The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom [Development Thread] - News, Updates, and Speculation

[Meelow]

​

Release Date: May 12th, 2023
Developer: Nintendo EPD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Switch

Welcome to the Development Thread for the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Here we will track all the updates, rumors, and general discussion surrounding this new game. Since its surprise announcement at E3 2019, we have been left with a very cryptic trailer and little else to go on, save for a few scant details. As time goes by and we learn more information and soon the game will release.

​

The sequel to the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has sold around 30 million copies (Switch + Wii U), it is the highest-selling Zelda bringing back the conventions of the series, it being an open world and you being able to do what you want. How will Tears of the Kingdom enhance as a sequel? Well we know it's set in the same Hyrule, and we know we can go into the sky...But there are hints that there will be a move, an underground cave system in the game and possibly a wider ocean to explore?

What We Know? Not much!

• This game will be based on the same world as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Eiji Aonuma told IGN in an interview that "The new Breath of the Wild or the sequel to it, it's not necessarily going to be related to Majora's mask or inspired by it... What we showed you currently is a little darker." However, it is unknown if he meant the game was darker than Majora's Mask itself, or just the original game.
• Similar to Super Mario Galaxy 2, many ideas from this game were conceptualized as potential DLC for the original game before being reworked into the sequel.
• Zelda has received a redesign, most notably she has shorter hair than in the original game. This had led to speculation that she may have a greater role to play in this adventure than her previous one.
• Link is seen interacting with, and perhaps controlling a mysterious magical arm. What this means is currently unknown.
• On June 15th, 2021, Nintendo released a new trailer for the game, showcasing a lot of new information. This seems to confirm that the magical arm has affixed itself to Link and will be taking the role of the Sheikah Slate in this title, showing new abilities such as a new stasis function, a time manipulation ability, and the ability to phase through solid objects. The game is confirmed to be "expanded to the skies above Hyrule" in addition to the world below, which appears to be a major theme of the game.
• Zelda appears to have been separated from Link following the events of the original trailer, and her role is as yet unknown.
• Link does not appear to still possess the Master Sword following the events of the second trailer.
• The game appears to be putting an emphasis on Verticality, with many of Link's new abilities focusing on flight or upward mobility. We have also seen Link making use of a bird like glider.
• Imagery also suggests the Zonai, an ancient people of Hyrule who are only hinted at, but who's presence can be felt across Breath of the Wild's Hyrule, will also be more present in this game.

Speculation Timeline of Events

• Several insiders have said that the game is internally targeting a 2020 release date.
• MonolithSoft tweets a recruitment promotion for their work on a Zelda game on December 17th, 2019. MonolithSoft was heavily involved with the world design of Breath of the Wild and are assumed to be resuming that role for the sequel.
• On June 28th, 2020, the Spanish VA of Revali indicates that the dubbing may be complete. Transcript from @ReyVGM EDIT: The interview may or may not be serious or Just joking around by the VAs, take with a grain of salt, but I'll keep it here just in case. EDIT 2: More or less confirmed to have been a joke by the source. Edit 3: Or more likely, this was in reference to Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
• On September 8th, a video trailer for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was released. Eji Aonuma reiterates that they announced development had started during the 2019 E3 presentation. He mentions that it will be some time before they are ready to share new updates on the upcoming sequel. "'In order to make the vast world you enjoyed exploring in the original game even more impressive, the team is working hard on its development."
• New Trailer announced at E3 2021 showing several new features, Release date of 2022 given.
• Delay announced March 2022 for a 2023 release date, showed a couple of seconds of new footage
• The new teaser that confirmed the title and release date was announced.
• A statue showing Link at Nintendo Live 2022

Characters

Link

The hero of the Wild...Link! He again is off to his next adventure. What will come of him this time?


Zelda

This time, the princess of the royal family joins Link to discover what is happening below Hyrule. Will she survive her fall?

Ganondorf? Or something else, this being is currently underneath the castle. Who is he? I guess we shall find out.


Game Trailers

E3 2019 Announcement Teaser


E3 2021 Trailer


Launch Timing Update for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_vgseuw_o8&t=27s&ab_channel=NintendoofAmerica

September 2022 Direct Trailer

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SNF4M_v7wc&ab_channel=NintendoofAmerica

UPDATE: This thread is WestEgg's; I asked a mod If I could repost the thread so it could get updated and a mod approved. All credit goes to WestEgg, NOT ME!

Update 2: Remade the thread, screw it :)

 

[Yoshimitsu126]

Game was so close to my birthday. Just have to use birthday pto a week after

 

[iFirez]

RIP Rat.

2023 will be the year of Zelda again.

 

[JoJo'sDentCo]

This is going to be the greatest game of all time.

 

[gardfish]

Who's your favorite Zelda character? Mine's rat

 

[JaseMath]

I feel like this will get delayed until June or later (I know there's a release date). Either way, I'm stoked to see what aerial combat is like!

 

[pioneer]

I've loved Zelda my whole life, literally - some of my earliest memories are of watching my sister play the original game on NES. I've played most of the series, many of which I consider among the best games ever made. Including BOTW big time. But for some reason I find myself feeling kind of uneasy about this game. The extended development cycle, the aging hardware… deep in my heart I went to believe but I just can't help but be a little worried. Anyone else feeling this way at all?

 

[JoRu]

Not gonna watch anything more about this game before release, so I'd love for us to have to stay in this speculation mode for a good while longer. I mean, imagine starting the game not knowing anything more than we do today, the dream.

 

[Draconestra]

I can't wait for this game. Just freeze me now!

 

[Jencks]

Really hope we see more footage soon

 

[Relix]

I've loved Zelda my whole life, literally - some of my earliest memories are of watching my sister play the original game on NES. I've played most of the series, many of which I consider among the best games ever made. Including BOTW big time. But for some reason I find myself feeling kind of uneasy about this game. The extended development cycle, the aging hardware… deep in my heart I went to believe but I just can't help but be a little worried. Anyone else feeling this way at all?

Click to shrink...

That's me. I feel the switch will constraint the game. I am half expecting a muddy 720p docked mess with inconsistent frame rate and cutbacks all around. Hope to eat crow though.

 

[Undeniablybiased]

Can't wait to swim through dirt and I'm not joking

 

[Derbel McDillet]

If Switch 2 doesn't happen by May, I hope there's at least full HD Rumble integration. Mario Odyssey used it so well and then almost nothing by comparison.

 

[Mr. President]

When it was first announced there was speculation it would release soon due to all the asset reuse, a la Majora's Mask.
In reality, the gap between BotW and TotK will be the largest between two (non-rerelease) Zelda games ever.

 

[Something Creative]

That's me. I feel the switch will constraint the game. I am half expecting a muddy 720p docked mess with inconsistent frame rate and cutbacks all around. Hope to eat crow though.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. And in the last 5 years I've played games in high resolution and high framerate (excepting 2D) almost exclusively. So I'm worried that even if TOTK is standard for Nintendo that I'll struggle with the performance. BOTW is one of my favourite games ever, too.

 

[JasoNsider]

I've loved Zelda my whole life, literally - some of my earliest memories are of watching my sister play the original game on NES. I've played most of the series, many of which I consider among the best games ever made. Including BOTW big time. But for some reason I find myself feeling kind of uneasy about this game. The extended development cycle, the aging hardware… deep in my heart I went to believe but I just can't help but be a little worried. Anyone else feeling this way at all?

Click to shrink...

Yeah I have a bit of this semi-irrational fear as well. Mostly the Switch hardware has felt creaky as hell the last year or so. So many projects just clearly trying to push it past what it's comfortable doing. I always hoped this follow up would launch next to a Switch Pro, but there's no concrete evidence of that yet...

 

[404LinkNotFound]

I've loved Zelda my whole life, literally - some of my earliest memories are of watching my sister play the original game on NES. I've played most of the series, many of which I consider among the best games ever made. Including BOTW big time. But for some reason I find myself feeling kind of uneasy about this game. The extended development cycle, the aging hardware… deep in my heart I went to believe but I just can't help but be a little worried. Anyone else feeling this way at all?

Click to shrink...

Well i can speak on the aging hardware part

Hkstory has shown games such as God of War (PS2), Kirby's adventure, Pokémon Red and Blue, BOTW 1, Wii sports ,super mario galaxy 1 and 2 etc etc that all game out on aging, outdated hardware released to critical acclaim and influenced many games after

I dont beleive that BOTW 2 will be inherently this terrible game(or a worser game) cuz it isnt ps5 tier graphics running at 60 fps. its been shown even under constraits and even with constraits developers like Nintendo can shine. Also peple convinientlu ignore games like Xenoblade 3 which have these huge areas and still run fine. Basically im saying is once Nintendo makes sure to develop for thr switch's hardware and optimise, itll be fine.

Now I remember why the update/speculation thread for BotW2 died on this forum

Click to shrink...

Becuase itll inevitably become yet another "where is the switch 2!!" Like every Nintendo yhread these past 4 years?

 

[Truno]

Now I remember why the update/speculation thread for BotW2 died on this forum

 

[AuthenticM]

I've loved Zelda my whole life, literally - some of my earliest memories are of watching my sister play the original game on NES. I've played most of the series, many of which I consider among the best games ever made. Including BOTW big time. But for some reason I find myself feeling kind of uneasy about this game. The extended development cycle, the aging hardware… deep in my heart I went to believe but I just can't help but be a little worried. Anyone else feeling this way at all?

Click to shrink...

I share a bit of that feeling. I'm mostly concerned about the lack of any real extended gameplay demonstration when the game is supposed to come out in 5 months lol.

 

[The Quentulated Mox]

link gets an airplane in this one, he's had a train, he's had a boat, he's had a motorcycle ... when's link gonna get a car????

 

[Skies]

I'm currently on the final level of the tower spirit in Spirit Tracks, and I'm really blown away by how in-depth and extensive the puzzles are.

I think Nintendo really shines when they get a second opportunity to develop something with older assets/gameplay ideas. Galaxy 2, Bowser's Fury, Majora's Mask, and now Spirit Tracks are prime examples of this for me.

So consider me stupid hyped for BotW2. BoTW is my favorite game ever. I'm totally okay with more of that, but I hope the Zelda teams get super weird with this one. Just throwing everything at the wall that didn't make it into the first.

 

[immy]

The world of Zelda?

Isn't it hyrule?

 

[grumpybat]

I've loved Zelda my whole life, literally - some of my earliest memories are of watching my sister play the original game on NES. I've played most of the series, many of which I consider among the best games ever made. Including BOTW big time. But for some reason I find myself feeling kind of uneasy about this game. The extended development cycle, the aging hardware… deep in my heart I went to believe but I just can't help but be a little worried. Anyone else feeling this way at all?

Click to shrink...

Nope, not worried at all. Worst case scenario it'll be more of the same which is fine.

 

[Yunyo]

I am genuinely curious about the game, to the point where I'm not sure if I will watch the full trailer...

See, I didn't follow or read any of the prerelease stuff for the BotW, so I went in utterly blind.

That enriched the game tremendously for me. I think being able to discover secrets and moments in real time is very important.

 

[Something Creative]

The world of Zelda?

Isn't it hyrule?

Click to shrink...

It's an expression. Zelda as a series and the world that the series takes place in.

 

[Plum]

I am genuinely curious about the game, to the point where I'm not sure if I will watch the full trailer...

See, I didn't follow or read any of the prerelease stuff for the BotW, so I went in utterly blind.

That enriched the game tremendously for me. I think being able to discover secrets and moments in real time is very important.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this is me as well.

I simultaneously want to know more about this game... but also know as little as possible. One feeds my before-release hype, and one feeds my first playthrough hype. It's really a question of how strong my will is lol

The world of Zelda?

Isn't it hyrule?

Click to shrink...

Most Zelda games take place in Hyrule, but a significant number of them don't (whether in full or in part), so it's easier to just say "this is the new World of Zelda."

 

[TimeShinigami]

Spoilers have never bothered me much, but I went into BOTW blind wholly by accident, and ended up loving everything but the combat. If this game can alter that even a tiny bit it might replace OoT as my favorite entry (and GOAT game) ever.

 

[Derbel McDillet]

Well i can speak on the aging hardware part

People on ERA often have this idea that you can only have greeat games if the hardware is beefy or old hardware will inherently lessen the quality of a game

Becuase itll inevitably become yet another "where is the switch 2!!" Like every Nintendo yhread these past 4 years?

Click to shrink...

It's a little disingenuous to open with that statement and then act like everyone else with hardware concerns are likely to derail the thread.

 

[Plum]

This thread needs a bet at the top:

"Will Weapon Breaking Return?"

with the options:

Yes - Identical to the first game
Yes - With significant changes
No - All weapons are permanent

:P

 

[404LinkNotFound]

It's a little disingenuous to open with that statement and then act like everyone else with hardware concerns are likely to derail the thread.

Click to shrink...

Yea i guess its pretty inflamatory, ill remove it

 

[Enduin]

Me(for the last 3+ years): I've got a fever, and the only prescription is the sequel to Zelda BotW.

Nintendo: ...

Me:

 

[Hellstruck]

This game is interesting in that everything I've seen so far of it is a complete disappointment, and I absolutely loved BOTW.
At this point I'm done arguing about it as people are incredibly defensive of the game. Every bit of footage outside the initial teaser has just left me asking 'wait, that's it?'.
Just going to wait for the first real trailer to drop, and to finally play the game next year. It's heresy to say this in here, but Elden Ring was already 'The evolution of Breath of the Wild' for me. I don't know what TOTK can do to surpass that.

 

[MrSaturn99]

I share a bit of that feeling. I'm mostly concerned about the lack of any real extended gameplay demonstration when the game is supposed to come out in 5 months lol.

Click to shrink...

I feel they dropped the ball with that last Direct trailer -- it was a prime opportunity to showcase the game after three years of COVID-induced silence, and yet it felt too redundant with what we saw back in 2019. A title drop's certainly a good start, but maybe feed us more than breadcrumbs?

I'm still expecting the game to blow my mind, of course, and one could say BOTW's general pre-release mystery played to that game's benefit, but I'm also curious how they'll squeeze in the marketing in just five months.

 

[Pakooly]

This game is interesting in that everything I've seen so far of it is a complete disappointment, and I absolutely loved BOTW.
At this point I'm done arguing about it as people are incredibly defensive of the game. Every bit of footage outside the initial teaser has just left me asking 'wait, that's it?'.
Just going to wait for the first real trailer to drop, and to finally play the game next year. It's heresy to say this in here, but Elden Ring was already 'The evolution of Breath of the Wild' for me. I don't know what TOTK can do to surpass that.

Click to shrink...

What it can do is being literally the evolution of Breath of the Wild and not a Souls game inspired by it.

 

[McStickenstein]

This thread needs a bet at the top:

"Will Weapon Breaking Return?"

with the options:

Yes - Identical to the first game
Yes - With significant changes
No - All weapons are permanent

:P

Click to shrink...

"All weapons are permanently breakable"

 

[Jencks]

Weapon combining is in. Durability will remain but can be reversed with the time rewind feature in certain instances.

 

[Jedi2016]

Seriously, though, I played the shit out of the first game and I'm definitely looking forward to this one.

As for hype... I'm hoping they'll release an epic final trailer like they did for the first game. That's still one of the best game trailers I've ever seen.

 

[Skies]

I would just like to remind people that were were getting off camera demos of "revolutionary" horse AI before the actual legit blowout for BoTW.

 

[Enduin]

I am decidedly not worried about this game at all. The fact that they've been working on it for nearly 6 years now just has me more excited at what could be in store for us. If this game were like only 1-2 years after BotW and had the same premise I might be a bit worried about the same map and everything, but they've had an ungodly amount of time with a game and tools they're already incredibly familiar and seasoned with. Something absolutely unprecedented would have had to go wrong for this game to come up short, even with COVID. Like we've had numerous major titles come out that were impacted by COVID, not a single one seems to have been drastically impacted in the long run. Including titles from Nintendo.

These are some of the best devs in the world, they're not blind or ignorant to the fears and potential pitfalls that returning to the Hyrule of BotW poses, or the complaints and weak spots of BotW, nor what's been happening elsewhere in the gaming world. My only real fear is that my own excitement and speculation will get the better of me. All the time in world doesn't mean they can include everything I can think or they can think of. Simply creating it and adding it to the game is a small part. Having to balance all that and construct it into a well paced and enjoyable experience is a tremendous amount of work. So I'm keeping that in mind to keep my expectations in check, somewhat.

 

[Deleted member 87246]

I can't wait to see someone just playing the game to see what their plans and improvements are. I think we'll see just that at a Nintendo Direct the week of January 23rd - 26th because the Fire Emblem marketing will be over and the next huge release will be Tears of the Kingdom for Nintendo to focus on.

BotW dethroned the original PS1 FFVII from '97 as my favourite game of all time after almost 20 years of nothing coming close. Such a special game. Next May can't come soon enough!

 

[Nicko]

Rat. You will be missed.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

Horses dont run into trees very often.

 

[bionic77]

This is going to be the greatest game of all time.

Click to shrink...

I don't think it will live up to that level of hype but I am sure it will be an awesome game. Pretty much all Zelda games have been.

 

[Neoxon]

I'll be surprised if we don't hear anything by the end of February.

 

[Fuchs]

I hope Rat won't come back as a boss corrupted by that evil energy.

 

[takriel]

This game has unlimited potential. I'm convinced we've barely scratched the surface with what they've showed us so far.

 

[Meelow]

UPDATE: This thread is WestEgg's; I asked a mod If I could repost the thread so it could get updated and a mod approved. All credit goes to WestEgg, NOT ME!

 

[Watershed]

I'm excited as hell but also expect it to not reach the same heights as BOTW.

 

[delete12345]

UPDATE: This thread is WestEgg's; I asked a mod If I could repost the thread so it could get updated and a mod approved. All credit goes to WestEgg, NOT ME!

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the update.

 

[Meelow]

Found on Famiboards! Recently rated E10+, just like BOTW.

The Legend of Zelda™: Tears of the Kingdom for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Buy The Legend of Zelda™: Tears of the Kingdom and shop other great Nintendo products online at the official My Nintendo Store Canada.

www.nintendo.com