Daily Debate: Is Zelda’s Master Cycle Zero: Hunter Depicting a Lost Divine Beast, and Is She the Pilot?
Posted on July 08 2021 by Heather Beard
Spoilers for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Pulse of the Ancients to follow, please read at your own risk!
The first wave of DLC for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity released a few weeks ago, and if you’re like me you’ve already blazed through it. In fact, I completed all of the content within the first week of its release and there was something that really stuck out to me, the Master Cycle Zero. One of the descriptions says that Zelda wished to be the pilot of the Master Cycle Zero. In the DLC the Master Cycle Zero is also described as “A vehicular weapon created by the Royal Ancient Lab, based on a Divine Beast destined for a hero, as described in an ancient text.” In Champions’ Ballad Link is the hero that pilots the Master Cycle Zero, so why Zelda, and the three versions of the Master Cycle Zero are depicted like a horse (identical to the one from Breath of the Wild), the Sentinel is also depicted like horse with additional armor, and the Hunter model is depicted like and eagle or a hawk. The depiction of the cycle and the bird of prey design for the Hunter made me wonder if the Master Cycle Zero: Hunter is depicting a lost Divine Beast, and could Zelda have been its pilot?
In Breath of the Wild we are introduced to four Divine Beasts in the base game. Vah Medoh, a bird, Vah Naboris, a camel, Vah Ruta, an elephant, and Vah Rudania, a lizard. All of the beasts are animals and the Master Cycle Zero is also based off an animal horses and birds of prey. These Divine Beasts of old were created by the ancient Shiekah Clan. I believe that it is possible that Purah and Robbie wished to mimic the Sheikah of old and create their own Divine Beast from the stories of legend, those stories being the Divine Beast that we see Link receive in Champions’ Ballad. If Link is the pilot of the horse model of the Master Cycle Zero, then what about the bird of prey design for the Hunter model though? If the machine is based on a Divine Beast so one can only wonder if there was another Divine Beast lost to time that was a bird of prey? Could Zelda have been its pilot like she is in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity? It could likely be coincidence that the designers for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity wanted a more “attack centric” design for the Hunter model of the Master Cycle Zero, but why not also make it a horse, and why not give the weapon to Link since it was his in Breath of the Wild? Regardless, I really enjoy playing as Zelda with the Master Cycle Zero! It’s a fun weapon, and an interesting choice to give it to Zelda given her personality and nature. I think it lets us see the more carefree side of Zelda for once.
We may never have the answers to these questions, but what do you think? Is the Hunter model depicting a lost Divine Beast or is it just a coincidence? Should Zelda be piloting the Master Cycle Zero? Let us know in the comments below
Hi I’m Heather! I’m Senior Editor and Art Director at Zelda Dungeon and I’ve been a member of the ZD team since 2019. I am a graphic designer, artist, and nerdy mom to an awesome little boy. When my nose isn’t in a book, working on my novel or watching anime you can find me curled up with my cats Mandy-Lynn and Daisy Mae.
