Why You Should Be Excited About The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the long-awaited and highly-anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed Breath of the Wild, is set to release on May 12th, 2023. There is still a lot that fans don’t know about the game, with only a handful of short trailers released since the announcement in 2019. But there is certainly enough deets to get excited about.

Tears of the Kingdom seems to shift the focus of primarily terrestrial gameplay to a world half suspended in the clouds. Most trailers feature Link soaring through the air with his iconic paraglider, piloting some other contraption, or simply falling with confidence. But there are also many floating landmasses that Link appears to be able to explore, as well as the ominous Hyrule Castle which seems to be levitating by the power of calamity Ganon, the primary antagonist from Breath of the Wild.

With each new trailer, there are more details to glean and ideas to speculate about. The latest trailer from Nintendo’s February 8th Direct only lasted a few minutes, but nearly every moment deserved attention. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the main reasons to be excited about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

More of the Same Goodness

Of course, there’s a reason Breath of the Wild was such a success. It remains one of the most well-executed open-world experiences in all video games, along with unparalleled interactivity, action, puzzles, and more. As long as Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t change much in terms of gameplay and mechanics, it will be worth playing.

Even now, years after its release, players are still discovering some aspects of Breath of the Wild. Tears of the Kingdom only needs to build on top of what is already there to find success. Of course, some things will change, such as the story, characters, and maybe some mechanics, but as long as the core of the game is intact, it will be another great adventure.

Breath of the Wild certainly had some shortcomings. Some players despised the weapon system that causes cherished weapons to break after use. Others just want to be able to pet the dogs. It will be exciting to see how (or if) Tears of the Kingdom addresses these small details.

A Darker Vibe

If the trailers are anything to go by, Tears of the Kingdom will have an overall darker, more intense vibe than Breath of the Wild. It’s even in the name: “Tears” of the Kingdom. This likely isn’t referring to tears of joy.

Corruption was a major theme in Breath of the Wild, with Guardians and Divine Beasts corrupted by calamity goo that needed to be cleansed. In the trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, corruption might have reached Link himself, as he is shown with a prosthetic arm, holding a severely damaged Master Sword.

The trailers rarely showcase gameplay in broad daylight, emphasizing the literal darkness that may be a focus of this game. Even the first trailer involved Link and Zelda exploring a dark cave and finding a long-dead corpse that resurrects and possibly causes all the havoc that happens in this game.

Timeline Loop Theory

As any long-time fan of the franchise knows, the Legend of Zelda timeline is somewhat convoluted. There are competing theories out there, but a large consensus placed Breath of the Wild at the end of the timeline, meaning the timelines that most other Zelda games take place on eventually converge and lead to Breath of the Wild.

Many fans believe that Skyward Sword, released for the Wii U back in 2011, is actually the first game in the Legend of Zelda timeline. This makes sense, as Ganon, the iconic villain of the Zelda franchise, doesn’t yet exist in this game. Plus, the world of Skyloft, a collection of islands floating in the sky, hangs over Hyrule, eventually coming crashing down to join it. Tears of the Kingdom also has a lot of floating landmasses.

Most of the credit for this theory goes to a YouTuber by the name Zeltik, and you can check out his video for a more in-depth analysis. But in broad terms, the theory is that Tears of the Kingdom could be the end of the Zelda timeline, but also that the timeline is a loop. The villain of this game will be the villain from Skyward Sword resurrected, and the timeline will begin again. For fans of the series, this could be a monumental piece of the puzzle, a part of the story that shouldn’t be missed.

Bokoblins Have Been Hard at Work

Over the years since Breath of the Wild’s release, the most common enemy group, Bokoblins, have been hard at work plotting how to take down Hyrule’s champion. While typically not the most challenging enemies, Bokoblins have become quite iconic. From hurtling through the air with the help of explosive barrels to hurtling through the air after being tossed by a large enemy, Bokoblins have had it rough.

But in Tears of the Kingdom… well… they will probably still have it rough. But at least they have some new strategies. The latest trailer showed a Bokoblin being carried by a friendly wyvern creature and one of the earliest trailers showed Bokoblins that had built platforms on a stone talus. These new tactics will not only make these Bokoblins more of a challenge to face off against but a lot more fun to fight too.

A few moments in the latest trailer also hinted at the possibility that some enemies will have some kind of physical calamity corruption. A Bokoblin was even seen mining some kind of dark mineral while a Lizalfos stood by covered in dark crystal corruption. It’s not clear what this will mean for fighting these enemies, but it certainly won’t make things easier.

More Ways to Fly

Perhaps the most memorable and iconic tool at Link’s disposal in Breath of the Wild was the paraglider. Not only was it the tool that allows Link to leave the Great Plateau at the beginning of the game, but it also encapsulates the themes of calm exploration that made Breath of the Wild such a unique experience.

So, it’s no surprise that the paraglider is making a return in Tears of the Kingdom, which will have even more of an emphasis on air travel. This alone is great news, but there’s a lot more. In all of the trailers so far there have been three additional vehicles or contraptions that have allowed Link to travel through the sky.

One of the first trailers showed a simple glider that Link can stand on top of. It’s not clear exactly how this works because Link fell from above to land on it, and doesn’t seem like an object that Link could feasibly fit in his travel pack. In the latest trailer, Link was shown flying through the air in a hot air balloon and on what can only be described as a metal flying carpet.

Oh, and Also A Car

Aside from air travel, the latest trailer also showed a new form of terrestrial travel. Breath of the Wild’s Champion’s Ballad DLC featured the Master Cycle, which is essentially a motorcycle, but Tears of the Kingdom appears to be taking things to the next level.

Four wheels and a platform to stand on don’t exactly make a car, but for all intents and purposes, that’s what this is. The metal material it is created out of is somewhat of a mystery itself, and it appears in one of the flying machines as well as a giant metal enemy in another clip. It’s unclear exactly how this car comes into creation, but with so many modes of transportation available, maybe there will be a way for players to build vehicles in Tears of the Kingdom.

That’s certainly a long shot, but something about the simplicity of this and one of the flying vehicles almost makes them seem like they could be created in the game somehow. All that theory-crafting aside, there’s at least some kind of land vehicle in Tears of the Kingdom, and as someone who hated riding horses in Breath of the Wild, that’s certainly something to look forward to.

Tracking Arrows & Bomb-Throwing Hammer

The latest trailer showed off what were clearly two new and exciting weapons. First, there were tracking arrows. Link aims an arrow away from the target and it adjusts course to hit the flying wyvern on the top left of the screen. These seem like perfect tools for taking down weak, but highly mobile enemies from a distance.

Then, there was also some kind of grenade launcher. It looks like a big hammer, but one that has a hollow spot at the top for a bomb. When Link swings the weapon, the bomb is launched and explodes on impact. Considering how much fun the bombs already were, this is a weapon players will surely find many uses for.

Finally, this weapon was shown in an earlier trailer, but there was some kind of flamethrower. It looks like a dragon’s head that Link wields in one hand, and it clearly shoots flame. After seeing this, it was honestly surprising that it didn’t already exist in Breath of the Wild. Not only would this be a great weapon, but it would also be great for starting fires, cooking food, and probably plenty of other utilities too. These three weapons are exciting enough, but there’s certainly going to be more, waiting to be discovered.

The Voice of the Villain

This is unconfirmed yet, but some fans think they recognized the voice of the villain in the latest trailer for Tears of the Kingdom. Matt Mercer is a very talented voice actor, known for voicing Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil 6, Cole Cassidy in Overwatch, and Chrom in Fire Emblem, among others. Fans believe that the voice of the villain at the beginning of the new trailer might just be Matt Mercer.

Notably, Mercer has performed as Ganondorf before, not in any of the Legend of Zelda games, but the web series There Will Be Brawl, which featured most of the cast of the Super Smash Bros. series. A talented voice actor like him featured in a prominent role would only improve this game.

Voice acting didn’t take up much time in Breath of the Wild, basically only appearing in cut scenes that were essentially optional. But for players that want to pursue the story and who play in English, this casting could be a big reward.

There Are Wyverns

Featured prominently in the most recent trailer, Link will have to face off against a new form of flying enemy. Keese were occasionally troublesome in Breath of the Wild, but these opponents are much larger and intimidating. It only makes sense for a game focused on the skies to have some sky-worthy enemies.

These creatures don’t have an official name yet, so for the time being, we shall call them wyverns. These wyverns were shown a few times, once being shot and killed by Link’s new homing arrow, another time showing a group of them flying overhead, and finally, a wyvern could be seen carrying a Bokoblin through the air.

One can only speculate as to how combat will play out with these creatures, but they will no doubt be a challenge to deal with. Especially if they drop a Bokoblin on your head. Thankfully, it should be a challenge worth looking forward to.

Return of ReDeads

The ReDead in the latest trailer is a blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it moment, but it has huge implications. ReDead’s are classic monsters from most other 3D Zelda games (Ocarina of Time to Skyward Sword) that did not appear in Breath of the Wild.

These creepy enemies don’t always look the same, but generally resemble an emaciated humanoid wearing a strange mask. They are slow-moving, but use their signature petrifying gaze to stun prey long enough to move in and attack.

While not confirmed, a creature that looks eerily similar to a ReDead was seen amassing alongside Bokoblin and Lizalfos. The return of a classic enemy is exciting for long-time fans of the franchise to fight again and new players to encounter for the first time. Plus, just their sheer presence will add an air of creepiness and darkness to this game.

Conclusion

There are plenty of details that weren’t included in this list simply because there isn’t enough to speculate about. The latest trailer showed a huge creature with multiple heads (that were also on fire) guarding the bridge of Hylia. This sounds like it has the makings of an epic boss battle. Plus Link seems to have some kind of new green Sheika slate power that lets him manipulate objects. But other than that, it’s pretty unclear what this means or what implications it might have.

Being the sequel to Breath of the Wild means that Tears of the Kingdom will have a lot of expectations to live up to. This is a very exciting time because anything is possible – including that the game will not live up to fan's insurmountable expectations. But if any game is going to overcome that, this is it.

Surely there will be more to talk about before The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases on May 12th, but there’s already so much to look forward to. Which aspect of this game excites you the most? Will you be playing Tears of the Kingdom when it releases? Leave a comment below to let us know!