Nintendo aired a Partner Showcase today and I honestly didn't expect to get something out of it, but here we are. We have received a new trailer for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment in the middle of the Direct. Well, it technically makes sense, since the game is developed by Koei Tecmo – a third party and one of Nintendo's partners. But at the same time they are emphasizing that this time we're truly getting a "canonical tale", meaning that this game is supposed to represent the events of the Imprisoning War as they were happening in the past of Tears of the Kingdom.
After Age of Calamity we can't be truly sure of that, but they must have heard the disappointment surrounding that release, where we didn't really get to experience the Great Calamity as it originally unfolded, but more of a time travel cop-out. It made sense for that game, however, because it allowed for a richer variety in cast and for your companions to stay alive. But the only one who won't make it to the final confrontation of the Imprisoning War is Sonia, but maybe she'll become a ghost afterwards and you will still be able to play as her somehow...
There hasn't been any footage of her being playable yet, but she appears together with Rauru in the middle of the partnering montage – the new mechanic for Hyrule Warriors. We get another glimpse with the Sages of Fire and Wind, showcasing what potential this might bring. The Sage of Fire has mastered what will later be known as Daruk's Protection, but he is able to pass it on to his colleague.
We also get to see the face of who will presumably become the Sage of Lightning, Nabooru or Naboris or whatever she may be called. They do all have the classic Champion weaponry already, like the Scimitar of the Seven and the Daybreaker in this case, which is crazy to think about for how many generations these weapons were passed on (though, they probably have made thousands of copies over the ages, since they keep breaking). And overall she seems to fight quite similarly to Urbosa, but at least her face looks very different. There is great sadness in her eyes, which is certainly fitting with whole Ganondorf situation.
It would be funny if they kept revealing the sages trailer by trailer, but this would also mean that we're getting three more, which is unlikely. We do not have a release date yet, though, so there is time to unfold things...
Maybe the next actual Nintendo Direct will explain more, especially when it comes to all the mechanics. They've also shown the Sage of Wind carrying a Flame Emitter, where this raises some questions. Like, are these Zonai Devices something that is found on the stages and can be used by anyone? Will you be able to access these devices at any time using capsules?
They have also brought back the Bomb Barrel Moblins from Age of Calamity, which I find amusing, and there seems to be a new type of floating enemy made out of Gloom:
When I first saw these beings, they immediately triggered a resemblance in my head from something else in the series, but I couldn't really put my finger on it... Then I realized that they do look a little bit like Null from Echoes of Wisdom, but this might be a coincidence. I doubt that they are going to connect the Gloom to that story, though it certainly would be an interesting one.
But they are clearly referencing a different tale from the Zelda series at the end of the trailer. A new Zonai-infused rendition of Fi's theme could be heard at the end, as we're closing in on some secret shrine in what looks like a cave, but it could also be somewhere in the Depths.
We can see how a new type of Construct gets assembled there, one that's different from Mineru's and looks a lot more humanoid. This could mean a number of things, but since they are playing Fi's theme here, I suppose that this is Construct is going to become some sort of hero replacement. Or maybe it will allow Fi to take a physical form again and join the action, while the Master Sword is on standby.
Zelda was able to speak to the Master Sword in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. We could even hear Fi's trademarked alarm sound in those moments and also her music during the second time. So, it makes sense that this gets finally explored more here, where Zelda takes the Master Sword into her care and is going to spend a lot of time with it going forward.
But this new version of Fi's theme playing in this Zonai environment truly gave me the chills. There is something truly special of connecting the games on a deeper level. Well, you get a ton of silly costumes based on older Zelda games in both Breath and Tears, but that's not same as when you meet Skull Kid in Twilight Princess, for example. Or Wolf Link in Breath of the Wild always brought this weird sensation with him when you hear those classic Twili teleportation sounds... It's kind of like that here.
However, let's say that this Construct is meant to truly serve as a replacement for the hero, to become this game's "Link" so to speak, then this would only support even further that they are truly sticking to the canon here and not just bring in Link and the others from the future. Of course, this Construct was never shown in the Dragon's Tears memories, but those haven't shown us a lot of things... like the names and faces of the unknown Sages.
By the way, I doubt that this has anything to do with the Ancient Hero / the Ancient Hero's Aspect. To me, that is the hero who has first fought Calamity Ganon, long after the events of the Imprisoning War. That's like a whole other generation of Sages / Champions that we have yet to see and probably will never see.
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