Summary
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonmentwill hold an official place in theLegend of Zeldafranchise’s canon, according to Nintendo itself.Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonmentis the third installment in the offshoot series developed by Koei Tecmo, but it’s the first to have a confirmed lasting impact on the mainline series.
Breaking from the traditional action-adventure elements that have followed theLegend of Zeldafranchise since its early days on the NES in the mid ’80s, theHyrule Warriorsspin-offs are hack-and-slash games pitting characters from the legendary kingdom against massive hordes of enemies. Its entries have been counted among thebest of Koei Tecmo’sWarriorsspin-off games, which have incorporated the gameplay style ofDynasty Warriorswith other franchises likeGundam,Fire Emblem, andOne Piece.
While those games allow fans of other game and anime franchises the opportunity to fantasize about their favorite characters slogging through crowds of underpowered mobs, they seldom have a lasting effect on their source material’s overarching stories. However, an official press release aboutHyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonmentsuggests that the game will weave a canonical story about the Imprisoning War that leads up to the of thestory told inThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.There isn’t a complete list of characters that players will be able to control, but the recent reveal trailer unveiled time-travel elements that have allowed more modern characters to play a role, and the press release confirms that both Princess Zelda and King Rauru will be major players in the story’s unraveling.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Will be a Canon Story
For those not deeply invested in thelore ofThe Legend of Zeldagames, there have actually been two events in the timeline known as the Imprisoning War, with the first one reaching all the way back to SNES titleThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. While both of these wars involve the sealing of Ganon after his invasion of Hyrule in a quest to wield the power of the Triforce,Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonmentwill be providing some backstory on the war that occurs in the modern era ofZeldagames, which currently occupy the tail end of the timeline.
This inclusion in the official canon could be a sign of trust building between Nintendo and Koei Tecmo. Following the laughable reception toThe Legend of Zelda’s CD-i games produced by Philips Interactive Media in the 1990s, Nintendo has kept a pretty firm grip on Link and friends. A report from June 2024 revealed thatNintendo was concerned thatHyrule Warriorswould hurt theZeldabrandbut changed its tune following the spin-off series' positive reception.
