“Tears of the Kingdom” Trailer[s] Analysis

Ever since “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” was released to the public on March 3rd, 2017, fans have been eagerly awaiting the next installment in Link’s journey. Having sold 27.79 million copies on the Nintendo Switch, “Breath of the Wild” was a revolutionary game for the “Legend of Zelda” franchise and Nintendo itself.

After six long years of waiting, fans finally have a solid release date for the sequel to “Breath of the Wild” – it is called “Tears of the Kingdom,” and it will be released on May 12th, 2023. There are multiple short trailers out for this game as of January 2023, and fans are piecing together potential storylines and new features one trailer at a time.

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After heavy analysis and many playbacks of all the trailers, here are the key takeaways thus far:

Link’s Arm

The prosthetic-looking device on Link’s arm is shown a couple of times throughout the trailers. While we don’t know exactly what it is or what it means just yet, we can see a red mist floating around Link’s real arm at one point, and then it is an artificial arm the next.

I’m sure it has something to do with Ganon, like most other things. There are also strange new symbols on Link’s skin around this new arm device that we don’t know anything about at this point.

Zelda Got A Haircut!

When the first trailer showing Zelda’s new look came out, the internet practically exploded. We have never seen short-hair Zelda before! I have some other theories regarding Zelda’s character in this game, however.

I suspect that the distorted voice that whispers what sounds like nonsense throughout some of the trailers is Zelda trying to communicate with Link as she did in “Breath of the Wild,” but Ganon is stopping her voice from being heard clearly.

At one point we watch Zelda fall down into a dark abyss, so maybe she is trying to speak to Link from there!

New Sheikah Slate Abilities

The Sheikah Slate was a huge part of the first game, and it appears that we will get new abilities on the device in the sequel. We watch Link control levitating rocks, teleport through solid rock, and a huge piece of metal fly through the air that may be linked to the Slate.

Link is also seen flying, so maybe that is controlled by the Sheikah Slate as well – time will tell!

Gameplay On Land – And In The Sky

Gameplay on land – and in the sky. Game producer Eiji Aonuma heavily emphasized in his trailer introduction that this game goes beyond the land of Hyrule and into the sky.

There are land masses hovering in the sky throughout the map, which makes it clear why Link needs to be able to fly. Even Hyrule castle is seen floating, which could make it harder to reach.

An Overall Dark Tone

This game seems to be much darker and more sinister than its predecessor. At one point we see what looks like Ganon’s corpse come back to life, and it actually creeped me out. This game may be more of a horror game than any of the other games in the franchise.

No matter what direction Nintendo decides to take with this game, Zelda fans will be happy. I think the excitement and hype for this game will make it enjoyable no matter what it turns out to be.

That being said, it genuinely looks like it is going to be a fantastic game and I cannot wait for May 12th!

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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is coming to Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.