Every Way Age Of Calamity Could Make BOTW 2’s Story Even Better

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity could benefit Breath of the Wild 2‘s story in many ways. The plotline of Age of Calamity introduced a split timeline in which the events of the original BOTW never happened. This could change the way BOTW 2 serves as a sequel to its 2017 predecessor.

Age of Calamity begins 100 years before Breath of the Wild when a small Guardian named Terrako goes back in time to warn Zelda, Link, and the Four Champions about the Great Calamity. However, Calamity Ganon’s Malice follows Terrako into the past, leading to a series of events that results in the Prophet of Doom Astor attempting to maintain the original BOTW timeline by controlling Calamity Ganon. By the time Age of Calamity reaches its ending, Link, Zelda, and the Four Champions successfully stop Astor and Calamity Ganon with all of the heroes still alive.

With Calamity Ganon destroyed before he ever started the events that led to the original Breath of the Wild, BOTW 2 could be a much different game than originally anticipated. Rather than being the direct follow-up to its predecessor, the game may see Link and Zelda explore the aftermath of Age of Calamity instead. Diversifying the Legend of Zelda timeline in this way could make BOTW 2 a much better game, and it could react to Age of Calamity’s story in one of two ways – either becoming a direct sequel to Age of Calamity or simply connecting the timelines of both games.

Breath Of The Wild 2 Could Be The Sequel To Age Of Calamity

The first possibility is that BOTW 2 could follow up Age of Calamity. If Age of Calamity alters rather than splits the Legend of Zelda timeline, the game will have prevented the events of the original Breath of the Wild from ever happening by stopping the Great Calamity. This would leave Age of Calamity as the only possible game for BOTW 2 to be the true sequel to, because BOTW would essentially no longer not exist in the Legend of Zelda timeline.

The consequences of this timeline alteration would result in a radically different environment for Breath of the Wild 2. The original BOTW saw a broken landscape of scattered ruins and sparse populations because Calamity Ganon destroyed the Great Plateau in his rise to power. Since Zelda sealed Calamity Ganon in the Sacred Realm before he could wreak havoc on her kingdom in Age of Calamity, though, BOTW 2‘s map of Hyrule could be much more populated with fully constructed villages and cities. Doing so would create an interesting world to explore, as BOTW 2‘s E3 2020 trailer shows a Hyrule filled with floating islands. Nevertheless, making the map more populated would communicate how different the world would be with the prevention of the Great Calamity while also providing fans with a refreshing experience in Hyrule.

Additionally, Breath of the Wild 2‘s antagonist will probably be unrelated to Calamity Ganon and Astor if it is the sequel to Age of Calamity. Zelda seals Calamity Ganon in that game and Astor with him because Harbinger Ganon absorbed Astor in order to become more powerful. This means that the corpse of Ganondorf that Link and Zelda find in BOTW 2’s E3 2019 trailer likely has too little power to produce another form of hatred to torment Hyrule.

Instead, BOTW 2‘s villain may be Demise. In what is canonically the earliest game in the Legend of Zelda series Skyward Sword, the demon Demise is revealed to be the true villain to Link and Zelda, for he is the deity who spawned Ganondorf and all of Hyrule’s monsters with his hatred. Indeed, the magical green hand holding Ganondorf’s corpse in the E3 2019 trailer may very well be Demise’s. It thus seems that Legend of Zelda‘s biggest villain may have a more direct role to play in Breath of the Wild 2 since both Astor and Calamity Ganon have been successfully sealed in the Sacred Realm.

Age Of Calamity & BOTW’s Timelines May Come Together

The second possibility is that the split timelines of BOTW 2 and Age of Hyrule could merge. This seems the likelier of the two options, as both of Breath of the Wild 2’s E3 trailers show that Hyrule Castle and the Great Plateau are still in ruins like they were in the original BOTW. Additionally, retconning a popular game like BOTW into oblivion would be too risky of a decision for Nintendo to make, especially because the fanbases of an open world adventure game like BOTW and a beat ’em up like Age of Hyrule do not necessarily overlap even if they are technically part of the same franchise.

BOTW 2 could bridge its timeline with Age of Calamity‘s with the help of Terrako. Though the tiny Guardian sacrifices itself in the fight against Calamity Ganon, a secret ending in Age of Calamity shows that Terrako is revived. Terrako could thus travel across space and time once again, connecting BOTW 2 and Age of Calamity to save Link and Zelda by bringing assistance from the latter game’s timeline where Hyrule and its people were not devastated by Calamity Ganon.

Indeed, one of the best changes Age of Calamity could bring to Breath of the Wild 2 would be the Four Champions. Though Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali perished in the Great Calamity in the BOTW timeline, they were able to see the other side of their battles against the forces of evil in Age of Calamity. If the timelines merge, they could thus join Link and Zelda in their fight against the next game’s foe. The Four Champions could even pilot their Divine Beasts in BOTW 2‘s battles once more.

Astor is also likely to have a role in Breath of the Wild 2 if its timeline merges with Age of Calamity‘s. The Prophet of Doom was sealed in the Sacred Realm in the beat ’em up, but he may have survived the Great Calamity in the BOTW timeline. Indeed, he is likely the person who foretold the rise of Calamity Ganon and warned King Rhoam. But knowing his nefarious intentions in Age of Calamity, Astor is probably done with his good deeds and may possibly be siding with Ganondorf in his rise to power.

Of course, BOTW 2 may go a different route and not address the timeline split. While it would be interesting to see a cool crossover – such as Age of Calamity‘s Purah and Impa in BOTW 2 – the beat ’em up is an entirely different game than BOTW. Further, much of its story was built out of love for the open world game rather than in service of its sequel. In any case, it will be exciting to see how Breath of the Wild 2 chooses to handle Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity‘s significant alterations to the Legend of Zelda timeline.