The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sounds intense from the title alone, but there's good reason to suspect that it won't be particularly grim. The latest chapter in the long-running franchise is coming hot on the heels of the highly successful Breath of the Wild and looks to continue its timeline. Fans shouldn't expect the title to get particularly scary, though, even if Tears of the Kingdom's dark story has been teased already.
With how Tears of the Kingdom has been built up over the last few months, fans should have a good idea of a few things that they can expect from the game. It's going to return to the version of Hyrule seen in Breath of the Wild, and presumably take place following the defeat of Calamity Ganon in that game's climax. There will be some new developments, such as Zelda not being a princess in TOTK and exploration of the skies, but it's safe to assume that a lot of features will be shared between both games. In addition to mechanics, the two games will likely be comparable in tone as well.
Tears Of The Kingdom Won't Be Darker Than A Typical Zelda Game
The main reason why Tears of the Kingdom shouldn't be expected to get too dark is its ESRB rating. It has already been revealed to be receiving the same rating that Breath of the Wild did: E10+. Granted, The Legend of Zelda has only reached above that rating once, with the T-rated Twilight Princess for the Wii. Because of this, players shouldn't expect Tears of the Kingdom to be much more intense than Breath of the Wild was. Even though Breath of the Wild's enemies had fragile weapons, that did not keep the game from delivering plenty of drama and action in its own right.
The Legend Of Zelda Games Never Needed To Be Particularly Dark
Breath of the Wild tackled a fair amount of dark moments and themes in spite of its E10+ rating. The description of Calamity Ganon and the destruction it brought to Hyrule is quite frightening, as are the deaths of the four champions who were supposed to be the protectors of Hyrule. In of gameplay, the Blood Moon that revived and empowered the enemy hordes was a scary addition, not to mention Link's ability to wield the limbs of fallen skeletal enemies as weapons against Breath of the Wild's most annoying enemies. The Legend of Zelda games always provide impressive fantasy stories regardless of rating, so Tears of the Kingdom's E10+ rating shouldn't be too concerning.
Although Tears of the Kingdom's ESRB rating should put an end to any theories about the game taking the Zelda series in a darker direction, that shouldn't raise any concerns about the game's quality. The Legend of Zelda has never needed to rely on excessive darkness or edginess in its games, so there's no reason to think that Tears of the Kingdom would need to do so. Zelda games have been some of the most classic adventures on Nintendo consoles for generations, able to appeal to almost anybody. Even though Tears of the Kingdom's trailers haven't revealed much, an E10+ can still allow for some darker themes - as seen with games like Majora's Mask.
Tears of the Kingdom may not be the dark Zelda adventure that its name can imply, but it doesn't need to be. Breath of the Wild managed to be one of the best Zelda games to date by innovating with new mechanics, not making itself edgier. Tears of the Kingdom doesn't need to be incredibly dark to be good - and, judging by its ESRB rating, it won't be that dark anyway.
Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube
