Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a pseudo prequel to Breath of the Wild. What that means to me is that it works within the canon framework of BotW's memories, this is not just slapping BotW characters in a random scenario for fanservice - it operates 100% within that world and its lore, but goes on to have an alternative ending. This is important to note because to me this means these are canon, official interpretations of these characters and their personalities. Just as important as Breath of the Wild's, despite a branching timeline.
I want to take this thread to explore Age of Calamity's story changes, what they allow for in terms of character development and what this means for the Zelda series.
Age of Calamity's story changes and their impact
Spoilers ahead obviously!!
The 100 years ago story in Breath of the Wild is a key part of the game's story. However, it is only the first half. It is unfinished. It exists to provide motivation to Link to defeat Ganon and save Zelda from holding him back. The memories end with Link being the final hope as a cliffhanger for BotW.
In Age of Calamity, things play out mostly the same for a bit, despite a couple of new character introductions. They learn calamity is happening, they recruit the champions to pilot the divine beasts, and Zelda struggles with awakening her powers and it becomes too late as Ganon hijacks the beasts and guardians. The big shift happens when the future champions time travel and save their past counterparts from death in the Divine Beasts. From here on out, we get to experience the Battles of Akkala Citadel and Fort Hateno, but they end up being wins for Hyrule. And for the final assault on Hyrule Castle, all the stops are pulled out to defeat Ganon and seal him for good.
So they win this time. Whether or not this is disappointing isnt the topic of this thread. I thought seeing BotW's tragic story play out would've been cool too. The main point I want to make is that these story changes allow for a complete story where Link is not the final hope and can be removed from his position as the main character, the story is no longer simply setting the stage for Breath of the Wild. This brings me to my next point...
Now let's talk about Zelda, and the strides they have made for her in this game
Princess Zelda is far and away the main character of Age of Calamity. This is an expansion of her role in BotW's memories, where we saw her struggle with insecurities about not yet unlocking her sealing power, and struggle with her father who forbids her from pursuing her passion - research.
These are still present in Age of Calamity, however we no longer see it just from Link's point of view. We see Zelda have conversations with characters such as Impa, a dear friend, and Urbosa, a mother figure.
And the story changes mentioned above allow for this to be a complete arc for Zelda herself, she is the hero of this game. She goes from insecure yet passionate and driven, to overcoming that and unlocking her powers to bravely charge into the battlefield, finding her voice as a leader and rallying hyrule's troops with powerful speeches, and showing her father that her research would help in overcoming the calamity. At the end, she deals the final blow to Ganon after strategizing and implementing her plan to take back Hyrule Castle.
Indeed, this is a massive step forward. Zelda is the most complex character she's been yet, and at the most important role she's ever been in in age of calamity.
But now, with Zelda in the main character spot, it's time to ask aonuma's infamous question....
now we must ask "well what would Link do?"
The answer is, well... not much. He fulfills his stereotypical role of the knight guarding the princess and wielding the master sword. And to be honest, this made me realize something I hadn't before. With Link out of the main character role, he is completely underwhelming compared to the other characters. His silence becomes not a self insert for the character anymore, it is now him being boring compared to everyone else.
AoC shifted from "inserting yourself into a fairytale" to "character focused JRPG." It's akin to FFX - Zelda is the main character like Tidus/Yuna who grows over the game. The champions and Impa are her colorful support system like Lulu, Wakka, Rikku and Auron. Link is the Kimahri, bland and boring.
Once I saw interesting and fully voiced characters in the Zelda series, it finally clicked that Link has been holding the narrative potential back for so long. While Zelda dumps her envy on him in BotW's memories and he just sits there and take it, AoC has a cutscene where she is taking to Urbosa. Urbosa can tell Zelda is envious of other's successes and actually does something to provide a different point of view saying "chill out, everyone progresses at their own pace and you won't get anywhere by comparing yourself to others all the time." It's much more interesting than monologuing to link.
Overall, what am I saying?
AOC's story changes, while it would've been cool to see the failure, allow for a complete story where Zelda can shine as a complex main character who actually grows over the course of the game and succeeds in the end. It is no longer setting the stage for BotW and dependent on Link. Speaking of, Link is completely forgettable in AoC the second he loses the spotlight, and it makes me realize that the "Link should talk!" people have a point. Is Aoc the best narrative ever with amazing character development? No. But it's a great step forward and something new for the Zelda series specifically
Does this mean anything for BotW2? Who knows, but this is just as important a story in the series as BotW is. It was a breath of fresh air to see Zelda in the main character role. I don't foresee them changing Link in BotW2, but I'm hoping they realize that by characterizing Link the way they do Zelda, there is so much potential there
