Every Easter egg in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a huge game that depicts a Hyrule with three levels to explore: Earth, Air, and Underground. This Hyrule is also full of Easter eggs, by which we mean playful little references to other Zelda games. After all, these references are part of the greater mythology of Hyrule. If you want to find them all, we’re compiling a running list of every reference we’ve found, organized by the game they’re from.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993)

In the most extreme southeast corner of Hyrule’s map, you’ll find an island fringed by a shoreline called Toronbo Beach with only one landmark, called Koholit Rock. If that sounds remotely familiar, it may be because this island (named Eventide Island) was also there Breath of the Wild – or maybe because you heard about it in a dream? Specifically, it comes from the dream that Link has Link’s awakeningwhich takes place in an alternate dream version of Hyrule in which every person, place, and thing has a name that is only one small bitten off.

At the beginning of Link’s awakening, Link is shipwrecked and washed up on Toronbo Shores (that’s “Shores”, not “Beach”). Later in the game, he ventures to Koholint Island, which has a slightly different name than the Koholit Rock pictured here. Why is the “n” missing in Tears of the Kingdom‘s version of the name? And why is it just a rock as opposed to the name of the whole island? Again, we just attribute it to the dream logic of Link’s awakening. —Maddy Myers

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

When Link cooks a dish over a fire Tears of the Kingdom, he hums a little song. The only song I’ve heard so far is “Saria’s Song,” also known as the Lost Woods theme, from Ocarina of Time. According to users in this Reddit threadLink also hums several other songs from Ocarina while cooking, such as ‘Epona’s Song’, ‘Zelda’s Lullaby’, ‘Song of Storms’ and possibly others yet to be heard and shared by Tears of the Kingdom players.

The Ocarina of Time soundtrack composed by Koji Kondo features some of the most popular and critically acclaimed Zelda songs ever; these songs have influenced musicians for years since their debut. Plus, it’s downright adorable to hear Link hum them. —MM

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000)

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Majora’s Mask, the titular cursed mask from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Maskcan be won and carried by Link in Tears of the Kingdom, if you manage to overcome one of the most difficult challenges in the game. If you dare to fight, go to the Floating Coliseum (in the Central Hyrule Depths). As soon as you arrive, the Colosseum closes in on you, after which you must face five increasingly difficult Lynels. If you manage to beat them all, this mask will be your reward – and what a reward it is! This is the major benefit of wearing this mask, according to the item description: “Wearing it will make it harder for certain enemies to see you. It’s a pretty rare find.” —MM

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

In the extreme southeast corner of Hyrule, you’ll find Eventide Island, an isolated piece of land. Below that, you’ll find the Eventide Depths, home to a colosseum filled with Bokoblins of various colors. If you tackle them all, you’ll be rewarded for your trouble: Midna’s helmet van The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Midna’s helmet is iconic, because it’s one of the main things people see on her and think, “What the hell is that?” In Tears of the Kingdom, it provides a good chunk of defense, but also makes you resistant to gloom, which makes sense given Midna’s affinity for the Twilight Realm. (I mean, gloom is dark, and so is twilight? I know it’s not the same thing, but thematically it works, okay?) While you can’t pick things up with the orange hair on the helmet, you can put it on and then go stand in a pack of wild wolves and pretend to role-play as your favorite character (Midna), if you will. —Julia Lee