Only a few weeks remain between Zelda fans and the release of TThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The much-anticipated sequel to 2017's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will see players return to the vast open world of Hyrule, this time with an even greater emphasis on verticality than before. Link's adventures will take him from the skies above to the caves below, and there's no telling what lies in between. Nintendo has kept The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom details close to its chest, but that should change as the game nears its promised release date.
Even if some things stay under wraps, fans won't mind. A sense of discovery is what made Breath of the Wild feel special, and it seems like Nintendo is trying to preserve that through sparse marketing. There is still plenty of hype and theory crafting around Link's new powers, several of which revolve around the massive number of items, collectibles, and general physics objects lying around the map. With such a focus on items, Tears of the Kingdom is the perfect place to flesh out one of Breath of the Wild's more half-baked mechanics concerning them.
Breath of the Wild's Item Sensing Wasn't That Useful
The four main Sheikah Slate Runes from Breath of the Wild are certainly familiar to anyone who's spent time with the game. These powers remain useful throughout Link's adventures, and the Sheikah Slate has other functions like looking at the map, taking pictures with the Camera Rune, and summoning the Master Cycle Zero if The Champions' Ballad DLC is completed. It also comes with a few other sensors for detecting things like temperature and sound, as well as one that pings when a Sheikah Shrine is nearby.
The Sheikah Sensor itself can be upgraded at Purah's laboratory, where completing sidequests will net players several upgrades for their Slate, the Sheikah Sensor+ being one of them. This allows players to change the Sensor's focus to any item recorded in the Hyrule Compendium. This can be useful in a pinch, but won't see much use in the long run, given that that most players will stockpile more consumables than they'll need. It was an inherently flawed system, especially considering that the Shrines that the Sensor would normally detect were much easier to see than any given item.
Skyward Sword Could Improve Tears of the Kingdom's Item Dowsing
Tears of the Kingdom marks a second chance for the Sheikah Sensor+, and it's important that it's done right this time. Players will constantly be on the lookout for items to craft into equipment or Tears of the Kingdom's vehicles, and when they know specific things synergize, they will want to keep an eye out for those components. Ideally, the effective range of the Sensor will be larger with an added directional component. It would also help if players did not have to take photos of things to make them eligible for sensing, but if that remains the case, then the importance of doing so should be impressed upon them early.
In fact, this feature could be so important to Tears of the Kingdom's core gameplay that it may want to look to an entirely different Zelda title for guidance. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword had a dowsing mechanic of its own, and while it was mostly for plot critical objects, it opened up to include materials relevant for side activities. Being able to point the camera in a direction and know if a desired object is there will be invaluable for strategic use of Fuse and Ultrahand, so Tears of the Kingdom should try its hardest to get this feature right.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released on May 12 for the Nintendo Switch.