Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity |
|
|---|---|
Cover art featuring Link, Princess Zelda, the Four Champions, and Terrako
|
|
| Developer(s) | Omega Force |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo
|
| Director(s) | Ryouta Matsushita |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | Kenta Shiraishi |
| Programmer(s) | Masayoshi Yamada |
| Artist(s) | Yu Oboshi |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Composer(s) |
|
| Series |
|
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Switch |
| Release date(s) | November 20, 2020 |
| Genre(s) | Hack and slash |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is an exciting action video game. It was made by Omega Force and released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch. This game lets you play as famous characters like Link and Princess Zelda. The story takes place 100 years before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In the game, Link and Zelda must gather friends from all over Hyrule. Their goal is to stop the evil Calamity Ganon from destroying the kingdom.
Age of Calamity is a special game because it mixes two popular series. It combines the world and characters of Nintendo's Legend of Zelda with the action-packed gameplay of Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors series. When it came out, many people liked the game. They praised its fun gameplay, different character styles, and cool visuals. The game also added more to the Breath of the Wild story. However, some players noticed that the game sometimes ran slowly. The story also had mixed reviews, especially because it included time travel. Still, Age of Calamity sold over 3 million copies quickly. This made it the best-selling game in the whole Warriors series!
How to Play the Game
Age of Calamity is a hack and slash game. This means you fight many enemies at once using powerful attacks. The game combines the action of Dynasty Warriors with the characters and places from The Legend of Zelda. In battles, you will face huge groups of enemies. You also need to complete tasks, like capturing bases or telling your troops what to do.
The game keeps many features from the first Hyrule Warriors game. You can still fight, craft items, and upgrade your weapons. It also adds new things from Breath of the Wild. For example, you can solve puzzles using the Sheikah Slate tool. You can also use the paraglider to move around. Players can make their characters stronger and finish missions. You can use resources to find new areas or build better weapons. Cooking food gives your characters special boosts during battles. Unlike Breath of the Wild, weapons in this game do not break.
The game's map looks like the one from Breath of the Wild. You can pick different stages from the map. Using the Sheikah Tower helps you explore between areas. There are 18 characters you can play as. Most of them are unlocked as you play through the main story. Four more can be found by doing side quests. Besides characters, you can also control giant Divine Beasts. These huge machines can destroy many enemies at once! The game also works with Amiibo figures. Special Amiibo figures of the Four Champions were released with the game.
The Story of Hyrule
The story begins during a terrible event called the Great Calamity. A small Guardian robot wakes up in Hyrule Castle. It sees all the destruction and escapes through a time portal. A part of Calamity Ganon's evil power follows it. The Guardian arrives in the past, just before the Calamity starts. Link finds the Guardian during a battle. The Guardian uses Impa's Sheikah Slate to make a Sheikah Tower appear. Link and Impa take the Guardian to scientists Purah and Robbie. They learn that the Guardian came from a future where Ganon wins.
King Rhoam hears this news. He sends Link and Zelda to meet four special heroes. These heroes are chosen to pilot the Divine Beasts. They are Mipha (Zora), Daruk (Goron), Urbosa (Gerudo), and Revali (Rito). With these Champions together, King Rhoam tells them to find a knight who can use the Master Sword. This special sword is in Korok Forest. There, they meet a dark prophet named Astor. Astor wants to bring back Calamity Ganon and control him. But Link pulls out the Master Sword, making Astor leave.
Purah's research shows more Sheikah Towers hidden underground. The Champions activate these towers. They use the maps from the towers to plan an attack on the Yiga Clan hideout. The Yiga leader, Master Kohga, has to run away. The Guardian's memories show that Calamity Ganon will return on Zelda's birthday. King Rhoam sends Zelda to train her magic. He hopes she can awaken her sealing power in time. The Divine Beasts get ready for Ganon's return.
Robbie and Purah are captured by Yiga spies. But the Guardian escapes with the Sheikah Slate. It gives the Slate to Zelda just as the Calamity arrives. Link, Zelda, and Impa try to escape the castle. King Rhoam seems to sacrifice himself to help them get away. Calamity Ganon appears from the castle. Impa shows Zelda the Sheikah Slate. It reveals that Ganon took over the Divine Beasts in the other timeline. The group believes the same thing is happening now. They go to help the other Champions.
Meanwhile, Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali are about to be defeated by Ganon's monsters. But then, Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, and Teba appear from the future! They came through time portals made by the Guardian. This gives Link and his friends enough time to help defeat the monsters. With the Champions saved and the Divine Beasts ready, they start to take back Hyrule. Astor, seeing things have changed, kills many Yiga Clan members. He uses their life force to bring back the monsters. When Link is trapped, Zelda protects him. Her sealing magic finally awakens, forcing Astor to leave. Master Kohga and the remaining Yiga Clan join Zelda's side. They want revenge against Astor. The group also finds out that King Rhoam survived! He had a Guardian's Shield that Zelda gave him earlier. King Rhoam and Zelda make up.
With their friends gathered, Purah uses the Sheikah Towers. She moves everyone outside Hyrule Castle. Zelda then leads a big attack against Calamity Ganon. The Divine Beasts weaken Ganon's spirit form. Astor arrives with Harbinger Ganon. This is the small Guardian from the current timeline, infected with evil from the future. Link, Impa, Zelda, the Champions, and the future heroes defeat them. Astor tries to summon Calamity Ganon to destroy them. But instead, he is absorbed as Harbinger Ganon becomes Calamity Ganon.
Calamity Ganon corrupts the little Guardian. It turns the Guardian against the group, forcing them to fight it. After defeating it, Zelda remembers activating the little Guardian as a child. She named it Terrako. It became her friend after her mother passed away. Her father later took it away so she would focus on her training. Zelda and her friends march to Hyrule Castle. They face Calamity Ganon. They can't hurt him until Terrako uses its last bit of power to self-destruct. This weakens Calamity Ganon. Now vulnerable, Link defeats Calamity Ganon. Zelda uses her power to seal the Calamity forever. With Calamity Ganon gone, the heroes from the future return to their own time. Link, Zelda, and their friends look out at a peaceful Hyrule. In a secret ending, Purah and Robbie fix Terrako. They bring him back to life, reuniting Zelda with her old friend.
How the Game Was Made
Age of Calamity was first shown in a trailer on September 8, 2020. Eiji Aonuma, a producer for Zelda games, and Yosuke Hayashi from Koei Tecmo presented it. The game uses the same art style as Breath of the Wild. But it has more fighting gameplay, like the first Hyrule Warriors game. More details were shared at the Tokyo Game Show on September 26.
The idea for the game came from Breath of the Wild's director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi. He and art director Satoru Takizawa suggested it to Aonuma. Aonuma liked the idea. He then asked Hayashi from Koei Tecmo to make a new Hyrule Warriors game. This new game would show the events of the Great Calamity. These events were mentioned in Breath of the Wild but not fully shown. Aonuma felt that the big battles would fit well with a Warriors style game. The Zelda creators at Nintendo worked closely with Koei Tecmo. They helped with gameplay, graphics, the world, and what characters would say.
During a Nintendo Treehouse gameplay show on October 7, Nintendo said the game would explore character backstories. It would also show more about their relationships. These things were not fully explored in Breath of the Wild. At the end of that month, a demo was available to download. It included the first chapter of the game. People who played the demo felt the game was more connected to Breath of the Wild than to a typical Warriors game.
Extra Content
In February 2021, Nintendo announced an "Expansion Pass" for the game. This pass lets players download extra content (DLC). If you bought the pass early, you got a new weapon and costume for Link. This included a special ancient armor and sword. The first part of the DLC, called "Pulse of the Ancients," came out on June 18, 2021. It added a new playable character (Battle-Tested Guardian). It also brought new weapon types, like the Flail for Link and the Master Cycle for Zelda. There were new challenges and new enemies too. The second part, "Guardian of Remembrance," was released in November 2021. It added new character stories, new stages, more characters, and new battle skills.
Game's Impact
Starting in January 2021, three characters from Age of Calamity appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. They are collectable Spirits in that fighting game. These characters are Impa, Master Kohga, and the Diminutive Guardian.
