Zelda fans often have a hard time trying to decipher references and decipher timelines, but just like any other fanbase, they will doggedly follow any leads until they know the truth. There are a lot of theories surrounding Breath of the Wild, its whereabouts in the Zelda universe, and the timeline it takes part in. More “external” theories suggest that she’s trying to bring the three timelines back together, but we can’t say for sure at this point.
However, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity gives players the opportunity to not only battle the forces of Ganon, but also experience a portion of Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule, 100 years before the events of the acclaimed Switch game.
Many towns and buildings that Breath of the Wild players knew as mere ruins have returned to their natural state once again, not least the majestic Hyrule Castle. However, while defending the kingdom and castle gates in the Age of Calamity demo, which launched during the Nintendo Direct Mini yesterday, some eagle-eyed players noticed some old favorite locations rebuilt in the Nintendo Switch visualization of Hyrule.
The first is the village of Mabi. Breath of the Wild players may remember this location from the 2017 game, where you could stumble across the Mabe Village Ruins while wandering Hyrule Field. However, because the ruins were relatively inconspicuous – and because most players would be busy fighting the Guardian residing there – most people thought it was just a reference to the first village in Link’s Awakening.
However, we can now see the village before the destruction, and it’s clearly an accurate representation of the Mabe village that first appeared on the Game Boy, despite the fact that Link’s Awakening is not set in Hyrule. Twitter user and general researcher TAHK0 discovered this connection, and tweeted corresponding images showing clear similarities between the layouts of the two cities, including the famous well with a flying rooster.
While we had our doubts about the village of Mabi from Breath of the Wild, TAHK0’s second revelation came as a surprise. Lon Lon Ranch is a nostalgic location from Ocarina of Time, where Link meets Talon, Malon, and of course his trusty steed, Epona. Lon Lon Ranch has also appeared in Minish Cap and Four Sword Adventures, but most people will remember the location from its big role in the classic Nintendo 64 game.
In Breath of the Wild, not far from the Mabe Village Ruins, there is another set of ruined buildings just called Farm Ruins. However, this could refer to any number of farms in the series, including several that populate the Breath of the Wild map. However, 100 years ago in Hyrule before the apocalypse, this farm clearly resembled the famous Lon Lon Ranch – and the sign, when translated, says so!
This level of detail is one of the reasons we think Breath of the Wild is one of the best Switch RPGs, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity looks just as exciting. Now we just have to hope Malone shows up, or perhaps survives the disaster and can be found in Breath of the Wild. Lormasters, get to work!