Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonmentis certainly one of the more interesting titles in Nintendo’s spate of upcoming first-party releases. The game, which follows the originalHyrule WarriorsandHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, is a continuation of theZelda-themedWarriorsgamesdeveloped in collaboration with Koei Tecmo, the company behind the prolific and explosiveDynasty Warriorsfranchise.
Much likeSamurai WarriorsandFire Emblem Warriors, theHyrule Warriorsgames are spin-offs of the traditional one-vs-1,000 gameplay characteristic of Koei Tecmo’s iconic warfare franchise, leveraging the specifics of their source material to their benefit. In other words, rather than fighting hordes of Chinese soldiers with spears and lances,Hyrule Warriorsplayers face hordes of bokoblins with weapons, powers, and tools specific to theZeldafranchise. ButHyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonmentis far more than a mereDynasty WarriorsandZeldamash-up: it will serve as a prequel toTears of the Kingdom, just like howAge of Calamityis a prequel toBreath of the Wild. This narrative framing is interesting, and could yield some great results, but it’s also a bit disappointing for those hoping for a continuation of the originalHyrule Warriors' premise, which was decidedly more ambitious.
Hyrule Warriors Should Return To Its Irreverent Crossover Roots After Age of Imprisonment
The First Hyrule Warriors Is a Zelda Extravaganza
WhileAge of Calamityonly features a handful of key characters fromBreath of the Wildas playable characters, andAge of Imprisonmentcan be expected to do the same, the firstHyrule Warriorstook a much less restrictive approach, with just under thirty playable characters in its roster. This was possible because ofHyrule Warriors' narrative premise, which saw several distinctZeldatimelines crossing over with one another.
In the firstHyrule Warriors, players could control the usual suspects, like Link and Zelda, but also a number of fan-favorites from other games, like Midna fromTwilight Princessand Ruto fromOcarina of Time. This kind of ambitious crossover content had never been seen before in theZeldaseries, and hasn’t quite been seen since, which is a bit disappointing. After all, the broader design philosophy of theWarriorsformula is defined by relentless, aggressive action and boundless creativity; it’s not a design template built around restraint, that’s for sure. AsHyrule Warriorsmoves forward, beyondAge of Imprisonment, this no-holds-barred attitude should come back into the fray.
In addition to characters from previous entries,Hyrule Warriorsalso features locations from olderZeldagames, such as Lorule fromA Link to the Past.
Hyrule Warriors Might Be Holding Itself Back With Its Prequel Approach
In a sense, it’s quite smart for Nintendo to position the previous twoHyrule Warriorsgames as prequels forBOTWandTOTK. These are games whose narratives involve a number of distinct, key characters, so what better way to demonstrate their impact than to make a game where players fill their shoes? Building these games around the large-scale, frenetic battles of theDynasty Warriorsformula also helps them feel distinct, as this formula is about as far fromZeldaas one can get.
Age of Calamityis technically non-canon, as it is set in a splintered timeline, but it begins duringBreath of the Wild’s Calamity, so it’s fair to consider it a quasi-prequel.
But with theBOTW/TOTKsaga coming to a close, it may be best forHyrule Warriorsto pivot back to its older format, incorporating characters and concepts from across severalZeldatimelines rather than restricting itself to a single chronology. Since the main mechanical attraction of this subseries is the option to control variousZeldaNPCs, it simply makes sense to include as many characters as possible, even if it means losing a strong connection to any single entry in the series.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is an all-new Warriors title developed by Koei Tecmo that takes place before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom.
