Highlights

  • Hyrule Warriors has successfully blended iconic Zelda characters with Musou-style gameplay since its debut on the Wii U in 2014.
  • Fans are hopeful for a new Hyrule Warriors game that explores a wide crossover of characters from the Zelda franchise, including original ones.
  • A potential sequel to Hyrule Warriors should continue the trend of including characters from various Zelda games, offering fresh and diverse gameplay.

The Legend of Zelda series has seen great success with its Hyrule Warriors spin-off series, expertly weaving together the franchise's iconic characters and locations with Musou-style gameplay. The original Hyrule Warriors was released on the Wii U in 2014, and was followed by a port to 3DS in 2016, a definitive edition release on the Switch in 2018, and a new entry in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in 2020. Even between all the content present in these releases, there is still more that Hyrule Warriors could do with the Zelda franchise, especially if the next game follows the formula of the original release.

After Tears of the Kingdom, some fans are expecting a new Hyrule Warriors game similar to Age of Calamity that acts as a prequel to Tears of the Kingdom set during the Imprisoning War. While this game is possible, it seems like the franchise is ready to move on from the version of Hyrule present in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, meaning another Hyrule Warriors game set in the world is unlikely. If a new Hyrule Warriors game were to happen, it should return to the original's concept of being a franchise-wide crossover, drawing in characters from across the series and introducing new original characters as well.

Hyrule Warriors Threequel
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Hyrule Warriors Deserves a Threequel

The Hyrule Warriors games have proven immensely successful with fans, and there’s still plenty of Zelda left to adapt in another sequel.

The Next Hyrule Warriors Should Be Another Full-Series Crossover

Aside from its Musou gameplay, the main draw of the original Hyrule Warriors was its crossover between the entire Zelda franchise, allowing players to play as a diverse cast of the series' most iconic characters besides Link. Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition includes a deep roster ranging from iconic characters like Link, Zelda, Tingle, and Ganondorf, to more obscure characters like Agatha, Ravio, and Marin. The game even includes some original characters, such as Lana, Cia, and Linkle, giving players a truly unique experience.

While it might be nice for an Age of Calamity-style prequel to Tears of the Kingdom to allow players to play as the original Sages alongside King Rauru during the Imprisoning War, a new Hyrule Warriors game would be better off exploring another crossover storyline like the original. There is still a lot of untapped potential left in the greater Zelda franchise that a Hyrule Warriors game of this style could take advantage of in its character and world design. Going the route of a direct sequel to the original Hyrule Warriors would cast a wider net for the series to include elements that were never touched upon in the previous games.

The Legend of Zelda Series Still Has a Lot of Potential for Hyrule Warriors Explore

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Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition features characters from across some of the series' most popular games, including deep cuts like Agatha from Twilight Princess and Marin from Link's Awakening, but there are still several Zelda games not represented that a new game could include. Some of the more obscure characters from the series deserve representation, such as the graveyard keeper Dampe, or Din and Nayru from Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. A new Hyrule Warriors game could even go all-out and include a bizarre character like Error from Zelda 2, who could represent the entirety of Zelda 2's strange gameplay.

This type of Hyrule Warriors game also wouldn't discount the possibility of characters and environments from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom being added to the game as well. Although a Hyrule Warriors going in this direction likely wouldn't have the version of Hyrule from these games as its main setting like Age of Calamity, including characters like Kass, King Rauru, Mineru, and Tulin would make a lot of sense and could bridge the gap between these recent mainline games and the franchise's spin-offs. With how much left there is to feature from the Zelda series, a crossover Hyrule Warriors like the original seems like an inevitability.