Age of Imprisonment (inferred prequel) →
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
semi canonSpeculative Placement
Set during the ancient Imprisoning War, this Switch 2 musou title depicts the Zonai-era conflict that seals Ganondorf and precedes Tears of the Kingdom — filling in roughly three hours of voice-acted backstory Nintendo has called a 'canonical tale,' though never formally chart-placed relative to TOTK.
Placement Reasoning
Marketed and reviewed as preceding Tears of the Kingdom's Imprisoning War/Zonai history, but no source — including its own promotional and press coverage — states a formal Hyrule Historia-style chart placement. Verified against Nintendo Life's coverage of Aonuma's comments; treated here as an inferred, not chart-confirmed, prequel.
Notable & Interesting
- Shipped over 1 million copies by January 2026 and carries the Sheikah/Zonai visual and menu language forward almost unchanged from BOTW/TOTK, per reviewers.
- Introduces new musou HUD elements not seen in earlier Hyrule Warriors entries: a Weak-Point Gauge, Sync Gauge, Warrior Special meter, Battery System, and a co-op 'Sync Strikes' mechanic.
- Eiji Aonuma has suggested in interviews that this game's take on the Imprisoning War could inspire the next mainline Zelda title.
Connections
- Direct prequel to
Tears of the KingdomDepicts the Imprisoning War TOTK only remembers. - Parallel story with
Hyrule Warriors: Age of CalamitySibling musou what-if history.