The reveal of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment has shown that the franchise has not left behind the world of Tears of the Kingdom just yet, and could still provide answers to some lingering mysteries from the title. TOTK was an impressive game in many ways, but some corners of its lore remain unexplained. The new Hyrule Warriors game could finally resolve these issues, which would finally give Tears of the Kingdom (and, to a lesser extent, Breath of the Wild as well) a more cohesive background.

There are plenty of new Hyrule Warriors game for Switch 2 means that there is still an opportunity to get proper reasons for the more unusual details found in TOTK.

Age Of Imprisonment Could Be Full Of Important Zelda Lore

Its Premise Means It Should Give Valuable Context To Tears Of The Kingdom

The timeline placement of Age of Imprisonment means that it is perfectly situated to expand on TOTK's lore by focusing on Zelda's time in the early years of Hyrule (or at least TOTK's version of the kingdom) with King Rauru and Queen Sonia. For example, despite TOTK revolving heavily around the Zonai, very little is still known about them. Notably, no explanation is given for the race's clear decline, and the circumstances that led Rauru and Mineru to be the last of their kind.

Likewise, the deaths of Rauru and Sonia left no clear successor to the throne of Hyrule, despite the fact that the Royal Family must have continued on in order for TOTK's Zelda to eventually be born. A game set in this time period will undoubtedly allow for a more detailed examination of the lives of its native characters, which could easily include the introduction of Rauru and Sonia's child. This single addition would fill in a significant plot hole from TOTK, but there is still plenty more that Age of Imprisonment could explain.

TOTK Left Mysteries Surrounding The Master Sword And Ancient Hero

The Game Left Some Very Strange Details Unexplained

Arguably the most intriguing mysteries of TOTK are those that involve the Master Sword and the Ancient Hero. After its restoration, the Master Sword in TOTK can be used like any other weapon in the game, including having various items Fused to it. Instead of said material appearing attached to the sword, however, its blade glows with Zonai runes. However, whether this writing is a result of the Fusion itself, or instead points to some deeper connection between the Zonai and the Master Sword's origins is left unclear.

Similarly, the Ancient Hero's Aspect is unquestionably the strangest armor set in the game, simply as a result of its appearance. Equipping it gives Link a radically different appearance, indicating that the Ancient Hero described as fighting Calamity Ganon 10,000 years before BOTW was not Hylian. If anything, he appears to have been part Zonai, as indicated by the shared clothing style, although there are clear differences to Rauru and Mineru's own appearances.

I sincerely hope that AoI will provide satisfactory solutions to these mysteries, or at the very least provide enough clues that I can better understand how this part of the franchise is intended to fit together. Although I can appreciate the logic of information simply being lost to time, it can still be frustrating for such blatant oddities to go without any further explanation. Set so far back in Hyrule's past, this new game could even address other theories, like the possibility of there being an older Hyrule before TOTK's own kingdom, providing what would be some much-appreciated closure.

The Imprisoning War Was Barely Explained In TOTK

Age Of Imprisonment Will Reveal Much More Than TOTK's Dragon's Tears Could

Of course, it is also worth noting that the Imprisoning War itself was only given a brief overview in Tears of the Kingdom's Memories. Notably, the game did not even provide names for the four Ancient Sages, although they are shown wearing masks clearly fashioned after BOTW's four Divine Beasts. It is most likely that this will be corrected in Age of Imprisonment, a natural inclusion given they will presumably feature significantly in the game's plot, perhaps alongside the game exploring the ancient cultures of Hyrule's various races.

The Ancient Sages may simply prove to be the namesakes of the Divine Beasts, although this would be notable in itself given that the enormous mechanical animals were already named after older characters in the franchise.

Although AoI is not guaranteed to resolve these mysteries, it is undoubtedly in the best possible position to do so. Considering that the Zonai are expressly extinct, it is unlikely that there will be a third game to feature them, at least not in the near future. Outside the possibility of a future game visiting the Zonai civilization at its peak, this may be the last Zelda game to include the Zonai, making Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment the only game that could explain the mysteries that are so obviously entwined with them, and I strongly hope it does so.