Shared imagery between Zelda games is nothing new. Emblems of the Triforce pervade the franchise, even when the Triforce itself isn’t central to the story, and lots of Zelda dungeons put their own spins on dungeon ideas passed down through generations of the franchise. Still, Tears of the Kingdom’s emphasis on tears is a little more niche. Tears have cropped up as important artifacts in a few past Zelda games before, but now it sounds like they’ll take the forefront in a new way. Link will likely have to collect mysterious tears scattered around Hyrule, and these tears could relate to similar collectibles from Link’s past lives.
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Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess’ Tears
Skyward Sword’s use of tears had a decidedly divine quality to it. Over the course of Skyward Sword, Link had to complete various Sacred Realms created by the goddess Hylia to acquire artifacts that helped him navigate the world. To complete the Sacred Realms, Link gathered Sacred Tears, each of which was associated with one of Hyrule’s Golden Goddesses. Collecting the Sacred Tears represented Link’s own spiritual growth, but the connection to Zelda’s divine forces remains important too. This may not be the last time that Link needs to find the tears of the Goddesses.
Before the Sacred Realms, Twilight Princess had its own take on divine tears. Whenever this incarnation of Link entered an area shrouded by Twilight, he had to help the local Light Spirit by collecting Tears of Light stolen by Zant’s minions. Once Wolf Link and Midna hunted all of these tears down, light could be restored to the land. Twilight Princess’ approach to magical tears was certainly less metaphysical than Skyward Sword’s, but similarities remain, especially since both games contained the tears in similar plant-like vessels.
Tears as holy symbols in Zelda don’t stop there, as the more obscure Spirit Tracks has its own Tears of Light that perform a couple different services. Between all of these titles, there’s a clear pattern to tear symbology in the series, as well as a strong new piece of evidence that Tears of the Kingdom has something to do with Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, or both. However, it doesn’t provide an obvious direction in which Tears of the Kingdom might go with the tear concept. Either physical objects or more mystical “tears” could crop up in the next Zelda title, although a completely new interpretation is possible too.
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What the Tears of the Kingdom Could Be
Perhaps the most obvious use for Tears of the Kingdom’s implied titular artifacts would be something close to Twilight Princess’ idea. In the BotW sequel, Calamity Ganon’s Malice seems as potent as ever, meaning Link and Zelda may need to find new divine relics to banish the threat for good. Much like how collecting Tears of Light banishes Zant’s influence in Twilight Princess, gathering special tears in Tears of the Kingdom might drive back the Malice once again and purify Hyrule little by little.
A more spiritual take like Skyward Sword could be interesting too. Zelda’s struggle to use her divine powers is a significant subplot in Breath of the Wild, so Tears of the Kingdom might feature Zelda redoubling her efforts to draw on the goddess Hylia. In the process, she and Link might need to complete divine challenges similar to the Sacred Realms, this time to prove Zelda is worthy of her divine task as Hyrule’s leader, rather than focusing on Link’s growth. Princess Zelda’s role in Tears of the Kingdom remains mysterious, but the murals in the new trailer at least suggest that she might have another grand destiny ahead of her.
Although either of these options are plausible, Tears of the Kingdom could certainly have surprises in store. The titular tears might not be quite so mystical at all. Breath of the Wild put a huge emphasis on Sheikah relics and technology, so Tears of the Kingdom’s title might reference some important Sheikah artifacts that Link and Zelda need to find. Alternatively, Link and Zelda might need to create some tear-like relics themselves to protect Hyrule, possibly repeating a historic event depicted in Tears of the Kingdom’s murals.
Tears of the Kingdom Inherits Tradition
Whatever Nintendo has in mind this time, Tears of the Kingdom inherits a clear tradition of tear symbology in the franchise. The longstanding connection to godly forces makes it seem unlikely that divinity has nothing to do with the game’s title, but the game has lots of routes to choose from. Drawing on Skyward Sword may ultimately be the most likely possibility, since Nintendo has hinted at the return of Fi and borrowed other ideas from Skyward Sword already. However, the new take on Hyrule in the Breath of the Wild family of Zelda games promises that fans probably won’t just be running through familiar Sacred Realms a second time; Tears of the Kingdom will likely have its own sense of spirituality.
Although the game’s title likely refers to physical artifacts in the way that titles like Skyward Sword, Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, and so on have done, it also sets a tone for the journey to claim these artifacts. Tears of the Kingdom is a remarkably mournful title for a Zelda game, even if it’s meant to be literal. Whatever form the tears take, Link and Zelda might have a grim task ahead of them that leans on tones previously found in Majora’s Mask, which fans have already compared Tears of the Kingdom to for years. If Zelda’s protagonists need to find divine tears like in Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword, doing so could involve untold new tragedy for the kingdom of Hyrule.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases May 12, 2023 for Nintendo Switch.
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