I Haven’t Played “Breath Of The Wild”, But I Want To Play “Tears Of The Kingdom”…What Should I Know?

The upcoming adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to the 2017 game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It features Link and Zelda once again called upon to save a Hyrule still recovering from an event called “The Calamity.” Trailers for Tears of the Kingdom indicate that it will feature the revival of Link’s longtime enemy Ganondorf and an investigation into the mysteries of a long-lost civilization.

Many players who did not play Breath of the Wild are interested in checking out Tears, whether due to its vast open world or Link’s unique new crafting abilities. Because Breath of the Wild is a lengthy game, if you are one of these players, you might not have the time or inclination to play the original before Tears releases on May 12. This guide serves as a brief introduction to a few major plot, lore, and gameplay points from Breath of the Wild that you should know before checking out Tears of the Kingdom.

Link Allies With The Four New Champions

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Breath of the Wild begins with Link waking up having lost most of his memories after sleeping for 100 years. In the past, he fought alongside four Champions – Mipha the Zora, Daruk the Goron, Revali the Rito, and Urbosa the Gerudo – who piloted robot-like vehicles called the Divine Beasts. Unfortunately, all four of the Champions perished during Link’s 100-year sleep, and the Divine Beasts have gone berserk as a result of the Calamity’s corruption.

In the process of reclaiming the Divine Beasts, Link meets four new allies collectively known as the “New Champions” by fans. Riju, the young Gerudo chieftain, helps Link defeat Vah Naboris. Teba the Rito warrior uses his flying abilities to help Link reach the winged divine beast, Vah Medoh. Yunobo, a cowardly young Goron, gains confidence as he aids Link in taking down the fiery Vah Rudania. And Sidon, Prince of the Zora, allies with Link to calm Vah Ruta in memory of his lost older sister Mipha. The New Champions played a prominent role in Breath of the Wild and later all became playable characters in musou-style spinoff Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

Two of the four New Champions, Sidon and Riju, have appeared in trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, fighting alongside Link. Yunobo has not appeared, meaning his status is unclear, although the Goron race will likely have a representative of some kind. Teba, on the other hand, seems to have passed away or retired, and is replaced as the New Rito Champion by his son, Tulin. These characters will likely play a key role throughout the game’s story, and may even have a connection to the titular mystical artifacts.

Ganon’s Human Form Has Been MIA

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Throughout the Legend of Zelda games, recurring enemy Ganon/Ganondorf has primarily appeared in two forms – the humanoid Gerudo Ganondorf, and the demonic, boar-like beast Ganon. Breath of the Wild was particularly unique because only the latter form appeared: “Calamity Ganon,” the demon who was responsible for the destruction of Hyrule, Link’s long sleep, and the deaths of the Champions. He also had the ability to split himself into or create less powerful “Blight Ganon” forms, known as Waterblight, Windblight, Fireblight, and Thunderblight Ganon.

However, the human form of Ganon, Ganondorf, is back with a vengeance in Tears of the Kingdom. He is a member of the Gerudo tribe, one of the rare males born to the otherwise all-female race. The trailers seem to hint that Link and Zelda will encounter a weakened version of Ganondorf in the depths beneath Hyrule Castle, but Ganondorf then manages to restore himself to life using the power of the titular Tears of the Kingdom. Whether Ganondorf’s “Calamity Ganon” form or his Blight mini-forms, all of which were defeated by Link in Breath of the Wild, has not yet been confirmed.

Link Previously Used Sheikah Slate Runes

In Breath of the Wild, Link gained his powers by activating runes attached to a device called the Sheikah Slate, which was developed by researchers from the Sheikah tribe. His powers included Magnesis, which let him manipulate metal objects, Cryonis, which let him freeze water, Stasis, which let him temporarily freeze time, and both round and cubic-shaped Remote Bombs. There was also a Camera Rune that served as the game’s photo mode, but also let Link fill out the Hyrule Compendium by taking pictures of various weapons, armor, and items found around the world.

In Tears of the Kingdom, it seems that Link’s original Sheikah Slate powers have been somehow lost. Instead, Link has an artificial right arm, which grants him abilities that may come from the ancient civilization associated with the newly formed “Sky Islands” above Hyrule. Four abilities were shown off in a gameplay livestream. Recall allows Link to temporarily rewind time, for example letting him ride a reversed falling rock back up to the Sky Islands. Fuse combines multiple items together to make more powerful weapons, while Ultrahand moves and “glues” together larger objects to create boats, “cars,” and other vehicles. Ascend gives the player more options for traveling around Hyrule by allowing Link to “swim” through the roofs of caves and other surfaces.

So far, the trailers have not explained exactly why Link loses his Sheikah Slate powers, nor how he receives the prosthetic arm and its associated skills. However, it seems essentially confirmed at this point that the Slate’s runes will not appear in Tears of the Kingdom – except possibly Camera, as the game could definitely have a photo mode of some kind – and have been replaced with the powers from Link’s arm.

This is just a small taste of everything Breath of the Wild has to offer, but these key points will help any player who is trying out Tears of the Kingdom without having played the first game. However, if you are someone who is playing Breath of the Wild, whether for the first or the 100th time, you can check out GameLuster’s helpful guides on how to dye armor, get the Master Sword, build your own home, and more!

Are you looking forward to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? Will this be your first Zelda game, or are you a longtime fan of the series? Comment below and let us know!

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