This is a short term blog I’ve set up to ponder the game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which is made out of missed opportunities in my opinion. I’ve never played a game and been more fascinated by what they left out than what’s in it. Don’t know why it’s occupying me lately, came out ages ago, but if I’m going to post for no reason, this is the place to do it.
For the record I do love the series, warts and all. The way this one game panned out is just so interesting to me.
Edit: Now it’s for stuff and things very occasionally.
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Sometimes you’ve just got to doodle your own version of The Legend of Zelda. I’ve made up a cast of characters that live at the castle. It’s… not actually for anything.
Hagen. Democratically elected leader of Hyrule in this era.
Rozudo. Retired from being king when his wife died, made his middle son the new king rather than his eldest son.
Hera. High priestess of the golden goddesses, but also oversees worship generally, right down to local spirits.
Sonia. Oldest gal around, knows her stuff! Misses her daughter.
Evenin. Currently waiting around for someone to find the mirror. Where could she be peering from?
Kasuto. Overly serious, dramatic elite guard of the royal family.
Impa. Named after a fallen Sheikah master, struggles with the responsibility.
Palu. A diplomat that fell in love with a handsome fool, now trains the guard.
Proxim. Very formal, romantic fellow who’d rather be arranging flowers than guarding the castle. Still pretty good at his job.
Crenel. Grumpy about it.
Ternio. A calm king, friend to all and usually a bit sleepy, especially during long speeches.
Floria. Priestess, outrider, magician. A formidable queen.
Ludfo. Politely, wants all the money.
Rauru. Quiet orphan who spends all day in the royal library reading tales of adventure. Protected by the owl Kae.
Rist. Already a world famous singer and dancer. Hopes to find an ancient monument in the desert to unlock long lost dance moves.
Eagus. First in line to the throne, and don’t you forget it! Very big on tradition.
Zelda. A jolly girl that loves magic and hopes to become a priestess one day. Hates her formal Princess dress (too heavy!) so tries to avoid it when possible.
Mineru. Zelda’s younger sister. A technological genius, she’s already invented what she calls “roller skates” which will soon be all the rage in Castle Town.
Menoat. In charge of construction, really can’t help but add fountains to things. They just look nice and keep the place humid!
Dracozu. Toddler with a strong bite! Loves bugs!
The Seer. Everyone is suspicious except the king. Where did they come from? What… are they?
Torin. Keeps the dang garden right. Yup.
Link. Torin won’t admit it, but he needs the help in his old age. A nice boy here to help.
Rhoam. A rabbit in the garden that no one can catch. Seems to like Link nevertheless.
Parapa. Visiting king of a vast kingdom to the west. Quick to laugh, but he’s so big it’s a bit intimidating!
Agaat. Powerful sorcerer, most profound—never gets listened to. Old friend of the queen.
Pip. Pip blows the horn when people enter the king’s throne room. Pip blows the horn!!!
Washa. Carries letter to and fro (honestly never read them).
Ulri. Give metal or leave Ulri alone!
Serenne. Works too much, especially since no one is asking. Often has nightmares, something about sage and thyme? Must be something she ate.
Quince. Eh, being a maid is a living. Found at the milk bar after work.
Dampé. Boss of the archaeologists and the cavern delving teams, because the work tends to overlap in Hyrule. Practical chap.
Rayne. Keeps folks in line when it comes to hot air balloons, the main way people travel these days.
Fado. In a time of peace, champion is more an honorary title. Nice guy, just a bit jumpy.
Sometimes you’ve just got to doodle your own version of The Legend of Zelda. I’ve made up a cast of characters that live at the castle. It’s… not actually for anything.
Hagen. Democratically elected leader of Hyrule in this era.
Rozudo. Retired from being king when his wife died, made his middle son the new king rather than his eldest son.
Hera. High priestess of the golden goddesses, but also oversees worship generally, right down to local spirits.
Sonia. Oldest gal around, knows her stuff! Misses her daughter.
Evenin. Currently waiting around for someone to find the mirror. Where could she be peering from?
Kasuto. Overly serious, dramatic elite guard of the royal family.
Impa. Named after a fallen Sheikah master, struggles with the responsibility.
Palu. A diplomat that fell in love with a handsome fool, now trains the guard.
Proxim. Very formal, romantic fellow who’d rather be arranging flowers than guarding the castle. Still pretty good at his job.
Crenel. Grumpy about it.
Ternio. A calm king, friend to all and usually a bit sleepy, especially during long speeches.
Floria. Priestess, outrider, magician. A formidable queen.
Ludfo. Politely, wants all the money.
Rauru. Quiet orphan who spends all day in the royal library reading tales of adventure. Protected by the owl Kae.
Rist. Already a world famous singer and dancer. Hopes to find an ancient monument in the desert to unlock long lost dance moves.
Eagus. First in line to the throne, and don’t you forget it! Very big on tradition.
Zelda. A jolly girl that loves magic and hopes to become a priestess one day. Hates her formal Princess dress (too heavy!) so tries to avoid it when possible.
Mineru. Zelda’s younger sister. A technological genius, she’s already invented what she calls “roller skates” which will soon be all the rage in Castle Town.
Menoat. In charge of construction, really can’t help but add fountains to things. They just look nice and keep the place humid!
Dracozu. Toddler with a strong bite! Loves bugs!
The Seer. Everyone is suspicious except the king. Where did they come from? What… are they?
Torin. Keeps the dang garden right. Yup.
Link. Torin won’t admit it, but he needs the help in his old age. A nice boy here to help.
Rhoam. A rabbit in the garden that no one can catch. Seems to like Link nevertheless.
Parapa. Visiting king of a vast kingdom to the west. Quick to laugh, but he’s so big it’s a bit intimidating!
Agaat. Powerful sorcerer, most profound—never gets listened to. Old friend of the queen.
Pip. Pip blows the horn when people enter the king’s throne room. Pip blows the horn!!!
Washa. Carries letter to and fro (honestly never read them).
Ulri. Give metal or leave Ulri alone!
Serenne. Works too much, especially since no one is asking. Often has nightmares, something about sage and thyme? Must be something she ate.
Quince. Eh, being a maid is a living. Found at the milk bar after work.
Dampé. Boss of the archaeologists and the cavern delving teams, because the work tends to overlap in Hyrule. Practical chap.
Rayne. Keeps folks in line when it comes to hot air balloons, the main way people travel these days.
Fado. In a time of peace, champion is more an honorary title. Nice guy, just a bit jumpy.
I gotta say, I feel a bit robbed that the next Zelda game to take place after TotK (if that ever happens) won’t have that Zelda wearing an outfit based on the Light Dragon. Like, they’re not, right? They won’t do that. She got changed back, it’s all forgotten. It could have been a great reference though, and so distinctive against other Zelda designs. A wee gal wearing an antler tiara, a slightly too big frumpy dress that trails behind her, crystal tear earrings, layered necklace like heavy scales.
Loads of other people have made better posts on the big guy, so I’ll be brief.
The Calamity did it better. The concept of your generic fantasy villain who gets sealed for a thousand years and pops back to take over the world again devolving over countless centuries into a mindless beast, a living storm, an act of god—is really cool. The whole idea that two kids have to take this on fully knowing sometimes they win, and sometimes the kingdom is destroyed, was about as devastating as a Nintendo game is going to get.
Meanwhile, Ganondorf doesn’t so much as switch gears between being sealed by Rauru and waking up. He still wants to… Wants whatever it was he did want, even though 100,000 years have gone by. He’s lucky the people of Hyrule don’t change much either, because by rights things should be so alien to him that he’d have to stop and ponder what it’s all for. Every person he ever knew is dead and who can say if he has anything in common with the remaining descendants?
…and that’s what’s missing, I think. I don’t expect Wind Waker levels of grandiose speeches and contemplation, but come on, you’re telling me he has nothing to think about?
Imagine if, instead of meeting him again in his bedroom in the Depths, Ganondorf was your companion for the game. Or, even keep him optional, as a figure that haunts your dreams if you grab a bed for the night (with a scripted need to sleep some time to show you that’s a thing), or replace the ancient sages saying “come, come to me” which was very awkward with Ganondorf telling you to piss off before each dungeon. This way we could have got more mummified corpse time, and his view on things.
I think turning a corner in desert and seeing a corpse sat on a rock, staring at nothing, only for him to plainly say: “There was a city here, I think, or perhaps further east… Traitors, the lot of them… A fitting end, perhaps… but I thought something of it would remain. A fragile thing, this world, caught in the glint of time.”
Or some shit, you know? You can make him hate fragility, and light, and time itself, but throw some poetic language in there.
Just thought about this again. Sort of regretful but still fully on mission mummified Ganondorf would have rocked. A little touch of sadness really sells the Zelda series; TotK really needed someone in the present to care about the fall of some kingdom 100,000 years ago or whatever it was.
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A part of me will always be a little disappointed we didn't get a more fleshed out Depths, so here, have some very interesting plant species that could have been used, or used to greater effects. It's all well and good to supersize a plant, but why don't we also use some of the cool flora of old biomes and specialised environments.
I'll have to add in some of the further concept art as I make if, but in the end, I suppose I'm just a huge fan of this thing called the outside world. What a crime.
Side note; if you were to make a biome or something in the depths, be it an animal, a building, a plant, or a place, what would it be and what would it do? Tears of the Kingdom had the chance to go full Subnautica 1 on this, and didn't. what would you differently? And feel free to add pictures if you like!
featured plants;
Cycad
grass tree
Wollemi pine
casaurina tree
dendrosenicio
orchid
ginko
horsetail ferns
rhubarb
swamp fern
Don't they just look sick?? Could you imagine? ugh
Add in some fantasy elements, bioluminescence for the plants that eat insects, and hey! that's an ecosystem that has a reason to exist right there.
Adding to the concept of the Depths - structured biomes! Mangroves and swamps, pillars and mazes made of the cavern’s themselves built into the walls by the inhabitants of the realm. Small hamlets and villages left abandoned - or occupied - that filtered water, fished, mined, harvested fruits and leaves from the strange world below. A water scape full of glowing life, and underwater caves that only the correct item or guide could lead you through.
When I said world beneath, I meant it! A place of wonder, danger and mystery that once held life! And I’m loving some of the ideas so far.
This is just a water based biome so far, but perhaps one that hangs from the ceiling, or occupied lava, or has a glacier plunging into the Depths would be interesting? An excuse to bring out some prehistoric animals just that bit too weird for the Surface.
If I was in charge of the next Zelda game I would put four unexplained Gerudo men in a corner of the map you never need to visit, and I would simply never explain it. Anyway, that’s the post.
A part of me will always be a little disappointed we didn't get a more fleshed out Depths, so here, have some very interesting plant species that could have been used, or used to greater effects. It's all well and good to supersize a plant, but why don't we also use some of the cool flora of old biomes and specialised environments.
I'll have to add in some of the further concept art as I make if, but in the end, I suppose I'm just a huge fan of this thing called the outside world. What a crime.
Side note; if you were to make a biome or something in the depths, be it an animal, a building, a plant, or a place, what would it be and what would it do? Tears of the Kingdom had the chance to go full Subnautica 1 on this, and didn't. what would you differently? And feel free to add pictures if you like!
featured plants;
Cycad
grass tree
Wollemi pine
casaurina tree
dendrosenicio
orchid
ginko
horsetail ferns
rhubarb
swamp fern
Don't they just look sick?? Could you imagine? ugh
Add in some fantasy elements, bioluminescence for the plants that eat insects, and hey! that's an ecosystem that has a reason to exist right there.
I don’t spent a lot of time thinking about alternative universe stuff, but it has hit me just now that Tears of the Kingdom would be more interesting if Zelda landed anywhere other than right in front of Sonia and Rauru.
Out in the wilderness. She has to BotW Link her way through the landscape with nothing but sticks for weapons. Maybe she eventually finds a village that doesn’t belong to Hyrule and becomes a teacher, but not their leader or nobility. The Sheikah?
Gerudo Desert! Really difficult to survive alone, showing how resourceful she is. Still probably passes out, at which point the Gerudo save/capture her… leading to her being indebted to… Ganondorf! Zelda instantly knows he’s Ganon, but also becomes a respected member of his society to undermine him.
Any of the other tribes. How do the Zora see the new kingdom rising up nearby? Is it Zelda that convinces the Gorons to join? What was going on in the forest during his era? Would Zelda look badass in a Rito outfit shooting light arrows? Yes.
She goes back in time, but doesn’t change position. She’s in the Depths chamber before it crumbles in the distant future. She climbs out to where the castle will one day be built. She makes it to Sonia and Rauru, but since she didn’t magically appear before them there is now tension that she is a spy or tricking them somehow.
I bet you fan fiction writers have delved into this a bunch already, but I post what I want! Have a nice day!
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I just had a really cool visual of the guardians scattered across Hyrule evaporating into those blue teleportation lines as you approach them, you don’t even get to be close, they evaporate when they’re on screen. It’s only explained by one NPC, and even they don’t know what’s happening, just that they’re gone, it’s the end of an era. You do a quest to sneak up on one, and this is the only one that doesn’t evaporate until you get up close, a cutscene of Link plays reaching towards it and then it turns into wiggly blue lines and the camera follows it into the sky.
There I just took TotK’s desire to ignore BotW and made it a poignant motif about death and moving on.
Kass, having inexplicably travelled back in time, is the captain of the Stormwind Ark.
Rauru’s evil older brother who he forgot to mention in TotK is a secondary antagonist. His name is Vaati.
Mineru has an apprentice named Sheik, who makes a version of the Purah Pad he calls the Sheikah Slate. Also a ninja.
Ancient Linkle in the Barbarian set joins the fray.
There’s an earth or shadow Mogma sage that was totally always there; Rauru just gave them their magic rock earlier. They die and their magic rock is lost. They’re the best character in the game.
The spirit inside the unique construct is Groose.
If they don’t do any of these I just don’t understand the point.
I'm not sure if you ship Zelink, but I still think that making the ship canon would've helped the story a lot since it would give Link more stakes, stop with all the bs about whether or not people know Link or not, and be a logical conclusion to the relationship built up in BotW.
I also think it could help give Link a character arc, evolving from a soldier who follows orders to a king and partner who can help Zelda rule. We see Link meet all these different kings of Hyrule, and in this rewrite, these experiences influence what kind of leader he wants to be, instead of just them being there to help Link in the opening.
I don’t really do shipping, but I agree that what’s missing from the Wilds era is an arc for Link. I’d argue it’s Zelda that should learn from past kings to become a new kind of leader. Hyrule has fallen twice and she experienced both falls, so rather than ending with the sages swearing allegiance to her exactly like Rauru, she should have been moving Hyrule forward to something new.
I think making Link also take on some challenge to attain royalty would have been one possible way to give him an arc. The sky islands would have been ideal places to put some kind of Trial of Kings thing, where we could learn more about the Zonai and why Rauru is a king at all.
Purely through accidental game design Link shows signs of being priest-like / holy; he can see koroks, ghosts, dragons, he’s come back from the dead pretty much, which now I think about it lines him up with Sonia (though her being a priestess is only mentioned outside the game, I think). Him learning to become a priest / leader of the sages could have been something, possibly bringing the three goddesses back into play.
If they’d leaned more into the idea of rebuilding Hyrule and forming ties he could have become a general of a united army, going from knight to captain is something I guess.
TotK would have been improved just by making Link emote when he found out about Zelda’s transformation, for a start. Before you have a Zelda/Link romance you’d need a different scene director I reckon. Thanks for the comment!
Characters you could make for Age of Imprisonment with your eyes closed:
Sheik. Mineru’s ninja bodyguard who is ambiguously gendered and morally grey (but not really). At some point ends up with the blueprints for the Purah Pad which will lay the foundation for the Sheikah Slate thousands of years later, in a silly paradox. Wields a naginata like the original Hyrule Warriors Impa.
Tantari. Name taken from Zelda 2 for fun. A high priestess, as Sonia was said to be before she became queen. Through her we learn about whatever it is people believe in during this period. Classic healer type with stuff borrowed from the series, such as Nayru’s Love, fairy stuff, Din’s Flame, SS Impa’s shield magic. Explicitly from Sonia’s tribe, not just a Hylian.
Dracuzo. Named after an area in Faron. Look. Someone built the original BotW Zonai ruins. Someone wore the barbarian set. So this guy. Dracuzo is a Rhoam / Tauro sized Hylian who is a big ol’ berserker. I guess he has access to big boomerangs and a two-handed sword.
Sonia. Sonia. Not as DLC later. She’s got time travel powers. You can even make her playable after her death if you massage the lore a little. Time travel powers. Bow of light.
Kotake and Koume. Do anything with them and make them playable, and not as a DLC later that doesn’t count. Right out of the gate. They’re two characters but they play as one. Run in circles to create magic death traps of ice and fire. Teleport to each other. Evil things.
Beedle. Post Skyward Sword it’s clear this guy is at all ends of the timeline, if that’s a thing now. Ancient Beedle. Has a pull random crap out of his bag move set. Beetle powers. You understand?
Linkle. Link’s own ancestor. Maybe give her brown hair this time and base her a little on Zelda 1 for the reference. Remember Linkle? Maybe give her the hookshot and other forgotten items. Let her have a conversation with Zelda that is about literally anything. You can call her something else. Seres.
Speed mode: Snowy owl Rito. Koi carp Zora. Small garnet Goron. Young great fairy. Surprise evil Zonai. Hebra yeti wrestler. Ganondorf. Flamboyant sidekick demon who steals the show. Ancient Wizzrobe. Alive, smaller Eldin Great Skeleton creature. Rauru and Sonia’s kid that they have to have had for the story to exist. The stocky attendant woman with the weird mii face. Dampé.
Not to be a huge bitch but I’m looking over the twenty playable characters in Age of Imprisonment and half of them, the new ones, are boring. They don’t hold a candle to the average tumblr Original Character. I wish I could draw because I think most of these need a redesign and some cool feature each, both visually and narratively. They look like ordinary townsfolk from Breath of the Wild. Gorons, Zoras and Gerudo have been wearing the same style of clothes for 100000 years apparently. Compare this to the first Hyrule Warriors and it’s laughable honestly.
You can pick any fish for a Zora and they’re more or less generic, standardised town guard looking guys from BotW Zora’s Domain. Rito? Any bird. Gorons are a bit indistinct, but there’s a lot you can do with size and weight distribution. The Gerudo are okay but their faces are very similar, live a little, dare to give one of them a pointy OoT Ganondorf nose.
Also, there’s way more men than women in the cast, which again is just silly. I don’t think there’s any agenda behind that, it’s just not thinking at all.
Plus, what, no playable Ganondorf? Those two unique Gerudo by his side are unnamed, unplayable and don’t appear in the story much (to my knowledge)? No evil Zonai because fuck it why not? No glamorous flamboyant side villain that steal the spotlight and becomes everyone’s fav?
Thanks for reading my post for no one!
Edit: Wait. The stocky attendant lady isn’t playable? No move set where a strong woman hits monsters with giant books and her fat ass? Disgusting.
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I’ve got second-hand regret that King Rauru wasn’t a twist villain or just straight up made the villain from the start, simply because all of Ganondorf’s lines in the present would sound better coming from him.
