The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom—What We Know So Far

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, popularly known as Breath of the Wild 2, certainly has a lot of hype to live up to. It follows in the footsteps of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which many believe is one of Nintendo’s best games of all time. Over the past few years since its announcement in 2019, there has been endless speculation about the game and what Nintendo has in store for us. Even more than previous games in the series, Nintendo has been very tight-lipped about it.

Well, in this blog we’ll have a look at everything we know about the game so far and what we have to look forward to in May!

The Platform and Release Date

The first important thing to mention about the game is that it is going to be a Nintendo Switch exclusive, and that it is due to release on May 12, 2023. The Nintendo Switch has been out for a while at this point, and while it continues to have great success, many are calling Tears of the Kingdom the system’s last great game. Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, meaning it reuses the same art style and some of the content of that game. This is interesting, if only because when Nintendo has done that in the past it has historically led to great masterpieces. For instance, Nintendo made Majora’s Mask as a follow-up to Ocarina of Time, which ended up being one of the most acclaimed games of the series. We can only hope that the same applies here! According to Eiji Aonuma, Nintendo is making Tears of the Kingdom because they had “too many ideas” for DLC for Breath of the Wild:

"When we released the DLC for Breath of the Wild, we realized that this is a great way to add more elements to the same world. But when it comes down to technical things, DLC is pretty much data--you're adding data to a preexisting title. And so when we wanted to add bigger changes, DLC is not enough, and that's why we thought maybe a sequel would be a good fit. Initially, we were thinking of just DLC ideas, but then we had a lot of ideas and we said, 'This is too many ideas, let's just make one new game and start from scratch.'"

The Introduction of Sky Islands

Tears of the Kingdom has been teased by Nintendo a few times, and in all the teaser trailers one interesting feature they contain is floating/sky islands. Breath of the Wild was already lauded for how it revolutionised the Legend of Zelda series by introducing immersive open-world gameplay, and Breath of the World is set to expand on that even further. The introduction of sky islands means that there will be a whole new type of environment to explore, and in addition to the sky dimension, there are also rumours that the game will have cave areas too.

To all intents and purposes, Tears of the Kingdom has the same game world as Breath of the Wild, but it will no doubt expand on it greatly using these exciting new features. One of the trailers has also confirmed that Link will be able to traverse the skies on a flying mount, a sort of mechanical bird-like creature or vehicle that carries him through the sky. It seems that Tears of the Kingdom may be inspired by Skyward Sword in this way, a previous game in the Zelda series for the Wii that also featured airborne exploration mechanics.

Robot Arms and Spike Ball Powers

We know surprisingly little about Tears of the Kingdom given it is releasing so soon, but one of the most intriguing features in the trailers for the game was Link’s robot arm. Link was seen employing new abilities in the E3 2021 video that appeared to be connected to his robot arm. For instance, he stopped a spiked ball and sent it backwards using what appears to be the stasis ability from Breath of the Wild (or some other type of time reversal capability).

He also exhibits a new ability that permits him to phase through buildings. It’s safe to presume that this power is connected to his glowing arm, since he does so while holding it out while it’s encircled by a green aura. The Sheikah Slate, which Link utilised in Breath of the Wild and which allowed him access to a number of powers, including the ability to create bombs and ice constructions, might be replaced by the new robot arm.

Wild Fan Theories

Tears of the Kingdom may be submerged in secrecy, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t an awful lot of fan theories being created all the time. The Zelda series is one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, with arguably its most devoted fanbase, so it’s no surprise fans are so excited. Here are a couple of theories.

It’s just a wild fan theory, but one of the most interesting ideas about Tears of the Kingdom is that Ganondorf will be playable. Namely, Barrett Courtney of Kinda Funny has speculated, “This game will be learning about the fall of Ganondorf the man and then saving him from the evil that has been ruling over him for generations. And in doing so, we’ll break the cycle started by Demise.” Demise is the Ganon encountered in Skyward Sword, which was recently re-released and may add weight to this theory. There is also a rather sad rumour that Zelda will be dead in Tears of the Kingdom. This could perhaps be a cause of the darker presentation and the title of the game. Well, let’s hope not!

Where Can I Play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is scheduled for release on May 12, 2023, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. To purchase the game, you will need to make sure you have enough Nintendo eShop credits. If you would like to top up your Nintendo eShop credits, you can do that safely and securely here at Gamecardsdirect, the one-stop gift card shop!