In the last few years, it seemsThe Legend of Zeldaseries has been a lot more free and encouraging with spin-off titles and expanding theZeldauniverse. Games likeCadence of Hyrule, theCrypt of the Necrodancerspin-off featuring reorchestratedZeldatracks, would’ve never existed before the Wii U days. In fact, the firstHyrule Warriorsgame was the milestone spin-off game to start this trend. Now,Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityis aBreath of the Wild-centricWarriorsgame that may have more narrative impact than its predecessor.
What’s more interesting than getting anotherWarriorsgame set in theZeldauniverse is thatHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamitymay have an interesting place on the official timeline. A hint from the actual trailer itself does hide one very important detail:Age of Calamitymay serve more as an “interquel” instead of a prequel. The game’s actual narrative will certainly take place in the past, but it’s very possible this story is being told toBreath of the WildLink in service to a story beat inBreath of the Wild 2.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Becomes Canon
Hyrule Warriorswas the first modern spin-off game for theZeldaseries in years. There were plenty of mainlineZeldagames that came out likeSkyward Swordon the Wii andA Link Between Worldson 3Ds, but a true big-budget spin-off game hadn’t come out since 2007 withLink’s Crossbow Trainingon Wii. As its namesake suggests,Hyrule Warriorswas one of the many offshoots from the broaderDynasty Warriorsseries by Koei Tecmo. The firstHyrule Warriorswas a love letter compilation of all the bestZeldacharactersmixed together into the trademark hack and slash combat Koei Tecmo is known for.
WhereasHyrule Warriorswas more of a greatest hits fromThe Legend of Zelda, this timeAge of Calamityhas the opportunity to tell a canon storyline in theBreath of the Wilduniverse.Koei Tecmo has had this chance before withPersona 5 Scramble, but forThe Legend of Zeldato tell a canon story from a spin-off game has never really happened before, or at least in such a capacity asAge of Calamity. Generally the major story beats ofZeldastick to mainline games, butAge of Calamityis proving to be an interesting exception. That being said,Age of Calamitymay have even more impact on theBreath of the Wildstoryline than just existing as a prequel.
Why Age of Calamity’s Story May Be Necessary
At the beginning of theAge of Calamitytrailer, an unfamiliar voice states to Link “I think you are now ready, ready to hear what happened 100 years ago.” It’s not made immediately apparent whose voice this is, so this could be an original character toAge of Calamity, but more importantly is what this statement implies. It seemsAge of Calamityis being told from the perspective of the future, perhaps in the time betweenBreath of the Wildand its sequel, or at the beginning ofBreath of the Wild 2.
Link is finally learning the whole story of what happened when Calamity Ganon defeated Hyrule a century earlier. However, now that he’s defeated the Calamity, why would he need to know this full story unless it’s relevant for another reason? Why does Link need to be “ready” for this story? It’s very possibleAge of Calamityis connected toBreath of the Wild’s sequel in some form. This would be a unique opportunity forHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, not only to get hardcoreZeldafans to play aWarriors-style game (even if they’re not the biggest fan), but also garner the hype forBreath of the Wild’s upcoming sequel as well.
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How this would come to pass remains to be seen, but it would make senseifHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityties intoBreath of the Wild’s sequelin some way. That way, fans have something to tide them over until that sequel releases, as well as contextualizes why the prequel story is important. Players who completedBreath of the Wildalready know the gist of what happened when Calamity Ganon first attacked. While learning about that grand battle would be interesting, it really wouldn’t be relevant unless there was some kind of hint at the end that connects to the events ofBreath of the Wild’s sequel.
Not to mention that kind of connection with a spin-off game would be unprecedented for theZeldaseries. If this turns out to be true,Age of Calamitymay be a more necessary playthrough for hardcoreZeldafans. Not to mention this would be the first time a spin-offLegend of Zeldagame was widely considered both canon and necessary for the mainline franchise.Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityhas a unique opportunity ahead of itself, and could have very interesting implications on the nextBreath of the Wildgame if true.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityreleases on July 15, 2025, on Nintendo Switch.
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