The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom comes out Friday after years of anticipation. While there are plenty of people who have prepared for the release by playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – or replaying it – there are still a lot of people who missed the first game for whatever reason. Many people got the Nintendo Switch, perhaps their first modern gaming console, during the COVID-19 pandemic; Tears of the Kingdom could be many people’s first Zelda game.
If that’s you, you might be wondering: do I? need to play Breath of the Wild before diving in Tears of the Kingdom?
Do I have to play Breath of the Wild for Tears of the Kingdom?
It might be fun to play Breath of the Wild for Tears of the Kingdom, but it is not necessary. In fact, play Breath of the Wild and straight in Tears of the Kingdom may be detrimental to your experience of the new game. Tears of the Kingdom is indeed a sequel to Breath of the Wildso it’s not a standalone game – it starts shortly after Breath of the Wild in an altered (and expanded) Hyrule.
Tears of the Kingdom can be considered an iteration on Breath of the Wild; some would say it’s a final version of the concept Nintendo released in 2017. Breath of the Wild And Tears of the Kingdom; the controls are similar, but expanded with new possibilities. Hyrule has also changed, but its core remains the same. Characters overlap, with their stories unfolding Breath of the Wild slip in Tears of the Kingdom.
Polygon guide writer Johnny Yu said play Breath of the Wild so close Tears of the Kingdom may limit the way you play Tears of the Kingdom; you can get used to it too much Breath of the Wild‘s abilities. Tears of the Kingdom could feel Breath of the Wild DLC instead of a new game. Polygon reviews editor Mike Mahardy agreed, but added that if you to have played Breath of the Wild“You will appreciate how [Nintendo] Hyrule changed more and existing locations adjusted, if the map is fresh in your mind.
There is no summary of the story Tears of the Kingdom; you just get dropped into his world and experience it from there. But Nintendo does a good job of keeping players informed about the context and introducing the characters as they appear in them Tears of the Kingdom. This also applies to the gameplay – there are tutorial elements to help new players get used to how the new game works. Early Shrines Inside Tears of the Kingdom are particularly good in that regard; there is plenty of opportunity to learn and perfect new gameplay elements.
What should I know about the story?
Legend of Zelda stories are pretty simple on a high level: Link and Zelda always have to save Hyrule from some evil, typically Ganon.
Nintendo released a six-minute summary of the story for Breath of the Wild, though, if you want to get into some details. Essentially, before the start of Breath of the Wild, Zelda was unable to shut down Calamity Ganon, who had been resurrected to once again wreak havoc on Hyrule and kill the king of Hyrule, the city crumbling in Ganon’s wake. Zelda’s powers briefly returned to temporarily shut down Ganon, but Link was injured in the process. (Again, this all happens before the game starts.) Link was then laid down for a 100-year healing nap, from which he wakes up at the start of Breath of the Wild.
Princess Zelda kept Ganon at bay for the entire century, and now it’s time for Link to take over and save Hyrule. He does, ending in a major battle against Calamity Ganon, and with Zelda, evil is sealed for good. The end!
Tears of the Kingdom takes over from there, with Link and Zelda spending some time restoring Hyrule. The sequel would take place “shortly” after that Breath of the Wildbut it is not entirely clear how much time has passed.
For those of you who want to dive deep into the lore, we’ve got a guide to the full timeline for the franchise, as well as theories on how Breath of the Wild And Tears of the Kingdom fit into Hyrule’s multiple timelines.
What is the TL;DR?
No! Just start playing Tears of the Kingdom. You are good. If you eventually need some help, be it knowledge or help with playing guides, keep an eye on Polygon. From day of release, we’ve got room-to-wall coverage to answer literally any question you can think of.