Despite being the direct sequel to one of the biggest Nintendo games ever,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomdid plenty to make itself feel new. A reused base map is easy to look past when it’s repopulated by an entire new game’s worth of content, and is only the first of three vertical layers.The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdommarks a rare return to an existing Hyrule for theZeldaseries, but it does so with enough style to make other titles feel jealous.
It’s not just the raw level design that feels new either, asTears of the Kingdomhas plenty of new things for players to do. Link is now equipped with a new arm courtesy of the Zonai Rauru, and he’s able to use it for all sorts of physics puzzles and combat creativity. Fans are still pushing the boundaries of what this system can do, and it’s difficult to imagineanotherZeldatitle toppingTears' toolset. There’s only one area whereTears of the Kingdom’s mechanics are lacking, and that’s building on top of the core weapon systems it kept fromBreath of the Wild.
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Earthwake Was A Pleasant Surprise in Tears of the Kingdom
That’s not to sayTears of the Kingdomdoesn’t improve combat at all, as its Fuse ability allows for a lot to be done with the basic one-handed sword, two-handed sword, spear, shield, and bow. However, only one new tool counts as an entirely new category of attack, and that’s Earthwake. Found as the penultimate reward of ahidden Yiga questline inTotK, Earthwake allows Link to perform the technique of the same name used by Yiga Blademasters. With the right sword, players can get surprisingly close to playing as one of the game’s elite enemies.
The way this is accomplished is subtly genius, and is entirely new to theZeldafranchise. To use Earthwake, Link’s weapon hand must be empty, at which point players can hold the attack button to begin charging a grounded projectile.Breath of the Wild’s introduction of two-handed swords and spears were technically bothalready found inThe Wind Waker’s combat, which received plenty of praise, but Earthwake is a whole new paradigm thatZeldais just now exploring. It’s a shame, then, thatTotKdoesn’t attempt to expand combat any further.
Zelda Should Do More With Unlockable Fighting Styles
The Earthwake technique is cool by itself, but it feels like a one-off experiment Nintendo threw in for its own sake. A bare-handed play style could have been supported as a secret set of abilities unlocked entirely through hidden manuals similar toadvanced blade techniques in pastZeldatitles. These wouldn’t need to be limited to martial arts, and could mark the return of reworked spells like Nayru’s Love, Farore’s Wind, and Din’s Fire. While these run the risk of overlapping with the elemental Sages' functions, they could instead focus on combat utility.
More than individual tricks, a whole new fighting style could open up to Link at the end of a game-spanning Side Adventure. While Earthwake and the proposed magical techniques might all be options for bare-handed charge attacks, an entirely new Zonai, Yiga, or even Sheikah fighting style could complete the bare-handed moveset. Perhaps it could be activated likeanother power on Link’s Zonai arm, or involve entering a stance from which different buttons become different strikes. The possibilities are endless, and manuals for hidden techniques would feel even more game-changing next toTears of the Kingdom’s often generic treasures. Hopefully, a futureZeldagame or DLC can fulfill the promise that Earthwake made.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available now on Nintendo Switch.
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