Summary
- Open-world freedom: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom allows players to have almost complete freedom. Rushing to the final boss is an option.
- Hidden treasures and side quests: Players can find hidden Divine Helms in their respective regions before receiving quests. Wearing the Helm while speaking to the sage has unique dialogue.
- The quest to find Ganondorf: Finding Ganondorf is a late-game story quest. It's possible to accidentally find his location, but it's recommended to unlock the Chasm's Light Root and leave the dangerous Hyrule Castle Chasm.
Open-world games give their players almost-entire freedom of what they can do. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has several story quests that are needed to advance the story, but for those who want to rush to the final boss, the option to do so is completely at their disposal.
Zelda: 8 Characters Who Had The Worst Deaths
These Legend of Zelda characters had surprisingly brutal deaths within the franchise, from heart-breaking losses to shocking ends.
In Tears of the Kingdom (TotK), Link will eventually receive a story quest called "Regional Phenomena." This involves going to four regions of Hyrule (Hebra, Eldin, Lanayru, Gerudo) and completing their respective story quests. Although more side quests unlock after clearing each Temple, it's possible to find items or even characters before they're supposed to be found.
Major spoilers for Tears of the Kingdom.
6 The Divine Beast Helmets
Hidden Treasure Side Quests
While the Divine Beasts themselves do not make an appearance in Tears of the Kingdom, the Divine Helms do. In Breath of the Wild, the Divine Helms were amiibo-exclusive armor that Link could get through scanning the Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali amiibo. In Tears of the Kingdom, the Divine Helms are hidden in their respective regions.
Upon completing the main quests "Tulin of Rito Village," "Yunobo of Goron City," etc, Link can speak to the respective sage (i.e: Tulin, Yunobo, etc) to obtain a new quest. This involves tracking down a hidden location that houses a chest with the Divine Helms. However, if players already know where to go, then it's possible to have the Divine Helms before receiving their respective quests. The Helmets' availability is not influenced by the player's progress in the Temples. Wearing a Divine Helm while speaking to the sage post-Temple even has unique dialogue.
5 Master Kohga
Yiga Clan in The Depths
It's easy for the banana-loving Yiga Clan to not be taken seriously by TotK players, but in-universe, they've caused a lot of trouble for everyone - especially the Gerudo and Sheikah. Breath of the Wild involved a story quest where Link had to infiltrate the Yiga Clan Hideout in the Gerudo Highlands to recover the Thunder Helm. Through this, players would eventually battle the leader of the Clan: Master Kohga.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
- Released
- November 20, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Koei Tecmo, Omega Force
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Genre(s)
- Action
Despite Kohga comically being thwarted by his own attack, he somehow makes his return in Tears of the Kingdom. However, like most of the Yiga, he only appears in The Depths. Players can find him at the Great Central Mine below the Great Plateau. This is the start of a series of quests that involve tracking down and defeating Kohga at four different mines below Hyrule. Finding Kohga is required to get the Autobuild Ability, which can be retrieved at any point in-game. He's also the final key to tracking down Ganondorf.
4 Dragon Tears
Princess Zelda's Whereabouts
Much like the "Lost Mementos" side quest in Breath of the Wild, players can find several geoglyphs around Hyrule that show Link a vision of the past. This time, the cutscenes detail what happened to Princess Zelda and the 
Master Sword after The Upheaval. They'll also learn more about Rauru and Sonia, the first King and Queen of Hyrule.
The geoglpyhs won't be marked on the map until Link has unlocked their respective "memories," but with how large they are, it's hard to miss them. Those who are curious about Princess Zelda can interact with all the glyphs before stepping foot into a Temple. Doing so doesn't net any special rewards, but it may spoil late-game and post-Temple cutscenes.
3 The Master Sword
Sword That Seals the Darkness
The Master Sword is nowhere to be found in the Korok Forest, which was its resting place in Breath of the Wild. Those who venture to the Lost Woods will find themselves turned around unless they enter the Minish Woods Chasm. Players need to navigate The Depths and Ascend from below to enter Korok Forest. Speaking to the Great Deku Tree after clearing away the gloom will allow players to track the location of the sword.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Released
- March 3, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Wii U, Switch
- How Long To Beat
- 50 Hours
Players will find the Master Sword in the sky, specifically in the Light Dragon's head. As long as players have two Stamina wheels (not counting temporary wheels earned from food or elixirs), they'll be able to get the sword. This will also trigger a cutscene showing how the Master Sword got to where it is in the present day. The Master Sword can be recovered even if players' haven't found all the geoglyphs or completed all the Temples.
2 The Secret of Thunderhead Isles
The Fifth Sage
Those who look to the Faron Skies will find a mass of thunderclouds. Flying too close, ironically, won't respawn Link somewhere else or zap him out of the sky. Instead, it will reveal a very cloudy set of floating ruins. These are the Thunderhead Isles, and a main quest in TotK's late-game will clear away the storm. Players that are too curious about the isles' secrets can struggle through the rain and lightning to reach the Joku-U Shrine at Dragon Head Island, which is the southern island of Thunderhead Isles.
If players manage to reach the end of Thunderhead Isles and Dragon Head Island, they'll find a curious owl-face mask. Interacting with this mask unlocks the Tobio Hollow Chasm. If players choose to follow the light, they'll find the Construct Factory, and learn the identity of the Fifth Sage: Mineru. This is a task that is supposed to be completed after finding all four sages and confronting "Ganondorf" at Hyrule Castle. However, many players have accidentally discovered Mineru beforehand. This changes a few things in the dialogue post-Hyrule Castle, and the quest "Find the Fifth Sage" will be marked complete as soon as Link receives it.
1 Ganondorf
The Demon King
Although he's responsible for The Upheaval, Ganondorf himself makes no physical appearance on Hyrule following TotK's opening. Returning players of Breath of the Wild may have charged toward Hyrule Castle once they landed on the Surface, but there's nothing to be found except monsters and decayed weapons. Finding Ganondorf is one of the story quests that players unlock in the late-game, but like anything else, it's possible to find his location by accident.
Tears of the Kingdom: 6 Things They Should Have Included in the Rito Arc
The Rito Arc in Tears of the Kingdom is a strong way to kick off Link's adventure, but there are several areas where it needs improvement.
Beneath Hyrule Castle is a large Chasm that is plagued with gloom and gloom-infested monsters. It's an extremely dangerous area for a beginner to be in, and there are several boss fights waiting for Link at the end if he hasn't recruited all the sages. If players somehow manage to survive, they can continue onward to find the revived Ganondorf. Due to the sheer difficulty of the Hyrule Castle Chasm, players are better off unlocking the Chasm's Light Root, and then getting out of there. Besides, the game can't be saved once players reach a certain point in the Hyrule Castle Depths.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for Nintendo Switch.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Released
- May 12, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World