Is Zelda: Breath of the Wild essential before Tears of the Kingdom?

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is out on Friday after years of anticipation. Whereas there are many individuals who have ready for its launch by enjoying The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — or replaying it — there are nonetheless tons of people that missed the primary sport for no matter purpose. Plenty of folks bought the Nintendo Swap, perhaps their first fashionable sport console, in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic; Tears of the Kingdom could also be loads of folks’s first Zelda sport.

If that’s you, you is likely to be questioning: Do I want to play Breath of the Wild earlier than diving into Tears of the Kingdom?

Ought to I play Breath of the Wild earlier than Tears of the Kingdom?

It is likely to be good to play Breath of the Wild earlier than Tears of the Kingdom, but it surely’s not essential. In reality, enjoying Breath of the Wild and heading straight into Tears of the Kingdom is likely to be detrimental to your expertise of the brand new sport. Tears of the Kingdom is certainly a sequel to Breath of the Wild, so it’s not a standalone sport — it picks up shortly after Breath of the Wild in a modified (and expanded) Hyrule.

Tears of the Kingdom may be thought-about an iteration on Breath of the Wild; some would say it’s a remaining draft of the idea Nintendo put out in 2017. There’s a sameness between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom; the controls are comparable however expanded with new talents. Hyrule has modified, too, however the core of it stays the identical. Characters overlap, with their tales from Breath of the Wild slipping into Tears of the Kingdom.

Polygon guides author Johnny Yu stated that enjoying Breath of the Wild so near Tears of the Kingdom might restrict the best way you play Tears of the Kingdom; you might get too used to Breath of the Wild’s talents. Tears of the Kingdom might really feel like Breath of the Wild DLC somewhat than a brand new sport. Polygon opinions editor Mike Mahardy agreed, however added that in the event you have performed Breath of the Wild, “you’ll recognize how [Nintendo] morphed Hyrule extra, and tweaked present places, if the map is contemporary in your thoughts.”

There isn’t a narrative recap inside Tears of the Kingdom; you’re simply dropped into its world and experiencing it from there. However Nintendo does a very good job of maintaining gamers clued-in on context and introducing the characters as they stand in Tears of the Kingdom. This extends to gameplay, too — there are tutorial parts to get new gamers used to how the brand new sport works. Early shrines in Tears of the Kingdom are notably good in that regard; there’s loads of alternative to be taught and ideal new gameplay parts.

What ought to I do know in regards to the story?

Legend of Zelda tales are fairly easy at a excessive degree: Hyperlink and Zelda at all times want to avoid wasting Hyrule from some kind of evil, usually Ganon.

Nintendo launched a six-minute story recap for Breath of the Wild, although, if you wish to get into a few of the particulars. Primarily, previous to the beginning of Breath of the Wild, Zelda wasn’t in a position to seal off Calamity Ganon, who had been resurrected to make chaos in Hyrule anew, killing the king of Hyrule, the town crumbling in Ganon’s wake. Zelda’s powers got here again momentarily to briefly seal off Ganon, however Hyperlink was damage within the course of. (Once more, this all occurs earlier than the sport begins.) Hyperlink then was laid down for a 100-year therapeutic nap, from which he wakes up at first of Breath of the Wild.

Princess Zelda had been maintaining Ganon at bay for that total century, and now it’s Hyperlink’s time to take over and save Hyrule. He does, ending in a giant battle in opposition to Calamity Ganon, and with Zelda, the evil is sealed away for good. The top!

Tears of the Kingdom takes over from there, with Hyperlink and Zelda having spent a while restoring Hyrule. The sequel is claimed to be set “shortly” after Breath of the Wild, but it surely’s not solely clear simply how a lot time has handed.

For these of you who need to get deep in lore, we’ve bought a information to the whole timeline for the franchise, in addition to theories about how Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom match into the a number of timelines of Hyrule.

What’s the TL;DR?

No! Simply begin enjoying Tears of the Kingdom. You’re good. If you find yourself needing some assist, whether or not it’s lore or gameplay assist from guides, hold your eyes on Polygon. From launch day onwards, we’ll have wall-to-wall protection to reply actually any query you possibly can consider.