After years of waiting, we finally know that the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is officially called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Announced during a major Nintendo Direct on September 13, 2022, this highly-anticipated follow up is coming out next year, so here’s everything we know about this legendary title.
When is Tears of the Kingdom’s Release Date?
The sequel to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was given a 2022 release window during E3 2021, but was later delayed to 2023. Now we finally have a concrete date: May 12, 2023.
The date was announced alongside this brief (and mysterious) new trailer that also confirmed its title: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo suggested they were waiting to reveal this title because it could be considered a spoiler, though it’s not completely clear what the official title spoils. The game, with beautiful new cover art, is now up for preorder.
Tears of the Kingdom First Teaser
Nintendo first revealed the development of a Breath of the Wild sequel was underway with a short teaser trailer at E3 2019.
In the short trailer, we can see Link and Zelda are exploring an underground cavern on the back of an elephant-like mount. They happen across a corpse emanating both tendrils of dark smoke and strings of light. It’s revealed that the strings of light coalesce into an arm of light holding back the darkness leaking through the corpse chest, which appears to be a mummified male Gerudo donning gold jewelry and long hair – this is presumably Ganondorf.
What follows is a series of rapid flashes that shows Link wielding his own arm of light, the original arm of light saving Link from falling, and a glimpse of the sealing ritual placed on the corpse. The trailer ends with the cavern collapsing, the corpse coming back to life and Hyrule Castle rising into the air.
The trailer ends with a message that reads “the sequel to the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now in development.”
Shortly after the trailer aired on Nintendo’s E3 2019 direct, The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma explained that his team was working on a sequel simply because it had too many DLC ideas for the original game.
First Tears of the Kingdom Gameplay Teaser
At E3 2021 we finally get our first look at some gameplay for the then untitled sequel to Breath of the Wild and the trailer started off with a continuation of the last teaser with dark tendrils wapping around Link’s right arm while Zelda falls into a pit of darkness.
From there Link, with a new type of gauntlet on his right arm, falls through the sky, evoking memories of Skyward Sword. Then there are a few new shots of flying islands and some of the new enemies including a fortress of Bokoblin on top of a Stone Talus.
We also get a look at some of Link’s new Sheikah tools built right into his new gauntlet including remote stasis that stops objects before reversing their motion. Link also has a shield that spews flames and he apparently can propel himself upwards from puddles and travel through objects above him.
The Breath of the Wild 2 gameplay trailer also has a hidden easter egg in which you can hear the original Breath of the Wild theme if you play the trailer in reverse.
Tears of the Kingdom’s Title Reveal, Release Date Reveal, and New Footage
Finally, during the September 13, 2022 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo finally confirmed that the sequel to Breath of the Wild would be called Tears of the Kingdom with a brief, but mysterious, trailer.
This trailer begins with close ups on a stone mural, starting with a figure that appears to be a woman, potentially the Goddess Hylia. Then there’s a wider shot showing several bokoblins and moblins descending upon some warriors with a red sort of energy or design surrounding them. We then come back to a mid-shot of the goddes-like figure surrounded by what look like tear designs – they look similar to the Amber and Dusk Relics found in Skyward Sword used as crafting materials. These Dusk Relics were found in the Silent Realm while searching for Sacred Tears. The last shot of the mural is a woman with pointy ears – potentially Zelda – joining hands with someone who cannot be seen.
Link then opens a massive stone door engraved with what appear to be dragons designed in the style of Zonai statues found in Breath of the Wild. He then runs out into more floating islands filled with trees adorned with golden leaves, much like the ones seen in the previous gameplay trailer. He skydives to the world below.
Next, Link uses a sort of reverse-Stasis technique to cling onto a large stone that’s falling upwards. Link then climbs a massive tree root on the side of one of these floating islands. Link freefalls again, this time landing on a sort of stone glider shaped like a bird, riding it downwards. You can see a glowing green symbol on a plateau off in the distance before another glowing dragon/ouroboros symbol appears, creating the title treatment for Tears of the Kingdom. The Master Sword in the title appears to disolve into green symbols, potentially Twili or Zonai in nature.
Note: This story originally ran in June of 2021. It was updated with the latest information available about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on September 21, 2022.
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