Tears of the Kingdom - E3 2021 Trailer Analysis / Breakdown 

Thanks for watching! What part of the trailer are you most excited about? I can't get over how sick the Zonai flamethrower is lol

Ganon isn't raising his hands, he's actually about to do a sick backflip

They really went full Ghibli this time -Howl's Moving Bokoblin Camp -Princess Mononoke Arm -Castle In The Sky (w/ Sky Guardians)

i wanted to say this in case nobody mentioned it yet: link’s hair isn’t longer, he just let it down. he had a ponytail so i don’t think that’s a good indication of the time this takes place.

“and he appears to be shirtless” lord have mercy

Link doesn’t actually have more hair, he just untied his ponytail.

I love how Link shakes his head after diving through the the solid ground, likes he's getting out of the water.

I’m almost 100% sure that time reversing will be something key to this game. First, the reversed music seems to be some kind of leitmotiv. Then, the ability that makes the spiky rocks go backwards, along with the puddle becoming a drop of water that goes up make it seem like Link’s abilities will be focused on this concept. Finally, the fact that this game is most likely related to Skyward Sword (the first canonical game) further strengthens the theory

Nintendo: try going straight to hyrule castle now!

Zeltik is a lovely fella.

Looks like we'll be in the sky for good while with both SSHD and BOTW2. Super pumped!

Theory: Link loses his arm and the arm in the cave replaces it. This new arm features a built in shieka slate

I would love to have Zeltik's opinion on this: I'm replaying botw, and something caught my attention that might explain why Link and Zelda are underground. Very early in the game when King Rhoam finally explains who he is to link, he quotes the prophecy and says, "The signs of calamity Ganon are clear, and the power to oppose it *lies* *beneath* *the* *ground* . We never hear this line again in the game. I believe that the Sheikah and the people of Hyrule had mistakenly misinterpreted this prophecy, believing the guardians and divine beasts were what the prophecy meant. However it may be something more. I believe this is why Zelda and Link are seen searching underground in the original trailer. I also want to point out that, as far as I know, Ganon and Ganondorf cannot consciously exist at the same time. It's possible that in order to truly banish Ganon, something may need to be done to Ganondorf. Perhaps this is what the prophecy meant.

Here's something I just noticed myself: when we see that drop falling upwards as Link travels to the sky and through the rock, the ground where the liquid was seems hollowed out - like drops have been falling onto this very spot for many millennia, slowly carving away at the solid rock. If this is how Link travels between ground and sky, I wouldn't be surprised if there were specific "portals" - places where this strange liquid is dripping down, and has been for thousands of years, and if you reverse its flow with your arm, you can travel with it. Back into the sky. Portals/waypoints like that have been common in the Zelda series, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them here.

"Good kids can see it! They can see the kingdom floating in the sky." -Shamae Woodland stable. That kid was not crazy after all.

Link's hair isn't longer, he just doesn't have it up in a ponytail anymore.

Pretty hilarious coming back to this after the release & him calling the friendly constructs with a *broom* symbol a potential boss

This got me more hyped than the footage did.

So, one thing I'm sure a few other people have pointed out: BotW Link has always had relatively long hair; he just usually keeps it in a short ponytail. Chances are good that the items he's wearing in the sky scenes just make him change his hairstyle. We even see precedence for this in items in BotW (See Shiekah armor, and a few others) So, I hadn't noticed that Link had the master sword in the scene where his arm got got, but I had a theory, and now that you've pointed it out, I think that fills in some holes. So, the Master Sword's whole thing is that it's the Blade of Evil's Bane, and I flat-out refuse to believe that any form of Ganon could have overwhelmed its sacred power and destroyed it, at least not in any way that matters. However, what could have happened here, was like... Link's arm started getting got, and the Master Sword did its thing and repelled the evil, just... not in time. So now Link's arm is corrupted, and corruption is slowly spreading through his body. It's being kept in check by those shiekah armbands, but it's also made it so Link can no long touch the master sword (at least not with his sword hand). Link probably ends up dropping the Master Sword, and it either uses its sacred power to return to its resting place, someone else retrieves it for him, Ganondorf kinda... kicks it into the pit, or, it gets left where he dropped it. And actually, now that I think about it, that flamethrower introduces the idea of Link using things in his left hand in order to attack. So, after all his trials and tribulations through the game, he returns to where Ganondorf is, Ganondorf mocks him for not being able to harm him since he can't use the Master Sword... and then Link grabs the Master Sword with his left hand.

7:03 Death Mountain has NO lava. Probably means its inside can be explored.

Interesting how we're finally introduced to a new type of technology, that draws its power from a mysterious green energy source. This is the third counterpart to Malice (Red) and Sheikah technology (Blue). Similar to how in the very first Zelda game, there was only the Triforce of Power and Wisdom. Then Zelda II finally introduced the Triforce of Courage.

Tarrey town is definitely gonna be a floating island I’m calling in now

One thing worth pointing out is that in all the sky footage Link is in his new outfit and we can see the floating islands, but in all the surface footage Link is in his Champion tunic and we don't see any islands I think it's very possible that they're two entirely separate areas (possibly accessed through time travel or something due to the similarities the new look has with the hero from the tapestry)

Only Zeltik can turn a 2 minute trailer into a 13 minute, deeply analyzed, well edited entertaining video.

The "skyward jump" seems to use Farore's powers, though that could just be because I've always inferred Farore's influence by the colour green since Ocarina of Time. It would also be appropriate considering Her domain is the winds of Hyrule. It would be really cool to actually have use of some of the Triforce of Courage powers during the general gameplay, as well. A first for the series.

The green stone golem doesn’t seem like an enemy to me. Seems more like a great fairy entity similar to Malanya

You know when you haven’t eaten in hours, but then you smell food cooking and realize how hungry you were? I’m just realizing how thirsty I am for a Zelda game.

That shoulder-garb and skirt is a toga. Those strapped sandals are caligae. There are definite ancient greek vibes going on here. Even the color theory shares parallels to colors used represent Olympian fantasy scapes. Gold fields. Viridian clothes replacing the stark green/blue... Also, I don't think the being at 5:00 is a boss. Just showing it animating in place seems like an odd way to tease a new enemy. Also the yellow broomstick on its chest gives me more of a service sign vibe than a mysterious emblem. I think this golem is more likely a helpful NPC than a foe. and it uses *green* energy, which I think we're being lead to believe correlates to Link's connection to bravery/spirit, much like the *blue* energy in BotW1 correlates to Zelda's wisdom/magic _(and if you ask me, I think they are both Sheika related, with green being an inherent natural energy with blue being an engineered version of it)...while Ganon's *red* energy (Malice) is of course representative of power/evil.

"Longer hair" It's just untied... His hair is pretty long when using the Ancient Helm, because it's also untied.

Let's be honest ladies and gentlemen - THIS is the analysis we've been waiting for!

What you call 'eggs' on that stone cyclops make my art history senses tingle. They look exactly like a common architectural decoration and that would make them pine cones. In ancient times, the pine cone was a symbol of fertility. In Christianity, the pine tree is seen as the tree of life and its cones as symbols of resurrection and immortality. I'm curious to see if this interpretation has any merit.

"He doesn't feature a chest wound..." My man's out here looking like a bowling ball and you don't call that a chest wound?

Calling the helper construct a mini boss had me rolling

I feel like that green golem is a friendly and not some kind of enemy. He seems happy and the scenery around him is bright and positive.

Actually, Link's hair was always that long, he's just wearing his hair down

Random Theory: The Zonai moved up to the Sky hundreds of years ago, however this ‘Green Energy’ took over their land, just like how Malice took over Hyrule, but this time the energy seems to be good, and a main source of power. It also seems like this green energy might counteract malice as the energy is seen healing links arm after malice attacks it. Edit: The Green Energy might counteract it as it could come from the courage part of the triforce, much like how malice is the power part.

I would love to see a hookshot/clawshot style ability where the green energy reaches out of his arm and can latch onto things pulling link to them.

Everybody seems to be wrong about the hair, it's not longer than it is normally. he just doesn't have his ponytail in. Wearing the ancient sheikah helmet in the original game, you can see link's actual hair length underneath the helmet. It's the same length.

But.. am i the only one thinking that the green energy isn’t “altering” links arm but more like fusing to “upgrade” him, to make his quest easier ?

I honestly think that time is the key. If you use the time reversal scene they showed us as a reference, I think we will be shifting between the timeline of old and the current timeline seamlessly using the power of the arm. I mean it’s obvious that we’re playing as the champion from the tapestry AND Link as we know him in BOTW with the arm being the intermediary. I just don’t see Fujibayashi & Aonuma putting those hints in the trailer without cause.

Story stuff aside, I am super excited for the fact that this game seems to introduce so many new gameplay elements, meaning it's not just a carbon copy of botw, but rather an extension.

Fun fact: We don't see Link's face after he's attacked by malice.

A few things that could be hypothesised: - When the malice corrupts Link’s arm it either destroys it or, to avoid the chosen Hero’s corruption, gets literally removed and gets replaced with the hand that was sealing Ganon (the scene when Link is lying on the floor, the writings on the stone is possibly Zonai and could be a magic chant of some sort). - When Link goes Za Warudo with his arm to stop the spiky ball and sends it back towards the Bokoblins and the Moblin, for a split second you see the Triforce on the back of his hand, which could mean that he finally got the Triforce of Courage because the arm that is now attached to his body is the one of the ancient Hero. - We don’t get to see Link’s face at all during the trailer, if not for the brief moment when we see his arm being attacked by the Malice. This could be intentional, as something might have happened to it. Do the same marks that are now on his arm and back (and possibly chest) appear on the right side of his face too? Which poses another question: is Link on borrowed time? Is the magic arm a temporary replacement of some sort, to help him maybe restore a now broken Master Sword, save Zelda and stop Ganon’s plan? If that is the case, they may not show his body and his face because they may change during gameplay. Just like the arm in the first trailer was trying to stop the Malice from pouring out from Ganon’s body, the arm now is trying to stop Link’s corruption. Should he fail, the arm will be unable to stop the flow of Malice in Link’s body and it’s Game Over for our Hero. - He is seen carrying a sword, but does not use it. What we have seen is either him using magic on his right arm (which is his weapon arm) and the left to attack (with the shield/dragon flamethrower contraption). Sure, the flamethrower might have been more effective on that particular enemy, but I just find really strange that he would use his defence arm to attack: if you’re right handed, using your left one to do any sort of primary movement is neither easy nor natural. Which could mean he cannot carry a weapon on his right because a) the new arm can only use magic, b) the new arm lacks of a gripping stance for some reason. - Zonai. References. Everywhere. - The strange looking stone frog I believe it is a Guardian. Whether it is hostile or Link has to help him we can’t be sure at the moment, but is body is connected via the same green energy we see with Link. It is possible that it is indeed a Guardian and that Link may have to fight him as a test, like a dungeon boss (which, by the way, I am positive they will return), to acquire something that he will need for his quest. If it is of Zonai origins (possibly) it would serve as one of the trials the ancient Hero had to endure millennia prior to the story. So instead of the Sheikah monks in the shrines like in BOTW, we have creatures like that. - Also worth noting (and it probably already has been extensively) that the carvings on the wall we see in the first teaser of BOTW2 depict Ganondorf riding a horse and wielding a trident that could possibly be the Trident of Demise or, at least, the same one Ganon wields in The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link (albeit only in art form as we don’t really get to see him in the game), A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, all of which are falling in the the same timeline, aka The Decline of Hyrule and The Last Hero. Meaning that BOTW and BOTW2 could be in the same timeline. - Floating islands: before or after? I think after. First goes the castle, then bit by bit the rest of Hyrule. It could well be that the floating island have always been there and protected by the veil, but also that they formed as chunks of the land got ripped off and sent flying. Yes, they do have structures on them, but who’s to say that they weren’t buried under the ground of Hyrule and they resurfaced afterwards? We don’t even know exactly how Thyplo Ruins look like, if only by speculation. I’m just said, as above so below. - Also, reversed vocals in the music and the stasis upgraded ability (or what it seems to be), heavily implies time manipulation, rewind/forward kind of thing. - We have A Link to the Past, we have A Link between Worlds. Now we have A Link through the Ages. There, I said it. So yeah, these are just few ideas, I guess we’ll get wild in the next few months while we wait for it to be released. Edit: regarding the floating islands being after? Scrap that. They are before, definitely before. The puddle? Entry point, a portal of sorts. Link finds access points around Hyrule and uses the power of the arm to open the warp points between the two eras. Goes in as modern day Link, comes out in the sky as the Ancient Hero. The two frames in the trailer (drop from the puddle/Link shooting up and coming out of the stone floor) are not sequential, but they give the idea of what that particular action implies.

Anyone else still hoping that there's a chance that Zelda will accompany Link through at least part of the game, like in Spirit Tracks?

My theory: They have to try to figure out how the original hero and zelda sealed away ganon so link gets the cool arm thingy and then time travels back in time to figure it out and then will jump back to the modern era to help zelda do it again, kinda combining all the great mechanics of the best zelda games like skyward sword, ocarina, of course breath of the wild!

Fun fact about the music: The scenes in the familiar overworld, fighting BotW bokoblins and Link wearing his BotW tunic are in the key of E, the same key as the 2017 BotW trailer.. The scenes in the sky are in the key of D, the same key as the Skyward Sword trailer. Also the reversed audio is similar to another BotW track: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FzEzMn5fmyA.html

You can undo Link’s ponytail. Game of the Year 2022

I'd just like to point out that while link has his hair down for most of the trailer it's back in his signature ponytail in the shot at 6:25 to me this means 2 things. First, his hair isn't any longer as the ponytail seems unchanged from the original game, and second; maybe there's some sort of customization for links hair (and maybe the glider possibly hinted by the streamers) similar to the dye shop in the original game. Possible things aside I'd absolutely love to see some tri-force use in this game, I'm not sure we've ever even seen what powers the tri-force of courage provides though I could be wrong. Whatever the case, hyped for the release date in 2022.

If we can’t go underwater I will be very disappointed

His hair is the same length in the trailer as it is when he wears the ancient armor, so I'm not 100% sold on it being a time difference thing. I'm hoping they drop another trailer as we get closer to the release date!

When I saw link skydiving I went into a state of cardiac arrest

Theory: I think the green golem might be some type of guardian. I noticed that the green energy that comes from the body of the golem is also similar to the energy that surrounds the monks when you beat a shrine as they disappear. Because of this and the possible use of the sheikah eye used in the design, this could be some type of guardian or protector of a shrine of some sorts. I also thought that the bulbs on top of the golem looked a little similar to amoranth. In this design it could symbolize that the golem is tough and has a high defense since the amoranth gives Link a higher defense when used in dishes.

Your analysis are excellent as ever. The eye for detail and clarity at drawing parallels...wow! 👏👏👏

I’m pretty sure Link’s hair is the same length as when he wears his hair down underneath the ancient gear

I don't think Link's arm is 'corrupted' to me it looks like he lost it to the malice and got it replaced thanks to the new green light / technology, kinda like automail in FMA, and he uses the arm the same way he would the sheika tablet

Awesome analysis, thank you for taking the time to put this together. Can't wait for this one!

Absolutely awesome! A friend of mine was angry that quote "they didn't showed us anything new in those 2 minutes." I told him that maybe not for Zelda casuals like him, but you and I knew better. I'm so hyped for this, my second most anticipated game of 2022.

Zeltik has the best Zelda breakdowns. That's a sub from me.

In a Nutshell: link's zonai arm will somehow be connected to kicking ganondorf in the ass

The triumphant music and the glaring light as link is revealed in the sky was just absolutely angelic

I love rewatching past theory vids after we know more The light from his glowing hand (8:30 ish) isn’t tri-force. It’s his new ability recall

"he's forced to backflip to avoid damage". you know, as you do.

Link doesn’t have longer hair, he wears a ponytail in the original game

No overhyping in your video, but your excitement still shines through. I really like how you go about it, presenting possibilities but never jumping to early conclusions. I am so eager to see how those "two" Links come together story wise in the game. 2022, get over here already!

What superb analysis! That's unbelievable the number of references you could get from the video! It seems this game will go back to some traditions lost in the previous game, for example, having a variety of dungeons and bosses. Perhaps with that Dragon Headed shield that shots fire, we can see some specific items required to succeed in some dungeons.

I think the sequel might focus more on the triforce as well. We did not see much of it in the original, but so far we have seen link use the triforce for time reversal, get his own new abilities, and the arm is distinctly green the color that has been associated with Farore, courage, and wind. Perhaps he did not inherent the triforce because it was still being used by the arm on Ganondorf, which might be the arm of the ancient hero. Since the arms have been combined, he may have gained the ability to use the triforce once more. There is also a notable color change in malice. In the original game, malice was a purple/magenta color. In the trailer it seems distinctly a more pure red, associated with Din. This would leave the Sheika Slate going back to Zelda as we saw her in Age of Calamity. This would make sense as the sheika tribe serves the royal family and the technology radiates a blue color associated with Nayru and wisdom. We also saw Zelda get the Master Cycle instead of Link in the new expansion for Age of Calamity. We did not see much of Zelda in the trailer but perhaps gets separated with the slate during the cave in, and will have a separate adventure whether that is playable or not.

Yout deep thoughts on this trailer are amazing. Thanks for that video!

Amazing video Zeltik!! New trailer break downs remind me of the hype watching your oldest explanation/theory videos during the run up to BOTW's release, back when we all called it "Zelda U"

I love the fact that there is a quest were you talk to a girl and she talk about people living in the sky

"these are just my initial thoughts" dude I've already watched several theorists videos on this trailer and yours is hands-down by far the most insightful and full of intricate details others would never have noticed. Great work Zeltik! As always, of course. I'm floored by how quickly you got this top-quality video out

Hey great video man!!! there's a lot of stuff in this trailer it was great to hear what you think and I can't wait to see what comes!!!!

The green light reminds me of the Twili , especially at 9:43. I’ve heard theories that the Twili and Zoni are connected before, which would be pretty cool. Thank you for doing these videos! It’s so much fun to analyze and create theories!

Zeltik: "What part of the trailer are you most excited about" Me: *Y e s*

Ganondorf looks legitimately scary in this trailer.

Dude you have the best analysis ever. This is incredible :)

Man Zeltik videos never fail to get me hype I cannot wait to see what else this game has in store!!!

Why is nobody mentioning the fact that when link has the long hair and that outfit you can see infectious lines coming from tharm and spreading to his back and torso?

Honestly this trailer was surreal. I can't believe they showed stuff about it honestly, and the things they showed were mindblowing

Really great analysis! I hope BotW 2 maintains the same level of open world exploration as the original. The presence of the streamers on the glider makes me think that wind direction is going to be used as a kind of "soft barrier" limiting exploration a bit. I hope that isn't too overt.

I knew this was going to be the only place to go to get a proper thorough analysis.

I hope they expand to floating islands and underground cities WITH an updated original map. Basically double the map and content.

I don't know how, but this two minute trailer made me more hyped than any of the other games shown!

Best trailer breakdown. Subscribed.

Incredible breakdown you are truly the best!

Did really nobody notice that the "earrings" on the green statue at 5:00 are exactly the same as the shield link wears at 3:58 with the statue's "hands" below? I haven't found this detail in any breakdown but it's so clear they're connected!

His arm looks like it’s been replaced

probably my favourite breakdown for this trailer yet! :0

Thanks! So many details explained, loved it

Just a thing, link's paraglider appears to be different since it has a design similar to the royal symbol and not the rito symbol present in the first game

The conflicting "falling" scenes are weird to me. In this one she falls, but in the previous one it is implied that Link catches her. Is one of the scenes a dream, or did they change the story since the first teaser? My theory: The earthquake causes Zelda to fall, Link tries to catch her but can't, then the hand reverses time (this teaser hints at this ability), allowing Link to save her. In the game, this is the first time we're able to see the power of the hand that Link eventually inherits.

Yeah as others have pointed out his hair isn't that much longer than it is, it could legit just be a trick by the devs to throw us off by using that green outfit when doing the sky shots. just put on the ancient helm to see how long it is. OHohoh! maybe using the outfit gives you some gliding speed or some other control or benefit in the sky?

Something of note is that the nails of Link's "new arm" look to be the same length as skeletal Ganondorf's that we see in the flash at the start of the trailer.

2:30 - Link has always had long hair in BotW, but he usually just has it tied up. Just look at how long his hair is while wearing the Ancient Helm, which pretty much matches his hair length in the sequel, so I doubt there's a significant time-skip after the events in the caves as you're suggesting.

I think Link’s long hair is just do to him not wearing his ponytail, as his hair is that long in botw when he wears the ancient helm. Probably a different hairstyle for a different outfit.

Excellent break down of the trailer. Good job.

I agree with everything you said!! I had the same ideas about all of this. Sadly someone had to argue with me because they though Link's are was completely out of use which I though was odd when you can see him move it and use it. In any case, I love the video! Amazing work!

IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN A DAY Not a surprise tho, Zeltik is the best am I right

Alright heres the plot, according to me, based on what Im seeing. The green hand is none other than that of the ancient hero from the tapestry. After Links arm gets infected/possessed by malice, the energy of the ancient hero has no choice but to fuse with his arm in order to prevent the death or full possession of Link. Im assuming he's incapacitated by it, thus why he's lying down when the green substance fuses with his arm. In doing so, the soul/story/memories of ghe ancient hero are fused with Link as well, which is where the 2 different Links in the trailer come in. Current Link is always shown in the champions tunic and never in the same shot as any of the floating islands. The current hyrule scenes where the castle is floating at the end, theres not a single floating island in the sky. The Link in the "ancient" outfit IS the ancient hero. I believe were going to play out the game, at least partially, AS the ancient hero, in ancient times, his own time. We never get a frontal/face shot of the ancient Link. This is also why the new shield has the same, or at least very similar, emblem as the earings on the new Shiekah-styled enemy. I also think this is NOT a new enemy, but a friendly character, thus why it assembles using the green energy and not malice. I believe the Hyrule with the floating islands IS ancient Hyrule and that we're going to get the story from 10,000 years ago. I think this is absolutely SICK and I cannot wait to play this game.

Thank you for such a detailed analysis!

What an absolutely incredible breakdown of this trailer.