“Just like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there’s still a vast world to explore,” says series producer Eiji Aonuma in the latest Tears of the Kingdom gameplay reveal. “Of course, it’s not just the same world it is, it’s changed in many ways. If we talk about all the changes today, we’re going to run out of time.” OK, fine, keep your secrets. But I still don’t really know what Tears of the Kingdom has to offer.
The game’s reveal had two main focuses: the mysterious islands in the sky that have been theorized about for years, and Link’s new abilities. To kick off the latter, some amazing new toys are on display: Ascend offers unparalleled traversal tools; Fuse and Ultrahand turn Zelda into a full crafting sandbox; I can only begin to imagine what people will do with Rewind. But as excited as I am to get my hands on these toys, I still miss the context as to why I should care.
The whole team, no idea
Nintendo’s gameplay reveals are often incredibly detailed, often with errors. In the past, I’ve learned a lot about the worlds, characters, and systems of upcoming Nintendo games that I don’t intend to play by watching the company’s deep dives. With Tears of the Kingdom just six weeks away, I thought today’s video might do something similar.
I would like to know, for example, what caused these islands in the sky? Who created the buildings that inhabit them? If there are any changes on the surface of Hyrule, because? And how are we going to meet them? What happened to Ganon? Where is Zelda? What is the real narrative reasoning behind this unlikely sequel to the series that doesn’t really make sequels?
These are questions Nintendo could have answered for another game. I feel like I was told everything I could possibly need to know about the world of Paldea before Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The core concept of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was described with the deepest desires at the heart of each of its characters when this game had its big pre-launch reveal. But for Tears of the Kingdom, arguably Nintendo’s most anticipated game of this generation, if ever, I still feel like I know nothing.
It’s long been clear that Nintendo has kept The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom firmly under wraps. In 2021, even the title of the game turned out to be too spoiler to reveal at the time. But that was two years ago, at a time when rampant speculation wouldn’t have been helpful for a game that was still a long way from release. Now, with this release just a few weeks away, I feel like I still know as little as I did then. I’m very excited to get involved in an even more sandbox version of Breath of the Wild, but before I start fusing spears to be proud of the Bokoblins from a comical distance, I’d like to have a idea of what’s really going on in Hyrule.
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