Nintendo's Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is an excellent game, but it has split The Legend of Zelda timeline once more. There were three Zelda timelines, which were united into one, and now there are two.
The original Hyrule Warriors used an ambiguous setting that didn't fit into any of the Zelda timelines, but that was a benefit, as it allowed for all kinds of fan service. Hyrule Warriors featured characters from the entire Zelda franchise, including some new ones that fans wanted to see for years, like a female equivalent for Link. Age of Calamity is different, as it's set a century before the events of Breath of the Wild.
It was originally assumed that Age of Calamity would be a prequel to Breath of the Wild, but the truth is more complicated than anyone realized. It turns out that Princess Zelda accidentally performs a Quantum Leap, and messes with the timeline. This means that the timeline that was once united by Breath of the Wild has been broken in half.
The Original Split In Ocarina Of Time
Fans of The Legend of Zelda series were coming up with theories about multiple timelines for years, but there was no concrete information within the games that supported them. The idea of multiple timelines was canonized in a book called Hyrule Historia, and it has been expanded on in other Zelda books since. The timeline starts with the events of Skyward Sword, which is followed by The Minish Cap and Four Swords. The timeline splits at the end of Ocarina of Time, creating three different timelines for the series. They are:
- The Hero Is Defeated - Ganon slays Link at the end of Ocarina of Time, leading to a dark age for Hyrule. The timeline from this point is A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, the Oracle games, A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, The Legend of Zelda, and The Adventure of Link.
- The Hero Triumphant/Child - Link defeats Ganon and is sent back in time by Princess Zelda to live out his childhood. The timeline from this point is Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, and Four Swords Adventures.
- The Hero Triumphant/Adult - Link defeats Ganon and is sent back in time, but Ganon returns. The goddesses flood Hyrule in response. The timeline from this point is The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.
The Zelda timeline was united when Breath of the Wild was released in 2017. Nintendo has claimed that Breath of the Wild happens at the end of all of the timelines, though the details of how this can happen have been left vague. It's possible that Breath of the Wild happens so far ahead in the future that the previous events are no longer relevant. This gave Nintendo the chance for a fresh start with a single timeline, while still leaving room for other games that could take place in the past.
The Age Of Calamity & Breath Of The Wild Split
The nice clean Zelda timeline has been split once more. In Age of Calamity, Princess Zelda from the Breath of the Wild timeline accidentally sends a mini Guardian named Terrako back in time. Terrako is able to warn the inhabitants of Hyrule about the arrival of Calamity Ganon, allowing them to prepare for the upcoming conflict. The Champions are aided by Riju, Teba, Sidon, and Yunobo, who arrive from the future to save the Divine Beasts. The different events allow Princess Zelda to control her powers at a much earlier point than in the Breath of the Wild timeline.
At the end of Age of Calamity, Terrako sacrifices itself to mortally wound Calamity Ganon, allowing Princess Zelda to seal him away for good. This means the events of Breath of the Wild never happened, but they do exist as a separate timeline, as the characters who arrived from the future are sent back to their original time period. There is now a timeline where Zelda defeated Calamity Ganon and ushered in a new age of peace for Hyrule, and the original timeline, where Link sleeps for a century and Hyrule is devastated by Ganon's armies, exists as a separate entity.
This raises the question of why this timeline was created? The Breath of the Wild sequel will almost certainly follow the events of the original game, but it's possible that Age of Calamity will be referenced by the characters who returned from the future. Will Nintendo release more games in the Zelda Triumphant timeline (as we're naming it), or will Age of Calamity be forgotten? The Breath of the Wild sequel will hopefully shed more light on the subject when it's finally released.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is available now for Nintendo Switch.