In some respects,Persona 5andThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildcouldn’t be more different as games.Persona 5is grounded in modern day Tokyo and combines fantasy JRPG elements with social sim mechanics. In contrast,Breath of the Wildis a fantasy action-adventure gameall about open-world exploration. One tells a story about real-life societal ills and the social outcasts who attempt to fight them, while the other tells a story about a fallen hero in a magical world rising again to meet his destiny. One thing they do have in common is that they’re defining titles of their genres and generation, asPersona5andBreath of the Wildhave helped define the PS4 and the Switch.
However, years after these two games first came out, a new similarity is emerging that’s pretty surprising. Both games have received follow-up games, but not games that follow their usual style of play. To be specific, bothPersona 5andBreath of the Wildhave dabbled in theDynasty Warriorsseries, resulting in hack and slash spin-offs:Hyrule Warriors: Age of CalamityandPersona 5 Strikers. It’s an odd coincidence that both of these games happen to be offering fans more content in the same style. One has to wonder why Atlus and Nintendo are both interested in theDynasty Warriorsframework, and what the excitement for both of these spin-offs says about the popularity of theDynasty Warriorsstyle in general.
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Persona 5 Strikers, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
When most fans think ofPersonaorThe Legend of Zelda,they probably don’t automatically think of large scale warfare. Still, that’s what players get when they cross over withDynasty Warriors.Omega Force and Koei Tecmo have been making hack and slash adventures based on Chinese historical texts for around twenty years, and it just so happens that these developers have gotten sucha handle on theDynasty Warriorsformulathat it’s relatively easy to apply to other source material. The companies proved that already when Nintendo collaborated with them to create the firstHyrule Warriorsgame in 2014.
What’s different about the firstHyrule Warriors,compared toAge of CalamityandPersona 5 Strikers,is that it was a standalone title. It told a self-contained story that made reference to several otherZeldagames but didn’t tie into any plotlines. In contrast,Age of Calamityis a prequel toBreath of the Wild,andP5 Strikersis essentially a sequel. This time theDynasty Warriorsstyle becomes much more intimately connected to the main bodies of these franchises, rather than resulting in a simple spin-off.
All in all, it seems likeNintendo enjoyed the firstHyrule Warriorsenoughto come back, and Atlus developed enough of an interest in the formula to try a game in that style too. Usually changing formula so drastically, even for a side game, is controversial since it can make fans lose interest in a series they played for the mechanics or genre. One wonders is Nintendo has actually kicked off a trend after the high-profileHyrule Warriorsyears ago, meaning maybe other developers will pay Omega Force and Koei Tecmo a visit.
Expanding the Warriors Brand
There are a few defining characteristics of a game or a franchise that make it appropriate for theDynasty Warriorsformula. For one thing, the source IP ought to offer lots of potential playable characters, since part of the appeal ofDynasty Warriorsis that each character has their own fighting style for mowing down fields of enemies. It also needs large open spaces in unique settings to make for memorable battlefields, as well as enemies that could reasonably appear in huge numbers.Persona 5andBreath of the Wildcan easily offerall these things in their own ways, but they’re far from the only ones.
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For instance,Borderlandscould be a surprise hit with aDynasty Warriorsspin-off. It has a huge roster of familiar faces, and not just because of how many player characters there are. There’s also familiar NPCs like Hammerlock and Tiny Tina that could be great candidates for fighting tides of psychos across Pandora, while another far-out choice would beHorizon: Zero Dawn.The ruins of Earth offer lots of wide open spaces with interesting terrain, and Guerrilla Games could help Omega Force come up with movesets for characters like Erend and Avad thatlet them fight alongside Aloywhile showcasing each culture’s fighting styles.
There’s plenty more games out there that could make this style work. Anything fromDragon QuesttoHalocould reasonably be adapted to the hack and slash style and offer players an elaborate power trip while offering a new perspective on the franchise it game from. In general, production ofDynasty Warriorscrossovers with other AAA franchises has been ramping up recently. As the developers branch out and develop more connections, it wouldn’t be surprising if more crossovers likeAge of CalamityandPersona 5 Strikersare on the horizon.
Possible Dynasties
It’s worth noting that most of the companies and material thatDynasty Warriorsworked withwere Japanese, just like Omega Force and Koei Tecmo. The developers don’t have much of a relationship with Western developers yet, which could limit the possibilities of future crossovers in the near future. Still, anything is possible. Koei Tecmo is responsible for a lot of famous and successful games, so it has more than enough clout to reach out to Microsoft or Sony to discuss a potential cross between their properties. Clearly, it now has a good working relationship with the titanic Nintendo, consideringhow much development attentionHyrule Warriorshas gotten.
It’s a big deal that two very famous franchises have intersected withDynasty Warriorsthis way. Koei Tecmo’s franchise is famous in its own right, but it’s different when another game endorses the whole style. If Nintendo andAtlus show such an active interestin hack and slash warfare, it could launch a new trend over the next few years and inspire original games and further spin-offs alike. Some studios might not even ask Koei Tecmo to collaborate and independently take a stab at the style instead. It’s always hard to predict a trend in advance, butAge of CalamityandPersona 5 Strikersare such birds of a feather that they can’t help but seem like the start of something. Maybe 2021 will indicate if these games are a coincidence or a pattern.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityis available now for Nintendo Switch.Persona 5 Strikersreleases worldwide on July 23, 2025 for PC, PS4, and Switch.
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