Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Like the previous Hyrule Warriors game, Age of Calamity mixes the hack-and-slash gameplay of Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors franchise with the characters, locations, and elements of Nintendo's Legend of Zelda series. In addition to retaining the combat, material crafting, and weapon-upgrading systems from Hyrule Warriors, the game incorporates environmental puzzle solving and the use of the Sheikah Slate and paraglider from Breath of the Wild. The game's map is similar to Breath of the Wild's map, and players can choose stages from it and use the Sheikah Tower to explore between regions. Besides the characters, players can also control the gigantic Divine Beasts to destroy large numbers of enemies. The maximum level is level 100. The game also features compatibility with Nintendo's Amiibo figures, with the figures of the four Champions relaunching alongside the game's release. ==Plot==

During the Great Calamity, a small Guardian named Terrako awakens within Hyrule Castle and escapes the destruction through a time portal, but is followed by some of Calamity Ganon's Malice. Arriving in an alternate timeline before the Calamity began, Terrako is reactivated by Link and Impa during a battle. They take it to engineers Purah and Robbie for study, learning it comes from a future in which Ganon reawakens and destroys Hyrule. To prevent this, King Rhoam assembles four pilots for the recently discovered Divine Beasts – Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa – and commands them, Link, and Princess Zelda to find the Master Sword in Korok Forest. The group encounter the dark prophet Astor, who has learned of the future from Harbinger Ganon – the current timeline's Terrako, infected by the Malice from the original timeline – and plots to revive and control Ganon with the aid of the Yiga Clan, led by Master Kohga. Astor corrupts Korok Forest, but Link draws the Master Sword and forces him to withdraw; following this victory, Rhoam appoints Link and the pilots as Champions of Hyrule. Purah's research reveals the presence of Sheikah transport towers hidden underground; the Champions reactivate the towers and use them to lead a preemptive strike on the Yiga Clan's hideout in Gerudo Desert. Upon learning from Terrako's records that Ganon will return on Zelda's seventeenth birthday, Rhoam deploys the Divine Beasts and sends Zelda to train in hopes of awakening her sealing magic. Robbie and Purah are captured by Yiga spies while analyzing Terrako's memory. Terrako escapes and reunites with Zelda as the Calamity arrives. As Hyrule Castle is besieged and the Sheikah Towers are shut down across Hyrule, the Champions are ambushed in their Divine Beasts by the Blight Ganons, while King Rhoam seemingly sacrifices himself for Link, Zelda, and Impa to escape Hyrule Castle. Terrako summons Sidon, Yunobo, Teba, and Riju from the original timeline to assist the Champions, buying Link enough time to destroy the Blight Ganons. With the Champions saved and the Divine Beasts restored, they begin to clear the way to Hyrule Castle. To stop the timeline from changing, Astor sacrifices many Yiga Clan members to resurrect the Blight Ganons. Link is cornered by the Blight Ganons in Fort Hateno, but Zelda awakens her sealing magic to save him. Hyrule's army is bolstered by Kohga and the Yiga Clan's remnants, who seek revenge against Astor, and King Rhoam, who survived using a shield artifact given to him by Zelda. Purah uses the Sheikah Towers to transport their allies to Hyrule Castle for a full-scale assault against Ganon's forces. Although the Divine Beasts weaken Ganon's spirit form, Harbinger Ganon consumes Astor and becomes Calamity Ganon, who then corrupts Terrako, forcing Link to destroy it; during this time, Zelda remembers she activated Terrako as a child before King Rhoam took it away so she would focus on her training. Zelda and her allies confront Ganon, but are unable to damage him until Terrako self-destructs to weaken him, allowing Link to defeat him and Zelda to permanently seal Ganon away. The future heroes are returned to their timeline while Link, Zelda, and their allies look out at the now peaceful Hyrule. In a secret ending, Purah and Robbie repair Terrako, reuniting Zelda with her friend. ==Development==

Age of Calamity was revealed in a trailer that was released in September 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 information was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show on September 26. The game came into fruition when Breath of the Wild's director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and art director Satoru Takizawa pitched the idea to Aonuma, who liked the idea and after discussions. Aonuma then approached Hayashi, a producer from Koei Tecmo, to make a new Hyrule Warriors about the events of the Great Calamity, which were mentioned but not 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 with gameplay, graphics, world, and dialogue. During the Nintendo Treehouse Live gameplay presentation on October 7, Nintendo stated that the game would explore more backstories and relationships between characters, aspects that were not thoroughly examined in Breath of the Wild. Downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) for the game was released throughout 2021 via an "Expansion Pass". A purchase bonus was made available on May 28, featuring a new weapon and costume for Link. The first wave of content, titled "Pulse of the Ancients", was released on June 18, and features an additional playable character (Battle-Tested Guardian), new weapon types for Link and Zelda, new challenges in the Royal Ancient Lab, and newly added challenging enemies. The second wave of content, titled "Guardian of Remembrance", was released on October 29, and adds new story stages set during the events of the main game. "Guardian of Remembrance" also adds new battle skills for existing characters, and two additional characters: Purah and Robbie, who function as a single unit, and Sooga. ==Reception==

Critical response Age of Calamity holds a score of 78 out of 100 on review aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Michael Goroff of Electronic Gaming Monthly also gave the game a 4 out of 5 review, praising the game's gameplay, and use of the universe, style, and gameplay elements from Breath of the Wild, but was critical of the story's choice to feature time travel. It also sold 173,215 physical copies within its first week of release in Japan, making it the second best-selling retail game of the week in the country. It was ultimately the 16th highest selling game in Japan for 2020. In the United States the game was the sixth best-selling game during its launch month. Four days after its release, Koei Tecmo revealed that the game has shipped over 3 million digital and physical copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Warriors game of all time and outselling all previous games in the entire Warriors franchise including all Dynasty Warriors games and their spin-offs, Fire Emblem Warriors, and the previous Hyrule Warriors games. The game has shipped over 3.5 million copies by the end of 2020. As of April 2021, the game has sold over 3.7 million units. As of January 2022, the game has sold 4 million units worldwide, making it one of the best-selling Switch games. == Legacy ==

In January 2021, Impa, Master Kohga, and Terrako from Age of Calamity were added to the crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as collectable Spirits. On April 2, 2025, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment was announced exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. Similar to Age of Calamity, Age of Imprisonment is a prequel story detailing the events of the Imprisoning War, as depicted in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023). ==Notes==