Those new to The Legend of Zelda might find it funny or surprising that the main character of the games isn’t actually Zelda herself. She’s frequently one of the most important characters in the games, but it’s always Link that players control and see the world through. It’s a classic knight in shining armor structure — in every incarnation, the noble princess has her shining knight to protect her. Sometimes it’s an odd dichotomy, though. Princess Zelda is often depicted both as a sacred figure with significant magic and as relatively helpless. It’s up to Link to protect her from dark forces and free her from captivity.
That relationship is especially complicated in the handful of games where Zelda is playable, such as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. When Zelda is a playable character, the game has to decide how it wants to represent Zelda. Making her completely independent from the chosen hero breaks from convention, but it’d be no fun to play as Zelda if she was weak and defenseless. That means when Zelda is playable, there’s a risk of the narrative depiction of Zelda contradicting the gameplay’s depiction of her. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity seems to be setting itself up to make the princess look like she needs protecting even though she’s powerful in her own right.
The trailers for Age of Calamity can be analyzed to understand some of the attitudes it holds toward Zelda. For instance, one of the recent trailers hints at the Yiga Clan’s involvement in the game. When they’re surrounded by a large group of the clan’s warriors, Link and a couple of Hylian soldiers take defensive positions around Zelda, who remains at the center of the circle. Clearly the urge is to protect her, with the expectation that she can’t protect herself. After all, she’s the only person there without any visible weapons or armor. She doesn’t exactly look like a warrior queen.
That stands in direct opposition to the way previous trailers have depicted Zelda. Ever since Age of Calamity has been announced, it was obvious that Zelda was playable, since there was a clip of her fighting off hordes of enemies just as capably as Link and the other Champions. It looks like Zelda will have some high-tech tricks up her sleeve, much like how the other characters use abilities inspired by Link’s Sheikah Slate abilities from Breath of the Wild.
If Zelda is a playable character, one way or another, the plot is going to lead to many points where she’s at the forefront of the battle. For all players know, there might be missions where Zelda is on her own and she has to lead the charge. In fact, knowing the premise of Breath of the Wild, it wouldn’t be surprising if Zelda went into the final mission of Age of Calamity alone. The more obvious it is that Zelda is a capable fighter in this game, the stranger is that other characters seem to regard her as a weakling. Surely Link and the Hylian army would be well aware of her abilities, so why guard her so carefully?
It could be that Age of Calamity has some narrative elements that will explain this down the line. Maybe Zelda isn’t a fighter for the beginning of the game, but later on, she grows in power and skill to the point where she can join the other Champions in the front line, fending off Calamity Ganon by her own merit. Such an arc would seem fitting for a character who ultimately sacrifices herself to keep Calamity Ganon trapped in Hyrule Castle for a hundred years, putting a temporary end to the struggle.
Alternatively, Zelda might be as capable as the gameplay implies from the start of the game. There might be character arcs in place between Zelda and the game’s other lead characters in which they underestimate her. It wouldn’t be out of place for masterful warriors like Urbosa and Daruk to underestimate the soft-spoken princess at first glance, and one can assume that no matter how strong Zelda is, it’s Link’s instinct to protect her. Maybe Age of Calamity will contain some plotlines in which Zelda is misunderstood, but later proves her companions wrong, strengthening their bonds.
However, it’s still completely possible that Zelda’s personality and the way other characters treat her will constantly be at odds with who she actually is. Even and perhaps especially if she’s the leader of the Champions, Link and the rest might feel compelled to protect her with their lives. Anyone who writes off Zelda as a weakling in Age of Calamity is definitely making a grave mistake, so hopefully her allies don’t undervalue and diminish her.
If there’s one thing that ought to influence Zelda’s depiction in the game, it’s the original Hyrule Warriors. In that game, Zelda was a true warrior queen, leading the charge into battle at the start of the game. Even though a lot of the plot is structured around looking for Zelda and thinking she needs saving, she’s depicted as strong in many ways. After all, she secretly rejoins the party as Sheik, and towards the end of the game Zelda is still a proper warrior who gets hands-on with stopping the forces of evil. Even though the other characters value her highly and want to protect her, her value as the princess doesn’t get in the way of acknowledging her strength and letting her be independent.
Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity‘s Zelda definitely isn’t the same Zelda as in the first Hyrule Warriors. She’s quiet, gentle, and young, not an adult woman fully adjusted to the responsibilities and burdens of leadership. However, that’s what makes BotW‘s Zelda a richer character to explore. She has a lot to learn and a lot to express if other people don’t get in her way. Age of Calamity has the opportunity to explore Zelda learning to use her strength and be a leader. It’d be a terrible shame if the game focused on other people keeping Zelda away from the action.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity releases on the 20th of November for Nintendo Switch.
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