As The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has finally released, almost four years after the game's initial reveal, some details from the very first trailers have changed in the final release version. Being a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom had a high bar set for it even from its very first reveal, with the game needing to build on BOTW's already ambitious gameplay and world in interesting ways. Now, with the game fully released, it seems to have met or even exceeded that goal - but not without changing some aspects from its initial few trailers.
While players have undoubtedly uncovered many of the game's various secrets, early Tears of the Kingdom's footage was initially very secretive about the game's world, story, and gameplay changes, to the point of not revealing its title until the game's third trailer - simply identifying it as "the sequel to Breath of the Wild." Core aspects of the game, such as the Depths, Link's new abilities, and massive gameplay additions like vehicles and weapon fusing were all left to later previews, closer to the game's release. However, in the few short trailers that initially revealed that Tears of the Kingdom was in development, keen-eyed viewers should be able to spot some details that didn't make it to the final release.
TOTK's Cut Content From Trailers
Although most of the material from Tears of the Kingdom's trailers has seemingly remained in the game, there are a few key details that have changed - mostly from the game's very first reveal trailer. The large, bull-like animal that Zelda rides in the first trailer, for example, is nowhere to be found to the game's opening. Additionally, the slightly different appearance of the cave, and a few short scenes of Zelda and Link resting and crossing a broken bridge are also not in the final version - suggesting that the game's opening may have been longer and more cutscene-focused in an earlier version.
TOTK's Opening Is Changed From Its First Trailer
A few other minor details are present in the trailer but not the game, such as Link seemingly gaining his new arm in the cave itself, rather than waking up with it, and a brief shot of him successfully grabbing Zelda's arm. However, most of these can be chalked up to one of two factors. Some changes, such as Link grabbing Zelda instead of missing, may have been simply changed for the trailer to preserve the secrecy of the story. Others, such as the bull-like animal and additional scenes, likely point to an early version or build of the game, with changed plans mid-development leading to the current iteration.
While it can be interesting to look back on a game's early trailers - especially a game with as long a pre-release cycle as TOTK - it's also important to note that in-development games are almost constantly in flux. For one reason or another, features or details present in an early trailer often won't make it to a game's final release, with previews closer to launch likely being much more representative of the game's final state. For The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, however, only a few minor details from the game's first, most secretive trailers seem to have been changed.
Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube
