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"The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom": New gameplay and new Nintendo Switch design unveiled

28.3.2023

Translation: machine translated

Nintendo finally shows new gameplay footage of "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom". It's quite something. A Nintendo Switch in the "Tears of the Kingdom" design was also announced.

So far, Nintendo has held back with information on "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom". Since the official announcement at E3 2019, there have only been two teasers and two trailers with short gameplay snippets.

Nearly six weeks before launch, Nintendo is serving hungry fans a tasty morsel. "Zelda" producer Eiji Aonuma presents numerous new features and gameplay elements from the game in a ten-minute video. He also confirms that development of the game is complete. So nothing stands in the way of the launch on 12 May.

Video games

Nintendo The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Switch, Switch Lite, Switch OLED, DE, IT, FR, EN

This is particularly striking

In contrast to the previously released trailers, the video with Eiji Aonuma shows real, uncut gameplay. Many previously hinted at gameplay elements and new features are presented in detail in the video

Five points stand out to me in particular.

"Tears of the Kingdom" is huge

Hyrule has changed a lot since Link's adventures in "Breath of the Wild". Even if you know the predecessor well, you will find many surprises and changes on the updated map, according to Aonuma.

New are the "Sky Islands", which float above the kingdom of Hyrule. The flying rocks expand the map and offer completely new locations and enemies. The flora and fauna of the islands also differ significantly from Hyrule.

The «Sky Islands» are a welcome innovation.
Source: Nintendo

The islands are sometimes much more colourful than Hyrule.
Source: Nintendo

You can jump down from the floating islands at any time. There are no loading times. Jumping down gives you a sense of how huge the world in Tears of the Kingdom really is. I hope that the aging Switch hardware can cope with such a huge game world. In any case, there are no frame rate drops or stutters to be seen in the video.

«Breath of the Wild» was already huge. With the floating islands and potentially new areas on the ground, «Tears of the Kingdom» is even bigger.
Source: Nintendo

Turning back time made easy

Link can reach the "Sky Islands" with his new "Recall" ability. He uses this power to turn back the time of certain game objects. Huge boulders keep falling from the sky. In the video, Link climbs onto one of these boulders and activates the "Recall" ability. The rock is transported back to the sky together with Link.

Hopefully one of these boulders won't fall on my head.
Source: Nintendo

Rather handy: Link uses his new ability to use fallen rocks as a lift to the Sky Islands.
Source: Nintendo

It is not yet known whether other objects can also be manipulated with the new ability. However, past trailers have already hinted that Link will also use the ability in battle.

The "Fuse" ability is a real game changer

In "Tears of the Kingdom", Link is no longer reliant on ready-made weapons. With the new "Fuse" ability, he combines various objects to create new weapons. In the video, Link uses a tree branch and a rock to make a hammer.

Tadaaa! It's so easy to make a hammer.
Source: Nintendo

Not only objects, but also weapons can be fused together. In the video, Link makes a long weapon from a pitchfork and a baton.

With this long weapon, Link can easily beat up monsters from a distance.
Source: Nintendo

Arrows can also be combined with various objects. Link combines a monster eyeball with an arrow. The result: He only shoots approximately in the direction of the target and the arrow automatically follows it.

Combine collected resources with weapons? Ingenious!
Source: Nintendo

Even if your aim is poor, you can still hit your target with the eye arrow.
Source: Nintendo

The "Fuse" ability is also useful in defence. Link combines an exploding mushroom with his shield. If an opponent attacks him, the mushroom explodes and a thick cloud of smoke is created. Link can reposition himself, sneak up and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

A mushroom on the shield looks funny, but is quite practical.
Source: Nintendo

A sneak attack - made possible by the new Fuse ability.
Source: Nintendo

The new ability is a real game changer and a perfect complement to the physics-based sandbox gameplay of its predecessor. As I watch, dozens of crazy combinations spontaneously pop into my head.

Can I combine a sword with a red Chuchu-Jelly and make a flaming sword? What happens if I stick a bomb to my weapon? Can I fly if I cross monster wings with my shield? The possible combinations are almost endless.

And yes, the weapons in "Tears of the Kingdom" also break with increasing use. Thanks to the new combination options, this limitation will restrict you less than in its predecessor. Your hammer is broken? No problem, make yourself a new one. Or invent a completely new weapon.

Build your own vehicle

With the "Ultrahand", Link can also build vehicles. In the video, he puts together a boat. It consists of three tree trunks and two fans. Link will also build cars and aeroplanes in the course of his adventure. The numerous vehicles have already been hinted at in previous trailers.

The boat allows Link to cross large bodies of water with ease.
Source: Nintendo

Clever players have already put together crazy vehicles in "Breath of the Wild" using the available objects and abilities, even though this was not officially possible. I can't wait to see what wacky vehicles the "Zelda" community will create with the new tools.

By the way, Link no longer controls the Ultra Hand ability and other powers with the Sheika Stone. Instead, he uses his right hand. Why Link has these abilities and why his arm is completely black is still unknown.

Link can jump through the ceiling

Another new ability is "Ascend". This allows Link to jump through ceilings and roofs. The ability can be used on almost all ceilings. In the video, Link jumps through a metre-high cave ceiling and emerges unscathed at the top of a hill. This ability has also been hinted at in previous trailers. Link no longer has to climb up walls to get to the top of mountains or high buildings.

This is what the inside of a rock face looks like.
Source: Nintendo

"Ascend" is a nice addition to Link's repertoire of moves. It makes the blonde hero more agile and flexible than ever before. With such a huge open world, I'm glad for every new transport ability.

New and familiar creatures

The gameplay presentation also featured some new enemies. On the "Sky Islands", Link fights against so-called "Constructs". They are visually reminiscent of the Guardians from "Breath of the Wild".

The new Constructs actually look pretty cute. But they are still deadly.
Source: Nintendo

A giant dragon can be seen in the distance at two points in the video. It is not yet known whether these are the snake-like creatures from "Breath of the Wild".

A giant dragon can be seen at the top left of the image. It looks even bigger than the dragons in «Breath of the Wild».
Source: Nintendo

Also new is a bat-like figure that appears to be transporting a Bokoblin. The flying creature can be seen in the sky above Hyrule.

The giant bat (?) flies its rounds at the top left of the picture.
Source: Nintendo

Surprise before the launch

Somewhat surprisingly, Nintendo announces a new Switch OLED model in the "Tears of the Kingdom" design at the end of the video. The console should be available before the launch of the game on 28 April.