Mind-Blowing Physics Revelation Unveiled by Dedicated Zelda Fan

Highlights

The gravity in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is nearly three times stronger than Earth's gravity, according to a Reddit user's experiment.

The advanced physics engine and building mechanics in Tears of the Kingdom have enabled players to carry out intricate experiments. Although the game often follows the laws of the universe, there are moments where physics are ignored for the purpose of enhancing gameplay, such as avoiding fall damage by jumping into water.

A curious player recently made a fascinating discovery about the gravity in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Surprisingly, the game's gravity is almost three times stronger than that of Earth. This revelation generated a wide range of reactions within the fandom, from astonishment to wild speculation.

Despite the limitations of the aging console, Nintendo managed to incorporate their most advanced physics engine into Tears of the Kingdom. Coupled with the game's impressive building mechanics, players have been eagerly conducting intricate experiments with the game's engine ever since its release as a popular exclusive for the Switch.

Reddit user JukedHimOuttaSocks conducted a scientific experiment to determine the gravitational acceleration in Hyrule. They found that it equals 28.2 meters (92.52 feet) per second squared, which is nearly three times stronger than Earth's gravity of 9.8m/s². To reach this result, the fan recorded footage of Link falling from a height of 60 meters and analyzed the change in the minimap's Z coordinate frame by frame. This approach is similar to another player's calculation of breaking the sound barrier with Tears of the Kingdom Link launcher. The author of this experiment acknowledged that the minimap coordinates may not be expressed in meters, but they justified their assumption by comparing Link's height next to a four-unit beam. This revealed that Link is 1.75 units tall, equivalent to 5"9 if the units are meters. Based on this reasoning, the fan concluded that there is little doubt that the minimap coordinates are expressed in meters.

It is highly unlikely that Nintendo chose this newly measured gravitational acceleration for any reason other than enhancing the fun gameplay experience of Tears of the Kingdom. However, some players couldn't help but speculate further upon this discovery. Some theorized that the planet where Hyrule is situated either has an exceptionally high density or is significantly larger than Earth. Expanding on the latter theory, one fan even calculated that the fictional planet's diameter is 2.9 times greater than that of Earth, assuming the same density.

While the game's mechanics adhere to the established laws of the universe in some areas, Tears of the Kingdom willingly disregards physics for the sake of enjoyable gameplay. One prominent example of this design philosophy is the fact that players can avoid fall damage from great heights by diving into water, despite the fact that, in reality, such an impact would likely prove fatal due to the immense deceleration forces experienced by the body.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on Nintendo Switch.