Highlights
- Tears of the Kingdom has been a successful addition to The Legend of Zelda series, building on the strengths of Breath of the Wild.
- Nintendo has confirmed that Tears of the Kingdom will not receive any DLC, indicating that this era of Zelda is complete.
- Fans have long discussed the idea of a more modern or even futuristic Zelda game, and now may be the time to explore this concept while maintaining the series' core elements.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been out for a while now, and many players have made their mark on the latest iteration of Hyrule. With mechanics encouraging player experimentation and finding unique solutions, Tears of the Kingdom has endeared itself to many. Building on the base established by Breath of the Wild, it benefits from that game's own successes, and the end result is a title that will stand as one of The Legend of Zelda's all-time greats for years to come.
At this point, fans doubt that there's much more to do in this version of Hyrule, and Nintendo has already agreed. Series producer Eiji Aonuma stated that Tears of the Kingdom will not receive any DLC as the game already represents all that Nintendo wants to do with this era of Zelda. The trilogy of Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity, and Tears of the Kingdom will stand as an impressive slate of Zelda games on the Nintendo Switch, but it's time for The Legend of Zelda to move on to a new setting.
It's Time For Zelda To Tackle The Modern Day
What that means at this point is hard to say. The Legend of Zelda is known for using a medieval fantasy look in all of its games, with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom introducing the most futuristic technology the franchise has seen. It feels almost like the Zelda franchise is trying to push away from its normal aesthetic, with strange sights such as Link using a touchscreen tablet and a motorcycle becoming commonplace. With another setting reset at hand, it may be time to lean into this and make a Zelda game that fans have been discussing for a long time.
Urban Legend of Zelda is such an old idea that it’s fallen out of contemporary use somewhat. Modern-day or even futuristic elements in a Zelda game have long been theorized, but the franchise never sprung for them. Even with suggestions of modernity in titles like Link’s Awakening with its telephones and crane game, Link has consistently been shown visiting small villages in between bouts of exploring a monster-infested countryside. However, that approach may still work in a more modern context, and could even carry on some of the concepts that made Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom so appealing.
How A Futuristic Zelda Game Could Work
Pivoting to urban fantasy would work well with modern Zelda's open-world identity, which Nintendo has expressed interest in keeping. While fans shouldn't expect a first-person Zelda game in the vein of Cyberpunk 2077, the focus on Link’s traversal and manipulating the environment with an Ultrahand stand-in could remain. A car might not always suit the Hero of Hyrule, but the Master Cycle could return with customization features found in both Tears of the Kingdom and Spirit Tracks.
As for the rest of the game, Hyrule Castle Town lends itself to becoming a large, central hub that branches off into various fields and dungeons, such as abandoned malls, mystical underground ruins, or countryside with as much to discover as any other Zelda title. The end result might end up looking something like Grand Theft Auto 5’s map, with more wilderness packed into areas without civilians. A futuristic science fiction setting could also be interesting, but with urban fantasy already being such a huge leap for the series, ensuring it can work with Zelda's typical magic and tribes should take priority. There's no telling exactly where Zelda will go after Tears of the Kingdom, but it might finally try building an urban Legend of Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for Nintendo Switch.
