Bonus Episode #58 of BGMania: A Video Game Music Podcast. Today on the show, Bryan steps into the ancient past of Hyrule in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. After the mystery surrounding the Imprisoning War, Nintendo and Koei Tecmo finally reveal the canonical story of Demon King Ganondorf's first rise to power. In this comprehensive review, we explore how developer Koei Tecmo's AAA Games Studio has crafted the most refined Hyrule Warriors experience yet, taking players through Princess Zelda's time-displaced journey alongside King Rauru, Queen Sonia, and the legendary Sages who united to save the newly founded kingdom of Hyrule.

This episode features an extensive breakdown of the game's stunning soundtrack, composed by the acclaimed MONACA collective (Keiichi Okabe, Ryuichi Takada, Kuniyuki Takahashi, Oliver Good, Keita Inoue, and Taichi Joraku), the same talented team behind NieR: Automata and Stellar Blade. We also cover the game's musou-style combat with Sync Strikes and Zonai Devices, the diverse roster of 19 playable characters, expansive side content, technical performance on the Nintendo Switch 2, and why this canonical Warriors entry stands as Bryan's favorite musou game to date.

Email the show at bgmaniapodcast@gmail.com with requests for upcoming episodes, questions, feedback, comments, concerns, or any other thoughts you'd like to share! Special thanks to our Executive Producers: Jexak, Xancu, Jeff, & Mike.

EPISODE PLAYLIST AND CREDITS

1. Undaunted Will -Zelda Main Theme- from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
2. Main Theme from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
3. Land of Antiquity from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
4. Battle for the Wetlands from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
5. Battle for the Forest from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
6. To the Rescue from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
7. The Blood Moon Rises from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
8. The Stormwind Ark from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
9. Grimgera Boss Battle Theme from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
10. Hearts Connected -Zelda's Lullaby- from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
11. Demon King Ganondorf Theme from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
12. Evil Construct Theme -Phase 1, 2, 3- from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
13. Journey's End from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]
14. Staff Credits from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment [MONACA, 2025]

LINKS

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PODCAST NETWORK

• Very Good Music: A VGM Podcast
• Listening Religiously