Highlights

  • The Legend of Zelda series evolves while maintaining its identity, with Tears of the Kingdom adding new storytelling elements while still feeling familiar.
  • Adding family ties to Link's character can heighten the emotional stakes and provide a compelling narrative twist for future Zelda games.
  • Family in The Legend of Zelda not only benefits the story, but can also provide gameplay advantages, showing the importance of togetherness in the series.

The Legend of Zelda has changed a lot over the years, evolving its settings, gameplay, core mechanics, and controls to constantly be the bar-setter in its respective field. It's a Nintendo franchise that has still somehow managed to maintain its sense of identity despite going through often severe growing pains, using different design elements to keep the next game as fresh, but also as familiar as the last. Tears of the Kingdom is simply the most recent example.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a game that uses concepts and constructs coined in 2017's Breath of the Wild, but the implementation of conventional dungeons and a higher emphasis on storytelling makes it more in line with the franchise of old times. Something else that could be used in future games to give long-time fans a sense of nostalgia would be to give Link some kind of family ties. It's something that has a lot of benefits and could be used to add more stakes to any future tales Nintendo wishes to tell.

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The next Legend of Zelda game has a unique opportunity to improve on a feature from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Like any game, TV series, or film franchise, family is used in The Legend of Zelda to give Link a reason to overcome the obstacles that he does. Ultimately, it usually has an end goal of banishing the realm of Hyrule of evil, but the first carrot on the stick is often Link's sense of duty to his family. The Wind Waker begins with Link simply heading out to save his sister, Aryll after having been taken by Ganondorf's forces, and then gets wrapped up in something considerably larger.

In one of Tears of the Kingdom's more subtle additions, it's alluded to that Link and Zelda live together in the house that players can move into in Breath of the Wild. This is a small, but experientially significant inclusion that heightens the connection between the two and makes them feel like they have a familial relationship instead of simply one of a princess and her shield. To expand on the idea and make it a more overt part of the next Zelda title could bring even more stakes, as the feeling of fighting for family is something that people of all backgrounds can relate to. Thus, it would make a compelling narrative wrinkle for a franchise that is not that well known for its ambitious and unpredictable storytelling.

Family Can Give Gameplay Benefits in The Legend of Zelda

Zelda is perhaps known most for its items, puzzles, and characters, and the former category is something that Link's family has assisted with in the past. Link's grandmother gives him his first shield in The Wind Waker as well as a bottle of Elixir Soup from time to time, which heals his magic and health while also doubling his attack power for a short period. Like Elizabeth throwing Booker items in BioShock Infinite, it shows that family can be used as a useful gameplay addition as well as just benefitting the story.

The Legend of Zelda Has Themes of Family Throughout

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Though there are only a few instances of Link having a family of his own, the theme of family and togetherness is something that litters the series and has done for decades. Link finds a family with the sages in Tears of the Kingdom, and with it a sense of belonging too. In A Link to the Past and Wind Waker, he starts his journey with his family behind him, but throughout some of the later games he finds people who fit the same role. It's a smart change to convention and something that can be developed in new installments.

The most prominent family in The Legend of Zelda is the royal family, which is usually depicted as the descendants of the Goddess Hylia, and allies itself with the hero throughout the franchise. It gives each game a sense of history and prestige, knowing that the people at the center of it all are so connected with the setting and wider lore. To give Link a distinctive lineage would do well to give future Zelda titles more depth, providing a sense of real heritage instead of him usually being a one-in-a-million hero that comes from out of nowhere.