Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was originally announced as a prequel to Breath of the Wild. Players were supposed to experience the moments leading up to the failed battle against Calamity Ganon, Ganon's subsequent victory, the champions' deaths, and Link's 100-year sleep.
However, when Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity finally came out, it was clear it didn't just fill in the gaps of its predecessor's story. Towards the end of the game, Age of Calamity has a major plot twist that changed and, in some ways, completely altered the story that was originally presented in Breath of the Wild.
10 Calamity Ganon's Form Is More Malleable Than It Initially Seems
In Breath of the Wild, Calamity Ganon has three forms: an inky cloud with a boar's head that swirls around Hyrule Castle, a spider-like form made of that same ink-like substance and Guardian pieces, and a giant boar monster familiar to fans of the series called Dark Beast Ganon. However, in Age of Calamity, Ganon has two other forms that weren't seen before. The first is a form called Harbinger Ganon, which is a version of Calamity Ganon possessing present-day Terrako and advising Hyrule's enemies on how to unleash the full calamity. The next form is a humanoid version taken on after Ganon absorbs his follower, Astor.
These two alternate forms offer a deeper understanding of how Calamity Ganon works, making it a more adaptable being that can change based on what it takes in or possesses. It also gives a roundabout explanation for the spider form, as the many limbs and Guardian pieces likely came from an actual Guardian the calamity overtook.
9 Players Get Introduced To The Prophet Who Saw The Rise Of Calamity Ganon
Age of Calamity introduced some new characters to the franchise and to the Breath of the Wild series as a whole. The most interesting among them was Astor – the servant of Calamity Ganon. In Breath of the Wild there are mentions of a prophecy made by an unknown seer about the return of Calamity Ganon. This prophecy was made before the events of Breath of the Wild and is the reason Hyrule springs into action excavating the Guardians and Divine Beasts.
This prophecy would have been made around the time of Age of Calamity, which is what makes Astor such an interesting character. He wields an orb reminiscent of a fortune teller's crystal ball, and the game even calls Astor the "Prophet of Doom," which strongly hints that he's the one who saw the rise of Calamity Ganon – a fact that may have sparked an alignment change in the seer. While it's not confirmed outright, there's enough information that suggests Astor is the one who predicted the rise of Calamity Ganon and then decided to take steps towards making it happen.
8 Master Kohga Has Way More Going On Than What Meets The Eye
Originally fought as a boss in Breath of the Wild, Master Kohga is the goofy and immature leader of the Yiga clan – a group of Sheika who betrayed the royal family of Hyrule. It seemed like Kohga was the one who'd taken over the Yiga clan in the years after the fall of Hyrule, so it was a surprise when he showed up again in Age of Calamity one hundred years before he fought in Breath of the Wild.
His appearance in both games raises a few questions: is it the same Kohga? If so, how did he live for so long? If it's two different people, why do they look, sound, and act the exact same way? If it's the same Kohga, then becoming master of the Yiga comes with some convenient perks. However, if it's two different people, then the training for the Yiga clan's leader is very specific and very strange. Whatever the case may be, Age of Calamity makes it so that, one way or another, Master Kohga plays a part across 100 years of Hylian history.
7 The Heroes Gain A Helping Hand
Terrako is another new character introduced in Age of Calamity. A small and friendly guardian created by Zelda as a child, in the original timeline, Terrako travels to the past to warn Zelda of Hyrule's failure to defeat Calamity Ganon. It's through Terrako's direct intervention that all the changes in Age of Calamity occur.
Although Terrako is an odd guardian, he single-handedly alters the course of Hyrule's destiny and the destiny of all the characters in the story both past and present.
6 The Yiga Clan Sides With Hyrule
The Yiga clan holds a grudge against the royal family of Hyrule – one that results in them joining Calamity Ganon to destroy them. The clan's path in Age of Calamity starts out the same way until Astor sacrifices dozens of Yiga clan foot soldiers to Harbinger Ganon. Between that and Zelda managing to unlock her powers sooner than in Breath of the Wild, the Yiga clan change sides and join the forces of Hyrule in battling Calamity Ganon.
It's a major change from the first game, where the Yiga clan not only side with Ganon but continue to try and assassinate Link by sending out soldiers disguised as ordinary travelers.
5 The Future Champions Meet Their Predecessors
The four champions of Breath of the Wild are long dead by the time the game takes place, each one having been killed while piloting their respective Divine Beasts. In Age of Calamity, it seems like the champions will suffer a similar fate. However, Terrako intervenes and summons the champions of the future to battle alongside those of the past. These future champions all help Link over the course of his journey in Breath of the Wild, and each one of them has some sort of relationship with the previous champions.
Seeing characters from the future timeline arrive to save their past counterparts is a surprising twist in Age of Calamity. However, it does provide some of Age of Calamity's best moments as they fight side-by-side with their predecessors.
4 Breath Of The Wild Technically Becomes The Bad Timeline
With all the time traveling and alterations made to the story of the battle against Calamity Ganon, it creates an interesting wrinkle for Breath of the Wild, which technically becomes the "bad ending" to the story. While Link may return and defeat Calamity Ganon with Zelda, the champions are dead, the king of Hyrule is dead, and one hundred years of monsters and suffering plagued the people of Hyrule. In Age of Calamity, none of this comes to pass. While the battle against Calamity Ganon results in the loss of many soldiers, the key players are very much alive.
This creates a branching timeline just like Ocarina of Time and also means the entire story of Breath of the Wild is the bad ending of said story.
3 King Rhoam Survives The Attack On Hyrule Castle
Players meet King Rhoam extremely early in Breath of the Wild. Within the first few minutes of the story, King Rhoam approaches Link in the guise of an old man and tests his abilities before giving him the paraglider. It's then revealed that Rhoam was a spirit the entire time, lingering near the shrine Link healed in for 100 years after dying during Ganon's attack on Hyrule.
Rhoam doesn't die in the events of Age of Calamity and continues to rule over the land, having learned to put more faith in his daughter's research instead of her divine powers.
2 Zelda Unleashes Her Powers Sooner
After sleeping for 100 years, Link awakens with fuzzy memories at best. One of the story quests players can complete involves traveling to different places around Hyrule that were important to Link, which helps him regain his lost memories. Over the course of these memories, players learn about his time spent as Zelda's guard. Players also learn through these flashbacks – and through Zelda's diary in Hyrule Castle – that she struggled to unlock her powers to help defeat Calamity Ganon. She only unlocked them after Link was wounded by a Guardian.
In Age of Calamity, Zelda is able to unlock her powers long before this point. This plays a critical role in altering the course of the battle against Calamity Ganon, helping to fully unify Hyrule against the looming threat.
1 The Champions Survive
The four champions: Revali of the Ruto, Mipha of the Zora, Urbosa of the Gerudo, and Daruk of the Gorons were all key allies in the battle against Calamity Ganon. Each one piloted a Divine Beast: giant mechanical creatures based on a different animal that held immense power. In Breath of the Wild, every champion was killed fighting an aspect of Calamity Ganon, which then took control of the Divine Beasts. This was a major reason everything fell apart for Hyrule. However, in Age of Calamity, the champions are rescued by their successors from Breath of the Wild, which spares their lives and allows them to turn the tide against Calamity Ganon. It's this moment that presents the single biggest change in Age of Calamity, as the death of the four champions lays the foundation for the story in Breath of the Wild.