Age of Calamity's secret ending makes 1 hero crucial to Breath of the Wild 2
Forget magic Ocarinas. There's a new kind of time travel.
Mysteries abound in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, a new spinoff game in Nintendo's iconic The Legend of Zelda series. Chief among them involves the role the resident mad(ish) scientist Purah could have in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2.
Set a century before 2017's Breath of the Wild, the new Hyrule Warriors showcases the all-out warfare that happens before and during the apocalyptic Age of Calamity that devastated the land of Hyrule. While most of the experience involves large-scale, epic battles between a handful of hero characters and thousands of enemies, the rich story told in the cutscenes mashes together magic and ancient technology in interesting ways.
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Purah, a side character in Breath of the Wild, takes on a more important role in Age of Calamity, and her impact in the game's secret ending could be key to what happens in BotW 2 — particularly when it comes to unlocking the secrets of time travel.
Major spoilers for Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity follow.
Purah as she appears in 'Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.'
Who is Purah?
Purah is a Sheikah, the long-lived race of white-haired people distinct from Hyrulian's like Zelda and Link. She's also the elder sister of Impa, Zelda's trusted friend and advisor. A brilliant scholar and scientist just like Zelda, Purah spends more than a century of her life researching Sheikah technology like the Divine Beasts, Guardians, and Sheikah Slate Runes.
Purah appears in Breath of the Wild as a young girl around the age of 10 while Impa appears as an ancient woman. But in Age of Calamity, both women appear to be in their 20s. It's definitely confusing and easy to assume that these two Purahs are distinct characters. But they're not.
One of the Runes Purah researches in between the games caused her to de-age, so while her younger sister looks considerably older in Breath of the Wild, Purah looks younger than we ever see her in Age of Calamity.
After Link is gravely wounding during the original Great Calamity, it's Purah and her research assistant Robbie that seal him in a Shrine of Resurrection to heal for 100 years. And it's also Purah who, years later, helps him unlock the many powers of the Sheikah Slate.
This Age of Calamity teaser trailer hints at Purah's scientific endeavors.
How does Purah fit into Age of Calamity?
Purah is one of the few central characters in Age of Calamity that isn't playable in battle, but you might argue she has one of the most important roles to play out of everyone.
Part of the game's plot involves recruiting four Champions to pilot Divine Beasts, massive Sheikah mecha that can (hopefully) help stop the oncoming Calamity. Along with Zelda, Purah is vital to training the Champions and fine-tuning the Beasts.
She also devises a way to unlock the powers of Sheikah towers spread throughout the land. This becomes vital in the game's final act, where the technology is able to transport the Champions and their allies to the final battle against Ganon. But in the game's secret ending, Purah is also able to successfully repair Terrako, the tiny Guardian who traveled back in time to kick the story off and later sacrifices itself to defeat Ganon.
Consider that earlier in the game, however, Zelda's tears also trigger latent magic in Terrako that transports the four Champions from the Breath of the Wild timeline into Age of Calamity. It's only with their help that the good guys are able to win, averting the disasters of the original timeline.
Terrako has this world-breaking time magic at its disposal. And in a way, it's all thanks to Purah.
We have no way of knowing when the sequel takes place, but could it be after Age of Calamity in the new timeline?
What role will Purah play in Breath of the Wild 2?
It's unclear exactly what might happen in the Breath of the Wild sequel, but all of the time travel in play during Age of Calamity means that we're now dealing with two distinct timelines set in the same Zelda sub-universe. That's especially the case because Terrako is still alive with powers that only Purah could conceivably harness.
The trailer for the game everyone calls Breath of the Wild 2 actually calls the game "the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild." Is there a reason for that strange wording? Does this game take place after the first, or is it also a sequel to Age of Calamity in that it takes place in this new timeline that's been established?
Either way, all signs point to time travel being an important part of the game, because if we know anything from centuries worth of time travel fiction, it's that whenever somebody messes with the timeline, bad things happen. And it then becomes of the utmost importants to restore the natural state of things.
Assuming time travel does becomes important in the upcoming game, Purah will be vital to navigating how the surviving heroes are able to harness its power and save the day against whatever threats loom in the new future.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is now available.
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