An unfinished live-action TV ad for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom surfaced online, teasing world size, health pool changes, and some other interesting tidbits about the highly anticipated game. The timing of this development also underlines how Nintendo's recent crackdown on Tears of the Kingdom leakers is an uphill battle at best and a futile endeavor at worst.
Despite the fact that some Tears of the Kingdom leakers already faced serious consequences for their unofficial reveals, Nintendo has been struggling to keep the Breath of the Wild sequel under wraps since the turn of the year. Those challenges are further exacerbated by the fact that the game is now mere weeks away from releasing, so the pool of potential sources of leaks has long extended beyond the historically tight-lipped Nintendo employees.
The newly emerged live-action TV ad for Tears of the Kingdom exemplifies this state of affairs, having leaked online before it was even finished. Yet the completed half of the minute-long U.S. promo already includes plenty of new footage that teases a number of previously unknown details about the upcoming Switch exclusive. For starters, it would appear that Tears of the Kingdom might increase Link's maximum health pool, as the ad includes a boss fight that shows 17 hearts in a single row. BOTW allowed for a maximum of 30 hearts, which the UI presented in two rows with 15 containers each.
The very same scene also reveals that the three-headed Zelda:Tears of the Kingdom dragon seen in the previous trailers is called a Flame Gleeok. Based on BOTW's enemy naming conventions, this moniker suggests the new game will once again employ some degree of mob rehashing. Meaning that stone, frost, and electric Gleeok variants aren't out of the question.
Another revealing segment happens some 19 seconds in, when Link is shown illuminating an underground area by hitting a huge tree with a noticeably bulky arrow. His tool of choice in this scene is likely a result of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Fuse ability, implying this mechanic will allow players to create some kind of flying torches, among many other things. The minimap in that same scene also shows a Z coordinate of -478, suggesting the world of the upcoming game will be quite a bit deeper compared to BOTW. The highest point seen in the previously shared materials came from Nintendo's 10-minute gameplay showcase that featured Link at a Z coordinate of 1409.
One final takeaway from the leaked promo is that Korok puzzles are definitely back, as one of them can be seen around the 9-second mark. U.S. consumers should start seeing a finished version of this newly emerged TV ad for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom no later than May.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is coming to Nintendo Switch on May 12.
