It seems that story of Tears of the Kingdom appears to be far more closely connected to its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, than other Zelda games have been in the past.
The Legend of Zelda franchise is no stranger to sequel titles, both proper and spiritual. For example, Majora’s Mask and Phantom Hourglass both expand upon the adventures of an already-established Link. Similarly, A Link Between Worlds takes place some time after A Link to the Past, revisiting the same version of Hyrule from the classic SNES title while also presenting an entirely new story. Meanwhile, Zelda’s two Oracle games share ALTTP’s Link but take him abroad, while also combining their plots when linked together. These are only a few examples, but it is clear that there can be many connections between the games that go beyond simply sharing a setting.
Not Every Zelda Sequel Follows Its Predecessor Closely
Despite being referred to as sequels, those Zelda games with definitive connections often diverge strongly from the preceding title’s plot and even setting. Majora’s Mask is an excellent example of this; although the events of the game are technically precipitated by Navi’s departure at the end of Ocarina of Time, Link’s time-warping adventure in Termina truthfully has very little to do with his quest to find his old friend. In fact, the plot point is essentially abandoned and ultimately left unresolved: Link’s notoriously annoying fairy companion is never heard from again, leaving her final fate to be something of a mystery.
Of course, Majora’s Mask is not the only sequel to be remarkably divorced from what came before. For example, Phantom Hourglass depicts Link and Tetra in the wake of The Wind Waker. However, the game actually takes place in an entirely new setting, the World of the Ocean King, which is similar to but explicitly not the same location as The Wind Waker’s Great Sea. Moreover, the sequel to Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, is even further distanced from its predecessor; although New Hyrule was founded by Tetra, the game features an entirely new cast (except for Tetra’s crewmate Niko, who is still alive despite the intervening century) and plot.
It is clear that for the most part, Zelda games can be played as standalone titles. Although some do follow on from the events of a previous title, a brief recap is generally all that is needed to establish the setting and characters (as is seen with Niko’s story in the beginning of Phantom Hourglass, for example). While it is true that the Oracle games can be linked together for a true ending, this is a unique case and the games can still be played independently of each other. Moreover, by keeping the plots separate, newcomers to Zelda can easily enjoy games without needing to play through the entire series.
TOTK Directly Continues BOTW’s Story
In contrast to the franchise’s usual formula, however, Tears of the Kingdom is closely connected to its prequel. In addition to following the same Link and Zelda as Breath of the Wild, TOTK crucially also features the same villain. Despite Link defeating Dark Beast Ganon at the end of BOTW, it seems that Hyrule’s ancient foe has nevertheless survived and returned to his mummified Gerudo body in order to enact revenge. Notably, the appearance of this Ganondorf offers some hints about TOTK’s timeline placement and the events that have preceded both it and BOTW, which has been a topic of debate due to the branching timelines of the Zelda franchise.
The simple fact that the King of Evil will return to oppose BOTW’s Link and Zelda once more sets Tears of the Kingdom apart from most other sequels in the Zelda franchise. Generally speaking, despite Ganondorf’s apparent immortality in Zelda, he usually fails to reemerge for some time following any given defeat. For example, After Link proves triumphant against Ganondorf in The Wind Waker, the hero then faces Bellum in Phantom Hourglass. His appearance in Twilight Princess does seem to break this pattern when viewing the game as a follow-up to Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, but then again the game also concerns a brand-new incarnation of Link.
Another detail of note is that events in TOTK will clearly revolve around the Zonai Tribe, building upon world building established in Breath of the Wild. In BOTW, the Zonai were a near-total mystery, with only the ruined remains of their civilization left to hint towards their nature. Native to Hyrule’s Faron region, the Barbarian Set of armor suggests that the tribe was “warlike,” but little concrete knowledge could be gleaned apart from this. Now, however, the seeds planted in BOTW are bearing fruit in its sequel. Again, this is a relative rarity for Zelda games, which usually present new plots with little reliance on what came before.
Playing BOTW Will Give Important Context For TOTK
It is clear that Breath of the Wild’s story and world is hugely important to understanding that of Tears of the Kingdom. Of course, this should perhaps come as little surprise, as the game is known to have originated from the developers realizing that they had an overabundance of ideas for DLC content, which led to these ideas becoming the basis for a sequel instead. Given that context, it seems almost inevitable that BOTW should essentially become required to fully appreciate TOTK, as appears to be the case.
There have been many sequels in the Zelda franchise, but Tears of the Kingdom is shaping up to be the most direct yet. No prior Zelda game has been so closely connected to its predecessor while still embarking on a new tale. Whenever previous Links have had subsequent adventures after saving Hyrule, these have always taken place in new locations like Termina, Labrynna and Holodrum, or the World of the Ocean King. However, Breath of the Wild’s characters and world building will clearly play an important role even as Hyrule changes dramatically. Tears of the Kingdom will build upon and incorporate its predecessor into its own story, as any true sequel should.
