Nintendo’s classic Ultra Hand toy lives on in Tears of the Kingdom

One of Link’s new powers The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a tribute to one of Nintendo’s oldest toys, the Ultra Hand. While the Ultrahand ability in Tears of the Kingdom let Link pick up and move objects that are far away, Nintendo’s nearly 60-year-old Ultra Hand toy did the exact same thing. It just doesn’t have the added function of building a functioning hovercraft, by the way Tears of the Kingdom‘s Ultrahand (combined with the Fuse) option does.

The original Ultra Hand was developed by the late Gunpei Yokoi, the creator of Nintendo’s Game & Watch, the inventor of the cross-shaped D-pad on Nintendo gamepads, and the original designer of the Game Boy. Yokoi created the Ultra Hand in 1966, at the behest of then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi after seeing Yokoi play with a similar device at one of the company’s factories. The inexpensive plastic toy was a hit, selling over a million units.

The blog For Mario has a great article on the Ultra Hand, which was pitched as a toy for kids that would allow them to grab things from far away – or hand something to someone across a table. Part prank tool, part skill toy, the new device was manufactured by Nintendo for at least seven years.

But Nintendo has never forgotten the Ultra Hand, and the device has appeared in video games countless times over the years. Nintendo’s WarioWare series features multiple Ultra Hand-inspired microgames, and the device has made non-playable cameos in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Splatoon 3And The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D. Nintendo even released a special Ultra Hand video game in 2010, Grill-Off with Ultra Hand! That game was a downloadable WiiWare title exclusive to Club Nintendo members; players used the Ultra Hand to grab pieces of meat that were cooking on a barbecue grill.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom can give players a similar experience this spring, when the powers of Hyrule’s Ultrahand and that mysterious flesh dart combine.