it all that bad in DQXIS, but in Astral Chain it was just awful. You felt like the main character was dying to say things but just couldn't. AoC is similar but to a lesser extent

 

[Deleted member 3815]

His silence becomes not a self insert for the character anymore, it is now him being boring compared to everyone else.

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The argument that mute characters=boring is such an ableist and ignorant take, though that is par for the course for Era. You all hate disable people. 🙄😒

Link isn't boring because he's mute, he's boring because he has zero personality and, with the exception of Winkwaker Link, has historically never really been allowed to express any emotion other than being stoic and bland.

Mute people can convey expression and personality but this is not reflected well in video games or with Link himself.

 

[Abylim]

The argument that mute characters=boring is such an ableist and ignorant take, though that is par for the course for Era. You all hate disable people. 🙄😒

Link isn't boring because he's mute, he's boring because he has zero personality and, with the exception of Winkwaker Link, has historically never really been allowed to express any emotion other than being stoic and bland.

Mute people can convey expression and personality but this is not reflected well in video games or with Link himself.

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Wow. We all hate disabled people?

 

[NeonZ]

The argument that mute characters=boring is such an ableist and ignorant take, though that is par for the course for Era. You all hate disable people. 🙄😒

Link isn't boring because he's mute, he's boring because he has zero personality and, with the exception of Winkwaker Link, has historically never really been allowed to express any emotion other than being stoic and bland.

Mute people can convey expression and personality but this is not reflected well in video games or with Link himself.

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These characters like Link aren't mute though. They're silent in order to avoid giving them lines that would clash with the player (although in Link's case by this point tradition also plays into it). It's why you still get to choose answers sometimes. They can talk just fine. This is also the same reason they aren't very expressive though.

The whole point is exactly to avoid giving them their own unique personality, so if they were extremely expressive you'd still have a personality through that, which would kill the point of making them silent. Even in Wind Waker Link's case, his personality was mostly in the form of exaggerated reactions, which obviously don't work everywhere.

 

[PancakeFlip]

Yeah they needed more scenes with Link doing stuff, you saw him eat, you saw him get into it with Revali and you saw him talking with Mipha while Zelda was talking with the Zora king those were the extent you got of his personal life, but they were kind of just references to some of his memories in BotW.

It feels like there was suppose to be more with Link but there was no time? Like Mipha wanting to train to be closer to Link never went anywhere. I was hoping for more scenes with them together.

Zelda was done really well though, and enjoyed the development they gave her even at the expense of Link.

I'm having trouble understanding Astor's place, are we to assume he was suppose to be in the original timeline? Just that the plan went so incredibly well in Calamity Ganon's favor that he didn't need to show himself in the events of the original?

The little guardian bot Terrako also doesn't add up, did it just not escape storage or wherever the hell the king took it in the screwed timeline?

 

[Dreavus]

Yeah they needed more scenes with Link doing stuff, you saw him eat, you saw him get into it with Revali and you saw him talking with Mipha while Zelda was talking with the Zora king those were the extent you got of his personal life, but they were kind of just references to some of his memories in BotW.

It feels like there was suppose to be more with Link but there was no time? Like Mipha wanting to train to be closer to Link never went anywhere. I was hoping for more scenes with them together.

Zelda was done really well though, and enjoyed the development they gave her even at the expense of Link.

I'm having trouble understanding Astor's place, are we to assume he he was suppose to be in the original timeline? Just that the plan went so incredibly well in Calamity Ganon's favor that he didn't need to show himself in the events of the original?

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I think we'll see more of him if there's a DLC side story. Sooga is also gone without mention, probably killed by Astor when Kohga escaped but we don't see anything.

I had this funny thought that Astor is almost like a stand in for those who wanted a 100% canon faithful game ("you've already lost, it is fated!" Etc.), but that's a little mean spirited I'll admit.

 

[Asbsand]

I don't care if Link talks or not, just that Nintendo's Zelda team creates a more meaningful story in their next game than Breath of the Wild. They could really use some of the storyboarding seen in Age of Calamity, but they also need better writers, and I don't say that as a reprimande to the Zelda franchise. It used to tell deeply evocative stories with Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and Wind Waker. They may not hit home from beginning to end but they all had an ending that would not have been possible if the opening and middle didn't lay down the groundwork for it, which is the sign of good writing. Breath of the Wild has a succinct but also abrupt finale, which is indicative of how anemic its story was. Age of Calamity gives me a headache but at least it has a story with a feeling, and not a series of disjointed vignettes that are only enjoyable if you like them individually.

The champions were not good characters in BotW. That's another misstep. They're all one-note, flanderized caricatures of a personality-type and nothing more. In order to make BotW2 great in its narrative and not just through exploration alone, you have to give Zelda more agency, develop her motivations more, and put a bomb under the table - give the story something that needs to happen that she can do, but which will go wrong if Link doesn't do something to aid the situation, and if the Champions return in it, humanize them too.

I'm not asking for pages of script, I'm asking for a real outline with a beginning, middle and end that can work modularly with an open-air adventure without reducing each part to its bare minimum just because the player can go anywhere.

 

[Neoxon]

The argument that mute characters=boring is such an ableist and ignorant take, though that is par for the course for Era. You all hate disable people. 🙄😒

Link isn't boring because he's mute, he's boring because he has zero personality and, with the exception of Winkwaker Link, has historically never really been allowed to express any emotion other than being stoic and bland.

Mute people can convey expression and personality but this is not reflected well in video games or with Link himself.

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I feel like if they want Link to be mute, they should commit all the way. By that I mean they should have him emote more (as you said) &/or communicate through sign language (either ASL or whatever Hyrule's equivalent is). If anything, Link being legit mute would be fucking awesome & would be great representation for those who are also mute. But Nintendo needs to put in the work to properly represent that.

 

[Rotobit]

Link being silent works well with what Breath of the Wild was trying to do - it was your journey, more so than any other Zelda game. While I'd be fine with him talking I think it works with that style of game to keep him quiet. Though he absolutely should have showed more emotion in cutscenes, he's basically a completely different person in gameplay with how much he emotes while cooking etc.

But yeah I agree Age of Calamity made it so he wasn't really the protagonist and Zelda definitely works better in that regard, if they decide to make BotW2 story-heavy she should be the lead. It'd be a case-by-case thing. It's kinda like how Mario would be an extremely boring character in his RPGs if he was by his lonesome, thus they pair him with partners. Heck when Sunshine and Odyssey went all-in with story they added partners to talk for him, too, and you could argue that's why Midna/Fi/Tatl/kinda Navi existed.

As an aside, I really hope the timeline shenanigans have been reset with Age of Calamity in such a way that Breath of the Wild is the "canon" timeline and AoC is the spin-off one. I don't really care that much about the timeline stuff, I'd rather Nintendo just make games with their own identity, but if they really wanna push it, that's a fun way to go about it. Say Cadence of Hyrule is an AoC sequel, why the heck not

I think an Age of Calamity 2 with characters from BotW2 is practically guaranteed in 3-4 years time.

 

[Parthenios]

I don't think the story in AoC is very good, even ignoring the fact that it's fanfiction (which I don't have a problem with, I largely enjoyed HW1's fanfic story).

It relies too heavily on assuming players have played BotW, like it only introduces or explains who one of the future champions are or why we should care about them (Sidon). It assumes you knew the Champions died but doesn't make that clear itself (half or more of the future champions end up being saved by the older ones). It takes a bunch of shortcuts, but doesn't add much itself and mostly retreads the BotW memories.

They also don't sell the idea that this is 100 years ago. Imagine telling a story about World War I but the cast is mostly people from 2020 and it looks like modern day Europe. There no civilians and aside from a single map in the second mission, everything's the same desolate post apacalypse as BotW.

 

[Enduin]

Yeah I have a feeling link being mute is going to show up as one of the negatives for BotW2.

Silent protagonist is a drag. For whatever reason I didn't find it all that bad in DQXIS, but in Astral Chain it was just awful. You felt like the main character was dying to say things but just couldn't. AoC is similar but to a lesser extent

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The problem with games like DQXI, Three Houses or Astral Chain is the fact that those game heavily rely on slowly uncovering and developing the main character's special role in the world. They're attempting to tell a deeply personal story about the main character, without actually allowing the main character to ever express themselves or their feelings about it. They all have these mysterious powers or destinies and dark histories with setups and revelations that they don't react to at all, often times with other characters speaking for them because of it.

Zelda stories and Link as a character generally aren't ever like that. Link is the epitome of a flat character arc, there's no self doubt or internal struggles with his role/power/expectations, just external obstacles testing his mettle and ability. Zelda games are plot/event driven stories and not character driven ones. There's largely nothing for Link to ever say and it only really gets awkward in situations like AoC or certain memories in BotW where they are so heavily character driven and focused around a core group of characters interacting and coming together over the course of the story. In those interactions having a character who doesn't speak or even more importantly emote very much, if at all, sticks out. But most Zelda games don't have those kinds of interactions. Instead the most development and interaction is with a companion where one sided interactions are a lot easier to work around compared to large group interactions. And not every game even has level of interaction.

If Link would just emote more during interactions that would improve things a lot. Having him be perfectly stoic and deadpan as to not convey any kind of set personality is a dumb move on Nintendo's part. Not speaking is fine and often great as again there's really nothing Link needs to say in these stories, so it's better to not have him speak and distract from the rest of the game, let alone seriously clash with our views of him. While emoting can still provide a fair degree of leeway in interpretation of his character, but ensures he's actually acknowledging and interacting with the world and characters around him in a meaningful and more believable way.

BotW2 will also likely not have weirdly personal flashbacks like the first game did nor will it be as party driven/cutscene driven as AoC is. At most we'll have Link and Zelda together and interacting with individual characters throughout the plot and not a fully party of characters constantly interacting with one another every step of the way. Which plays to Link's silence much much better. Nothing you can really do if people want some story more like a typical JRPG though, that's pretty much asking for a fundamentally different kind of story telling experience.

 

[Tryphus]

Interestingly, this perspective on Link has made me appreciate the fact that, really, Link is a nobody - just someone with the courage (hah!) to put himself in these situations to fight evil. Looking back, I don't know if he's ever really felt like a main character, at least in the 3d games - I don't know, I weirdly got a deeper appreciation for all of the Zelda games from this game, and especially BotW, since this in some ways is like a sequel in seeing the fruits of the people you helped in that game coming back to help here.

 

[wastingmyyouth]

It relies too heavily on assuming players have played BotW

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The same could be said for almost any sequel, prequel or derivative spin-off. Hell, every Musou game assumes very clear knowledge of the source material to fully appreciate the story elements. How many people are buying AOC to experience the origins of a story they have not had any interest in until now?

Clearly some users can't reconcile with Nintendo LYING to them and spoiling what should have been a deeply predictable affair to the detriment of everyone here who really enjoys the game that was actually released. Constantly reminding everyone that it's not 1:1 canon isn't adding much to the current dialogue.

 

[Parthenios]

The same could be said for almost any sequel, prequel or derivative spin-off. Hell, every Musou game assumes very clear knowledge of the source material to fully appreciate the story elements. How many people are buying AOC to experience the origins of a story they have not had any interest in until now?

Clearly some users can't reconcile with Nintendo LYING to them and spoiling what should have been a deeply predictable affair to the detriment of everyone here who really enjoys the game that was actually released. Constantly reminding everyone that it's not 1:1 canon isn't adding much to the current dialogue.

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I 100% BotW but that was like three years ago. Prior to AoC I couldn't name any of the future champions besides Sidon, and I couldn't even remember what Teba and Yunobo looked like (and since it's not covered in AoC, I don't remember what their stories are).

It's not a binary "didn't play BotW" or "BotW super fan."

 

[Christo750]

I fully 100% agree Link has untapped narrative potential, but as a player, the only time his silent avatar-style bothered me (and this is in hindsight) is Skyward Sword. That one felt like he was all but written dialogue and he was flat, but at least no one else had voiceover. That would've made him stand out more than he already does in that game.

I personally like the silent protagonist angle. I understand as the stories get more complex it can't stay like that forever, but I genuinely like projecting myself into that role and kind of look forward to it for every new Zelda game.

Regarding BOTW specifically, I somewhat disagree. Link's insignificance to the plot isn't caused by him being mute IMO. They give him a pretty solid and relatable reason for it in Zelda's diary at the end of BOTW (which the ghost of King Rhoam alludes to at the end of the GP). Link is insignificant to the story because the story doesn't frame any "Hero of Time"-like destiny for him. He's had the Master Sword since he was a child born a prodigy in a family of knights. The sword never reacts to him ever, and he has to prove himself to wield it 100 years later. This even goes in tandem with Zelda not having the physical Triforce to access her sealing magic, the mummy character in the BOTW2 trailer potentially being the 10,000-year-old hero (who, plot twist, is similar to Ganondorf as we know him AND could also wield the Master Sword) from Impa's legend, and the Master Sword itself only ever reacting to Ganon. Link can't hear the voice inside the Sword, Zelda can, etc.

If Link is going to talk, it needs to be done in a tasteful way that doesn't make BOTW2 show up like "oh yeah, Link talks now!" My idea to fix this was to play off the reasoning given in BOTW, and give Link these confessional moments. Zelda also says he never really confides in anyone, so him going to some kind of temple to talk to a sage and unload some of his burdens through the journey could be interesting, give people the Link dialogue they want as a test, and lean the audience into him talking to Zelda or the new Champions. The first game was heavily themed around Zelda finding herself, the second game could give Link a similar treatment.

 

[Deleted member 55807]

Excellent OP!

BotW felt conflicted on what it wanted to do with Zelda. They wanted to tell her story, but I still haven't figured out what they wanted to convey exactly. Something about having to trust your duty? Zelda falling in love with Link and unlocking her power through those feelings? (Yuck!) Is it a story about bad parenting and how the King frustrated Zelda's research, and therefore her ability to find her footing as a person...?

And after all that, she still ends up being a damsel in a castle =P . It's the same foggy half-way solution that Mario Odyssey used.

AoC allows for some clarification, and it does that really well. Hopefully that's indicative of the writing skills of the Zelda team getting better, as the story was co-written by them. Zelda finally being the hero in a series that's named after her (although it's in a spinoff without her name!) was great to see, and the amount of urgency and ownership she had in the story was exemplary. That goes for the entirety of the female cast. The heart-to-heart she had with Rhoam on the Plateau was a genuinely good scene, and along with the Fort Hateno mission cleared up quite a bit about her character.

Let's hope the Zelda team finds a way to have Zelda playable in some meaningful capacity in the future!

 

[Dary]

oh I can post it here too

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I've been legitimately headcanoning BotW as a sequel to the 80s cartoon since I saw those memories, and AoC hasn't changed that one bit.

 

[Neoxon]

Excellent OP!

BotW felt conflicted on what it wanted to do with Zelda. They wanted to tell her story, but I still haven't figured out what they wanted to convey exactly. Something about having to trust your duty? Zelda falling in love with Link and unlocking her power through those feelings? (Yuck!) Is it a story about bad parenting and how the King frustrated Zelda's research, and therefore her ability to find her footing as a person...?

And after all that, she still ends up being a damsel in a castle =P . It's the same foggy half-way solution that Mario Odyssey used.

AoC allows for some clarification, and it does that really well. Hopefully that's indicative of the writing skills of the Zelda team getting better, as the story was co-written by them. Zelda finally being the hero in a series that's named after her (although it's in a spinoff without her name!) was great to see, and the amount of urgency and ownership she had in the story was exemplary. That goes for the entirety of the female cast. The heart-to-heart she had with Rhoam on the Plateau was a genuinely good scene, and along with the Fort Hateno mission cleared up quite a bit about her character.

Let's hope the Zelda team finds a way to have Zelda playable in some meaningful capacity in the future!

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Actually, AoC was primarily written by the Three Houses writing team at KT. Nintendo likely had oversight, but I couldn't find any Nintendo staff among the writers mentioned (unless I missed something).

 

[Deleted member 55807]

Actually, AoC was primarily written by the Three Houses writing team at KT. Nintendo likely had oversight, but I couldn't find any Nintendo staff among the writers mentioned (unless I missed something).

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Hmm, interesting. The announcement trailer mentioned that the Zelda team "cooperated" on all dialogue. Well, let's hope some of AoC's story's strong points make it over to BotW2 :).

 

[KernelC]

I sometimes feel like fans care more about the story than anyone at Nintendo, which makes me feel kinda bad. I wish the story was as robust as the fan theories