The best movies like Zelda games to watch while playing Tears of the Kingdom

It’s finally here, Polygon readers: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomthe long awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildis out and available to play.

We’ll be playing the game, writing guides, and generally having a good time in Hyrule. But what if you want the fun to extend beyond the game?

Below we have collected a list of movies that share some similarities with Tears of the Kingdom or the Zelda franchise as a whole. Maybe they have a similar story or main character. Perhaps they have a similar visual aesthetic. Maybe the vibes are just right, or there’s a crucial detail they share.

Enjoy these movies like Zelda games whether you watch them while taking a break Tears of the Kingdom or turn them on in the background as you continue to explore the wide world of the game.

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castle in the air

What it is: Studio Ghibli’s first anime production follows a boy named Pazu who, after rescuing a young girl named Sheeta who falls from the sky with a magical amulet, goes on a quest to protect the amulet from Sheeta’s would-be captors and searches for a mythical city. floating in the clouds.

Why it’s like Zelda: Aside from serving as one of the most obvious sources of inspiration for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild‘s art style (especially in the design of the Guardians, which resemble a mashup of a Laputian Robot Trooper And Jōmon sculptures), and the narrative similarities, it features a floating castle in the sky similar to Hyrule Castle in one of the early trailers for Tears of the Kingdom. —Toussaint Egan

Where to watch: castle in the air is available to stream on HBO maxor for digital rental or purchase at Amazon, AppleTV, Google Playand Vudu.

Princess Mononoke

What it is: About a decade later castle in the airMiyazaki and Studio Ghibli created this masterpiece in imitation of a young prince who wanted to bring harmony between humans, gods and a young woman raised by wolves.

Why it’s like Zelda: Besides the aesthetic similarities between Ghibli’s style and the Zelda games, mononoke features a hero far too young for this kind of responsibility, trying to protect the land and its living creatures in a world descending into chaos. Also, the main character of the movie, Prince Ashitaka, has a cursed right arm strong looks like Link’s arm inside Tears of the Kingdom. —Pete Volk

Where to watch: Princess Mononoke is available to stream on HBO maxor for digital rental or purchase at Amazon, AppleTV, Google Playand Vudu.

Labyrinth

What it is: Jim Henson’s dark fantasy wonder about a teenage girl who must travel to the center of a vast maze to save her little brother from the goblin king David Bowie. The film was nominated for a Hugo Award and a BAFTA for visual effects.

Why it’s like Zelda: Labyrinth is another movie about a young person who goes on a dangerous adventure to protect someone they love and hope for a better world. —PV

Where to watch: Labyrinth is free to watch with ads on Tubi and Pluto TV, or for digital rental or purchase at Amazon, AppleTV, Google Playand Vudu.

Free only

What it is: An Oscar-winning documentary about famed free solo (a.k.a. climbing without ropes or other protective gear) climber Alex Honnold, documenting his attempt to free solo climb Yosemite’s 900-foot El Capitan rock formation.

Why it’s like Zelda: Link loves to climb!!! And he does it without a rope. —PV

Where to watch: Free only is available to stream on Disneyplusor for digital rental or purchase at Amazon And Google Play.

Berserk

What it is: Kentaro Miura’s dark fantasy masterpiece (which has been adapted into three separate anime) follows the story of Guts, a lone mercenary swordsman who fights through a dark medieval world to avenge his fallen comrades sacrificed by his former commander and friend, Griffith. Be warned: it’s also very brutal and graphic.

Why it’s like Zelda: Remember that eclipse of the blood moon that happens periodically Breath of the Wild, the one who resurrects every nearby enemy you’ve killed (apart from bosses)? Imagine that solar eclipse Also transported you to a hellish dimension where you are skinned alive by a brood of demons who feast on your flesh, all so your ex-best friend can achieve his dreams. Berserk plays out as the darkest possible reimagining of Link’s story you could ever imagine. And it’s great. -AT

Where to watch: Berserk: The Golden Age Arc – Commemorative Edition (2022), a version of the Arch from the Golden Age film trilogy adapted into a TV series, is available to stream on Crunchyroll, or for digital purchase at Amazon. The anime series Berserk (2016) is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

Black angel

What it is: A medieval knight returns from fighting in the Crusades to find that his family has disappeared and that the land has been stricken with a mysterious disease. After crossing paths with a mysterious girl, the knight makes it his mission to free her from the clutches of her captor: an alien knight known as the “Black Angel”.

Why it’s like Zelda: Filmed in Scotland, the setting of Black angel is as eerie as it is beautiful. The knight’s quest to save the virgins feels just as epic and personal as Link’s to save Zelda and Hyrule from Ganondorf’s machinations. -AT

Where to watch: Black angel is available to stream on YouTube. It is also available for digital purchase at Amazon And Google Play.

The sword in the stone

What it is: This animated adaptation of the King Arthur legend follows a young orphan who pulls a magical sword from a stone and, with the help of a whimsical wizard named Merlin, trains to become the rightful king of England.

Why it’s like Zelda: Come on – the movie is literally about a child destined by fate to extract a magical sword from a stone and unite a broken kingdom. It doesn’t get much more archetypal than that, let alone more Zelda-esque. -AT

Where to watch: The sword in the stone is available to stream on Disneyplusor for digital rental or purchase at Amazon, AppleTV, Google PlayAnd Vudu.