It has been a couple of years sinceThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomhit shelves, and while theZeldaIP has continued pumping out games, like withEchoes of Wisdomand the upcomingHyrule Warriors: The Imprisoning War, there hasn’t been word on the following main title in the series. With the Wilds era’s placement in the main timeline being up for debate and seemingly having a separate history, it makes sense for Nintendo to stick with this period and complete the era with a trilogy. It could make a trilogy ofHyrule Warriorsgames, too.
After theending ofTears of the Kingdom, Hyrule is left in an interesting place players rarely see.Zeldagames aren’t known for direct sequels, with there usually being a new Link and Princess for a new game.There are a few examples of a direct sequel, likePhantom Hourglass’ssequel toWind WakerandMajora’s MaskfollowingOcarina of Time, and even fewer instances of a trilogy. A third game would face a few challenges based on whereTotKleft it, but tackling them could make it special.
Tears Of The Kingdom’s Sequel Can Make Zelda The Queen
It Could Explore The Struggles Of Ruling A Recovering Kingdom
Despite seeing it in flashbacks, neitherBreath of the WildnorTears of the Kingdomhas allowed players to explore Hyrule as a proper, functioning kingdom. It will still be recovering after the calamitous events ofGanon and Ganondorf, butZelda is now in place as a proper monarch, provided she doesn’t get whisked away again. While still referred to as Princess Zelda by the new Sages, she is effectively the Queen, and the third game acknowledging this could set it apart from any otherZeldagame that has come before.
Ganon and Ganondorf are reincarnations of Demise, who began the cycle inSkyward Sword.
A third title in the Wilds era could play it safe and make Zelda vanish for a third time, but that would feel like a cop out considering how much people like this version of the Princess and the pseudo-companion system shown inTotKwith the astral projection of the other sages.Having Zelda be around as a companion, like at the start ofTotK,but throughout the game, would deliver on something people have asked for sinceBotW. This way, players can first-hand see Zelda’s struggles with being a ruler after everything the kingdom has suffered.
Previous games had Zelda as a ruling monarch, but this wasn’t ever expanded upon, given the state she was usually in.TakeTwilight Princess,for instance, where it wasassumed Zelda acted as the kingdom’s Queen (although still called a princess) until she was held prisoner by the forces of Twilight. Zelda is still the functioning monarch of Hyrule, but by the time she can get back to ruling the kingdom, Link has stabbed Ganondorf through the chest, and the game is over, with players unable to see the kingdom they have been fighting for.
The Third Wilds Game Can Introduce A Brand New Villain
Or Go Back And Reinterpret Some Old Ones
With Hyrule acting as a functioning kingdom and Zelda as a queen in all but name, the villains could have less to do with ancient evils andmore with an invading force from another kingdom or some other realm. With bothGanon and Ganondorf already being used, Nintendo will have to dig into its well of more obscure villains. Perhaps bringing back Lorule and Princess Hilda as counterparts to Hyrule and Zelda makes it the ideal foreign force looking to conquer the kingdom now that its biggest threats have been taken care of.
Then again, Nintendo could make an original villain an invading force, since Zant fromTwilight Princessand Majora fromMajora’s Maskare both great antagonists despite only being used once.An original villain would be a nice change of pace and would test Zelda as a ruler, rather than having her vanish for the sake of the plot. She could be in Hyrule Castle, issuing orders and organizing Hyrule’s defenses while Link is sent on missions to undermine the enemy’s efforts from behind the scenes. After everything Link has done, he’s practically a one-man army anyway.
Zant usurped the throne of the Twilight Realm from Midna, becoming the realm’s king and invading Hyrule.
BothTears of the KingdomandBreath of the Wildhave innovatedfor the series, giving it an open world and letting players create potentially horrifying machine monstrosities. It does feel like a sequel could innovate more on the story side,giving players a look at a functioning Hyrule that isn’t being torn apart by another apocalyptic event. Maybe it’s more about maintaining what Link and Zelda have managed to build together afterTotKfrom an external force looking to conquer the kingdom. Or, maybe it’s about exploring new lands in search of something to help Hyrule heal.
Hyrule Can Shine More In A Third Wilds Game
Castle Town Can Be More Than Just Ruins
With the morepowerful Nintendo Switch 2, the next Zelda could go even denser, rebuilding Hyrule Castle and Castle Town in all its glory and having that act as a central hub. While Lookout Landing was an adequate hub that made sense given the context ofTotK,it does feel like a sequel could go bigger with its settlements, especially with the extra beef of the Switch 2. Considering how massiveTotKis on the Switch, it feels like density is probably the better option rather than sheer size, just because of how long it would take to get around.
Having Hyrule Castle in all its glory as a place to come back to and maybe defend from time to time would be amazing to see, especially considering the scale of the place
Having Hyrule Castle in all its glory as a place to come back to and maybe defend from time to time would be amazing to see, especially considering the scale of the place in the previous games. It’s already massive, andfilling it with active NPCs, and maybe having the place customizable in some ways to help Link on his journey, would make a revisit worthwhile.Hyrule Castle in the Zelda seriesusually serves as a massive dungeon most of the time, so seeing it as the home of royalty would be a way to make the game unique in such a storied series.
It will be interesting to see where Nintendo goes with a sequel, considering thatThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomdidn’t go in the direction many thought it would. Fusing weapons and creating machines that can fly to the stars (or commit war crimes against Koroks) was certainly an inventive take inspired by the glitches and physics exploits ofBotW. Who knows where the developer will find inspiration again, but it will likely innovate just like before, although I hope that innovation involves making Zelda Queen of Hyrule.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the anticipated follow-up to Breath of the Wild, released in 2017. A rare occurrence in Zelda titles, Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel instead of loosely connected. In Tears of the Kingdom, Link will take to the skies and learn about a mysterious kingdom in the clouds.
