The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom needs to introduce stellar minigames to the series. As the follow-up to the hugely successful Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom has a high bar to reach. Fans have long been speculating how the new game will be able to grow upon its predecessor. Though diversifying BOTW's open world and continuing its story will be major focus points for Nintendo, a sure-fire way to make Tears of the Kingdom an interesting sequel would be to emphasize new minigames.
BOTW's own list of minigames is a rather mixed bag. Shield Surfing at Selmie's Spot, Boom Bam Golf in the Tanagar Canyon, and Sand-Seal Racing in the Gerudo Desert stand out as highlights, but other than these three, BOTW's minigames feel rather shallow. Most of them are either time-based or distance-based clones of one another. The Paragliding Course is very close to the Flight Range Trial and the Bird-Man Research Study. Similarly, the Blue Flame and Ice Delivery challenges share nearly the exact same concept. These shortcomings in BOTW make minigames a fruitful area Tears of the Kingdom, as they are an easy way for the newer game to expand upon its predecessor.
Tears Of The Kingdom Should Adapt Old Zelda Quests Into Minigames
When it comes to the kinds of minigames Tears of the Kingdom could introduce, Nintendo should follow the example of Legend of Zelda titles from Hyrule's past. Much of the series' best minigames are the product of revitalizing older side quests and battles with new mechanics: BOTW's Shield Surfing comes from Twilight Princess' Sled Race; Snowball Bowling comes from Ocarina of Time's Bombchu Bowling; and even the paragliding challenges find their root in Twilight Princess's Flight-by-Fowl. Tears of the Kingdom should thus look to the series' past to see what new minigames it can introduce.
Jousting, Tower Defense, & Gardening Should Be In Tears Of The Kingdom
Jousting would be the perfect minigame for Tears of the Kingdom. As a callback to the Bridge of Eldin battle from Twilight Princess (shown in Tears of the Kingdom's story if it directly follows BOTW. As Hyrule begins to recover from the Great Calamity, pockets of society could begin rejoicing in competitive entertainment as a community.
Tears of the Kingdom could also follow the example of Majora's Mask with a story-based, tower defense minigame. The "Protecting Romani Ranch" mission has long been one of Majora's Mask's most famous side quests. In it, Link defends the Romani Ranch from what appears to be an alien invasion. Part of what has made this side quest so memorable is that failing it comes with the spooky consequence of the young girl Romani being abducted by the aliens. Tears of the Kingdom should thus create a minigame out of this Majora's Mask side quest that lets players protect a town from enemies in a tower defense style. On top of just monetary prizes for succeeding, the minigame could also come with consequences for those who lose, such as town property being destroyed.
Finally, Tears of the Kingdom could introduce gardening. Similar to the letter sorting in Wind Waker and past fishing minigames, a gardening challenge could serve as an easy way for Link and players to relax. In BOTW, Link is able to purchase his own home, so it would be nice if by the time of Tears of the Kingdom, Hyrule's Hero could lay back for a little while and enjoy the simplicity of tending to a garden.
Source: GameXplain/YouTube
