Will The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom be the last game in the series? Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to Breath of the Wild, and looks to be implementing some key aspects of Zelda lore that may conclude the overall story. But will it be the last Zelda game?
Tears of the Kingdom: What’s happening in the story?
Until Tears of the Kingdom is out, we don’t know exactly what the story will look like. However, we can make a few guesses based on the third big trailer for the game.
In the trailer, we see glimpses of new enemies including Ganondorf and a red-haired figure that resembles Demise, an earlier form of Ganon. This enemy was defeated in Skyward Sword (the first game in the Zelda timeline), but with his dying breath, he cursed future generations, starting an endless cycle.
In this cycle, he will be reborn as an incarnation of hatred, and it’s these incarnations we fight in other Zelda games. But if Demise himself is returning in Tears of the Kingdom, it could mean he is returning to full strength. If so, Link may have to defeat him for good.
In addition, Zelda’s story in Tears of the Kingdom will be crucial to the overall timeline of the Zelda franchise. In Skyward Sword, the goddess Hylia sacrifices herself and is reborn as Zelda, and in the new trailer, we see a figure who might be another Hylia. We may be coming full circle with the re-introduction of Hylia in Tears of the Kingdom.
Tears of the Kingdom: Will it be the last Zelda game?
Various theories have suggested that Tears of the Kingdom will be the game to finally end the endless cycle. From the return of Demise, the emergence of the goddess Hylia and even the game’s logo, fan theories have been running rampant online.
Despite all these things, Tears of the Kingdom will unlikely be the last Zelda game. The franchise is too successful, and Nintendo will want to continue making Zelda games as they’re one of the main games that help sell its consoles.
For a brief time, Breath of the Wild was the only big game on Switch – and it was all the console needed. Zelda is perhaps their most prestigious franchise, arguably on par with Super Mario.
Even if it isn’t the last Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom might serve as a sort of conclusion to the story we’ve all grown used to. The story of the triforce and the endless cycle, with Link, Zelda and Ganon constantly reappearing in different incarnations, may have its conclusion soon.
At the end of the day, none of us knows what Nintendo is planning for the future of Zelda. However, it’s safe to say there will probably be more Zelda games eventually.
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