Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

 is an upcoming game in. Story wise, it is a prequel to, taking place 100 years prior to the events of that game, during the second HWAoC:.

Chapter 1
At about the same time Zelda's powers manifested in the Second Great Calamity, a small Guardian emerges from a box in Hyrule Castle. As it sees the destruction caused by Calamity Ganon, it opens a portal that will take it back in time, narrowly avoiding a laser from a Guardian Stalker as it passes through. Unknown to it, a part of Calamity Ganon's essence has also made its way through the portal.

The Diminutive Guardian emerges in Hyrule Field before the Second Great Calamity began, where King Rhoam is rallying a group of Hylian soldiers (including Link) to drive off an incoming horde of monsters. Link comes across the seemingly inert Guardian in the ensuing battle, but before he can inspect it Impa arrives being pursued by Bokoblins. She stumbles and drops her Sheikah Slate, which causes the Guardian to awaken and raise a Sheikah Tower from underground.

When the battle ends, the Guardian rushes off until it finds Zelda. Zelda notices that the Slate has reacted to the Diminutive Guardian, and discovers that it came from a future in which Ganon reawakened to save her from the Calamity. Link is appointed as Zelda's bodyguard, and the three of them head to the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab at Impa's suggestion to bring the mysterious Guardian to Purah and Robbie. On their way there, part of Ganon's essence possesses a ruined Guardian and attacks Zelda's party. Though initially outmatched, the Diminutive Guardian manages to reactivate other ruined Guardians in the area, breaking the armor of the corrupted Guardian and allowing Link and his allies to destroy it. They eventually reach the Ancient Tech Lab, unaware that they are being watched by another corrupted Guardian- one that eerily resembles the Diminutive Guardian.

Robbie and Purah confirm that the Diminutive Guardian is a previously unknown form of Guardian able to amplify the effects of other ancient technology. They are also able to decode part of its memory, revealing to Zelda the devastation that will occur if the Calamity is not stopped.

Chapter 2
As Korok Forest is cut off by monsters and Zelda's sealing magic has not awakened, King Rhoam sends Link and Zelda to meet with the four candidates selected to pilot the Divine Beasts. With some reluctance, he allows the Diminutive Guardian to accompany them as well.

(The following four segments up until "The Champions Assembled" can occur in any order, as decided by the player.)

Mipha
King Dorephan is reluctant to allow Mipha to pilot the Divine Beast, as he believes it will not be safe for her to go without the knight who seals the darkness. Zelda's protest is cut short by an envoy. Meanwhile, Mipha and Link share a moment together which is similarly interrupted by a warning of a monster attack from Ploymus Mountain thatbDorephan is leading an army to intercept. They realize that Prince Sidon is missing and hurry off to look for him. Soon afterwards, Zelda's party finds Sidon trying to fight a Lynel. The Lynel is driven off, allowing Sidon the chance to escape.

Mipha is upset by her brother's recklessness, but cannot help but be proud of her courage. They are interrupted again by the sight of a monster horde approaching Zora's Domain, and in response the Diminutive Guardian summons Vah Ruta for Mipha to pilot. She drives off the invading army, saving Dorephan in the process. After the battle, Dorephan acknowledges that the Zora are not able to hold off the Calamity on their own and gives his permission for Mipha to pilot the Divine Beast.

Revali
Zelda and her party are attacked by Rito warriors under Revali's command, who believe them to be raiders sent to attack Rito Village. Link and Revali prove to be equally matched, but Zelda intervenes in the fight before it can get out of hand.

Zelda's party learns that the village had recently been attacked by an army of monsters led by a Guardian very similar to the Diminutive Guardian, and had thought it had returned to launch a second attack. While Zelda is grateful that neither Link nor Revali was hurt, Impa points out that the presence of a Guardian like the Diminutive Guardian linked to the Calamity is worrisome in its own right. Revali butts in to volunteer his service piloting Vah Medoh and questions Link's competence as a knight. When the Diminutive Guardian chimes in to insist that it is also a knight serving Zelda, Revali can only grumble.

Daruk
Daruk agrees to pilot Vah Rudania, but warns Zelda and her allies that the path to the Divine Beast is overrun by monsters. He persuades the party to accompany him and wipe out the monster infestation. After an intense series of battles, they reach Vah Rudania, which Daruk pilots to eliminate the monsters on Death Mountain.

Following their victory, Daruk confirms his willingness to pilot Vah Rudania, offering Link a celebratory rock roast.

Urbosa
As the party arrives at Gerudo Town, they are attacked by Gerudo forces seemingly commanded by Urbosa to kill them. Zelda is confused by their unexplainable aggression, but is sure that the Gerudo chief can clear it up.

When they reach Urbosa's palace, she attacks, claiming that she wishes to "thwart their destiny". Before she can strike, however, the real Urbosa appears and exposes the one they had seen as a disguised Master Kohga. Kohga flees after summoning the Yiga Clan to surround the town, and Link's allies fight them off. With Urbosa assisting them, they summon a Molduga to distract the Yiga forces long enough to launch an assault on the Yiga Clan hideout. Kohga is defeated, but his lieutenant Sooga helps him escape.

Urbosa thanks Zelda and her allies for helping her deal with the Yiga Clan, and agrees to pilot Vah Naboris. Meanwhile, Kohga and Sooga are reprimanded for their failure by the dark prophet Astor. He calls upon the corrupted small Guardian seen earlier, which he calls "the harbinger", to show them a vision of the future in which the Great Calamity goes unchecked, and warns that he will not allow the future to be changed.

The Champions Assembled
With her magic still dormant, Zelda dedicates herself to calibrating the Divine Beasts for their pilots' use. However, she is increasingly disheartened by Rhoam's frustration with her lack of progress. On their way through Hyrule Castle Town, they are ambushed by Sooga and the Yiga Clan, who are supported by monsters. The Champions fend off the attack and make their way to the enemy stronghold, only to find that it was a diversion. This leaves Link on his own to battle Sooga, and he ultimately prevents the Yiga second-in-command from assassinating Zelda. Sooga calls for the Yiga to retreat, saying only that the future is fickle.

Chapter 3
King Rhoam commands the Divine Beast's pilots to find a knight able to wield the sword that seals the darkness, which will first require them to fight off the monsters in Korok Forest. Zelda accompanies them to gather more data to calibrate the Divine Beasts, and Link follows as well. After delivering a few more petty insults towards Link, Revali summons Vah Medoh to eliminate the outposts surrounding the Great Hyrule Forest.

The party enters the forest, where they meet Hestu. The Korok musician agrees to escort them through the woods in exchange for protection against the monsters. After fighting their way past a Stalnox, the party's progress is stymied by a pool of Malice conjured by Astor. They trace the source of the Malice to four Hollows- dark replicas of the Divine Beast pilots composed of Malice. When they are destroyed, the Malice dissipates.

Hestu volunteers to hold off the monsters long enough for Link and Zelda to reach the Master Sword's resting place. They find Astor waiting for them, and he summons the Hollows to attack. The Hollows' combined assault overwhelms Link, but before they can kill Zelda he draws the Master Sword from its pedestal and is able to defeat the Hollows once more. Astor takes matters into his own hands and battles Link himself, but the Master Sword's power forces him to withdraw.

The Great Deku Tree awakens to speak with Zelda, telling her that the Master Sword has chosen Link to wield it and that her own power will awaken in time. With his message delivered, he returns to his slumber.

Even with the Deku Tree's message, Zelda still fears that she may not be able to awaken her power in time. The Diminutive Guardian soothes her by playing Zelda's Lullaby, and she recalls that she has met it once before. However, the realization is cut short by the appearance of monsters blocking the road to Hyrule Castle, which the party fights through.

Zelda reflects on how much stronger Link has become, and Urbosa correctly guesses that she finds herself to be lacking in comparison. The Gerudo champion reassures the princess that Link is no different from who he was before he claimed the Master Sword, and in that respect is just like Zelda herself.

The ceremony is held in which Link, Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa are named Champions. The Diminutive Guardian and Impa get into a fight, distracting the princess from her worries for a time.

Chapter 4
Purah's research into the Sheikah Tower reveals the presence of other towers hidden underground, all linked to a control system within Hyrule Castle. The Champions set out to bond the Sheikah Slate with the tower, which will activate the control device.

King Rhoam continues to express his irritation with Zelda's failure to manifest her powers and focus on the relics, but accepts a relic from Zelda that she and her mother believed to have unknown potential and gives her permission to continue studying the ancient technology.

Back at the Yiga hideout, Kohga and Sooga realize that if the Sheikah Towers are activated the Yiga will be exposed. Astor quiets their dissent, reminding them that they will have their parts to play. The corrupted Guardian is revealed to be possessed by Calamity Ganon itself, and Astor declares that he will use it to seize power over all of Hyrule. Sooga warns the prophet that Ganon cannot be controlled by mortals, but his words go unheard.

Link activates the first tower with the Sheikah Slate, triggering the appearance of the other towers across Hyrule. Link and his allies continue to activate the towers until they reach the last one in Akkala. There, they are informed that the Yiga Clan has captured Akkala Citadel. They break through the Yiga's defenses, defeating Sooga again and force the Yiga to retreat. With the last tower activated, Purah explains how the towers can provide maps for a region. Urbosa uses the maps to lead a preemptive strike on the Yiga Clan hideout, clearing a path for a follow-up assault. The party confronts Master Kohga and Sooga once more, and the Yiga leaders flee to save themselves after being defeated.

Kohga confronts Astor, demanding to know why he allowed the Yiga to be defeated. Astor merely comments that all is going according to plan, reminding the Yiga that they are bound to serve Calamity Ganon and that Ganon will punish them if they try to harm his chosen seer.

Purah continues to lead research on the Towers, demonstrating their ability to be used for teleportation. Zelda gives her support to further study, but she is troubled by her own lack of progress.

Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to 's which is itself a based on Koei Tecmo's  series of video games, in which characters fight large armies of enemies and generals on a battlefield, with the the setting and characters originating from, specifically from. As such, it is set to be much more combat-intensive that most Zelda games, with hordes of enemies on the screen at once.

The player controls multiple characters throughout the game including HWAoC:, HWAoC:, HWAoC:, HWAoC:, HWAoC:, HWAoC:, and HWAoC: through the story, with the player being able to switch characters on the fly depending on the scenario. Most of the hordes of enemies are based on weaker enemies, like NaN Bokoblins and HWAoC: clansmen, with stronger enemies like NaN Guardians, NaN Lynels and NaN Yiga Blademasters appear as stronger single units. Larger versions of Bokoblins acting as captains have also been seen. Characters also fight alongside regular NaN Soldiers and other playable characters, and the game will alert if an ally requires assistance. The game also features multiple locations throughout 's BotW: that function as battlefields, including the HWAoC:, HWAoC: and the HWAoC: region.

The player will also be able to use many abilities seen in such as BotW:, BotW:, BotW: and BotW:. The player will also be able to use multiple elemental rods, such as the BotW:, BotW:, and BotW:.

This game takes place over 100 years before HWAoC: awoke in the HWAoC:, so locations that were shown in ruins in such as BotW: and other towns and cities will be shown as they were before the calamity.

The game features local simultaneous multiplayer co-op, allowing players to split up to complete objectives and cover more ground more effectively.

Footage of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity gameplay from the Nintendo Treehouse live event.

Development
By mid-2012, following the reception to SS -, producer Eiji Aonuma had determined that the franchise was in urgent need of reinvention, in order for it to remain relevant. Aonuma decided that the development team would focus on rethinking the conventions of Zelda, and that this would largely center around two misconceptions:


 * 1) That Zelda games needed to be linear
 * 2) That Zelda games were strictly meant to be single player experiences

The development team tackled the notion of non-linear Zelda games with and. While both games were in development, Nintendo was approached by Dynasty Warriors publisher Koei Tecmo, whose studios had previously worked with the company on titles like Metroid: Other M and Fatal Frame, with a proposal to develop a new kind of Zelda game. The original pitch by Koei Tecmo producer Yosuke Hayashi involved elements that were staples of Zelda, such as dungeon exploration, but Nintendo fellow Shigeru Miyamoto asked that Hayashi graft the world of Zelda onto Dynasty Warriors gameplay instead.

At the time, Aonuma had been playing One Piece: Pirate Warriors, another Warriors-style game developed by Koei Tecmo, and saw the potential in a similar crossover with Zelda. Development of this game, dubbed (Zelda Musou in Japan), was completed in 2014, making it the first multiplayer Zelda game since Four Swords Adventures. In parallel, a small portion of the Zelda team also worked with Grezzo, the studio responsible for and, to develop , a three-player Zelda game for the Nintendo 3DS.

As work progressed on, Aonuma began thinking of ways to explore another multiplayer Zelda title, this time using lessons the team had learnt from the development of that game. Once development had wrapped, Aonuma approached Hayashi and Koei Tecmo regarding the possibility of developing another Hyrule Warriors title, this time set within the world of specifically. The game would depict the that had taken place prior to the events of, as Aonuma felt the setting provided an appropriate backdrop for Warriors-style gameplay, which focused on battles against large armies of enemies. Once development began, Hayashi and Koei Tecmo's Omega Force team were asked to collaborate more closely with the Zelda development team at Nintendo, on elements such as gameplay, graphics, the depiction of Hyrule, and all character dialogue.

During development, the team used its learnings from having worked on the first, but encountered challenges while deciding how to integrate the open-world design of into the stage-based style of a Warriors game. The development team ultimately chose to design each stage to be more three-dimensional, with height or interconnected terrain, to create the feel of a more expansive world. Omega Force found that working on required less trial-an-error than its predecessor, as it had already understood how to incorporate Zelda-like concepts into a Warriors game, and was instead able to allocate resources towards creating a game that was of higher quality. All throughout development, the Zelda team reviewed each aspect of to ensure that the game inherited the look and tone of.

Limited Edition
A limited treasure box edition of the game will be released in Japan. It will include a copy of the game, an acrylic art plate, a parasail blanket, and a metal charm.