Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but it turns out that the game is a little more complicated than anyone realized.
Age of Calamity is a hack and slash game that is set a century before the events of Breath of the Wild. In Breath of the Wild, Link wakes up in a strange chamber with no idea who he is or how he got there. Over the course of the game, he starts to piece together his memories of the past. It turns out that he has been asleep for a century, as he suffered a mortal wound in battle and had to be placed within the Shrine of Resurrection to heal. Luckily, there are some residents of Hyrule who can live for over a hundred years, and they are able to offer him guidance. Link is also aided by the spirits of the Champions, who were originally his allies that perished in the battle against Calamity Ganon. Princess Zelda has been holding Calamity Ganon in check for a hundred years, and it's up to Link to rescue her.
Link managed to save the world in Breath of the Wild, but what if things played out differently? What if the residents of Hyrule were better prepared for the arrival of Calamity Ganon? Age of Calamity answers these questions, and its ending might surprise fans of Breath of the Wild who were expecting it to dovetail into the events of that game.
Age of Calamity Creates A Whole New World
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity takes place in a different timeline. The reason this timeline is different is that Princess Zelda accidentally sent a mini Guardian named Terrako back in time at the moment when Calamity Ganon seized control of Hyrule Castle in the Breath of the Wild timeline. Terrako shares its knowledge of future events with the Zelda of the past, which causes Link and the Champions to be better prepared for the conflict ahead. They gather the races of Hyrule together, including the Yiga Clan, and prepare for the fateful day when Calamity Ganon appears. They are ed by unexpected allies, as Teba, Yunbo, Sidon, and Riju arrive from the future to help them.
Terrako wasn't the only one aware of the future. It was followed to the past by part of Ganon's essence, which bonded to the broken Terrako of the Age of Calamity timeline. This Guardian is called Harbinger Ganon, and it aided an evil seer named Astor in trying to ensure Calamity Ganon's revival happens unchecked.
Age of Calamity Saves Hyrule From Calamity Ganon
In Breath of the Wild, the four Champions and King Rhoam are slain and the four Divine Beasts are enslaved. Link is mortally wounded and sealed within the Shrine of Resurrection for a century, the Master Sword is returned to its resting place, and Princess Zelda uses her powers to trap Calamity Ganon within Hyrule Castle.
In Age of Calamity, Princess Zelda awakens her powers earlier than in the Breath of the Wild timeline. As such, the Champions and the King survive, Link isn't wounded, and the Divine Beasts fight off the Ganon Blights. Calamity Ganon faces a much stronger resistance when he appears, but even the combined might of Link with the Master Sword and an empowered Princess Zelda aren't enough to take him down. Calamity Ganon merges with Astor, taking on a more humanoid form.
The world is saved by an unexpected ally, as Terrako sacrifices itself to weaken Calamity Ganon. Princess Zelda seals him away, and the century of suffering that happened in the Breath of the Wild timeline is undone. The characters from the future return to their original timeline and Hyrule is saved.
It remains to be seen whether this new ending will play into the plot of Breath of the Wild 2, whether it will be used as the basis for a different Hyrule Warriors game, or whether it will be ignored altogether. This conclusion might just be an alternate happy ending to Breath of the Wild.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is available now for Nintendo Switch.
