Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment's Character Roster is…

The next Legend of Zelda title has been announced, but it's not what fans expected despite its familiarity. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is the third full entry in the Hyrule Warriors series, and is primed to continue what 2020’s Age of Calamity started by fleshing out the background of another modern Zelda game. Last time it was Breath of the Wild’s memory flashbacks, and this time Age of Imprisonment is showing Tears of the Kingdom's Imprisoning War in more detail. This will be a welcome expansion to TotK’s story, but Age of Imprisonment also brings a new element to the table.

Unlike past Hyrule Warriors entries, Age of Imprisonment is a canon Zelda story. Nintendo itself dropped this reveal in a press release, seemingly de-confirming the return of Age of Calamity’s alternate timeline plot. Considering the amount of unexplored ground in the Imprisoning War’s ancient era, Age of Imprisonment might be better served sticking to an extended portrayal of Tears of the Kingdom’s existing flashback scenes. However, the confirmation of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment as canon raises even more questions about its roster, which a Warriors title can't afford to screw up.

Zelda Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment Link

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By Martin Wood

Canonicity Calls Age of Imprisonment’s Cast Into Question

If Age of Imprisonment is canon, that implies certain restrictions when it comes to which playable characters it can use. The game is supposed to be set entirely in the ancient past that Princess Zelda is sent to in Tears of the Kingdom’s opening, and there are only a handful of major characters found within that timeframe. Based on previous Hyrule Warriors games, the assumed minimum roster for Age of Imprisonment includes:

Princess Zelda
King Rauru
Mineru, Sage of Spirit
Rito Sage of Wind
Zora Sage of Water
Goron Sage of Fire
Gerudo Sage of Lightning
Demon King Ganondorf

With Queen Sonia and Phantom Ganon holding high potential for the roster as well, that makes 8 to 10 characters, and four of them don't even have names. If Age of Imprisonment adheres to canon, there will be no time-travelling Sages or Champions present during the main story, and Link might end up taking Calamity Ganon’s place in Age of Calamity as the big postgame unlockable character. Age of Imprisonment will obviously have to make up a lot of new material to build a full game out of TotK’s flashbacks, and Warriors tradition dictates that must include doing something with its playable roster.

How Age of Imprisonment Can Work More Characters Into Its Canon Story

There are several solutions to this on top of the postgame Link unlockable mentioned above. Age of Calamity included several characters that were of debatable canonicity even within the game’s alternate timeline, with the Great Fairies and Monk Maz Koshia being unlockable during AoC's campaign, and Terrako and Calamity Ganon afterward. The Great Fairies could reprise their role here, but immediately, there's an impasse. It's unknown if Maz Koshia’s Sheikah Tribe even existed at the same time as the last of the Zonai, which not only prevents his return, but also makes it difficult to add an Age of Imprisonment equivalent to Impa.

Hyrule Warriors Will Need To Work Some OCs Into TotK’s Backstory

All of this suggests the real possibility that the various Secret Stone users established in Tears of the Kingdom will be the only ones playable over the course of Age of Imprisonment’s story, with additional fighters trickling in once it's done. That's not an appealing prospect, so there will most likely be new characters in the story, taking advantage of the ample time implied between several of TotK’s Dragon Tear scenes. Whether this means exploring the original forms of TotK’s elemental dragons or introducing new Zonai, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment has a lot of work ahead of it to maintain its canon status.

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