The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s best fan theories… so far

Nintendo finally delivered fans the long awaited name for the next mainline Zelda game on Tuesday: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It will launch May 12, 2023 on Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo first teased the game all the way back in 2019, where a trailer showed what might be a very dehydrated Ganondorf. In summer of 2021, we got a deeper look at the game which showed us Link’s new powers and his luscious locks. The most recent trailer from Tuesday’s was largely cinematic and showed a lot of ancient carvings. Now, fans are putting together the pieces of both to develop theories about the new game.

It’s just fun to speculate and pick the trailer apart for possible connections to previous Legend of Zelda games. So, we decided to round up some of the biggest and most thought-provoking fan theories we’ve found so far. Again, none of this is confirmed news, but it’s a great way to see what fans are getting excited about. As we get closer to release, we’ll continue to update this list with all the cool stuff we see as more information comes out and fans formulate new ideas.

There’s a connection to the Zonai from Breath of the Wild

In The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild, we encounter scattered ruins from an extinct group of people that once occupied the lands of Hyrule. They are referred to as the Zonai, but we don’t know much about them other than that they made some of the Hylian landmarks seen in the game, like the dragon carvings and some of the ancient architecture.

Fans have pointed out that the logo and dragons in the new box art seems to look a whole lot like some of the Zonai carvings, insinuating that we will learn more about them and just what happened to group in the upcoming game.

Do we play as Ganon in Breath of the Wild 2?

Probably the most prevalent unconfirmed theory is that we won’t play Breath of the Wild 2 as Link. Instead, in a series first, we’ll actually play the game as Ganondorf. The bold theory would represent one of the largest departures in the history of the Zelda franchise, but the idea has picked up a lot of traction among loads of fans.

The basic gist of the theory is that the “Link” we see in the trailer isn’t actually Link, and that it’s actually the shriveled Ganon we see in the beginning of the trailer. The idea is supported mainly by the visual similarities between Ganon and the character in the trailer, who wears a one-shoulder tunic like Ganon. Also, we don’t ever see this character’s face.

Besides those visual similarities, there’s a also bit of lore in Breath of the Wild that may support this theory. In a tapestry, we see a hero saving the land from the calamity 10,000 years before the events of BOTW. The hero saving the world looks like the zombie Ganon in the dark and the new “Link.” Once again, this has led some people to think there’s some kind of connection.

Those are the broadest strokes of the theory, but if you want to go in-depth, you can check out this video from Kinda Funny Games that breaks down the theory in full.

Can we play as Zelda in Breath of the Wild 2?

At the beginning of the trailer, we see Princess Zelda falling backwards into a dark pit. Although this might seem like a sign that we won’t get to play as her, some fans are speculating otherwise.

Once again, this theory sort of hinges on the fact that we don’t know with 100 percent certainty that we play as Link, since we don’t see his face. However, from the character’s design — they wear a tunic that covers half their chest — we can assume that the character we see isn’t Zelda. Why? Because she probably is not flying through Hyrule’s skies with one tiddy free.

However, some people are still holding out hope that we can play as her, and that we’ll get to choose who falls into the deep dark pit at some point in the game.

Do we return to Skyloft?

One of the most obvious connections between the Breath of the Wild sequel and this trailer is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The opening cinematic of Link from the trailer is pretty much the same exact scene of Link falling through the clouds in Skyward Sword. What’s more, the trailer shows floating islands just like in Skyward Sword. The description under the official Nintendo YouTube account literally says, “Return to Hyrule — and the skies above,” which is a pretty clear connection to floating island of Skyloft.

The cinematic parallels and the fact that Nintendo has announced that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is is getting an HD Remaster for the Nintendo Switch, while other Zelda games have not, has led some people to speculate that Link might return to Skyloft in the latest game.

Tears of the Kingdom and Skyward Sword share an ancient relic

Amber Relics are a resource found throughout the Surface in Skyward Sword. In the game, the description of the item tells us that we don’t know where the strange shape comes from, but then in the latest trailer we see a similarly shaped item surround a deity-like figure in a carving, thus further hinting at some sort of connection between the two games.

Is Breath of the Wild 2 connected to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess?

People have also pointed out visual connections between The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and the new trailer. For starters, there is a shared color scheme between the portals in Twilight Princess and the shots with Link’s arms in the trailer. Also, people have pointed out that the design of Midna, who accompanies Link in Twilight Princess, looks similar to that of the new stone monster we see in the trailer.

Does Link time travel in the Breath of the Wild sequel?

In the trailer, Link appears to use some sort of time travel power to push a spiked ball back up a hill. In addition to that, connections between Link’s new design, and the hero depicted in the tapestry about the Calamity from 10,000 years before BOTW, have led some people to think that there could be some sort of time travel happening.

Oh, and one possible Easter Egg in the Breath of the Wild 2 trailer…

Like everything else on this list, this tidbit has not been confirmed as either intentional or meaningful. However, one fan believes the music in the latest trailer is a backwards version of the song played during the original Breath of the Wild cutscene about the tapestry depicting the prophecy.

Needless to say, there’s still so much we don’t know about the Breath of the Wild sequel. As we get more information, we’ll continue to collect all the biggest theories we see.

Update: This article was updated to contain additional information and theories based on the trailer revealed during the recent Nintendo Direct on Sept. 13.