After years of anticipation, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is finally available today. If you’re looking for a critical overview of the Tears of the Kingdom, you can check out our full, detailed review here. That said, perhaps you have some other more specific questions? Nintendo has not been very forthcoming with information leading up to the game’s release, so there’s still a lot of confusion about an array of topics, inclucing how Hyrule has changed, whether old-school dungeons return, the possibility of a playable Zelda, and more. If you’re just looking for some quick answers, there’s a good chance they’re covered, below.
Warning: While the following article doesn’t contain any The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom story details (beyond what you’ll learn in the first couple hours of the game), it does include information about the game’s structure, mechanics, and challenges that some may consider SPOILERS. Proceed with caution if you want to go in completely blind.
Do “traditional” dungeons return?
It depends how you personally definite “traditional” dungeons. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s dungeons are certainly more involved than the Divine Beasts from Breath of the Wild, featuring unique themes and bosses, and more complex layouts and puzzles. You’ll also be accompanied to each one by a companion character that fights alongside you and grants you special abilities. TotK’s dungeons aren’t quite as complex as the large, self-contained ones from some past Zelda games, but they’re much closer.
It should also be mentioned that the leadup to each dungeon is more involved this time, with players having to complete challenges that can feel almost dungeon-like in their own right. For instance, in order to get to the Wind Temple you have to traverse a lengthy series of Sky Islands, while you have to locate the Fire Dungeon in the Depths.
Can you play as Zelda?
Nope. Link takes the lead just like in every Zelda game.
What’s the deal with Link’s arm?
Link’s arm is fried by the awakened Ganondorf at the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom. The replacement arm comes from Rauru, the once-ruler of the Zonai who helped found Hyrule. Link can use the arm to activate Zonai locks and other relics the regular denizens of Hyrule can’t interact with.
Who are the Zonai?
Odd-looking giant goat-rabbit-hybrid people who used to live in the sky and helped found Hyrule. Rauru was the first king of Hyrule. Ganondorf’s return has set the Upheaval in motion, which has caused various Zonai ruins to mysteriously appear in the sky, some of which have crashed to earth. The Zonai essentially serve a similar role as the Sheikah did in BotW – a mysterious ancient race key to Hyrule’s past. Most of your new powers and weapons are now derived from Zonai tech.
What’s up with the Sky Islands?
As mentioned, the Sky Islands are floating Zonai ruins that have appeared for mysterious reasons. You begin the game on a group of Sky Islands that are collectively about the size of the Great Plateau from BotW, but most of the islands aren’t that large. The majority of Sky Islands are relatively small, usually only housing a single challenge or puzzle. The few larger, more complex clusters of Sky Islands are typically tied to story missions. The amount of time you spend freely exploring the sky is relatively limited.
What’s up with the Depths?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has an entire second world underground. The Depths are accessed through gloom-filled chasms dotted around the map and are bathed in darkness, with Link having to make his way with a Zonai flashlight or “brightbloom seeds” which can be attached to arrows and act as makeshift area lights wherever they land. The only way to permanently shoo away the dark is to find a Lightroot which will illuminate an area and provide a fast-travel point. Darkness isn’t all you’ll have to contend with underground, as it’s also awash in life-sapping gloom, unique monsters, and even some rather freaky roaming minibosses. A large portion of TotK’s new secrets and sights are found underground.
How has the original BotW map changed?
In addition to the Sky Islands and Depths, Tears of the Kingdom also tweaks Breath of the Wild’s original map, but don’t expect a massive revamp. The basic landmasses and points-of-interest are largely unchanged. At the beginning of the game, the towns belonging to the Rito, Zora, Gorons, and Gerudo have been beset by various disasters (giant sand storms, blizzards ect.) These issues can be resolved by completing the dungeons in each region. Some other villages have undergone more permanent changes, with Kakariko Village being covered in Zonai ruins now, for instance. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of Lookout Landing, an all-new town south of Hyrule Castle that acts as a hub of sorts for your adventures. Beyond all that, towers are now in new locations, and bits of Zonai rubble and the holes you use to access the Depths now dot the map.
Is weapon degradation back?
With a vengeance! You’ll spend more time fiddling with your gear than ever, as the Upheaval has corrupted all the weapons in Hyrule, meaning you’ll almost never just stumble upon something decent anymore. You can use Link’s new Fuse power to enhance the junk you find by gluing it to rocks or salvaged enemy parts, but most of it still breaks fairly quickly. You can also only fuse each weapon once, and don’t have the ability to unfuse things.
Is Korok collecting back?
Yup. The pesky little buggers are still hiding all over the place and need to be collected to expand your inventory.
Can you skip to the end of the game again?
Yes, you can beeline directly to the final boss again. That said, it’s even more difficult this time (nearly impossible for the average player I’d reckon) and the game doesn’t emphasize that you can skip to the end as heavily as BotW did. Ganondorf’s location is kept secret until the end and core campaign missions focus on the mystery of what Zelda’s up to rather than the threat of the final boss.
How long is a typical playthrough of the game?
If you don’t jet directly to the end and play through all the main campaign missions, you’re looking at a solid 50 hours at least.
How long is a completionist playthrough?
Hundreds of hours at least. I’ve put 60-plus hours into the game and really only scratched the surface when it comes to completing Shrines, exploring the Depths, and cleaning up all the sidequests and collectibles.
How have the Sheikah Towers changed?
Not only have they moved, but they now fire Link up into the air like a giant circus cannon, allowing you to easily get a lay of the land and glide nearly anywhere once you boost your stamina enough.
How have the Shrines changed?
Aside from the individual challenges being new and a Zonai-themed visual makeover, they haven’t really. Find them to unlock fast-travel points, complete them to earn an orb which you can trade in at Goddess Statues for more health or stamina.
How difficult is the game?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is both more and less difficult than Breath of the Wild. The intimidating Guardians are gone now and exploring the world is generally less challenging. That said, dungeons and boss battles are arguably quite a bit tougher. Overall, TotK is a pretty respectable challenge by Zelda standards.
What’s performance like on the Switch?
About on par with Breath of the Wild. The game maintains a solid 30fps most of the time, but many of the problem areas from six years ago are largely unchanged (Kakariko Village still chugs). Some of the more ambitious dungeons, particularly the Fire Temple, push the Switch to its limits and beyond and struggle as a result. That said, overall, Tears of the Kingdom is still very playable. If BotW was alright by you performance-wise, then TotK should be too.
How’s performance when playing in Handheld Mode?
Unlike a number of recent high-profile Nintendo releases, playing in Handheld Mode is a legitimate option with Tears of the Kingdom. Performance feels about the same as playing docked, and while you may notice some resolution dips at times, for the most part, the game runs at around 720p and looks quite sharp on a Switch OLED screen.
Can you finally pet the dogs?
NO. Sorry I couldn’t tell you this earlier so you could cancel your pre-orders.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch. Again, you can learn more about the game by checking out Wccftech’s full review here. And hey, if you have any other questions, just head on down to the comments and ask.
