Summary
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom expands on the world and characters of Breath of the Wild, with larger game world, more settlements, and evolved mechanics.
- Tulin, who was a minor character in Breath of the Wild, takes on a more prominent role in Tears of the Kingdom and learns a couple important lessons from Link.
- There is potential for future Zelda games to feature Link in a mentorship role, guiding and influencing younger characters throughout their journey, building on the party system introduced in Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom took every element from Breath of the Wild to the next level. The game world substantially grew in size, and the number of settlements, NPCs, and mechanics were all taken up a notch. Many of the characters from Breath of the Wild were given new roles to suit the growth and development of the world. Even characters with minor roles in Breath of the Wild received more prominent ones in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. One of the most substantial cases of this is the young Rito Tulin, whose new role in Tears of the Kingdom lays out a blueprint for future characters in the series.
Tulin was first introduced in Breath of the Wild as a minor character that Link interacts with in Rito Village. When first introduced, he was little more than a young fledging following the lead of his father, Teba. Throughout the events of Breath of the Wild, the groundwork is laid for a character who will return to fulfill a much larger role. TOTK opens up several years after Link is first introduced to Tulin, and as such he has grown to become a formidable archer and young warrior. As the game progresses, Link takes on a sort of mentorship role to Tulin that could serve as inspiration for future games in the series.
Why Link Should Take On A Mentor Role in A Future Zelda Game
Though the Zelda franchise has featured many characters younger than their respective Links, it is rare that Link is seen taking on a substantial mentor role. Most Links throughout the series have been young, either children or teenagers, so there have not been too many opportunities for an even younger character to learn from him. In fact, it is more often that Link himself has a mentor than the other way around. Tulin in Tears of the Kingdom is one of the closest examples of a character whom Link takes under his wing.
It would be interesting for a future Zelda game to feature a character that follows Link around for much longer and learns from him throughout the journey. As Link is a shining example of bravery and heroism, it would be impactful to see a young, misguided, or uncertain character grow throughout the story from Link's influence. This could perhaps be done by showing an older, experienced Link. Seeing Link train or guide a younger warrior throughout an adventure would only grow Link as a character.
Tears of the Kingdom laid the groundwork for future Zelda games to expand upon this idea. Since TOTK innovated a "party" system that allows Link to adventure with allies, there is more potential than ever for a Zelda story to center around multiple characters. Each of the Sages in TOTK has an in-depth plot line and can follow Link into battle in a spirit form. It could be interesting to see a future Zelda game with an expanded party system with multiple companions following Link throughout the game instead of just spirit forms.
A Zelda game with a party system could have Link serve as a mentor to a younger character throughout the game's journey. Or maybe there could be an element to the game similar to when the Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time became the mentor for Link in Twilight Princess. As time travel in The Legend of Zelda has been a staple for decades, it could be possible for an older Link to mentor a younger one. Whatever route Nintendo ends up taking, the story of Tulin in TOTK has definitely opened up possibilities for the future.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 95 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- May 12, 2023
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Cross-Platform Play
- N/A
- Cross Save
- N/A
WHERE TO PLAY
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to the beloved open-world adventure, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This installment once again sees Link and Zelda battling to protect Hyrule from falling to Ganondorf. This new adventure takes place in the same land of Hyrule as Breath of the Wild but sees something called the Upheaval, which allows link to travel to Sky Islands, as well as deep into the Depths beneath Hyrule. Players can use special abilities to fuse together weapons, and build items to help them progress through the release.
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
- How Long To Beat
- 59 Hours
- Metascore
- 96
