The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom comes out on Friday after years of waiting. Although there are plenty of people who prepared for its release by playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – or replaying it – there are still a lot of people who missed the first game for some reason. Many people got the Nintendo Switch, perhaps their first modern game console, during the COVID-19 pandemic; tears of the kingdom may be many people’s first Zelda game.
If this is you, you may be wondering: Do I need play breath of the wild before diving into tears of the kingdom?
should i play breath of the wild Before tears of the kingdom?
it can be fun to play breath of the wild Before tears of the kingdom, but it is not necessary. In fact, play breath of the wild and head straight for tears of the kingdom may affect your experience of the new game. tears of the kingdom is the sequel to breath of the wildso it’s not a standalone game — it picks up shortly after breath of the wild in a modified (and expanded) Hyrule.
tears of the kingdom can be considered as an iteration on breath of the wild; some would say it is a final version of the concept released by Nintendo in 2017. There is a similarity between breath of the wild And tears of the kingdom; the controls are similar but expanded with new capabilities. Hyrule has also changed, but the gist remains the same. The characters overlap, with their stories of breath of the wild slip into tears of the kingdom.
Polygon Guides writer Johnny Yu said that playing breath of the wild so close tears of the kingdom could limit the way you play tears of the kingdom; you might get used to it too much breath of the wildhis abilities. tears of the kingdom might feel like breath of the wild DLC rather than a new game. Polygon Reviews editor Mike Mahardy agreed, but added that if you have cheek breath of the wild“you will appreciate how [Nintendo] transformed Hyrule further and changed existing locations, if the map is fresh in your mind.
There is no summary of the story inside tears of the kingdom; you just fell into its world and experience it from there. But Nintendo does a good job of keeping players informed of the context and presenting the characters as they present themselves. tears of the kingdom. This also extends to gameplay – there are tutorial elements to familiarize new players with how the new game works. tears of the kingdom are particularly good at this; there are plenty of opportunities to learn and perfect new gameplay elements.
What should I know about the story?
Legend of Zelda stories are pretty simple on a high level: Link and Zelda always have to save Hyrule from some sort of evil, usually Ganon.
Nintendo released a six-minute story recap For breath of the wild, however, if you want to go into some detail. Essentially, before the start of breath of the wild, Zelda was unable to seal Calamity Ganon, who had been resurrected to wreak havoc on Hyrule again, killing the King of Hyrule, with the city collapsing in Ganon’s wake. Zelda’s powers returned momentarily to temporarily seal Ganon, but Link was injured in the process. (Again, this all happens before the game starts.) Link was then laid down for a 100-year healing nap, from which he wakes up at the start of breath of the wild.
Princess Zelda had kept Ganon at bay this century, and now it’s time for Link to step up and save Hyrule. He does, ending with a great battle against Calamity Ganon, and with Zelda, the evil is sealed away for good. The end!
tears of the kingdom takes over from there, with Link and Zelda having spent time restoring Hyrule. The sequel would take place “shortly” after breath of the wildbut it is not known exactly how much time has passed.
For those of you who want to dig deeper, we’ve got a guide to the franchise’s complete timeline, along with theories on how breath of the wild And tears of the kingdom fit into the multiple timelines of Hyrule.
What is the TL; DR?
No! Just start playing tears of the kingdom. You’re good. If you end up needing help, whether it’s knowledge or gameplay help from guides, keep an eye out on Polygon. From release day, we’ll have full coverage to answer literally every question you could think of.
