#zelda speculation

Although this is just speculation. I'm still staring at the grand poe at the spring of revival suspiciously. Because it is right where botw Link woke up on the Surface and that seems not coincidental

The Yiga Clan’s Devotion to the Demon King

When did Kohga, the leader of the Yiga Clan, find out that the seal on the Demon King had been broken? Interestingly enough, Kohga expresses a fervent desire to “bring an end to this world in concert with a divine being,” which echoes the Demon King’s own ambitions. Perhaps the Demon King used one of his puppets to appear before the Yiga Clan and inform them of his intentions.

It’s also worth noting that the Yiga Clan makes several attempts to trick Link into an ambush by using Princess Zelda as a lure. If this strategy was concocted in imitation of the Demon King’s own methods, then it might be regarded as a display of sincere respect (although it must be said that the Yiga alter their own appearance rather than using magical proxies, and they have the unfortunate disadvantage of becoming distracted by Mighty Bananas).

Something that bothers me about the backstory of Tears of the Kingdom is that the fall of Zonai civilization is never explained. Even before the war with the Demon King, the Zonai already seemed to be in severe decline. During his formal surrender, Ganondorf taunts Rauru by claiming that he and his sister Mineru are the only two remaining Zonai, and there seems to be no evidence to the contrary.

As Rauru guides Link through the Gardens of Time, he explains that the Zonai used their technology to build a civilization that "flourished for many, many years," presumably before the founding of Hyrule. In Breath of the Wild, ancient technology was somewhat sinister, as demonstrated by the disasters precipitated by the malfunctions of the Divine Beasts. Was the decline of the Zonai also connected to their technology, somehow?

In the English version, Zelda says, “Link... I am not sure you’ll be able to stop him.” In the Japanese version, she says,「リンク。このままでは、あなたでも勝てない。」This translates to, “Link, as things are now, even you will not be able to succeed.”

I think that perhaps what you and I might call “nuanced writing” or even “intriguing worldbuilding” isn’t a concern for most people who play Zelda games. This is nothing more than my own impression, of course, but I get the sense that the vast majority of series fans care about one of two things: gameplay mechanics, or being able to see conventionally attractive young people have a happy ending.   

I don’t have an uncle who works at Nintendo, so I don’t have any special insight into the company’s decisions, but I’d assume the devs were aware they’d be competing with Final Fantasy XVI and Elden Ring. If I had to guess, I’d say that the decision to tone down the initial “dark fantasy” elements of Tears of the Kingdom was based on practical issues related to marketing. Instead of trying to beat FromSoft and Squaresoft at their own game, I think the Zelda devs wanted to appeal to the core audience of the series, and they considered that core audience to be professional gaming journalists obsessed with unique gameplay mechanics and creative influencers on social media who ship Zelda/Link.

Accordingly, I think the bulk of the artbook accurately reflects the primary concerns of the developers. There’s page after page of visual references for Link’s outfits and weapons, as well as sparsely annotated concept art for the temples and shrines. I’m still working my way through the 100+ pages of text at the end of the book, but most of what I’ve encountered so far is a basic summary of what we see in the game. In terms of the more “shocking” revelations, such as Sonia and Rauru having children, I can understand why these elements were cut for the sake of streamlining an already bloated product.