The latest trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has revealed that Link will soon have access to a variety of new vehicles. Furthermore, careful examination of the footage shown indicates that players will be building these vehicles themselves. This creates a variety of interesting gameplay possibilities for players, including some similar to Breath of the Wild’s own established crafting mechanics.
In TOTK’s newest trailer, the vehicles that Link is shown using are all held together with some form of green glue or paste. Of course, Zelda fans have known about the possibility of flight mechanics for some time, with a previous TOTK trailer already confirming a theory to that effect by showing Link with a stone-like glider or mount. However, the new flying vehicles to be revealed are distinctly different, appearing to be pieced together. For example, one flying machine uses fans or turbines attached to a large metal plate, all visibly glued together.
Building TOTK’s Vehicles Could Be Similar To Cooking Food In BOTW
In Breath of the Wild, players can forage for ingredients around Hyrule, and then combine them to make meals and elixirs with various effects. Breath of the Wild has many such recipes; as a result, depending on the ingredients used in cooking, some of Link’s meals and potions are more beneficial than others. Vehicle building in TOTK could take this to a new level by scattering parts with various functions across Hyrule, waiting for players to collect them. In fact, YouTube’s Zeltik has noted a brief shot of a fan device on Death Mountain in the latest trailer, which would appear to this theory.
Vehicles In TOTK May Be Modular Player Creations
The fact that players seem able to build Link’s new vehicles also invites the possibility of them being fully modular. Much like how some of BOTW’s recipes allow players to use a variety of similar ingredients, parts with similar functions could be available in different areas of the map. This also raises the possibility that new or upgraded parts could be offered as rewards for side quests, as well as providing incentives to revisit various locations from BOTW. This would help to keep these locations relevant in a game clearly characterized by the new sky islands floating above Hyrule, keeping the more familiar ground fresh and interesting alongside the new additions.
Furthermore, similar to how various recipes can be found in Breath of the Wild, Link could now find vehicle blueprints in Tears of the Kingdom. In BOTW, players can see recipes described in books, posted on signs at stables, and also learn them through side-quests like ‘Cooking with Koko’. This is besides the classic method of trial and error, through which players can experiment and discover potent recipes from BOTW’s cookbook entirely on their own merit. Likewise, this could inspire a similar system in TOTK, where blueprints for functional machines could be found throughout Hyrule, while players would also be free to construct their own independently.
The reveal of the new vehicles for Tears of the Kingdom has triggered plenty of discussion regarding their implementation in the eagerly anticipated title. Little is known for certain about how they will be incorporated, with the few known details coming from careful observation. However, it seems players will assemble the vehicle from separate parts, and that opens the door to many possibilities, just like BOTW’s cooking recipes. Of course, many mysteries like the full role of the Zonai in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom remain, however, its clear Link will be collecting mechanisms related to them for transport and combining these in a new crafting system.
Source: Zeltik/YouTube
