Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.3.0 Update + All DLCs

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a 2020 hack-and-slash game developed by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo in Japan and by Nintendo internationally for the Nintendo Switch. Like the original Hyrule Warriors (2014), Age of Calamity is a crossover that mixes the world and characters of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda series with the gameplay of Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors series, and acts as a spin-off prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017).

Set 100 years before Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity takes place in an era glanced via flashbacks in the original game, and follows Link and Princess Zelda as they gather allies across Hyrule to fend off forces led by the evil Calamity Ganon, who is attempting to revive himself and destroy the kingdom. Players control Link, Zelda, and their various allies to fight Ganon’s minions in large-scale battles reminiscent of Dynasty Warriors, with various gameplay elements taken from The Legend of Zelda.

Battle against a variety of formidable foes, including barbaric Bokoblins and towering Lynels. Take control of characters like the four Champions and a young Impa, each with their unique abilities, to carve through hundreds of enemies and save Hyrule. If you have saved data from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game, you can receive the in-game Training Sword bonus item, which equips you with a Pot Lid shield and may trigger a Perfect Guard. Don’t miss your chance to experience this epic tale!

GAMEPLAY

Like the previous Hyrule Warriors game, Age of Calamity mixes the hack-and-slash gameplay of Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors franchise with the characters, locations, and elements of Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda series. The basic gameplay consists of participating in large-scale battles against enemies, while also completing objectives and taking strategic actions such as capturing bases and commanding troops.

In addition to retaining the combat, material crafting, and weapon-upgrading systems from Hyrule Warriors, the game incorporates environmental puzzle solving and the use of the Sheikah Slate and paraglider from Breath of the Wild. Players can upgrade their characters, complete missions, and challenges, use resources to access new areas, build weapons, and cook foods that provide buffs.

Unlike in Breath of the Wild, weapons are invulnerable and do not break over time. The game’s map is similar to Breath of the Wild’s map, and players can choose stages from it and use the Sheikah Tower to explore between regions.

The game features 18 playable characters; 14 are obtained via progression in the main story, while four can be unlocked by completing various side quests.

Besides the characters, players can also control the gigantic Divine Beasts to destroy large numbers of enemies. The maximum level is level 100.

The game also features compatibility with Nintendo’s Amiibo figures, with the figures of the Four Champions relaunching alongside the game’s release.

PLOT

During the Great Calamity, a small Guardian awakens within Hyrule Castle and escapes the destruction through a time portal, but is followed by some of Calamity Ganon’s Malice. After arriving in an alternate timeline before the Calamity began, the Guardian is reactivated by Link and Impa during a battle. They take it to engineers Purah and Robbie for study and learn that it came from a future in which Ganon reawakens and destroys Hyrule. To prevent this, King Rhoam assembles four pilots for the recently-discovered Divine Beasts – Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali – and commands them, Link, and Zelda, to find the Master Sword in Korok Forest.

The Champions encounter the dark prophet Astor, who seeks to revive and control Calamity Ganon and corrupts the Forest, but Link draws the Master Sword and forces him to withdraw. Purah’s research reveals the presence of Sheikah transport towers hidden underground, and the Champions reactivate them. Use them to lead a preemptive strike on the Yiga Clan’s hideout in the Gerudo Desert. After learning from the Guardian’s records that Calamity Ganon will return on Zelda’s seventeenth birthday, King Rhoam sends her to train in hopes of awakening her sealing magic and deploys the Divine Beasts to prepare for the Calamity’s impending return.

Robbie and Purah are captured by Yiga spies while restoring the Guardian’s memory, but it escapes with the Sheikah Slate and delivers it to Zelda as the Calamity arrives. As Hyrule Castle is besieged and the Sheikah Towers shut down across Hyrule, the Champions are ambushed in their Divine Beasts by the Blight Ganons, and King Rhoam seemingly sacrifices himself as Link, Zelda, and Impa escape the Castle. The Guardian summons Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, and Teba from the original timeline to assist Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali, respectively, buying Link enough time to destroy the Blight Ganons.

With the Champions saved and the Divine Beasts restored, they begin to clear the way to Hyrule Castle. To stop the timeline from changing, Astor kills many Yiga Clan members and uses their life force to resurrect the four Blight Ganons, causing the Yiga Clan’s leader Master Kohga, and his right-hand man Sooga to fight back against him. In Fort Hateno, Link is cornered by the revived Blights, but Zelda awakens her sealing magic to save him, forcing Astor to retreat. Master Kohga and the remnants of the Yiga Clan defect to Zelda’s side to seek revenge against Astor, and on the Great Plateau, the group discovers that King Rhoam survived.

After Zelda and King Rhoam reconcile, Purah uses the Sheikah Towers to transport their allies to Hyrule Castle for a full-scale assault against Calamity Ganon. Although the Divine Beasts weaken Ganon’s spirit form, Astor arrives with Harbinger Ganon, the small Guardian from the current timeline that has been infected with the Malice from the original timeline. After being defeated by Link, Zelda, and the Champions, Astor is consumed by Harbinger Ganon, who transforms into Calamity Ganon.

Calamity Ganon corrupts the little Guardian and turns it against the group, forcing them to destroy it. Upon its defeat, Zelda remembers she activated the little Guardian as a child and named it Terrako, but Rhoam took it away so she would focus on her training. Zelda and her allies confront Calamity Ganon but are unable to damage him until Terrako self-destructs to weaken him. Calamity Ganon is defeated by Link, and Zelda uses her power to permanently seal him away. The future heroes are returned to their timeline while Link, Zelda, and their allies look out at the now peaceful Hyrule. In a secret ending, Purah and Robbie repair Terrako, reuniting Zelda with her friend.