Does it feel like aeons have passed since Age of Calamity was released? Between remasters, rereleases, and Tears of the Kingdom, I’m sure it’s slipped from your mind a little.
It’s not a traditional Zelda game, and it certainly has its faults, but I loved it. I always want more of before in Hyrule. I want to see the little houses, the villages, and the world as it was. Age of Calamity doesn’t let us freely explore these structures pre-Calamity, but it does allow us to race through them and get a sense of what they were.
The Akkala Citadel Ruins will be familiar to you from Breath of the Wild, and the completed Akkala Citadel is a location I was desperate to see inside. The only other fortified building in the Hylian architectural style other than Hyrule Castle, I wished for a glimpse within. With Age of Calamity, I finally got there!
More auxiliary buildings are still standing in Age of Calamity, namely some exterior training grounds outside the main citadel. Pass through those and across the bridge, and you can enter the gates to see inside.
The citadel itself is every part the military building you’d expect it to be. It has a mess hall, classrooms, and weapon stores. Laid out through interconnected corridors, if an enemy were to breach the gates, they’d find themselves in a winding maze of sharp corners and unexpected turns. There is no way to gauge where the stairs will be to lead you up or down, and there’s very little in the way of central areas to find your way from.
Its design is as grand as that of Hyrule Castle but far more austere. There are no plush carpets here, no royal red velvet to be seen. Instead, the floors are bare flagstone or wood. The only adornments throughout are statues of knights or military banners.
Look closer at the banners and you’ll see they are the dark blue of the Hylian Knight’s uniform. The heraldry is the wings without the Triforce, which is only for use by the royal family. It’s a small but important detail.
There’s little in the way of creature comforts here, but in the melee of Age of Calamity, you can imagine this as a bustling place. A place of training, learning, and camaraderie. There are plenty of nooks where knights could meet with friends, smaller dining areas with seats, a roaring fire, and bookshelves full of reading materials.
Find your way to the centre, and you’ll find the base of the Sheikah Tower. The only round room in the Citadel, this multi-story gallery wraps itself around the tower, which ascends through the roof. Beyond being a perfect defensive location anyway at the top of a hill, it now doubles as a defence for the ancient structure. It’s a plan that works, after all the Tower outlasts the Citadel, surviving the Calamity and fulfilling its duty.
The design of this building really surpassed my expectations, the deeper I look at it the more little details I see. My only disappointment is that I can’t look around without getting attacked by lizalfos, and I can’t take a screenshot before they’ve decimated all the furniture.
