Nintendo and Koei Tecmo made a surprising announcement recently with the reveal of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. This follow-up to Hyrule Warriors is very clearly based around Breath of the Wild, specifically, the era before Hyrule fell. So far, we’ve seen six characters announced, which are BotW’s Link and Zelda, as well as the four Champions: Mipha, Revali, Daruk, and Urbosa.
But there’s clearly going to be many more characters than just those six. The question is, who will they be? We’ve got a couple of ideas for BOTW characters we’d like to see make the cut in this combat-heavy prequel.
A Younger Impa
Let’s start out our list with a character that’s just about confirmed for the game – a young version of the Sheikah matriarch Impa. Impa took a central role in the first Hyrule Warriors, being the second character announced after Link himself, and it seems she’ll be reprising her role here.
Eagle-eyed Twitter user gungnirgirl spotted what appears to be a young Impa in the trailer, present in a scene with Link and Zelda.
The hat matches, complete with blade-like baubles, but this definitely isn’t the little old lady we saw in Breath of the Wild. Expect a 100-years-shaved-off Impa to be slicing up the battlefield once more come November.
King Rhoam
BotW’s King of Hyrule might not look like the fighting type, but this IS a war we’re talking about. And it’s during that war that we know he bites it, becoming the helpful, ghostly Old Man from Breath of the Wild’s tutorial. Who’s to say his death doesn’t come during combat?
It wouldn’t be the first time a king took to the battlefield in Hyrule Warriors, after all. The original game saw King Daphnes, better known as the King of Red Lions, battering baddies with his sail. We wager that Rhoam will be following in his footsteps in Age of Calamity.
Sidon
We’ve seen that the four original champions will be playable, but what of their descendants? Sidon is far and away the most popular of the new generation of champions, easily attaining an unrivaled fan base among the characters introduced in Breath of the Wild.
As a result of his above-and-beyond popularity, we’d bet money on Sidon being playable. With Mipha using the Lightscale Trident already, Sidon himself might instead use a Zora Sword to set himself apart from his sister.
While the other descendants might also make an appearance, Sidon is certainly in a class of his own, both in terms of popularity and likelihood.
Hestu
The first Hyrule Warriors sadly skipped out on a Korok character, with poor Makar being left out of the fun while his Rito counterpart Medli got all the attention. While we wouldn’t say no to Makar making a late entrance, there’s now a new Korok in the running, and he’s ready to shake what the Deku Tree gave him out on the battlefield.
Hestu immediately avoids Makar’s problem of potentially being too small by being a rather chunky boy, meaning you won’t have any trouble seeing him in combat. He also comes with the perfect weapon built in – his maracas.
Seeing as how the original game turned harps, ocarinas, and bells into weapons, Hestu having a maracas and dancing-based moveset feels like a natural fit for the sequel.
Kohga
We already know the Yiga have a presence in Age of Calamity from the trailer, but their banana-loving leader has been absent thus far. We’re thinking it’s because he’ll be one of the game’s playable characters. His boss fight in Breath of the Wild gave him plenty of abilities to work with for a moveset, and the game will need some villainous characters to bolster the enemy ranks.
The only problem is, we don’t know how old Kohga actually is. We know Sheikah can live for hundreds of years thanks to Impa, but Kohga doesn’t really seem like he could be pushing 100+. Maybe one of his mentioned ancestors will take the stage instead? Regardless of whether it’s Kohga Jr. or Sr., we’re expecting at least some Yiga leader to take to the battlefield.
Kass
Next up we have everyone’s favorite bird bard, Kass. While he’s certainly not a fighter in Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Warriors has previously made fighters out of other pacifists like Ruto and Tingle, so he wouldn’t be the first. With that obstacle out of the way, a music-centric fighting style would be ideal for Kass.
Marin and Sheik both had music moves in the original game, using a bell and a harp respectively. Kass’s accordion would be right at home among them, flinging music notes at the foes around him and turning the battlefield into a one-bird concert.
The only issue, again, is that Kass wouldn’t have been around to take part in the Calamity event 100 years ago. There is a solution though – Kass mentions that the one that taught him music was alive during that era. That teacher could very well stand in for Kass in this game, but if we’re honest, we’d rather have the musical parrot we know deliver the Bokoblin beatdowns.
Maz Koshia
A new character introduced in the DLC for Breath of the Wild, Maz Koshia exists as the badass culmination of all of the game’s monk-staffed shrines. Instead of being just a mummified corpse that hands you an orb, Maz gets up and makes you work for your reward, challenging you to a one-on-one fight – one of the most difficult battles BOTW has to offer.
Maz Koshia’s bossfight practically writes itself into a Warriors title. Size changing, shadow clones, and laser blasts would all make for an endlessly entertaining character to play. We have to wonder though: would we get to see a youthful Maz before he was entombed, like we seem to see Impa? Or was he already a mummy at this point, and Mr. Koshia here is older than we thought? Here’s hoping Age of Calamity gives us an answer.
Kilton
Alright, let’s get weird. The original Hyrule Warriors had a real curveball character in the form of Agitha, who previously was just a rather minor bug-collecting NPC in Twilight Princess. Yet she got bumped up to playable status when so many others didn’t. If Age of Calamity has a similar oddball in its roster, our eye’s on the big-headed collector, Kilton.
This monster-loving weirdo also doesn’t seem like much of a fighter, but, then again, neither was Agitha. Much like how Agitha summoned insects in the first game, Kilton could summon monsters to his side. Charging into battle astride an unwilling Lynel, or baiting a nearby Molduga into leaping out of the dirt and onto his foes feels like it’d be right in Kilton’s wheelhouse.
And of course, he’d scoop up the nasty monster remains after the fight for his collection. Some things never change.
Beedle
“THANK YOU!” Hearing Beedle eagerly thank his opponents for losing to him would alone be worth his addition, but this humble shopkeep has surprisingly become a Zelda staple. Having appeared in Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild, Beedle has earned his keep. But how would he fight?
For starters, two shopkeepers were on the original game’s roster, with Tingle and even the cowardly Ravio hitting the front lines. Both used their wares to do battle, and Beedle could follow suit. He could even borrow a bit of Agitha’s insect gimmick, given his similar predilection for buggy buddies. There’s a surprising amount going for Beedle, and we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him fighting on the battlefield come November.
Thunderblight Ganon
Here’s a real surprise pick. Each of the game’s four dungeons featured an elemental form of Ganon, acting as dungeon bosses. But while the other three blights were enormous, Thunderblight was actually around the same size as Link – which makes him a perfect candidate for a playable slot on Age of Calamity’s roster.
As the most notoriously difficult of the four blight boss fights, it stands to reason that his moves would be all the more fun to take control of ourselves. Lightning-fast movement, hook and shield combat, and unique abilities like raining down metal rods before striking them with electricity make Thunderblight a very enticing option, and one we hope Nintendo and Koei-Tecmo have considered.
With that, we’ve gone over ten of our choices for Age of Calamity’s playable line-up. But we’re not done yet! Tune in again soon for a follow-up article that widens the scope beyond just Breath of the Wild, where we’ll cover the characters the first game missed. Until then, keep posted to Twinfinite for more on Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
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