The Captivating Saga of Zelda: Unveiling the Most Emotional Chapter Yet

Highlights

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom draws heavily from previous Zelda games, featuring classic enemies and familiar locations as a homage to the franchise's history.

The game retains Breath of the Wild's non-linear elements while blending traditional Zelda dungeon design with the Divine Beast format, staying true to the franchise's traditions.

Tears of the Kingdom surpasses past Zelda games with its time travel narrative, spanning the longest known period of time in the franchise. It boasts a story that crosses generations, making it difficult for future games to surpass.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom benefits from its long-standing franchise by incorporating familiar elements. As a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, it reintroduces classic enemies like Gleeoks, Gibdos, and even Ganondorf. The game also pays homage to past Zelda games with its retained locations and sky islands reminiscent of Skyward Sword.

However, the true essence of Tears of the Kingdom lies in its structure and story. It maintains the non-linear elements from Breath of the Wild, resembling the original NES Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past. Additionally, Tears incorporates classic dungeon design and the Divine Beast format. With Sage powers resembling traditional dungeon items, it is evident that the game remains faithful to the franchise's traditions. Yet, it goes beyond simply recalling old trends with one particular story element, making it an intense and memorable experience for years to come.

Time Travel Is A Regular Occurrence In Zelda Stories

Time travel has become a recurring theme in The Legend of Zelda series, particularly in the 3D mainline titles. Apart from The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, which had their own unique twists on the concept, time travel has played a significant role in the storytelling of these games. Ocarina of Time introduced limited time travel through the use of the Master Sword, while Majora's Mask revolved around a three-day time cycle. However, these were just the beginning.

In Skyward Sword, time travel is explored through the use of Timeshift Stones in the Lanayru region, allowing Link to experience pockets of a technologically-advanced past. There is also a time portal that takes Link back to the era when Demise was sealed. While Zelda herself enters stasis to wait for the time difference to pass, the extent of these time gaps remains unclear. Nevertheless, Skyward Sword stands as a significant example of time travel in the Zelda series. It was somewhat surprising, then, that Breath of the Wild only featured Link flashing back to his life a century earlier as its only form of time travel.

No Zelda Game Matches The Scope of Tears of the Kingdom's Time Travel

Tears of the Kingdom surpasses this by covering the longest time span in the Zelda franchise. Zelda goes back 10,000 years or more to the founding of Hyrule, where Ganondorf's role as the ultimate evil and recurring Calamity is established. As Zelda becomes an immortal, mindless dragon, her journey back to the future with the Master Sword begins.

Even with Skyward Sword stretching its story over hundreds or thousands of years, Tears of the Kingdom surpasses it. Princess Zelda experiences the entire time period, even if she is unaware or unaffected by it, which is a unique aspect in the series. While time travel is a tradition in The Legend of Zelda, it is unlikely that future games will match the expansive narrative of Tears of the Kingdom's age-spanning storyline.

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