Like previous Hyrule Warriors games, Age of Imprisonment has an impressive list of playable characters. Throughout the course of playing the game, you’ll unlock a whopping 28 different characters, with 19 of them being playable warriors. Yet one character who featured prominently in the game’s marketing isn’t on the list of playable options. If you find yourself wondering why, I have to warn you that the reason is a bit of a spoiler if you’re coming into Age of Imprisonment without context from recent Legend of Zelda games. But if you’re curious to know more, let’s dig into why you can’t play as Sonia in Age of Imprisonment.
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Sonia is one of the characters that Zelda meets early on, along with Rauru. The royal duo encounter Zelda shortly after she falls through time to wind up in ancient Hyrule. Both take Zelda under their wing to help her train to defend herself in battle and gain control over her ability to manipulate time. Yet while both Sonia and Rauru join Zelda in training battles, only Zelda and Rauru are playable options early on in Age of Imprisonment. There’s a reason for that, even if it’s a bit of a frustrating one.
Sonia Is One of Hyrule’s Few Non-Playable Characters in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. Here’s Why
Despite her presence on the training fields, the player never gets to control Sonia. This makes her one of only a few key characters in the game who aren’t playable options, which can be a bit of a surprise. Those familiar with Sonia’s story from the Imprisoning War flashbacks in Tears of the Kingdom might be able to hazard a guess. But for fans playing Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment without this context, not being able to play as Sonia is kind of a spoiler in retrospect.
A few hours into the story, when Ganondorf makes a move to seize power, he does so in a typically nefarious way. As seen in one of the Tears of the Kingdom flashbacks, Ganondorf kills Sonia and steals her Secret Stone to become the Demon King. It is likely her eventual death that led the developers not to make Sonia a playable option in Age of Imprisonment. After all, every other character remains an option for at least some map missions once they’ve been unlocked. Giving us Sonia only to take her off the battlefield could be seen as a bait and switch. But personally? I think they should’ve done it anyway.
Sonia Should’ve Been Playable for Story and Gameplay Reasons
In my opinion, leaving Sonia as one of the playable options would’ve been ideal. After all, some players may not be aware of her fate. And with the Legend of Zelda timeline being as complex as it is, Sonia’s death in Age of Imprisonment wasn’t necessarily a given, even if it is a canon prequel. But when it does happen, it is a bit less shocking or emotional because it feels more like an explanation of why we never got to take her bow-shooting skills for a test drive on the field.
Having Sonia as an option early on would’ve also helped build our connection to the character. Yes, it would’ve been a bit tough to get used to her playstyle only to lose it, and she wouldn’t be around for very long. But that would have really upped the sense of loss and stakes as Hyrule fell. Plus, it would’ve given us yet another playstyle to experience early in the game, before many of the other playable characters were introduced. So, while I understand why Nintendo opted not to make Sonia a playable option in Age of Imprisonment, I kind of wish they had.
Are you playing Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment yet? Who is your favorite character so far?
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