Top 10 Things To Remember Before Playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

To say Nintendo has kept tight-lipped about the story of “Tears of the Kingdom” would be a major understatement. However, there are still some details we can glean based on where we left off in “Breath of the Wild.” At the end of that game, Zelda and Link are victorious over Ganon. If you acquired all 13 of Link’s forgotten memories, you’d earn a post-credits scene that showed Link and Zelda deciding to help Hyrule rebuild. The Princess specifically mentions that Divine Beast Vah Ruta isn’t working properly. Unfortunately, they won’t have much help given the Kingdom’s current state and Zelda’s abilities are diminished following her century-long fight against Ganon. Though we don’t know how long after “Breath of the Wild” the sequel takes place, it seems those details will be important.

There are certain big names that most “Zelda” fans know. Creator Shigeru Miyamoto and producer Eiji Aonuma are a couple of them. Hidemaro Fujibayashi may not be one to the uninitiated, but he absolutely should be. He’s been with the series for quite a long while, having directed several handheld installments. His first shot at directing a console entry came with 2011’s “Skyward Sword,” though his work on “Breath of the Wild” obviously blew it out of the water. Fujibayashi is returning to helm “Tears of the Kingdom,” with more or less that same development team he had on the predecessor. In fact, “Tears of the Kingdom” was born out of the DLC ideas that were too grand to include.

While “Tears of the Kingdom” won’t be the first direct sequel within the series, it will be the first one to use the same map as its predecessor. Therefore, Nintendo has promised some key differences to make it feel fresh. The most obvious way Hyrule will be different are the inclusion of floating islands in the sky. Along with lots of cave shots, they’ve been a big feature in promotional footage; even Hyrule Castle will be heading skyward. Speaking of which, the trailers immediately brought “Skyward Sword” to mind, with many players assuming a connection. While Nintendo hasn’t given any kind of indication, there’s probably a good reason the Wii game was remastered on Switch in 2021.

Allow us to dip a toe into the pool of speculation for just a moment. While Nintendo hasn’t explicitly stated the Goddess Hylia will appear, it’s pretty clear she’ll play a role. The deity was introduced in “Skyward Sword” as the Goddess in charge of defending the Triforce. It was also revealed there that Zelda is Hylia, constantly reborn in a mortal form. In “Breath of the Wild,” Link could make offerings to statues of Hylia to increase his health or stamina. Now, one of the most cryptic images in “Tears of the Kingdom’s” promotional material is a carving of a giant being. In one shot, it’s seen holding hands with someone who looks just like Zelda. Finally, in the latest trailer, we heard Zelda ask someone to lend their power to Link, and we think we know who.

For as many things as “Breath of the Wild” got right, it unfortunately suffered from a lackluster villain. Ganon had already been a mindless monster in other games, so he barely made an impression here. It didn’t help that he was barely in the game or that his health was halved in the final fight if you completed the Divine Beasts. In fairness, exploration, discovery, and puzzle solving were more heavily focused on. Still, we were happy to see what appears to be the mummified remains of Ganondorf in the first teaser. We’ve also now heard what seems to be his voice, which had everyone immediately pointing towards voice actor Matt Mercer. Regardless, we’ll be happy to get a bad guy that actually plays the part.

As soon as the first teaser for “Tears of the Kingdom” dropped, before we even knew its name, fans were theorizing about the Zonai. This ancient tribe is mentioned multiple times throughout “Breath of the Wild,” and they have ruins and an armor set linked to them. No one knows what happened to the Zonai, but it seems we’ll find out soon enough. The reason fans began immediately speculating they’d play a part is because ruins from the teaser look very close to those we’ve already explored. Fans have also noticed those types of structures and carvings in later trailers as well. Needless to say, we can’t know how important they’ll be. But brushing up on your ancient Hylian history may not be a bad idea.

Each “Zelda” brings something unique and exciting to the series’ gameplay. Although “Breath of the Wild” surprised us with the Master Cycle Zero, we were still completely shocked when one of the latest trailers showed off Link’s handy new ability. We saw shots of him riding a cart, a hot air balloon, and some kind of hovercraft. We now know this ability will be called Ultrahand. Players will be able to find various parts around the world, and magically weld them together. We’ll be able to craft whatever vehicles our imagination can concoct as long as the parts are nearby. Players will no doubt appreciate the new traversal options, but we hate to think what this means for Hyrule’s horse stable business.

Link’s abilities seem to be completely tied to his new arm. While building vehicles is the most visually interesting new feature we’ve seen, it’s far from the only one. Other abilities include Recall, which allows Link to rewind an object’s movement, and will be one of several ways to reach the floating islands. Ascend will let him move through solid material and save a whole lot of time climbing. Finally, while weapons still break, Fuse will increase their durability and damage by combining them with other materials. It can even be used on arrows and shields for different effects. Speaking of weapons, we’ve caught glimpses of some neat additions like an arm-mounted flamethrower and a giant, two-handed launcher type weapon. Who knows what else we have in store?

Although the Amiibo fad isn’t as hot as it once was, that hasn’t stopped Nintendo from making more. Releasing alongside “Tears of the Kingdom” is a brand new Link figurine for $15.99. Scanning it into the game will give you weapons, materials, and new fabric for your paraglider. Nintendo has released many Zelda-themed Amiibo over the years. Just like in “Breath of the Wild,” scanning them in here will grant you some helpful items. But each one also gets you a different paraglider design based on the game they’re from. Personally, I need to track down a Young Link Amiibo immediately so I can get the “Majora’s Mask” one. But Nintendo has kept quiet on what specific materials and weapons each one gets you.

Despite a fairly long wait, “Tears of the Kingdom” will be released worldwide on May 12th, 2023. Its predecessor was one of the biggest games Nintendo has ever released, taking up 14.4 GB of the Switch’s memory. The studio is going bigger on the sequel, which reportedly has a file size of 18.2 GB, making it the largest Switch game in terms of memory space. That immense size comes with the caveat that “Tears” will be Nintendo’s first game with a $70 price tag, though this type of pricing will be on a case-by-case basis. Nintendo is also releasing a Collector’s Edition for $129.99, which comes with a steel book case, set of 4 pins, a poster, and an art book. But good luck picking up one of those if you haven’t pre-ordered it already.