Summary

• TOTK breaks tradition by being a direct continuation of Breath of the Wild, deviating from standalone Zelda games.
• Familiar Zelda story elements are present in TOTK, but developers added twists to keep the game fresh and unique.
• Link's weakened state at the start of TOTK was a strategic storytelling choice, providing a fresh take on tradition and introducing new gameplay mechanics.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, which isn't common in the franchise. Most games are independent of each other, even if there's a timeline that tries to connect them across three timeline splits and an unclear placement for BOTW. The stories can each be experienced separately. And over the years, there are certain story beats that have become expected, or even tradition. However, that doesn't mean every game follows these traditions instead of finding ways to make them feel fresh.

Some traditions that are found in Zelda include Link having a companion to guide him through his journey, major turning points hidden behind quests that require Link to gather a specific number of items, Zelda helping Link, and many more. While these familiar story elements are part of what makes a Zelda game feel so unique, they don't have to be used the same way every time. Instead, putting a twist on these traditions helps make games stand out in memorable ways.

Tears Of The Kingdom Doesn't Start With Link Waking Up

Breaks A Series Tradition

It's a joke at this point that Link loves sleeping, given how many games start with him waking up. In Ocarina of Time, Navi even has difficulties trying to wake Link up when she finds him in his tree house, expressing frustration that he's so deep in sleep when they need to save the Great Deku Tree and all of Hyrule. But as a direct sequel, TOTK decided to break tradition, and doing so brought with it a believable excuse for Link to lose all the Hearts and strength he would've had following BOTW.

The opening sequence is among the best story moments in TOTK. It starts with Link and Zelda exploring the ruins beneath Hyrule Castle, and stumbling upon Ganondorf, whom they unwittingly free from his seal. Ganondorf's Gloom Power latches onto Link's right arm, which drains the life from it and renders him severely injured to the point he es out. Naturally, after ing out, Link wakes up on Great Sky Island, returning to the tradition that Link waking up is the moment that his adventure truly begins. It was a twist on tradition that paid off.

Breaking Tradition Provided Useful Tools For Storytelling

Excuses To Weaken Link

There were a few questions floating around regarding how certain mechanics would work in TOTK, with it being a direct sequel to BOTW and with images and trailers showing Link with a new arm in TOTK. Considering how much Link went through in order to build his strength to defeat Calamity Ganon, explaining how he only starts the game with three hearts needed to be explained in a way that was believable. The solution ended up being that Link took a critical hit from Ganondorf at the start of TOTK, which nearly killed him and destroyed his arm.

As a result, Link lost the strength that he gained during his last adventure, and it provided an excuse for him to receive a new arm that gave him new abilities like Ultrahand in Zelda: TOTK, which became crucial for completing the game. It also opened up an opportunity to return to tradition and show Link waking up once he recovered on Great Sky Island, officially marking the start of his new journey to defeat Ganondorf and find Zelda. Overall, this decision made by the developers proved to be a brilliant choice; it made the tradition feel fresh while providing explanations for Link's reduced health and lost strength.

Tears of the Kingdom made a lot of changes to the normal Zelda formula, but in ways that improved upon it. Reusing the same formula too many times can make a series start to feel stale, but making slight changes and adding new twists to how that formula is used is often more than enough to prevent that from happening. There might not be any DLC coming or a third game added to make a trilogy, but with two amazing games in a row, it's clear that the series' future remains bright and full of exciting possibilities even after The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.