In 2014, Nintendo and Koei Tecmo released their first crossover game. Designed as a Dynasty Warriors game, Hyrule Warriors was a spin-off of The Legend of Zelda. It released on the Wii U, 3DS, and Switch. In early 2020, a sequel was announced. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity released a while back and has helped Nintendo as many fans didn't think they would receive a huge game this holiday.
As both of these titles were made by Koei Tecmo and Nintendo, as well as having a lot of similarities, many players have compared the two. But which one of these installments is the better game?
10 Age Of Calamity: A Prequel To Breath Of The Wild
Breath of the Wild is arguably the greatest game in the series. It was completely unique compared to the rest of the franchise and revolutionized gaming in general. Fans have wanted the critically acclaimed installment to be expanded upon for three years and thought they wouldn't get anything until the upcoming sequel releases. They were delighted to find out that the characters and plot introduced in Breath of the Wild would return before then in this prequel.
9 Original: A Standalone Release
Unlike Age of Calamity, the original Hyrule Warriors was not set in the same universe as any of the other games in the series. It could be played without having any knowledge on The Legend of Zelda, though hardcore fans had a greater appreciation for this game. Despite being one of Nintendo's most popular franchises, not every gamer is a fan of Link's adventures across Hyrule. Those that prefer hack-and-slash games could finally experience the series in a way that they would enjoy. The same applies to fans of the series that were not experienced in hack-and-slash titles.
8 Age Of Calamity: Insight Into Deep Lore
Breath of the Wild was great for its gameplay but didn't do much with its story. Link travelled around Hyrule and learned about the things he forgot 100 years prior to waking up in a cave before facing against Calamity Ganon again. Besides that, not much was revealed about the plot and some fans were disappointed. Age of Calamity doesn't only cover the battle that led to Link's slumber but also reveals everything that led up to the battle along with a new timeline. After three long years, many questions were answered.
7 Original: An Original Story
Hyrule Warriors took the characters and plotlines from many games in the series and mashed them all together to create a new yet familiar story. One example of this is Zelda disguising herself as Sheik, which she previously did in Ocarina of Time. The different time periods and dimensions from The Legend of Zelda come together to tell the story of Link and his comrades facing against a sorceress named Cia.
They also split into groups, leading to some interesting interactions that fans wouldn't expect from traditional titles, and fight some of Hyrule's other enemies, including Ganondorf.
6 Age Of Calamity: Canon
As great as it was to see the different universes of the franchise come together in one epic installment, Hyrule Warriors isn't canon to The Legend of Zelda and fans will probably never need to know anything from in it to completely understand the other games. However, since Age of Calamity takes place before Breath of the Wild, it is important for the series' plot and will most likely be referenced in other titles. It may even be connected to the upcoming Breath of the Wild sequel.
5 Original: Playable Characters
Hyrule Warriors had a lot more characters to play as than Age of Calamity did. This gave players a huge reason to play the game for hours even after beating it. They could control Link, Zelda, Impa, Lana, Darunia, Ruto, Agitha, Fi, Ganondorf, and many others.
Even more characters were introduced through DLC. Though Nintendo nor Koei Tecmo have not announced DLC for Age of Calamity, some may release in the future. However, until then, players do not have nearly enough characters to control.
4 Age Of Calamity: Gameplay
Age of Calamity is much better when it comes to the original game when it comes to the combat, which is the main focus of Dynasty Warriors games. Since there weren't as many characters, Link, Zelda, Impa, and the pilots of the Divine Beasts are all very fun to control and mechanics from Breath of the Wild were implemented into this title well. Nearly everything that could be done from the 2017 release, such as using runes, can be done again.
3 Original: A Longer Experience
Though each game's story isn't incredibly long nor too short, Hyrule Warriors gives players a lot more to do. Those that care to play games that they can immerse themselves into for hundreds of hours will not be disappointed with what the first game in the series has to offer. According to howlongtobeat.com, the original version of the game takes the average player 204 hours to fully complete while the version on the Switch, which includes the DLC, takes 376. Age of Calamity only takes 54 1/2 hours to beat everything.
2 Age Of Calamity: A Harder Experience
The first game provided a good challenge. However, players that want a more difficult game should play Age of Calamity. There are new gameplay mechanics and more to control which has proved to be hard for some of the players. The bosses are also much more challenging than they were in Hyrule Warriors. Many gamers like to test their skills but those that aren't as experienced can always play on an easier difficulty.
1 Original: Soundtrack
Besides the story and gameplay that The Legend of Zelda is known for, many also recognize the series' popular and amazing songs. Age of Calamity had a great soundtrack but the original game included songs throughout the entire franchise. When characters or locations from other games were introduced into the epic crossover of the first title, songs from that game would play. Hardcore fans would be familiar with nearly every track in the game, providing them a lot of nostalgia even if they never played the title before.