Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Just Got Way More…

Summary

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is the first Hyrule Warriors game to be included in the official Legend of Zelda canon.
The game provides backstory on the Imprisoning War that sets up the events of Tears of the Kingdom.
This inclusion in the official canon suggests a growing trust between Nintendo and Koei Tecmo.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment will hold an official place in the Legend of Zelda franchise's canon, according to Nintendo itself. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is 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 the Legend of Zelda franchise since its early days on the NES in the mid '80s, the Hyrule Warriors spin-offs are hack-and-slash games pitting characters from the legendary kingdom against massive hordes of enemies. Its entries have been counted among the best of Koei Tecmo's Warriors spin-off games, which have incorporated the gameplay style of Dynasty Warriors with other franchises like Gundam, Fire Emblem, and One Piece.

Zelda Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment Link

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment Marks A Growing Trend For Zelda Games

So long as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a canonical prequel, one missing character could reveal that the future of Zelda games is changing.

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By Martin Wood

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 about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment suggests that the game will weave a canonical story about the Imprisoning War that leads up to the of the story told in The 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 the lore of The Legend of Zelda games, 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 title The 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 Imprisonment will be providing some backstory on the war that occurs in the modern era of Zelda games, 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 to The 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 that Nintendo was concerned that Hyrule Warriors would hurt the Zelda brand but changed its tune following the spin-off series' positive reception.

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