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With The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom just around the corner, many old-time fans and newcomers alike have gotten very excited by the creative new take on the open-world action RPG genre. And newcomers are rightfully wondering whether they can jump right into the latest game, or either have to go through the entire long-running franchise, or at least play BOTW to experience Tears of the Kingdom. Although The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to the beloved Breath of the Wild, players don’t necessarily need to have played the former to enjoy the upcoming sequel. This sentiment was echoed by both series producer Eiji Aonuma and game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi in a recent Nintendo interview.
Aonuma mentioned that the game’s new mechanics, such as the Fuse ability, are designed to be solved intuitively, making it easy for first-time players to get into the game. Fujibayashi added that the development team put effort into ensuring that the game feels comfortable for both first-time players and those who have broken more weapons than they can count.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Is Taking New-Comers Into Consideration
One example of this is the game’s character profiles section, which can be accessed at any point during the game. This feature recaps characters and their stories, making it easy for players to understand the relationships between the cast with no prior exposure to the series. Fujibayashi also teased that players who did play Breath of the Wild might find themselves grinning upon discovering a detail that reminds them of a particular moment from the game. This shows that the world of Breath of the Wild hasn’t just been ported over but has evolved and grown with time.
So even if you haven’t played any game in the series, jumping in with Tears of the Kingdom won’t be confusing, as long as you do your homework and read as much of the lore as possible.
Do You Need To Play BOTW Before Tears of the Kingdom?
For those who do want a recap of Breath of the Wild before playing the sequel, you have two options. You can either experience Breath of the Wild as intended (highly recommended), or if you just want to just into the latest entry, Nintendo has created a full story video that has you covered. The seven-minute feature provides a great reminder of what happened with Calamity Ganon’s attempted resurrection in Hyrule and how Link and Zelda stopped him together. But if you plan on playing that game, then a spoiler alert for the video is in order. You can watch the whole video on YouTube here.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set to launch on May 12, and early previews have been very positive. And considering the track record of Nintendo, fans don’t have anything to worry about.