Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (ゼルダ無双 厄災の黙示録, Zelda Musou Yakusai no Mokushiroku) is a hack and slash video game for the Nintendo Switch developed by Koei Tecmo Games and Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo in Japan and by Nintendo worldwide. It is a sequel to 2014's Hyrule Warriors in terms of gameplay, but is seen as a prequel of sorts to 2017's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game was released on November 20, 2020. Unlike the previous Hyrule Warriors which was a celebration of the Zelda franchise and had it's own original story, Koei have worked closely with Nintendo to ensure that the story and gameplay mechanics are fully canonised within the Breath of the Wild continuity.

The game itself takes place in an alternate continuity, created when a Diminutive Guardian from the original timeline travels back in time to avert the damage of the Great Calamity.

Gameplay
Like the previous Hyrule Warriors, Age of Calamity mixes the hack and slash gameplay of Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors series of video games with settings, characters, and other elements from Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. In addition to retaining the combat, material crafting, and weapon-upgrade systems from Hyrule Warriors, the game incorporates environmental puzzle solving and the use of the Sheikah Slate tool from Breath of the Wild. Confirmed playable characters include Link, Princess Zelda, the Four Champions – Daruk, Mipha, Revali, and Urbosa – and the Sheikah warrior, Impa. The game will also feature compatibility with Nintendo's amiibo figures, with figures of the Four Champions re-releasing alongside the game.

Compared to Breath of the Wild, the game is not completely open-world but still rewards the player for completing missions and side quests in specific areas of Hyrule. The weapon durability system is also removed (in the original Breath of the Wild, all weapons except the Master Sword were breakable, and even that had a durability mechanic in the form of charges). Also, compared to the previous Hyrule Warriors, the Badge and Fairy systems are also removed, with quests now giving the rewards of added combos and Hearts.

Prologue
The story opens in the midst of the Great Calamity, hours after Calamity Ganon breaks free from under Hyrule Castle, corrupting almost every Guardian, and laying ruin to Hyrule. Princess Zelda is defending a gravely wounded Link from a pack of Guardians, in the process awakening her inherent sealing powers.

In response to this, a small, white, uncorrupted, Diminutive Guardian whirs to life and escapes a crate in Zelda’s quarters. Sensing Zelda's wish to protect everyone, the Diminutive Guardian creates a portal to travel days back in time before to the Calamity. As it prepares to enter, a corrupted Guardian appears, missing several shots toward the Diminutive Guardian before it enters the portal to rewrite history, followed closely by some of Ganon's Malice.

The Battle of Hyrule Field
The Diminutive Guardian emerges deactivated in Hyrule Field, when, in the nearby Hyrule Castle, King Rhoam is rallying an army of Hylian soldiers in preparation for an upcoming battle against a large army of monsters. Among these soldiers is the extremely talented Link, who quickly proves his worth by slaying a Moblin and capturing multiple key locations.

The army then receives a report that the princess's aide was spotted on the battlefield. Link hurries to the spot, seeing Impa, a Sheikah and the aide to Princess Zelda, being pursued by a small horde of Bokoblins. Impa drops the Sheikah Slate she is holding, reactivating the nearby Diminutive Guardian. Link catches the Slate and charges toward the monsters, but before either side could deal a blow to the other, the Guardian raises a Sheikah Tower right under the monster horde, stunning Impa and Link.

The Diminutive Guardian continues to follow Link while he and Impa continue to work together to fend off the rest of the monsters. Eventually the Hylians win the battle. In the aftermath, Impa contemplates the mysterious tower and Guardian. The Diminutive Guardian then runs off in the direction of Hyrule Castle, prompting Impa and Link to follow it.

The trio arrive to King Rhoam congratulating the soldiers on a well-fought and won battle. As everyone else leaves, Impa stays with Link and the Guardian, meeting Princess Zelda shortly afterwards. Impa delivers the Sheikah Slate to her, just before the Diminutive Guardian rushes toward the princess, leading the kneeling Link to catch it. The Sheikah Slate then reveals the Guardian's purpose for being there, and Link is appointed as Zelda's bodyguard in recognition of his role in the battle, with a letter from King Rhoam imploring him to uncover the Diminutive Guardian's backstory.

Road to the Ancient Lab
Link, Impa, and Zelda head to the Royal Lab with a small group of soldiers to meet with renowned Sheikah researchers Robbie and Purah over the Diminutive Guardian. Along the way, Impa tries unsuccessfully to touch it, and Zelda ponders its attachment to her. As she tells the group to keep going, the Diminutive Guardian starts beeping rapidly, alerting Link to a strand of Malice corrupting a nearby Guardian, which aims at Zelda. As Zelda realizes what it happening, Link deflects the beam. The group stands in confusion before running off, only to be intercepted by monsters.

Link and Impa escort Zelda to a nearby outpost in the area. Just as they arrive, however, the corrupted Guardian breaks in, forcing them to move to a different outpost. As they contemplate their options, the Diminutive Guardian activates a nearby ruined Guardian, which fires a the corrupted one. Realizing what they must do, the trio sets off to activate the other Guardians in the area. In the midst of this Zelda decides to act on the situation, using the Sheikah Slate to participate in the battle. Eventually, the corrupted Guardian is destroyed and the party continues on their way.

While much of the Diminutive Guardian's data is encrypted, Robbie and Purah are able to extract photos of the collateral damage caused by the Great Calamity, indicating that their efforts to counter it should be taken more seriously. The group returns to Hyrule Castle, where Zelda relays their decision to have the Diminutive Guardian accompany the group to King Roahm. King Roahm reminds his daughter that her duties as Princess of Hyrule are more important than research and technology, before sending the group off.

Development
The game was revealed via a trailer that was released on September 8, 2020, presented by Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma and Koei Tecmo producer Yosuke Hayashi. The game features the same art assets as Breath of the Wild, but uses the more combat-focused gameplay style of the previous Hyrule Warriors game. More info was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show on September 26.

According to Hayashi, the game came into reality when Aonuma approached him to make a new Hyrule Warriors game about the events of the Great Calamity, which were never properly shown in Breath of the Wild. Aonuma felt that the battles would complement well with the style of a Warriors game. Nintendo's Zelda developers worked more closely with the development team at Koei Tecmo than on Hyrule Warriors, providing advisement and assistance on Age of Calamity 's gameplay direction, graphics, world, and dialogue.

Characters

 * Link
 * Zelda
 * Impa
 * Urbosa
 * Mipha
 * Daruk
 * Revali
 * Hestu
 * Sidon
 * Yunobo
 * Teba
 * Riju
 * Maz Koshia
 * Master Kohga
 * King Rhoam
 * Great Fairies
 * Terrako
 * Calamity Ganon

Non-Playable Characters

 * Astor
 * King Dorephan
 * Robbie
 * Purah
 * Sooga

Navigation

 * Cooking
 * Materials