The once and future Hero: Link from the Legend of Zelda

A short review of Tears of the Kingdom and a look at the future of the iconic franchise

I have previously written about the game Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, mainly focusing on its gameplay and world design. After almost a year of playing the game, its my pleasure to say I have finally completed the main story. This was a gigantic, ambitious story, in terms of scale, aided in part by the massive open world it is set in.

Tears of the Kingdom is set in the classic setting of the Zelda series, Hyrule. This version of Hyrule is the same as the previous entry in the series Breath of the Wild, with the story beginning sometime after that game. Once again, players take control of the series main character, Link.

The game opens with the player, as Link, exploring a cave beneath Hyrule Castle alongside the series titular character, Princess Zelda. Gameplay for this portion is light, with the focus on exploring the cave and examining murals that depict the backstory of Hyrule. The murals reveal that thousands of years ago, an advanced species known as the Zonia, thought to be gods by the Hyrulians, descended from the sky and helped found this version of the Kingdom of Hyrule. The murals also a conflict with a being referred to as the Demon King, which ended with his being sealed beneath Hyrule Castle, where Link and Zelda are currently exploring. It is also revealed through dialogue that Link and Zelda are exploring this cave to try find the source of a poisonous gloom that is making people sick in the Hyrule.

Link and Zelda eventually find a secret chamber, with a mummified corpse trapped within it. The corpse is the Demon King from the murals, revealed to be this games version of the classic Zelda villain Ganondorf. Ganondorf soon awakens, regaining his powers and an event known in game as the “Upheaval” occurs.

The Upheaval marks the true starting point for the game in Tears of the Kingdom. The map for the game, which is similar in design to the one used Breath of the Wild, is changed. Hyrule Castle has now become a floating island in the sky, along with several other landmasses that float in the air. Likewise, massive caverns have opened underground, and the main area on the surface has undergone several changes from the last game.

Link himself is also altered both in the story, and within of the context of gameplay. At the beginning of the game, Link is at full power. His health and stamina, two critical stats in game, are at their max amounts, and the Master Sword is already fully repaired and powered up.

After the Upheaval, Link loses his powers, returning the lowest level possible for both stamina and health. The Master Sword is also shattered, and cannot be regained until hours later in the game. The idea starting a player character out at full power and then breaking them down early in game is not new for Nintendo. The Metroid franchise has famously utilized this trope many times. It’s a simple way to justify in universe why a character the player spent the last game powering up returns to base level stats and Tears of the Kingdom does it well.

The second big change Link undergoes comes in the form of his arm. He loses his right arm early in game, gaining a new one when he awakens. It is revealed this arm was once the arm of Raaru, a Zonai who was the first King of Hyrule. This arm becomes the source of the new powers that Link, and by extension the player, are able to gain throughout the game. One final point about the Upheaval is that Princess Zelda disappears during it.

The Upheaval is a good start to the game from both a gameplay standpoint and story standpoint. In terms of story, it does a good job of reintroducing Ganondorf to the series, upping the stakes from the previous game, and providing in universe reasons for why new areas are introduced to Hyrule. It lays a foundation for the rest of the game that allows the gameplay to complement the story. Each new cave, sky island and town feels like it has a purpose in the world of the story, rather than just being content to entertain the player. The open world of Hyrule feels like a living, breathing world, rather than just another sandbox to play in.

As with most open world games, there are plenty of side quests to choose from. Rewards from these side quests range from upgrades to health and stamina to in game items like equipment and weapons. Many of the side quests have their own mini stories which also help build up the world. The map itself also provides plenty of room for exploration, allowing the player to organically discover new parts of the story.

Similar Breath of the Wild, there is a series of dungeons and quests that are intended as the main storyline of the game. The main dungeons unlock spirit guardians which aid you and there are several quests which unlock flashbacks which help tell the story. It is also possible in the game bypass the story early on, going straight to the final boss fight. While this will certainly provide a fun challenge for many players, it does skip over the story.

One critical part of Tears of the Kingdom’s story is what has happened to Princess Zelda, who disappears at the beginning of the story. The flashbacks reveal she was transported back to the founding of this version of Hyrule. Through her memories, we see Ganon’s attempt to seize Hyrule, and his imprisonment beneath Hyrule Castle.

These flashbacks ultimately reveal that Princess Zelda sacrificed herself by turning into the Light Dragon, seen flying throughout the game. All of this was done so that she could become immortal and deliver the Master Sword to Link.

The game culminates with Link discovering that Ganon rests in the cave beneath Hyrule Castle, where they discovered him at the beginning of the game. Due to the shifts in the map created by the Upheaval, reaching this cave feels like an epic quest in its own right.

The journey to Ganon’s cave takes the player to the deepest, darkest reaches of the underground depths beneath Hyrule. The game’s excellent art direction, combined with the score gives this portion of the game a spooky feel, as if the player is descending into the underworld to face the devil himself.

Before reaching Ganon, the player must face an army of monsters that attacks in waves. Beating this army requires using every skill the player has mastered and is made somewhat easier if they have beaten all the main dungeons and unlocked each companion character.

The final fight is against Ganon himself, which the player largely has to do on their own. This games version of Ganon is incredibly challenging as far as final bosses go. He has several forms, with the second being the most challenging in my opinion. It is an incredibly challenging fight, and the satisfaction that comes from beating it is very rewarding.

The game ends with Ganon assuming his final form, a dark version of the Dragon that Princess Zelda turned into. Zelda’s dragon form appears to assist you in the final stage of the fight, which takes place in the sky. This part felt easier to me than Ganon’s earlier forms, but was a very satisfying final challenge nonetheless.

The game ends with Ganon’s final defeat and death. Zelda is restored to her human form, and Ganon’s end results in the corruption and poison that spread from his body leaving Hyrule. With the Princess rescued, the heroes are finally free to begin restoring Hyrule.

The Zelda series has always felt the video game version of a myth. Every game features similar characters, and scenarios reimagined in a new way. Tears of the Kingdom continues this theme, presenting a new version of the classic heroes journey that feels both fresh and familiar.

One benefit Tears of the Kingom has is that it opted for a more stylized graphic style. It feels like playing through an animated film or painting, and the style helps give the game it owns identity. It is a a breath of fresh air in a gaming landscape dominated by photorealistic games that try to hard to look like live action movies. It takes of advantage of its medium to enhance and complement its story.

Tears of the Kingdom has proven to be quite the success for Nintendo. Within three days of its release, it had sold 10 million copies, becoming the fastest selling game in the long running franchise. Now the question remains, where does the franchise go from here? While a new mainline entry will most likely not be announced to for awhile, another side game has been revealed.

On June 18th, during one of its Directs, Nintendo revealed the next game in the franchise, The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom. This game would be done in the art style used in the 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening, which was more cartoonish and featured isometric gameplay.

The biggest change though is that Princess Zelda would be a playable character instead of Link. In this new game, Link is the one who needs rescuing. This is the first mainline entry in the series to star Zelda. Gameplay will also be different. Rather than action based gameplay built around weapons combat, the main action focuses on a wand Zelda wields.

This is a big change for the long running series, but it is a welcome one. It takes a similar formula, and presents a new twist on it that stays true to and respects the franchises’ roots. Puzzle solving appears to be a big focus on the gameplay this time around. Its visual style and scale, feels like a throwback to the smaller scale Zelda games that used to be released on Nintendo’s mobile console. Games such as Minish Cap, and the Oracle games were some of the biggest hits for Nintendo’s handheld systems in the days before the Switch. Going back to that style of game using the power of the Switch will be an interesting experiment.

The next entry starring Link will probably not be announced for awhile, but it will be interesting to see what direction Nintendo takes its long running hero in next. The Legend of Zelda franchise, and Link have been mainstays on Nintendo consoles since the original games release on the NES in the 80s.

Since the first game’s release, Link and the series have evolved, experimenting with side scrolling style gameplay in the second game, shifting to 3D in Ocarina of Time, and adding in sailing and vehicle mechanics in games such as Wind Waker. The industry has evolved greatly since Link’s first game, and is continuing to evolve now as new technology is developed. But there is also something comforting to The Legend of Zelda’s continued prominence. Just as Link is always there when Hyrule and Zelda need him, the franchise is always present in the gaming medium, always ready to step back in when the time is right.