The official name for Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom _ , the sequel to _Breath of the Wild , has finally been revealed, and it’s opened up a number of questions about what it means for the story. » Tears of the Kingdom » sounds rather ominous, and has some worrying implications for Link, Zelda, and indeed all of Hyrule. Along with the official title, the BOTW sequel’s release date confirmed via trailer to be May 12 of next year, so it may be some time before players see exactly what TOTK ‘s story holds, but more trailers released in the interim will hopefully help shed some light on
The Darknut is an enemy that first appeared in the original Legend of Zelda game, where players had to attack them from behind to damage them. They take the form of large, dark suits of armor, and what’s beneath it varies from game to game. They are extremely strong enemies that possess powerful armor and shields as well as strong weapons, and were especially formidable in Twilight Princess , where they had two phases, armored and unarmored. There are different colors, with the most common being black, red, and blue, though one in Twilight Princess is g
BOTW ’s history of Hyrule is told primarily through vague legends, most of which are passed to Link by Impa after he loses his memories. As such, the legend of the First Great Calamity 10,000 years before the game’s events create a lot of confusion about BOTW ’s story and the overarching Zelda timeline. Either BOTW must take place more than 10,000 years after every other event on the official timeline so far, or the First Great Calamity occurred during some earlier era of the timeline that has yet to be revealed. If the Zelda theory about the Zonai tribe’s identity as the ancient Interlopers is true, however, then it’s possible that learning the full story of their mysterious disappearance may reveal the truth of Hyrule’s history. This outcome would, however, introduce yet another paradox to **The Legend of Zelda ** ‘s timeline — Ganondorf is first introduced in Ocarina of Time , meaning there would have to be justification for Calamity Ganon’s appearance in the Interloper War/First Great Calamity in an earlier
One possibility for Tears of the Kingdom ‘s meaning is that Zelda, the princess of Hyrule, will die. After the events of the first game, Zelda presumably is hard at work rebuilding BOTW ‘s ruin of Hyrule, helping the people who inhabit it as she wished to in the game’s final cutscene. As such, it stands to reason that she would be beloved throughout the land. Tears of the Kingdom could refer to Hyrule mourning her after her death. Since Zelda falls into a crevice in the E3 2021 trailer and has not appeared in any footage outside the cave where she and Nintendo console evolution Link find the withered mummy, this is a terrifyingly real possibil
If Link falls in battle at the end of Ocarina of Time , the Demon King is free to claim the Triforce and lay waste to Hyrule until the Seven Sages successfully seal Ganon inside the Sacred Realm . If Link is victorious, Princess Zelda uses the Ocarina to send him back to his original era, breaking the timeline into two separate paths as the Triforce’s pieces are scattered through time. The Triforce of Courage returns to the past with Link, whereas the Triforce of Wisdom remains in the future with Zelda after his depart
Another item from Twilight Princess , the Spinner occupied a niche that very few other items in the Zelda series have taken on. The Spinner was an item that Link could ride. Such a role has otherwise been occupied almost solely by Epona, Link’s trusted horse companion. Although it has only gotten one real appearance thus far, the Spinner’s unique qualities could make it a useful tool in Link’s next advent
Yet another possibility for Tears of the Kingdom is that Hyrule will be destroyed outright instead of corrupted. The Malice that’s unleashed at the beginning of the game may cause another event on the scale of the Great Calamity, leaving the land and its people in ruins rather than turned into monsters. Though the landscape seems to be relatively intact in the various trailers, the Malice may only target civilized areas like Zora’s Domain and leave wild ones full of monsters alone. BOTW 2 ‘s transformed skies also may offer a twist on this; it’s possible that Malice will completely cover the surface in a toxic flood, forcing players to flee to the safety of the floating islands. TOTK ‘s free open-world format makes this unlikely, however, except perhaps as a temporary occurrence like BOTW ‘s Blood Mo
In Twilight Princess , Link must work with Midna in order to save both of their realms from Zant as his invasion of Hyrule threatens to resurrect Ganondorf. It’s said that the Twilight Realm, the home of the Twili, served as a prison for an ancient tribe who attempted to use magic to gain control of the Sacred Realm. The connections between BOTW , TOTK , and Twilight Princess thus far seem to suggest that the Twili may be connected to the ancient Zonai tribe that mysteriously vanished from Hyrule long before the events of BOTW , though this is only a theory based on the trailers released for TOTK thus