Now that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has officially launched, the Sheikah Slate has been replaced with the all-new Purah Pad and has helped the sequel circumvent several different obstacles standing in its way. After serving as an integral gameplay mechanic for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there was much speculation about whether the Sheikah Slate would return for the sequel. But though speculation surrounding Link's arm and the Sheikah Slate came close to the truth, it seems Nintendo managed to deftly balance the mechanics it did and didn't need resulting in the Purah Pad.
Assumed to be a reverse-engineered Sheikah Slate, the Purah Pad feels like an apt replacement given that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set sometime after the events of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and moves the story away from the Sheikah and onto the Zonai. As such, it assumes virtually all the Sheikah Slate's previous functionality, such as accessing the world map, taking pictures, and recording in-game lore. Despite this, the Purah Pad is slightly downgraded as it lacks specific abilities the Sheikah Slate had, but this intentionally limited capability coexists perfectly with Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's new mechanics.
Link's Gear and Abilities Kept Pace With Gameplay in Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Prior to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Link's abilities were only granted to him through the Sheikah Slate itself, something which contrasted well against Zelda: Breath of the Wild's focus on barely understood ancient technology gone awry. But after Calamity Ganon's defeat and Hyrule returned to some form of normality, Link would have no need for the Sheikah Slate or its abilities.
A sequel absolutely would, however, as these abilities and other functions were integral to how players experienced Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But reintroducing and somehow expanding on these abilities and functions would have been technically and narratively difficult. Ultimately, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom faced a predicament where it both needed yet couldn't add the Sheikah Slate. The solution, it seems, was to instead create a lite version of the Sheikah Slate with its fanciest features removed and allow Link's new arm to pick up the slack.
Tied to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Zonai and Gloom narratives, any new abilities sidestepped the Sheikah Slate's shadow and simultaneously gave Link's abilities far more power literally in the palm of his hand. As a result, the Purah Pad can escape the need to outpace the Sheikah Slate as it makes up for any remaining essential mechanics between the two games.
No Sheikah Slate Meant A Greater Challenge For Players in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The sudden shift between the Sheikah Slate to using Link's arm presented a variety of once easily solved problems. Whether it was using Cryonis to cross large bodies of water or taking advantage of infinite bombs, Zelda:Tears of the Kingdom's gameplay requires a markedly different approach without the Sheikah Slate. With the Purah Pad taking over key mechanics, the transition in Link's new abilities forces players to refine how they play by making full use of Fuse for weapons and vehicles, encouraging resource collecting, and mastering rewinding time.
However, while Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom delivers a reshaped gameplay experience, there's just enough of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's design still present to feel like a natural progression such as Link's Ultrahand ability appearing to be an upgrade to the former Magnesis. The Purah Pad similarly helps with this too, as it serves as a one-to-one parallel to the Sheikah Slate in all other respects but Link's abilities. Ultimately, the Purah Pad strikes the perfect balance of accommodating Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's mechanics alongside Link's new arm, while also blending into the game's lore as it pulled away from the Sheikah and onto the Zonai.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.
