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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a brand new entry in the iconic action-adventure franchise. As a successor to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the upcoming open world expands upon its predecessor in many ways. However, all of this is backed by a brand new story. With the antagonist Ganondorf finally coming back to life, the kingdom of Hyrule is in danger once again. As such, the protagonist Link must fight to save everyone.
This time around, the subtitles are a dead giveaway to the key highlights of the game. As shown in the game's latest trailer, "Tears of the Kingdom" will factor into the story. What exactly do they do?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will revolve around titular Tears
At this point, we know that the Tears of the Kingdom are physical objects. There are seven of them, as showcased in the first trailer of the game in the mural. Throughout trailer 3 we see many characters possessing one each:
- Zelda: The Princess of the kingdom of Hyrule. Her gold Tear is seen clutched in her hand as she falls into a chasm
- The Mysterious Lady: A woman with attire similar to Zelda can be seen with a gold Tear on her necklace. Whether she is Zelda herself, an incarnation of Hylia or an important Zonai NPC remains unclear.
- Sidon: The prince of the Zora has a blue-colored Tear - although judging by the crown he wears in The Legend of Zelda: Taars of the Kingdom, he could be the new king. He is the brother of Mipha, one of the Champions from Breath of the Wild
- Riju: The young Gerudo descendant possesses a Tear too, a yellow one on her shoulder. She has grown since her appearance in Breath of the Wild and is related to the Champion Urbosa
- Tulin: The little Rito boy also returns in Tears of the Kingdom. Like other descendants of the Champions, he possesses a Tear as well. His is green in color and he carries it behind on his waist.
- Ganondorf: A red Tear can be seen embedded in his forehead as he is powering up
Assuming the official trailer 1 mural is correct and there are seven Tears, there are two possibilities:
- If the mysterious woman is Zelda: The sixth Tear may be held by Yunobo, grandson of the Goron Champion Daruk. Oddly enough the young Goron is missing from promotional material so far. This leaves the seventh and final tear with Link.
- If the mysterious woman is not Zelda: Then it could be possible Link does not possess a Tear. The final tear would be Yunobo's since all other Champion's descendants have one too.
But what exactly do they do? That remains unclear. What is obvious is that they could possess immense strength as they seemed to help Ganondorf charge up his power. We should receive more details as we inch closer to the final release date.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.
