While Age of Calamity might not be an actual prequel to Breath of the Wild, the story is nonetheless one of Koei Tecmo’s best – outdoing virtually every Dynasty Warriors game in the process. Where Hyrule Warriors prioritized fan service above all else, Age of Calamity twists a Legend of Zelda tragedy into an epic shrouded in mythological storytelling. The story fills in the gaps Breath of the Wild left blank, painting a fuller picture of Link’s memories and the world he & Zelda fought so hard to protect.
In complementing Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity leaves many of its core beats to subtext – rewarding attentive fans with a deeper story. As easy as it may be to dismiss Age of Calamity as non-canon, its story infers much of what defines Breath of the Wild.
10 Link’s Resolve
Breath of the Wild established that Link’s silence stems from the enormous weight he carries on his shoulders as a hero. By keeping completely silent, Link can shoulder anyone’s burden without overwhelming them with his own insecurities. Link’s journal in the Japanese version of BotW fleshes this aspect of his personality out considerably, paralleling his arc with that of Zelda’s.
Age of Calamity naturally downplays this element of Link’s characterization, but it can still be seen very much in play. Although Link does have his sillier moments – confirming that his relative goofiness in BotW is inherent and not a result of amnesia – he only lets his stoicism break as a means to assure Zelda.
9 Zelda’s Insecurities
Similarly, Zelda’s character arc in Breath of the Wild is driven by all the insecurity she feels in light of her situation. King Rhoam emotionally abuses her on the regular; Link is a constant reminder of her own personal failure; and Zelda’s main passion in life – research – is overshadowed by a war she’s destined to lose.
This goes double for Age of Calamity where Zelda is forced to confront her failure head on. As her Egg Robot (Terrako) travels back in time with images of Hyrule fallen and the Divine Beasts corrupted with Malice, Zelda’s insecurities are only compounded. The fact she couldn’t awaken her powers was difficult enough without direct confirmation of Hyrule’s loss.
8 Link & Zelda’s Parallels
Link and Zelda’s character arcs in Breath of the Wild were always meant to be a pair. This is downplayed significantly in the English release as Nintendo of America chose to replace Link’s journal with a bog-standard open world mission log rather than actually translate it, but Age of Calamity at least puts their parallels on full display.
In the same way Zelda awakens her powers to save Link in both timelines (albeit not fully in AoC,) Link awakens the power of the Master Sword in a bid to save Zelda from Astor’s Hollows. Link’s role in Age of Calamity’s story may be ancillary to Zelda, but the game does highlight their unique dynamic.
7 Zelda Still Has To Work For Her Powers
In spite of Age of Calamity offering Breath of the Wild a “happy” ending for its tragic backstory, Zelda and the main character still need to work considerably hard. Terrako doesn’t necessarily make things easier even if the end result is far more positive than in-canon. Zelda confronting her failure head-on overwhelms her more than it did in BotW, and Rhoam doubles down on his neglect as a result – to say nothing of the fact that Link still needs to get the last hit in on Ganon.
6 The Champions “Die”
As frustrating and asinine as the modern Champions’ introduction into the plot is, the story does at least use them well. They’re more or less relegated to the background, but all of the Champion’s descendants feature better characterization than they did in Breath of the Wild while fleshing out their respective ancestors.
Notably, the modern Champions only save their ancestors during their intended death scenes. Revali is nearly killed by Windblight Ganon, Urbosa is fought back by Thunderblight, Daruk was outright about to be killed by Fireblight Ganon, and Mipha simply gives up in the face of her Waterblight.
5 Most Battles Canonically Happen In Lore
Even though Terrako’s time travel ends up creating a splintered timeline that’s independent of Breath of the Wild and a good chunk of its history, a great deal of battles in Age of Calamity are actually canonical to the game’s lore. While the initial Battle of Hyrule isn’t, it can be presumed that Hyrule Castle’s fall did occur (albeit without Link,) as did all the initial Champion stages.
Zelda and her party also would have traveled across all of Hyrule, hitting up most of the side missions in the process. That said, virtually everything after Chapter 5 is new content as Link, Zelda, and the rest of the Champions met their match shortly after Calamity Ganon’s initial attack.
4 Astor, The Seer
Despite how Astor ultimately functions as Agahnim-lite, not even having the luxury of being Ganon himself but just a host vessel, he plays into Breath of the Wild’s lore in a rather curious manner. BotW’s companion book, Creating a Champion, details the existence of a fortune teller who led the Hyrule Royal family astray with their prophecies of Calamity.
Even though this might not necessarily be Astor, the fact that he is referred to as a seer by the Yiga in-canon, while quite literally prophesying Calamity’s return, makes it difficult not to drawp comparison. Alternatively, Astor could represent the audience’s desire for BotW’s tragic ending by any means necessary.
3 That’s Not The Same Master Kohga
Impa, Robbie, and Purah’s presence in Breath of the Wild prove that the Sheikah have incredibly long lifespans. Since the Yiga are an offshoot of the Sheikah, it’s not unreasonable to assume this applies to them as well, particularly Master Kohga who looks exactly the same in Age of Calamity as he did in BotW.
In actuality, this isn’t the same Kohga, but simply an ancestor. Creating a Champion clarifies that Master Kohga itself is a title that’s passed down. This could also apply to Sooga as well, but the fact canon Kohga doesn’t have a personal lackey means there’s little proof for that claim.
2 The Heroes Only Barely Defeat Ganon
Terrako does everything they can to help the heroes after they travel back in time. Simply foretelling the Calamity and how Hyrule will fall should ideally be enough to give the main characters a big advantage, but the fight against Ganon does not go their way. In spite of all their efforts, along with literal time travel, Calamity Ganon is arguably stronger at the end of AoC than BotW.
The main cast can’t even damage Ganon during the final battle, forcing Terrako to kill themselves in order to create an actual opening. This isn’t even taking into consideration Ganon’s possession of the Divine Beasts in this timeline – moving them closer together for full devastation – and revamped Blight forms.
1 Hylia Reborn
Age of Calamity is Zelda’s story, not Link’s. This is one of the few entries in the franchise where Princess Zelda is the definitive main character – AoC follows her arc, deals with her growth, and sees her coming into her own as Hyrule’s leader. Notably, Zelda unites all of Hyrule’s races against Ganon in a fight similar to Hylia’s confrontation with Demise at the very start of the timeline. With Sheikah, Yiga, Gorons, Zora, Rito, Gerudo, and Koroks on her side, Princess Zelda brings Hyrule together to come into her own as the Goddess reborn.
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