New Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom interview teases a link to series’ past

Break out your timelines

The newest Legend of Zelda tale is days away, and given the trailers we’ve seen so far, there are still many mysteries to uncover. A new interview with some of the leads behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom helps give us an idea of what’s to come, and teases a link to the series’ past too.

Nintendo has published two parts of a three-part interview series with the creative team behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Alongside series producer Eiji Aonuma, there is Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, technical director Takuhiro Dohta, art director Satoru Takizawa, and sound director Hajime Wakai. This creative group answered a few questions about the upcoming Tears of the Kingdom, including why they stuck with the same map.

When it came to one particular topic, though, Aonuma mentions an interesting way in which Tears of the Kingdom may be delving into the past. Note: While this is a Nintendo-published interview, some might consider this potential story beat a spoiler. So if you want to go in without any hints of what The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom might be tackling in its story, turn back now. Potential spoilers follow after the jump.

A link to its past

According to the creative team behind Tears, “hands” are a key theme in the upcoming game. This is represented through Link’s arm, his abilities, and also in how he’s able to cooperate with other characters. The team implements this in various ways through The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, from handclaps in the music to hand symbols in the visuals. Then, Aonuma mentions something interesting:

Aonuma: Well, simply put, “hands” expresses the idea of “connecting.” This applies to the story too, which connects to Hyrule’s past. It also talks about a major struggle called “The Imprisoning War,” which until now was considered a myth even in Hyrule.

Those who have played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, or spent time doing some Zelda theorycrafting, will recognize the Imprisoning War. It’s the conflict that leads into A Link to the Past, where Ganon is sealed in the Sacred Realm by the Seven Sages.

Those events have been somewhat modified and changed over the years, through the establishment of the official timeline and the Hyrule Historia. But it does look like Tears of the Kingdom may be dealing with the sealing of Ganon/Ganondorf, and the events that transpired around it. It would also seem to place Tears within the continuity of the timeline where Link fails to defeat Ganon at the end of Ocarina of Time.

We’ll know for sure on Friday, May 12, when The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hits Switch.

Eric Van Allen

Senior News Reporter – While Eric’s been writing about games since 2014, he’s been playing them for a lot longer. Usually found grinding RPG battles, digging into an indie gem, or hanging out around the Limsa Aethryte.