Summary
WithThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomcompleting the story thatBreath of the Wildbegan, Nintendo has confirmed that the next entry in the series will be taking things in a different direction. This should ultimatelybe a good choice for theZeldafranchise, as it gives room for further innovation and creativity, not just in terms of narrative and thematic framing, but gameplay and world design.
Breath of the Wildbegins about 100 years after an event called the Second Great Calamity, a disastrous, apocalyptic event brought about by Calamity Ganon which effectively destroys the sprawling and thriving kingdom of Hyrule. This event and the subsequent years of recovery result in the post-apocalyptic version of Hyrule that players traverse inTears of the KingdomandBreath of the Wild, a country that is defined by its sparse population and modest towns and villages, all reclaimed by nature. This premise informs the environmental design, leading to two games that consist almost entirely of natural vistas and landscapes, with virtually no major cities and few friendly NPCs.
The Next Zelda Can Leave the Post-Apocalypse Behind
While post-Calamity Hyrule is a big part of what makeTOTKandBOTWsuch great games, the apocalyptic premise does result in some limitations. While olderZeldaentries were built around centers of civilization, often separated by a hub area such as Hyrule Field,the franchise’s previous two entries don’t offer those same sorts of areas, making series staples like Castle Town feel like things of the distant past. There’s nothing inherently bad about this, and some may even argue that the gorgeous and sprawling outdoor environments ofBOTWandTOTKare worth the loss of these bigger city centers filled with NPCs. Nevertheless, the series is positioned to tackle urban environments once again.
A Modern Zelda Game With More Civilization
Assuming that the nextZeldagame launches on the rumored Switch 2, there’s a lot of opportunity to reintroduce towns and cities to the franchise in an interesting way. The series has often attempted more urban environments with areas like Clock Town and Castle Town, but these have always been more representative in nature, rather than immersive and fleshed out. These cities ofZelda’s past are more like charming, well-designed backdrops, lacking in scope, size, depth, and interactivity.
But if the series is leaving the post-apocalyptic premise behind, it could leverage the hardware of Nintendo’s next console to make more detailed and diverse fantasy environments, maybe takinginspiration from a game likeBaldur’s Gate 3, offering a sprawling, multifaceted city to contrast its vast wilderness. With modern gaming technology, the suggested wealth, complexity, and influence of a city like Castle Town could be fully realized. Additionally, populating these areas with several NPCs, both in the form of believable crowds and individual characters with advice and quests to give, would be a great change of pace fromBOTWandTOTK, which are characterized by their lonely and meditative exploration, mostly bereft of friendly faces and advanced civilization.
Some have speculated thatZeldacould adopt a more futuristic setting with its next entry, taking some of the ideas presented by the Zonai inTOTKand fleshing them out into something of a blend between fantasy and science fiction.AZeldagame in a more high-tech worldmay require a heavier emphasis on urbanity and civilization, but even if the series were to return to the more typical high-fantasy backdrop found in entries likeTwilight PrincessandOcarina of Time, densely populated environments designed with modernity in mind would be a novel and exciting turn for the franchise. IfThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis the last post-apocalypticZeldagame for a while, then the series should seize the opportunity to make these design choices.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
WHERE TO PLAY
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to the beloved open-world adventure, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This installment once again sees Link and Zelda battling to protect Hyrule from falling to Ganondorf. This new adventure takes place in the same land of Hyrule as Breath of the Wild but sees something called the Upheaval, which allows link to travel to Sky Islands, as well as deep into the Depths beneath Hyrule. Players can use special abilities to fuse together weapons, and build items to help them progress through the release.
