Let’s analyze this Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom trailer

Yesterday we were all treated to a new trailer announcing the name of Nintendo’s upcoming Legend of Zelda sequel.

Along with finally revealing its name – Tears of the Kingdom – we also got some new footage. And where there’s new footage, you can be sure Eurogamer’s Ed Nightingale and I won’t be far behind with our theories on what it all means for the next installment in the Zelda series.

So we’ve teamed up to share our thoughts on this new trailer below – and to discuss the little things you might have missed on a first run. Without further ado, let’s get inside.

Victoria: Hello Ed, my Zelda-nerd friend. Are you ready to explain why The Legend of Zelda Hy-rules and help break down this new teaser for the Breath of the Wild sequel?

Ed: I’m not sure I’ll be ready one day, but let’s parachute. What did you think of yesterday’s trailer?

Victoria: First of all, “skydive in” just made me laugh out loud! Secondly, I think this trailer tells us a lot more than it seems. These carvings/murals at the start seem to tell a lot of the potential story.

The ethereal long-eared figure surrounded by symbols (representing the wise, perhaps) reminded me of the horse-like creature you can encounter on the hill in Breath of the Wild, but I can’t remember its name … the one who meets all the Blupees.

Additionally, the army of moblins and bokoblins lead the charge above what looks like a sculpture of malevolence. Something big has clearly happened – did you notice that the malevolence soldiers were clearly dead? I wonder if they are members of the mysterious Zonai tribe.

Ed: The Lord of the Mountain! (RIP Iwata.) Yeah, I think the carvings are really important here. I love that it references similar sculpts for Breath of the Wild that told the story. I think the long-eared figure is key though. Who are they, I’m not sure. Holding hands with the other character, presumably Zelda, suggests it could be the goddess Hylia? Or a new character?

Anyway, they are surrounded by seven objects, probably the titular tears. And every time there are seven of something, we know what that means: dungeons!

Victoria: He’s the guy, thanks! I assumed that this mysterious figure is the character that holds Ganon in place in the depths of Hyrule.

And seven dungeons! I hadn’t thought of that, but now I feel silly because of course! I also wondered if this female figure was Zelda, or at least a past incarnation of Zelda. On the princess, in the first trailer we saw for this sequel, she had her hair cut, which leads me to think there’s going to be time travel of some description here. I’m also thinking of this because of what Link (or… Links plural?!) is wearing in the trailer, but I’ll get to that later – there’s so much to talk about!

My guess is that the figure we see falling from the sky on these murals is Ganon from the first trailer – the way the body is positioned on the sculpture resembles the way he lay in these mysterious caverns during the first reveal . Do you want to see more dungeons this time around?

Ed: I definitely want to see more dungeons. This was the only thing I missed in Breath of the Wild – Puzzles! Bosses! Iconic places! – so I’d like to see a return to that classic Zelda but in the context of a fully open world. I would also love to see playable Zelda and this incarnation of her is so loved that now is the time to do it. I still hope it can happen, even though we haven’t seen it. I’ve also seen rumors that the blonde character with longer hair might be a reincarnation of Ganondorf, which is absolutely wild to me.

Victoria: I also still have hope for playable Zelda – I have a theory that we could play with her using her scholarly knowledge to solve puzzles in the caverns beneath Hyrule (the ones she fell into in the first trailer) to come back to the surface, but that’s probably a conversation for another day.

Ed: What do you think of those little green canisters on Link’s hip? They seem to be very prominent in artwork and gameplay.

Victoria:I had to go back and watch this track in slow motion as my mind assumed it was the Sheikah Slate on the first watch, but I was wrong!

I wonder if they will be related (pun unintentionally) to Link’s various runic abilities as he no longer has the slate. Perhaps they are a physical representation of his “magic meter” as we have seen in other games?

The flasks also add to my time travel theory. The first link we see is in her outfit which looks a lot like her Breath of the Wild look except for her right arm. However, there is another character model for Link, the one we’ve seen in previous trailers, where he’s dressed in a more “primitive” style…and I couldn’t see those flasks (unless ‘they are hidden behind his axe-like weapon, which also has an archaic design). What do you think?

Ed: Judging by the color scheme, I think these flasks/canisters are almost certainly related to her new abilities. I love the idea of ​​the Reverse Time Reverse Stasis ability, especially as a way to reach the sky. I hope it will be used in interesting puzzles.

And there are certainly several links in the works. Is it real time travel? Are they different characters? Are these flashback sequences or additional memories? I can’t wait to find out.

Victoria: I wonder if this Stasis-rock-stairway-to-heven situation will be specific to certain rock types in Hyrule. The design of the one shown in the trailer looked like a waterfall from one of those sky islands, it was too angular to be just a random rock.

Ed: What do you think of the bird glider? What happened to the Loftwings? Or paragliding?

Victoria: Do you really want to know where my nerdy geek brain went? ! Ok, I’m sure it’s 100% not what happened, but the Star Wars fan in me said “Huh, I wonder if that glider is a Loftwing that’s been frozen in some kind of Hylian carbonite, kind of like Han Solo in The Empire vs. -offensive.” What did you think? Also, have you spotted this dragon?

Ed: I wonder if it’s summonable, or even if it’s the only one? Maybe there are several gliders hovering in the sky to land on, or maybe there is only one but its path can be traced? However, I am afraid that I will miss the freedom that paragliding offers. Nintendo mentioned in a press release “the latest entry in the Legend of Zelda series will take you to the skies and into an expanded world beyond,” so I’m very intrigued to see exactly where we end up going.

And yes, that dragon in the distance – that’s clearly a major motif here. Which brings us to the logo and the name: do you like it?

Victoria: Dragons are definitely important to this game, they could also be seen adorning the gates to the shrine area (?) We saw Link first emerge after the images in the murals. They have a certain Zonai look.

As for the name, do we both agree that it is ‘tears’ as in tears and not ‘tears’ as in a tear and share focaccia, because I ‘ve seen some fight over the latter…

Ed: To quote a meme: why not both? I hope Link collects tears in the dungeons. The kingdom might be in tears over tragedy, but it has also been torn apart. It doesn’t quite ring a bell for me yet, but I’m sure it will come in time.

In summary, are you excited to play Tears of the Kingdom?

Victoria: Didn’t he collect tears in Skyward Sword? Let me verify. Yes, they were in the Sacred Realms. Well, Victoria, it’s almost like the show is tied together! Also, the symbol of the Sheikah is an eye with a tear, so I wonder if there will be something to explain that.

In closing, I’m incredibly excited about this Zelda release! I love this series and give it credit for being one of the main franchises that made me fall in love with gaming. However, I’m still a bit concerned about the similarities between the trailers so far and Skyward Sword, which is one of the lesser Zelda entries in my opinion. I was more excited about the very first match that was giving off Majora’s Mask vibes, and hopefully the energy is still there too.

Also, mischief in Death Mountain! I feel like this version of Hyrule is literally bubbling under Ganon’s pressure. What do you think?

Ed: Well, with all this nastiness, I’m still hoping for a twisted and more horrifying vision beneath the utopia of the sky. I have incredibly high hopes for Tears of the Kingdom, which this cat does nothing to deter. If anything, it made me want to play Breath of the Wild again. Excuse me while I pick up my Switch.

Victoria: Ed? Ed? ! Are you here? Ahhh, I lost it to Zelda. The story of my life!