A Possibile Sequel to Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity

[TabuuTKS22]

References:- Breath of The Wild, Age of Calamity, All The Trailer of Tears of The Kingdom we got until 15 April 2023

It's 3:00 AM at my place and while in excitement for Tears of The Kingdom a Theory struck my mind that a sequel to Age of Calamity is Possible

Let Me Explain
In BOTW Link Defeated Calamity Ganon
In The First Trailer to Tears of The Kingdom the E3 2019 trailer we were shown that Link and Zelda were exploring a cave where they found corpse of ganondorf (Which Rehydrates Back Afterwards according to recent trailer)

Now in AOC Timeline
Things are little Different
Calamity Ganon Possessed Astor and Took a Humanoid Form(instead of Spider form born from a cocon like in BOTW) and was defeated by Link, Zelda and Others
But There is a Possibility that Link and Zelda could go on an exploration again in this timeline and could find corpse of ganondorf which could result in a sequel to Age of Calamity

 

[Azure Sage]

Yeah, considering the timeline split, there should still be a ganoncorpse in the basement in AoC. They never did get around to dealing with that. However, we also don't know what exactly triggered that Pandora's Box to open in BotW's timeline. It could be an event that only happens because BotW happened, for all we know, leaving AoC's ganoncorpse safely still tucked in bed for another few millennia. Ultimately, we'll have to know the full story on this Ganondorf before we can judge the validity of this. I don't really expect them to further explore this timeline split, but I certainly wouldn't complain if they do.

 

[Azure Sage]

Yeah, considering the timeline split, there should still be a ganoncorpse in the basement in AoC. They never did get around to dealing with that. However, we also don't know what exactly triggered that Pandora's Box to open in BotW's timeline. It could be an event that only happens because BotW happened, for all we know, leaving AoC's ganoncorpse safely still tucked in bed for another few millennia. Ultimately, we'll have to know the full story on this Ganondorf before we can judge the validity of this. I don't really expect them to further explore this timeline split, but I certainly wouldn't complain if they do.

So now that TotK is out and we do know the trigger that caused him to wake up, we can answer this question. Here I want to explore how TotK's setup can still work in AoC's timeline. I'd also like to preface this by saying I'd prefer it being a DLC expansion rather than a second game.

Spoiler: totk story spoilers

Thanks to TotK, we know that Ganondorf's seal broke because of the Great Calamity of 100 years ago, not BotW's present day story. Which means the Great Calamity of AoC should still weaken his seal like on the main branch of the timeline, however this time we're on a new branch and 106 years later there won't be a hero and princess combo to save the day anymore when Ganondorf wakes up. So you would think that doesn't fit with TotK, right? UNLESS...

... Unless we consider events that are unique to AoC's timeline, as well. We know it happened very differently than in BotW's timeline, but stuff was still wrecked pretty bad even if the Calamity was averted this time. And AoC also had Astor and Harbinger Ganon going around making more monsters and fully reviving that timeline's Calamity Ganon, which did not happen in BotW's timeline. We can assume it's likely Astor and Habinger's fault theres so many more monsters in AoC compared to BotW's history. We know Terrako had to jump back far enough to before Link even got the Master Sword and met everyone else like he did in BotW's timeline so it actually starts a *lot* earlier on than the earliest point we see in BotW's memories. Taking that into consideration, with how different things are and how much Astor and Harbinger were mucking things around, I don't think it's a stretch to suggest their actions accelerated the weakening on Ganondorf's seal beneath Hyrule.

So if we assume that's true, it wouldn't be unrealistic to suggest a similar time jump to Ganondorf's revival that we see between BotW and TotK. So how could this work here? We can't send AoC's Zelda back in time because even in this timeline the Light Dragon should still exist. As a matter of fact, on this timeline we'd end up with two Zeldas and two Master Swords. Kinda awkward, huh? Here's how I think we can make that a little less awkward...

Gloom starts seeping out as it did in TotK. Link and Zelda go under the castle to investigate as they did in TotK, BUT this time they have Terrako with them. That will be the key that changes how this goes. Link still gets his Master Sword and his arm messed up, but Terrako is the one to intervene and prevent Zelda from getting yeeted back to the past by her sacred stone. Call it plot magic or triforce magic or whatever you want. Instead he yeets her up to the GSI while Rauru does the same to Link as in TotK. Upheaval still happens. However this time we can't really have several weeks or months pass from this point to when Link wakes up, yeah? So he'll just wake up sooner. Zelda will be up there too. Great Sky Island becomes a new battle map and you have the two of them navigate across it fighting soldier constructs or whatever so they can reunite at the temple of time and meet Rauru's ghost. This is where things can diverge from TotK's story and play out in a new Warriors-themed way.

So, how would the sages and the Light Dragon be handled here? There are two options for the sages; 1. have Terrako yoink them back from the future, post-TotK this time, giving Sidon, Yunobo, and Riju new costumes and weapons and giving us playable Tulin while poor Teba gets left out. Or 2. make the Champions into Sages this time (Revali is a bit iffy here though because its questionable whether there's evidence that suggests he has family ties with Teba and Tulin). Mineru, whose soul was hidden within the Purah Pad, can still resurface the same way she did in TotK, just make the Construct Factory and Spirit Temple into a Warriors map and the rest can work itself out. Playable Mineru Construct would be sick. As for the Purah Pad, it doesn't have runes like the Sheikah Slate did so I'm hesitant to say it can be a new tier of her Sheikah Slate weapon, but that's probably what's gonna have to happen. Just have Terrako work his plot magic on it I guess.

Now, as for the Light Dragon... On this timeline, she'd be stranded in a different history than the one she'd come from and that's depressing... but I think it has merits as an emotional story beat if handled right. She can return to human form here and become a separate playable character from the regular Zelda, labeled as the Sage of Time. And the second Master Sword that she was carrying can still be passed on to Link. There are two options for this, as well; 1. it does some goddess magic or whatever and merges with the decayed Master Sword that Link had originally. The easy way out, and not as interesting to me. Or 2. Sage of Time uses the magic she'd been storing up over millennia to fix the decayed Master Sword too so now Link gets to dual-wield two Master Swords as a new weapon type. A bit silly, yeah, but it would be goddamn cool and it'd be fitting of the nature of Warriors games. I'd prefer it that way, honestly. Speaking of new abilities they could also use Link's new arm here as well and come up with ways to include the hand abilities in combat like they did with runes. Make Terrako able to share them like he did with the runes before since that's the easiest thing to do. Also make Ganondorf playable (duh) and perhaps Rauru & Sonia ghosts as a playable duo or something as an extra treat. They could even use TotK's map screen as inspiration and be able to tab between the Depths and Sky for more points of interest since AoC's map is currently pretty packed.

So yeah. There's a lot they can do here. It can work. I'm not saying they're going to do this, I'm just saying it can be done. If they were going to do it at all, this is how I'd like to see it done.

 

[Azure Sage]

So now that TotK is out and we do know the trigger that caused him to wake up, we can answer this question. Here I want to explore how TotK's setup can still work in AoC's timeline. I'd also like to preface this by saying I'd prefer it being a DLC expansion rather than a second game.

Spoiler: totk story spoilers

Thanks to TotK, we know that Ganondorf's seal broke because of the Great Calamity of 100 years ago, not BotW's present day story. Which means the Great Calamity of AoC should still weaken his seal like on the main branch of the timeline, however this time we're on a new branch and 106 years later there won't be a hero and princess combo to save the day anymore when Ganondorf wakes up. So you would think that doesn't fit with TotK, right? UNLESS...

... Unless we consider events that are unique to AoC's timeline, as well. We know it happened very differently than in BotW's timeline, but stuff was still wrecked pretty bad even if the Calamity was averted this time. And AoC also had Astor and Harbinger Ganon going around making more monsters and fully reviving that timeline's Calamity Ganon, which did not happen in BotW's timeline. We can assume it's likely Astor and Habinger's fault theres so many more monsters in AoC compared to BotW's history. We know Terrako had to jump back far enough to before Link even got the Master Sword and met everyone else like he did in BotW's timeline so it actually starts a *lot* earlier on than the earliest point we see in BotW's memories. Taking that into consideration, with how different things are and how much Astor and Harbinger were mucking things around, I don't think it's a stretch to suggest their actions accelerated the weakening on Ganondorf's seal beneath Hyrule.

So if we assume that's true, it wouldn't be unrealistic to suggest a similar time jump to Ganondorf's revival that we see between BotW and TotK. So how could this work here? We can't send AoC's Zelda back in time because even in this timeline the Light Dragon should still exist. As a matter of fact, on this timeline we'd end up with two Zeldas and two Master Swords. Kinda awkward, huh? Here's how I think we can make that a little less awkward...

Gloom starts seeping out as it did in TotK. Link and Zelda go under the castle to investigate as they did in TotK, BUT this time they have Terrako with them. That will be the key that changes how this goes. Link still gets his Master Sword and his arm messed up, but Terrako is the one to intervene and prevent Zelda from getting yeeted back to the past by her sacred stone. Call it plot magic or triforce magic or whatever you want. Instead he yeets her up to the GSI while Rauru does the same to Link as in TotK. Upheaval still happens. However this time we can't really have several weeks or months pass from this point to when Link wakes up, yeah? So he'll just wake up sooner. Zelda will be up there too. Great Sky Island becomes a new battle map and you have the two of them navigate across it fighting soldier constructs or whatever so they can reunite at the temple of time and meet Rauru's ghost. This is where things can diverge from TotK's story and play out in a new Warriors-themed way.

So, how would the sages and the Light Dragon be handled here? There are two options for the sages; 1. have Terrako yoink them back from the future, post-TotK this time, giving Sidon, Yunobo, and Riju new costumes and weapons and giving us playable Tulin while poor Teba gets left out. Or 2. make the Champions into Sages this time (Revali is a bit iffy here though because its questionable whether there's evidence that suggests he has family ties with Teba and Tulin). Mineru, whose soul was hidden within the Purah Pad, can still resurface the same way she did in TotK, just make the Construct Factory and Spirit Temple into a Warriors map and the rest can work itself out. Playable Mineru Construct would be sick. As for the Purah Pad, it doesn't have runes like the Sheikah Slate did so I'm hesitant to say it can be a new tier of her Sheikah Slate weapon, but that's probably what's gonna have to happen. Just have Terrako work his plot magic on it I guess.

Now, as for the Light Dragon... On this timeline, she'd be stranded in a different history than the one she'd come from and that's depressing... but I think it has merits as an emotional story beat if handled right. She can return to human form here and become a separate playable character from the regular Zelda, labeled as the Sage of Time. And the second Master Sword that she was carrying can still be passed on to Link. There are two options for this, as well; 1. it does some goddess magic or whatever and merges with the decayed Master Sword that Link had originally. The easy way out, and not as interesting to me. Or 2. Sage of Time uses the magic she'd been storing up over millennia to fix the decayed Master Sword too so now Link gets to dual-wield two Master Swords as a new weapon type. A bit silly, yeah, but it would be goddamn cool and it'd be fitting of the nature of Warriors games. I'd prefer it that way, honestly. Speaking of new abilities they could also use Link's new arm here as well and come up with ways to include the hand abilities in combat like they did with runes. Make Terrako able to share them like he did with the runes before since that's the easiest thing to do. Also make Ganondorf playable (duh) and perhaps Rauru & Sonia ghosts as a playable duo or something as an extra treat. They could even use TotK's map screen as inspiration and be able to tab between the Depths and Sky for more points of interest since AoC's map is currently pretty packed.

So yeah. There's a lot they can do here. It can work. I'm not saying they're going to do this, I'm just saying it can be done. If they were going to do it at all, this is how I'd like to see it done.

Letting this marinate more in my mind and came up with a few more ideas.

Spoiler

So the initial chapter of the expansion that I described before where Terrako yeets Zelda to the Great Sky Island as Rauru still does the same to Link would actually play out better as Zelda and Terrako searching for Link across the GSI and he's the end goal of the quest. To kind of parallel that segment in TotK where Link searches the GSI for Zelda. They do find him and help him get back on their feet as Rauru's ghost guides them. Link gets the hand powers after that. The Master Sword would then become unavailable for him to use until they meet the Light Dragon and get the second Master Sword, which would become a separate equippable weapon. You would regain access to the old singular Master Sword + Hylian Shield, and then the Dual Master Swords becomes its own separate weapon that you can choose to use, and that would become Link's main weapon for the story from then on out.

So how I would introduce the hand powers into AoC's format, without interrupting the runes, is I would put them on the same trigger button as the runes, but on the d-pad so that the runes can still be used on the face buttons. Similarly, we can select a few choice zonai devices to put on the other trigger with the magic rods and apples, doing the same thing with the d-pad. We could then incorporate these new abilities into environmental and combat mechanics, with Terrako sharing them between all the characters like he does with the runes.

Ascend is easy. It would still work the same way as in TotK, but it would see the most use on new maps with more verticality. Would also be good to use it on Battle Taluses like in TotK. Recall would also work the same way as in TotK; use it to reflect non-metal projectiles and also as an environmental gimmick like when enemies try rolling spike balls at you. Fuse could be used on zonai devices laying around, which I would have sprinkled throughout the maps as a new environmental thing you can do. Stick something to your weapon for a quick effect. And Ultrahand would basically function as Autobuild to snap some of these environmental zonai devices together into a preset construction that will either attack enemies or allow you to traverse gaps in the map i.e. flinging yourself across a gap between sky islands, similar to how the little paraglider bits in AoC were. You would also be able to collect zonai capsules as a drop item, which then can be used on the R trigger where the magic rods are (but only certain ones, like maybe the rocket). Fuse could also be a new mechanic at the blacksmith to upgrade Link's weapons further. We already have weapon fusion in base AoC, but here we could have a separate menu for a new way to do it like how it works in TotK.

 

[Masaki1812]

THE DESTINY will somehow get Zelda to travel in the past either way.
If there is no AoC2 sequel, that that just means that Raura defeated Ganondorf, and Calamity Ganon was just ghost of a long dead Demon King.

 

[Azure Sage]

THE DESTINY will somehow get Zelda to travel in the past either way.
If there is no AoC2 sequel, that that just means that Raura defeated Ganondorf, and Calamity Ganon was just ghost of a long dead Demon King.

Nah, that can't work. If we assume Ganondorf was defeated by Rauru, that means that Zelda is either stuck in the past or stuck as the Light Dragon forever or she never went back at all. Which means that this version of events has to happen on a different timeline than the one we see in BotW/TotK, and we know that it can't happen on AoC's split because we know when that split begins.

 

[Sal]

I think they would definitely explore the Imprisoning War as a possible Hyrule Warriors game (which major changes, of course), but I don't think they will invest on it, maybe to hold people off until another Zelda game is released, probably another remaster too along the way.

 

[Masaki1812]

Nah, that can't work. If we assume Ganondorf was defeated by Rauru, that means that Zelda is either stuck in the past or stuck as the Light Dragon forever or she never went back at all. Which means that this version of events has to happen on a different timeline than the one we see in BotW/TotK, and we know that it can't happen on AoC's split because we know when that split begins.

I said that "if we never got a game", that means that AoC happens because Rauru must have vanquished Ganondorf, and Zelda never needed to travel in the past. If we do get a new Musou game, that writers need to have Zelda through Destiny go into the Depths and pick the Zonai Stone.

 

[Azure Sage]

I said that "if we never got a game", that means that AoC happens because Rauru must have vanquished Ganondorf, and Zelda never needed to travel in the past. If we do get a new Musou game, that writers need to have Zelda through Destiny go into the Depths and pick the Zonai Stone.

Whether we get a new game or not, it can't happen that way in AoC's timeline because thats not how it happened on the main timeline, which AoC split off from.

AoC Zelda can't go back in time, either, because then there'd be two Zeldas in the past. TotK shows us that's not what happened.