While players have been looking to the skies as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it seems that a new opportunity to better explore the Leviathans was hiding right beneath Link's feet and is now freshly unearthed thanks to the sequel's floating islands. Despite potential links to previous Zelda games such as Skyward Sword's Levias' uncanny resemblance to the Eldin Great Skeleton or the similarly whale-like Wind Fish in Link's Awakening, the Leviathans' only confirmed canonical appearance was their introduction in Breath of the Wild. But just like the mystery of the Zonai, there was little for players to discover.
As a result, a sequel to Breath of the Wild presents the ideal opportunity to revisit just a few of these mysterious loose threads across the game's lore. Given their enormous scale in Zelda both figurative and literal, one of these threads ought to be allowing players to explore the Leviathans' history in greater detail, even if their backstory is not integral to the main plot of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. To go beyond Breath of the Wild's three skeletons, Tears of the Kingdom and its sky islands could expose hidden caves below Hyrule and some Leviathan archeology.
Underground Exploration Teased in Tears of the Kingdom's Trailers
Though Breath of the Wild gave more than enough to explore across its open world, there were still some limitations such as the lack of underwater or subterranean exploration. Since the likes of caves and lakes hiding secrets have been commonplace throughout Zelda and their absence felt for Breath of the Wild, it was hoped that Tears of the Kingdom could explore more than just the sky. What was therefore promising was the recurring sight of underground areas throughout Tears of the Kingdom's trailers, including its latest which featured footage of Link battling a Stone Talus in a cavern.
A potential answer to the question of why these caves were missing from Breath of the Wild but are now accessible in Tears of the Kingdom could lie with the sequel's floating islands. Having already seen Hyrule Castle being lifted into the air in previous trailers, it's likely that this will be the same for Tears of the Kingdom's other islands, meaning that craters will be left in their absence which will consequently expose hidden caves. With any luck, this could be how Link ventures below Hyrule and uncovers buried secrets from new dungeons like BotW's The Champions' Ballad DLC to more remains of the Leviathans.
Leviathans Could be Zelda's Literal Link to the Past
Since Breath of the Wild has been positioned as a distant endpoint of the series' different timelines, it has a unique degree of creative freedom and canonical flexibility. The Leviathans are one of Breath of the Wild's vaguest mysteries, which gives Tears of the Kingdom ample to explore, whether it's explaining the Leviathans' extinction or establishing new Zelda lore by connecting these Leviathans to previous games. Already speculation is running wild surrounding Tears of the Kingdom as some fans believe it will be one of the series' most interconnected games, with possible ties to Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and Ocarina of Time.
However, while Tears of the Kingdom may not wind up fulfilling these fan theories, the Leviathans could be a potential compromise that explores potential links back to previous Zelda games. Specifically, given the similarities between Tears of the Kingdom and Skyward Sword, Leviathan lore would be an ideal way of not only addressing the Eldin Great Skeleton's likeness to Levias, but it would be a significant canonical secret to unearth and incentivize player exploration. After all, as returning players will already be familiar with the world in Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom will need to offer more to discover across, above, and below Hyrule.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set to release on May 12, 2023, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
