Like previous games in the series,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis no stranger to secrets. The game shares a vast open world withBreath of the Wild, but the addition of Sky Islands and The Depths givesThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomeven more areas to explore.
Players can spend hundreds of hours enjoying the game’s content, enjoying the main story experience and uncovering the mysteries of Hyrule.Tears of the Kingdomis full of small detailsfor eagle-eyed players to pick up on. Because the game is so full of content, though, there are many things that players could have missed during their playthroughs.
Tears of the Kingdom Is Home to Some Obscure Details
Link is Canonically Nosy
The Legend of Zeldais full of interesting side characters and stories, making the world seem more real and enhancing the player’s immersion.Tears of the Kingdomis no different, offering players an insight into the day-to-day lives of Hyrule’s inhabitants. The world ofTears of the Kingdomfeels lived in, showing how the characters’ lives have moved forward in the years sinceBreath of the Wild.Fans ofThe Legend of Zelda’s lorecan get a lot out of these mini-stories across both titles, zooming in on the characters of Hyrule who can be easily overlooked. It’s not uncommon for players to want to scan every item they can and hear every line of dialogue, and while this is a fully player-driven choice,Tears of the Kingdomestablishes this as part of its canon.
Some players may miss hints that, in-universe, Link is nosy, with many characters calling him out on it. InBreath of the Wild, Purah threatens to delete the runes from Link’s Sheikah Slate if he reads her diary.Tears of the Kingdomfollows this up by havingPurah split her diary into four volumesto stop “a nosy someone” from reading it fully, which could be referring to Link. Considering that Zelda also keeps a generic diary in Link’s house to keep him away from her personal diary in the well, it’s safe to say that the player’s snooping behavior is canon.
Korok Continuity
To the delight of some and the dismay of others, Koroks are an important part of the open worldZeldatitles, giving the playersKorok Seedsto expand their inventory space after assisting them. The puzzles they are involved in vary from target practice to reuniting two friends, breaking up the pace ofTears of the Kingdom’s standard puzzles and boss fights.
One of the Korok puzzle types inBreath of the Wildrequires players to launch boulders in any way they like to reach a small crater in the ground.Tears of the Kingdominverts these puzzles, having players take a boulder from a location to place on a nearby tree-like tripod. What players may not know, though, is that the initial locations of theseboulders inTears of the Kingdomare the exact same place as where players left them inBreath of the Wild, offering a sense of continuity and making the player feel like they had an impact on the game’s world.
The Shrine and Lightroot Connection
Shrines have become a major component of the open-worldZeldaformula. While the Ancient Sheikah Shrines cannot be found inTears of the Kingdomas they were confirmed to have turned to dust in aZelda Notes Voice Memory, they are replaced with the Shrines of Light. These are similar, tasking players with completing puzzles and using the game’s new mechanics to their fullest extent. The Shrines are a great way for players to put their skills to the test between the major Temples.
The Shrines hold a secret relating to The Depths, and it is one that many players may not notice. The Depths are essentially an inverse of Hyrule’s overworld. Directly below the game’s sprawling mountains are valleys and pits in The Depths. Where there are open bodies of water in Hyrule,The Depths present players with walls and Gloomto halt their progress. What makes this connection most clear, though, are the Lightroots, which mark the base of each of the game’s Shrines. The Lightroots are given names which are identical to their respective Shrine of Light’s name read backwards.
TOTK’s Zonai Devices Have Secrets of Their Own
Increased Firepower
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomwas released late into the original Switch’s lifespan, but was graced with an upgrade for Switch 2, alongsideBreath of the Wild. This improved version of the game grants players a wide range of benefits, such as improved resolution and HDR support, as well as the new Voice Memories feature.ForZeldafans, the Switch 2 upgrade is immediately worth it, giving players an improved experience and a reason to step back into Hyrule.
Another improvement made to the Switch 2 Edition ofTears of the Kingdomis its enhanced frame rate, boasting a stable 60 FPS throughout the whole game. This is a great bonus for players, but it also grants another benefit that many may not be aware of.Tears of the Kingdomgives players the freedom to make all kinds of structures with its Zonai Devices, one of these being the Beam Emitter. They can be used to make pulse lasers, with the rate of fire being tied to the game’s frame rate. Since the Switch 2 Edition improves the frame rate, players can take advantage of this to create a rapid-firingZonai pulse laser inTears of the Kingdom.
Physics Phenomena
The tools available toTears of the Kingdomplayers looking to create their own machines in-game are nearly limitless. The contraptions that some players have engineered show an immense display of creativity. These Zonai structures take a lot of time and effort to design initially, but thanks to theSwitch 2 Edition’s Autobuild sharing feature, all players are able to make use of these designs throughout their gameplay.Tears of the Kingdomnever requires the player to create elaborate contraptions, but many players take it upon themselves to test the bounds of these mechanics. SomeTears of the Kingdomcontraptions are strange, others make the toughest bosses trivial, but all are equally technical thanks to the game’s physics working as a sandbox for experimentation.
One feature that many players may have missed, though, is howTears of the Kingdomobeys the laws of physics. Particularly, Zonai devices with rotating features conserve their angular momentum, resulting in an increase in rotational velocity as the distribution of mass draws closer to the axis of rotation. Not only does this feature add some elements of realism toTears of the Kingdom, but it also gives players more opportunities to toy with the game’s systems in new and interesting ways.
Some TOTK Item Properties Are Easy To Overlook
Meat Shield
The world ofThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis massive. From its distant mountain peaks to the smallest of lakes, this game’s iteration of Hyrule gives players plenty to explore. TheZeldaseries has offered players plenty of ways to traverse these vast landscapes, fromLink’s trusty steed Eponato boats like the King of Red Lions and the SS Linebeck.Tears of the Kingdomtakes this a step further, giving players the option to craft land, sea, and air-based vehicles to explore the open world more efficiently. However, there is one more method of transport that is not as well-known.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildintroduced the Shield Surfing mechanic, allowing Link to ride his shield over the game’s rolling hills. InTears of the Kingdom, players are given the option to fuse items onto their shield, giving it unique properties in combat. Fusing can also make Shield Surfing more effective, however. By usingTears of the Kingdom’s Icy Meatwith their shield, players are able to freely glide across the plains of Hyrule without friction, granting high-speed movement and the ability to Shield Surf across flatter surfaces smoothly.
Lowered Hood
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomboth deviate from Link’s classic look. Each of the past games has given Link a variant of his iconic green tunic, and it has been a staple of his character design since his debut. Similar outfits can be found and equipped asarmor sets inTears of the Kingdom, but the default look for the hero in these open-world titles is unlike any that came before, with him donning a blue tunic as a gift from the royal family.
Tears of the Kingdomtweaks the design of this outfit from the previous game, fitting the tunic with a leather shoulder guard and completing the outfit with a Hylian Hood. In promotional material and theLinkTears of the Kingdomamiibo, his hood is down, but when players acquire the item in game, it is over the protagonist’s head. Some players might not know that this can be altered by Cece, giving players the option to wear the Hylian Hood both ways. Unfortunately, there are no variants of any other armor pieces like this, but this is a nice addition to let players more closely resemble Link’s default look from the game’s box art.
