Last month, Nintendo and Koei Tecmo announced that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is the next mainline Zelda musou game and is launching on Nintendo Switch 2 this winter. Now, a Koei Tecmo studio head has pulled back the curtains on what players can expect from the narrative of this game, revealing Age of Imprisonment will show how the people of Hyrule defeated Ganondorf before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
In a new Creator’s Voice behind-the-scenes video for Age of Imprisonment called “Beyond the Legend,” Koei Tecmo producer Ryota Matsushita and Koei Tecmo triple-A games studio head Yosuke Hayashi discuss the upcoming game, what’s to unfold in the story, and how the Switch 2 makes it possible. Hayashi reveals Age of Imprisonment shows the full story of the Imprisoning War, which is only seen in fragmented chunks in Tears of the Kingdom.
“This game takes place during the Imprisoning War, which is shown in fragments in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” he says. “In this Hyrule Warriors game, you’ll see how the people contended with the threat of the original Ganondorf.”
Matsushita picks up this thread, stating, “As a story that you can only fully experience here, it doesn’t just depict the battles of the Imprisoning War via a Warriors game; it also shows the kingdom of Hyrule after Princess Zelda is sent back in time. You’ll also get to know the four masked sages from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.”
Elsewhere in the video, Matsushita and Hayashi discuss how the Switch 2 makes Age of Imprisonment possible. They explain that the console’s power allows the game to feature more enemies on screen and maintain a high and stable frame rate (which looks like 60 FPS in the video).
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment hits Nintendo Switch 2 sometime this winter.
In the meantime, read about how Nintendo has a plan for “continuous flow” of Switch 2 through the holidays, and then check out the Switch games getting free updates on Switch 2. After that, read Game Informer’s hands-on preview of the Switch 2.
Are you picking up Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment this winter? Let us know in the comments below!