Last month, fans were treated to an extended look at Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the upcoming title doubling as a follow-up to Koei Tecmo's original Hyrule Warriors and as a prequel to Breath of the Wild. Said look revealed a general overview of how the game will work and even confirmed a new Hyrule Warriors playable character who will fight alongside Link and the other Champions.
While there are still plenty of details yet to be revealed, fans don't have long to wait for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity to release, as it's set to launch next month. Earlier today, though, Nintendo released a new, albeit short, trailer that has confirmed a couple new characters who will be making an appearance.
The first of these is the King of Hyrule, who was already confirmed in the initial announcement trailer, and was seen in the Tokyo Game Show footage issuing orders to Link and the troops. He will likely play a much bigger role here than he did in Breath of the Wild, where he only appeared during the game's opening section to aid Link and inform him of his mission.
The other two characters, Robbie and Purah, will be recognizable to Breath of the Wild players, even if they look quite different by virtue of this game being a prequel. These two were Sheikah researchers who helped Link on his adventures and provided upgrades for him.
In Breath of the Wild, Robbie was an elderly man well over 100 years old and an expert in researching the Guardians. In Age of Calamity, he is obviously much younger. As for Purah, who is also Impa's older sister, she actually appeared as a little girl due to a mishap with an age-reversing rune, meaning this is the first time fans get to see Purah as an older woman.
As for whether these three will be made playable, it seems unlikely. The King, being an important figurehead, would probably stay away from the battlefield, while the other two are primarily scientists. One possibility is that Robbie and Purah will provide upgrades and weapon enhancements, similar to how the Bazaar worked in the original Hyrule Warriors.
Though it's not necessarily impossible for them to be made playable as optional unlockables or DLC characters. The original Hyrule Warriors included characters with little to no combat experience in their home games as playable fighters, such as Agitha from Twilight Princess and Marin from Link's Awakening.
Some fans are convinced that series regular Ganondorf will be making an appearance of some kind, despite Calamity Ganon already serving as the primary antagonist. In fact, one theory is that Ganondorf will appear as an ally of Link and Zelda's this time.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will release for Nintendo Switch on November 20th.