Taking place 100 years before the events of Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity is filled with countless Legend of Zelda Easter eggs. Hyrule as it was depicted in BotW was a post-apocalyptic wasteland where virtually all life was relegated to what few remaining townships there were, along with the stables scattered in-between.
Age of Calamity’s Hyrule is diverse and full of life, highlighting the world that Link & Zelda failed to save in Breath of the Wild. The game itself also features its own references to Dynasty Warriors, Hyrule Warriors, and the Zelda franchise on a whole (while also connecting to companion books like Creating a Champion.) Age of Calamity is a tried and true love letter.
10 Lon Lon Ranch
Lon Lon Ranch has appeared in very few Zelda games, but is as iconic a location as Hyrule Market or the Lost Woods at this point. Link could stumble upon the ruins in Breath of the Wild, but they actually appear entirely intact in Age of Calamity.
Missions set in Central Hyrule have a very real possibility of overlapping with Lon Lon Ranch. All the stables are put together, the horse pen is unbroken (& used as a training ground by the Hyrule Knights,) and there’s even a sign that reads “Lon Lon Ranch” in Hylian.
9 The Song Of Time
Zelda and time travel have gone hand in hand for a few years now. Time magic in general appears throughout the franchise quite regularly, often tied up to the Hyrule Royal family, Zelda herself, and who Majora’s Mask dubs the “Goddess of Time” (either Nauru or Hylia realistically.) While Terrako’s time travel isn’t well established narratively, there is at least some precedence for it. Further linking Terrako to the Royal Family’s relationship with time is the fact that the Song of Time subtly plays whenever a time hole is spawned. Only the first few notes are referenced, but any longtime Zelda fan will catch the Song of Time at the start of the game.
8 Sooga Is Lu-Bu
Lu-Bu is a Dynasty Warriors mainstay who’s best known for posing an enormous threat on the battlefield. Lu-Bu’s appearance can often mean certain death, and it’s often advised to flee rather than confront the Flying General himself. Volga served as Hyrule Warriors’ Lu-Bu analog, which Sooga has since become.
That said, Sooga is a rather tame Lu-Bu. He’s not that constant a presence in story missions, mainly relegated as a high level threat during side quests. Sooga also isn’t as antagonistic as Lu-Bu or Volga, but he’s the nonetheless closest substitute Age of Calamity has.
7 Sooga Lives
Despite the Yiga actively trying to murder Link throughout Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity softens their image considerably. Sooga is still a threat, but the Yiga’s arc ends with Kohga ultimately pledging loyalty to the Hyrule Royal Family after Astor betrays him and seemingly kills Sooga in the process. In actuality, there’s evidence that Sooga survives this event. While Kohga’s dialogue suggests a definitive Sooga death, his lackey appears in the true ending’s credits and will more than likely get his own DLC where he escapes from Astor’s clutches.
6 Link Canonically Eats Rocks
Breath of the Wild’s cooking system is strange to say the least. Link can cook up just about anything with the ingredients (and monster parts) he finds around Hyrule, resulting in some particularly nauseating meals. There are even instances of Link eating inedible food or just outright chomping down on rocks.
While this can be written off as a gameplay concession that doesn’t occur narratively, Age of Calamity puts Link’s culinary palette in full perspective. While he can still whip up gourmet meals, Link has now canonically eaten rocks (the kind Gorons eat) on more than one occasion – either suggesting Goron rocks are edible or Link’s teeth are as superhuman as him.
5 The Fortune Teller
Both Breath of the Wild and Creating a Champion tell the tale of a fortune teller who eased his way into the Hyrule Royal Family, prophesying Calamity Ganon’s return while presumably nurturing his revival in the process. The fortune teller is an important background figure who potentially orchestrated all of Breath of the Wild, a trait they share with Astor.
While never outright called the fortune teller (or referenced by name in Breath of the Wild,) Astor is referred to as a seer by the Yiga, has visions of the future through his own corrupted Terrako (suggesting he must’ve had a run-in with the Royal Family at some point,) and outright influences the events of Age of Calamity. If Astor isn’t the fortune teller, they’re clearly inspired by them.
4 Calamity Ganon’s Design
Calamity Ganon’s appearance in Breath of the Wild plays up the beastly qualities of his character design, highlighting how far gone Ganon is by this point in the timeline. Age of Calamity does reuse this design for the initial attack, but the game ultimately opts to use a humanoid Ganon for the final boss fight. Not only does AoC’s Calamity Ganon feature his Gerudo-esque qualities (particularly the hair,) the design is actually partially based on concept art for Breath of the Wild.
3 The Queen’s Appearance
The Queen of Hyrule is a key character in Breath of the Wild’s backstory, with her death creating considerable tension between Zelda and King Rhoam. For Zelda, her mother’s death signals the loss of her main source of emotional support. For Rhoam, losing his Queen causes him to close out Zelda, forcing her to awaken her powers above all else.
Her face may go unseen, but Zelda’s mother does actually appear in a cutscene – albeit very briefly. In the flashback where Zelda remembers building Terrako, she very briefly interacts with her mother before the scene cuts. The Queen’s face can’t be seen, but this marks the first time in the entire franchise that Zelda’s mother has been seen in any capacity.
2 The Champions Have Unique Hollow Dialogue
Astor has the ability to summon “Hollows” which take the shape of whoever he dictates, growing his power so far as to manifest his own Ganonblights with Yiga souls by Chapter 6. Interestingly, all the Champions have unique dialogue for when the party faces Astor for the first time in Chapter 3. By having Champions fight their respective Hollows, they’ll actually reach and comment on what it’s like to fight themselves.
1 Link Is Actually Stronger In AoC
It’s important to remember that Link is significantly weaker in Breath of the Wild than he is Age of Calamity. The Shrine of Resurrection brings Link back to life, but without his memory or complete body strength. Link retains his overall skill, but he needs to build back up his strength while generally retraining himself.
With this in mind, Link’s superhuman strength in Age of Calamity makes perfect sense. This is Link in his prime and the fact he can cut through hundreds upon hundreds of enemies at once actually does line up with Breath of the Wild’s backstory – this is the same Link who casually slaughtered an army of Lynel and Moblins in a memory.
NEXT: 10 Crazy Facts You Didn’t Know About The Main Characters In Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity
