Breath of the Past

Everything we know about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Move over Aquarius, it's the Age of Calamity.

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You can finally stop holding your breath in anticipation of a Breath of the Wild follow-up. We're getting one soon in the form of a Dynasty Warriors-style prequel titled Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. It won't replace the still in development Breath of the Wild 2, but Age of Calamity will be brimming with new lore regarding the latest Legend of Zelda timeline. Here's everything we know about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

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What is the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity release date?

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will release for Nintendo Switch on November 20, 2020.

Is there a Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity trailer?

Yes! you can watch it right here.

From the trailer, we get a look at champions like Revali and Mipha who are returning from Breath of the Wild and are set to be playable in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which makes sense as the game takes place a century before Breath of the Wild. All of the champions threaten to use their respective Divine Beast's power against Ganondorf's forces. Perhaps the Divine Beasts will be playable in some capacity? When Daruk fights, he uses the Sheikah Slate ability Stasis, exemplifying that all characters now have access to the ancient iPad.

We can also see Impa walk beside the champions. In Breath of the Wild, Impa was depicted as an old woman, but now she's in her prime, again reminding us that this is a prequel. Similarly, we get a gander at Mipha embracing a young Sidon.

The champions speak with what appears to be the Great Deku Tree. This could mean that they're going to be a playable character in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

The trailer concludes with a shot of numerous guardians sieging Hyrule castle, reminding us that Calamity Ganon rules the past.

What is Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity gameplay like?

A bunch of gameplay details were revealed during Tokyo Game Show 2020. Here's a translated version of the gameplay video below.

From it, we get a look at the varying Sheikah Slate abilities accessible to different characters. For example, Impa uses it to make closes and ride a massive ice cube. Link uses the slate to access familiar BotW abilities like bombs, stasis, and magnesis.

We can see that BotW enemies like Bokubin, Guardians, Yiga clansmen, and Lizalfos will return in Age of Calamity.

Despite the immense focus on Breath of the Wild, this is still a Hyrule Warriors game. You can switch between characters during combat and the focus is still on defeating large armies, rather than the mano-a-mano style gameplay in Breath of the Wild.

What's the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity story?

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity takes place 100 years prior to Breath of the Wild, smack dab in the middle of the champions' war on Calamity Ganon. As we know, they lose that war, so Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will focus on the battle leading up to their inevitable defeat.

What playable characters are in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity?

We currently know of seven playable characters:

  • Link
  • Princess Zelda
  • Mipha
  • Urbosa
  • Revali
  • Daruk
  • Impa

Many more are expected to be announced. The original Hyrule Warriors featured 28 playable characters.

What do the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity maps look like?

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will span the entire Breath of the Wild world. We currently know that it will feature maps based on Akkala Citadel, Hyrule Field, Death Mountain, and the Lanayru region.

Will Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity be in English or Japanese?

Just like Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will have a full English dub.

Are there and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity pre-order bonuses?

Nintendo

Are there ever! If you pre-order Age of Calamity, you'll gain access to a Lucky Ladle weapon, which pairs perfectly with Link's pot lid shield.

While not a pre-order bonus, you'll receive a little extra if you have a Breath of the Wild save on your Switch. All those with Breath of the Wild save will immediately unlock the Training Sword in Age of Calamity.

Is there a Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity collector's edition?

Yes! It's called the Treasure Box edition and it's currently exclusive to Japan. It will include a copy of the game, an acrylic art display, a paraglider blanket, and a metal charm. There's no telling if this will come to other countries, but the original Hyrule Warriors Treasure Box did eventually release in the US through a very limited capacity. We can only hope that the same luck strikes again.

How will Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity connect to Breath of the Wild 2?

We don't know yet. Age of Calamity could be used to set up some kind of arcane magic in the lore that's used for Calamity Ganon's revival in the sequel. Or it could do absolutely nothing to set up the future title, opting to simply expand the period only seen via flashbacks in Breath of the Wild.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will release for Nintendo Switch on November 20, 2020

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