The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis iterating on the gameplay of its groundbreaking 2017 predecessor, as shown by the multitude of hands-on previews being released today. And among the many returning features, it seems Korok seed quests are on the list.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for a side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.Fans who have played Breath of the Wild even casually have surely encountered the Koroks' side quest. A staggering total of 900 Koroks are scattered throughout the expansive Hyrulean map, found either by completing minor challenges, poking around peculiar spots, or even just sitting in plain sight at the very top of tall buildings or mountains. Finding one nets the player a seed, and bringing enough of these to Hestu, the leader of the species, allows the player to add new inventory slots, letting them carry more weapons, shields, bows, and cooked items.
As revealed by IGN, Korok seeds are confirmed to be back in Tears of the Kingdom, but this time with some notable changes in terms of how they're collected. While the standard methods of collecting them are back, more complex tasks are also present, complete with bigger rewards. In the demo, we see Link finding a Korok stranded on an island, weighed down by his massive backpack. Tasked with reuniting him with his pal, he must place him into a mine cart and get him across the gap, and is given two Korok seeds as a reward. Notably, whereas the previous game's Koroks were seemingly hibernating underground for the past century, these seem to be actively looking for Hestu, opening up many possibilities for his role in the mostly unclear story.
In the last game, while 900 Korok seeds did sound excessive, only a fraction of them were required to fully expand one's inventory. But for those who went above and beyond, they would be rewarded with Hestu's Gift, which offers nothing but bragging rights.
Needless to say, this did not sit well with most completionists. Many of whom deemed it a rip-off for their hard work, not helped by its visual design. It would also be a safe bet that many fans who were spoiled about this ahead of time didn't even bother finishing the quest. It's also worth assuming that most players would prefer it if the reward was more substantial for getting all the seeds this time, or if the overall number of seeds was reduced.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is due out for the Nintendo Switch on May 12th, 2023.
Source: IGN
