5 fascinating theories for a Tears of the Kingdom/Hyrule Warriors crossover

The desire for DLC content for Tears of the Kingdom is strong among fans, but so is the desire for a new Hyrule Warriors title set in the same era. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was a welcomed spinoff of Breath of the Wild that told an alternate tale of Hyrule’s fight with Calamity Ganon. With how successful Age of Calamity was, it only makes sense that Nintendo would seek to create a sequel to it.

The only question is what direction Nintendo would take such a sequel in. There are plenty of possibilities to choose from, but the five listed here are the ones that seem the most probable while also being the most entertaining for Zelda fans.

Spoiler Warning:
This feature discusses the newly-released Tears of the Kingdom and contains significant spoilers for the game’s story and lore, which you may not wish to see. Continue reading at your own discretion.

5. A recounting of the Imprisoning War

For this concept, the proposed Hyrule Warriors game would take the player back to the events that take place between Zelda’s arrival in the ancient past and the Demon King’s imprisonment. Rather than viewing only limited events through cutscenes, players would experience the fight with Ganondorf and his armies firsthand.

Pros:

• Explore ancient Hyrule: Players would see how the kingdom truly looked in that era.
• Zelda-focused story: The action and story would focus primarily on Zelda, who would serve the interesting role of a character caught out of her environment.
• Highlight the ancient heroes: Players would spend more time with Rauru, Sonia, and the other characters from that era and learn more about them.

Cons:

• Predictable ending: The ultimate end of the Imprisoning War was revealed in Tears of the Kingdom.
• No playable Link: Link is the main character of the series, so a game that does not feature him might have limited marketability and appeal.
• Limited familiar playable characters: There are only a few characters from that era already known to the player through Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo would need to create new but unfamiliar characters or use the time-travel trope from Age of Calamity again to bring in known characters.

4. An adventure With Master Kohga as the villain

A game with Master Kohga as the main villain would work as a follow-up to Tears of the Kingdom. After failing to help Ganondorf plunge Hyrule into darkness, Kohga could be shown to have survived his last fight with Link and has found a new way to wage war on Hyrule in the name of his fallen master.

Pros:

• Uncharted territory: The events immediately after Tears of the Kingdom are completely unknown to the player.
• Access to many characters: Every major and minor character from Tears of the Kingdom’s present-day timeline could become playable.
• More Kohga: Kohga’s eccentric and at-times foolish behavior has made him a fan-favorite character, but it is known that he can be a credible threat at times.
• Possibly bring back Sooga: Sooga was a standout new addition to the series in Age of Calamity. His return in a game focused on Kohga and the Yiga Clan would take some work but would be possible.

Cons:

• Kohga is underwhelming as-is: Kohga is not as powerful as Ganondorf and would need to be retooled or given a powerful plot device to make him more imposing.
• No Ganondorf: Ganondorf would be absent from the game unless Nintendo went with a Zelda II-inspired plot of seeking to revive him.
• Very dependent on Tears of the Kingdom: Being a direct follow-up to Tears of the Kingdom could mean that the game wouldn’t thrive as a standalone title.
• No hand abilities: Link lost Rauru’s Hand at the end of Tears of the Kingdom, so he wouldn’t be able to use it and its abilities.

3. An exploration of the events before Tears of the Kingdom

Given the amount of speculation about what happened in Hyrule during the years after Breath of the Wild, this game would be an opportunity to answer many questions.

Pros:

• Learn more about the timeframe: Players could see and experience what happened in the years between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
• Link and Zelda would be a close-knit duo: Link and Zelda were working as a team at the end of Breath of the Wild and at the start of Tears of the Kingdom, so this game could elaborate on their partnership by having the gameplay focus on them being a team.
• Introduce a brand-new villain: With Calamity Ganon dead and Ganondorf still sealed, this would be the perfect time to showcase a new villain with different objectives.

Cons:

• No Calamity Ganon or Ganondorf: A new villain would be interesting, but the popularity of Ganon and Ganondorf would be wasted.
• No hand abilities and possibly no Sheikah Slate: This game would take place before Link received Rauru’s hand possibly after Purah replaced the Sheikah Slate with the Purah Pad, thus limiting Link’s combat abilities.
• The connections to Tears of the Kingdom might be too weak: Despite taking place right before Tears of the Kingdom, this game would require careful planning to ensure it operated as a tie-in to the main Zelda title.

2. A Reimagining of Tears of the Kingdom

It hasn’t been done before, but one option is to completely retell Tears of the Kingdom’s story through the action-packed lens of a Hyrule Warriors game.

Pros:

• See the story from new perspectives: Having many playable characters would mean watching the events unfold from viewpoints belonging to heroes besides Link and Zelda.
• Complete the adventure in a new, action-packed way: Rather than defeating Ganondorf through creative thinking and puzzle solving, players could end his reign by way of powerful, screen-clearing attacks.
• Play as the Light Dragon: This would be an opportunity to play as a true boss-type creature for the first time in a Zelda property.

Cons:

• The story events are already known: Much like idea #5, players would ultimately already know how the game ends.
• Limited terrain: Hyrule Warrior-style combat requires a lot of open space. Therefore, it might not work well on the Sky Islands. 
• Restricted by potential Tears of the Kingdom DLC: This game would need to implement the content introduced in any potential Tears of the Kingdom DLC, which would further limit its creative freedom.

1. An Original Story That Follows Age of Calamity

The story events of Age of Calamity were shown to be part of an alternate timeline where Link and the other Champions defeated Calamity Ganon. With the new timeline in place, Nintendo could create a sequel to Age of Calamity where Ganondorf returns earlier than he does in the regular timeline. Fans learned in Tears of the Kingdom that Ganondorf returned due to Calamity Ganon’s attack on Hyrule Castle, so the option for Ganondorf to appear in Age of Calamity’s timeline still remains.

Pros:

• The Champions would fight Ganondorf: The player would be able to defeat Ganondorf using Urbosa, Revali, Daruk, Mipha, and the rest of that era’s heroes.
• A playable Demon King: Much like Calamity Ganon in Age of Calamity, the Demon King could be a playable bonus character.
• The return of Terrako: Terrako was a very popular character in Age of Calamity, so his return would be almost automatic.
• Useable Sheikah Slate and hand abilities: Nintendo could easily feature a version of Link in this game that uses the still-existing Sheikah Slate alongside Rauru’s arm.

Cons:

• A potentially weak plot: The premise of having Ganondorf return immediately after Calamity Ganon’s defeat could feel forced if not crafted carefully.
• No modern characters: If time travel was not featured in the game, none of the characters from Tears of the Kingdom’s present-day era would make an appearance.