A recent interview has given fresh insight into the design of the four Champions in a total improvement over the previous game.
One marked difference between Age of Calamity and its predecessor comes from the story. The first Hyrule Warriors was a noncanonical spinoff; it has a storyline, but it isn't connected to any other Zelda games, and is really just an excuse to bring in as many pre-existing characters as possible. Age of Calamity, meanwhile, is a prequel to Breath of the Wild, chronicling the main characters' first failed attempt to defeat Calamity Ganon a century before the events of the legendary open-world game. This paid off well; fans' attachment to Breath of the Wild increased interest in the new prequel to the point that it is now game ever.
Following the success of the title, the developers sat down for an interview with Nintendo Dream, which was translated and summarized by PushDustin on Twitter. This allowed the team to share insight into the development of each of the four Champions in the game. Inspiration was drawn from flashback cutscenes in Breath of the Wild and from the signature weapons each of them left behind for Link to collect. Trial and error was also a significant part of the process; for instance, originally every playable character would rely on the same paraglider model to travel through the air. But the goron Daruk was too big for it, so in the end, everyone got a unique glider. Mipha, meanwhile, is a fishlike Zora, not unlike Princess Ruto, who appeared in the previous game. In order to make the two stand apart, Mipha relied more on her trident, while Ruto went unarmed and focused in on water magic.
Given how well Age of Calamity has sold since its release last month, there are certain to be a lot of fans who are interested in the process behind bringing these fan-favorite characters to life. Shortly after the game released, Nintendo stated that it wasn't inclined to into a regular series. The game's considerable success and sizable fanbase just might compel the company to change its mind, though.
Regardless of what the future has in store for the Hyrule Warriors games, Age of Calamity remains a quality title, and a wonderful game for fans to chew on as they wait for news of Breath of the Wild sequel. There's a lot to love about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and the thoughtful, engaging design of the four champions is certainly a high point.
Source: PushDustin
