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
One theory dives deeper into the possibilities of returning to Skyloft and what Link may find there, suggesting that it could have been used as a place of refuge for the Zonai. Between the ruins found in Breath of the Wild and the images in the trailer for Tears of the Kingdom , the Zonai and Hyrule seem to have had an unpleasant past. Since Link is shown in the trailer riding a flying device, this theory suggests that the Zonai were not wiped out, and they instead moved to the skies to inhabit Skyloft, giving Link more reasons to head to the skies in TO
Tears of the Kingdom ‘s trailers contain references to the ancient Zonai tribe, whose ruins litter BOTW ‘s southeastern Faron region. This ancient warlike tribe is said to have mysteriously vanished, leaving the citizens of Hyrule to whisper about their strange and powerful magic, according to the Creating a Champion art book released in 2018. According to Twilight Princess , there were many years of peace after Hyrule was established thanks to the power of its Triforce. However, as word of the Triforce spread, a group of powerful sorcerers known only as the Interlopers attempted to gain control of The Legend of Zelda ‘s Sacred Realm . In order to stop their plot, the Goddesses had them sealed away in the Twilight Realm along with the Fused Shadow created by their ma
It may not even be the Hyrule players are familiar with that gets destroyed. Time and time travel are prominent elements in the Zelda series, and BOTW is not an exception. There’s decent evidence to indicate that Link will be sent backwards in time in TOTK , perhaps even as far as the first Great Calamity 10,000 years before the events of BOTW , in which case it could be the event that brings the kingdom to tears. Little is known about this era aside from a story told by Impa, so there’s a lot of potential for TOTK to show Calamity Ganon’s origins and other events from that time such as the battle between him and the fabled hero and princess. What exactly _Legend of Zelda switch 2: Tears of the Kingdom _ ‘s name means for its story is too early to tell, but there are a great many exciting possibilit
While Calamity Ganon was a fantastic foe, a weakened humanoid Ganondorf would be a fun villain for Link to conquer again. It would also be interesting to see a Zelda game where Ganon exists but isn’t the main antagonist. Perhaps Ganondorf appears as the vestiges of Calamity Ganon, but the true antagonist is Demise or a new
This unearthing mechanic could also answer some of the mysteries left unsolved in Breath of the Wild , the most obvious being again in the Gerudo Desert, south of Spectacle Rock. Here, there are Seven Heroine statues and a Sheikah Shrine quest. But in the lore of Breath of the Wild , these statues represent the Seven Sages. And, more curiously, an eighth statue can be found on the far side of the wasteland, suggesting that one member was shunned by the others. If this site were unearthed in Tears of the Kingdom , the answers may also surface, exposing the history of this iteration of Hyr
The biggest mystery, however, is the true identity of Breath of the Wild ‘s Zonai , an ancient tribe of magic wielders. Structures such as the three labyrinths and the Faron region’s stonework were created by the Zonai, easily identifiable by their Aztec-like designs prominently featuring dragon heads. Crucially, the Tears of the Kingdom logo also features these dragon designs, fueling speculation that more Zonai history will be explored in the game. Perhaps an underground Zonai ruin will form a dungeon, or a sprawling network of tunnels. A fantastic location for a Zonai-inspired dungeon would be beneath Lake Hylia, given its proximity to the Zonai ruins of the Faron reg
Popular theories draw connections between the Twili and the Zonai, including the serpent imagery noted in both the Palace of Twilight and the latest TOTK trailer, and the distinct blue-green hue of their magic. As such, the Zonai tribe’s disappearance could be directly related to the banishment of the Twili’s ancestors, making it possible for these tribes to actually be the same. If that’s the case, however, then the Zelda timeline implies that the Zonai vanished from Hyrule sometime after Skyward Sword when the residents of Skyloft repopulated the surface world, placing their disappearance significantly earlier in the kingdom of Hyrule’s past than the events of BO
