What are the Sky Islands? - Tears of the Kingdom Theories 

The most exciting thinga about the Sky Islands is that it can't rain if you're above the clouds

Ah yes… it’s finally starting, THEORISTS ARE GOING TO DO CONTENT FOR A WHOLE YEAR JUST FROM THAT TRAILER!!

The Rito can also see the Dragons because when you do Revali's quest for Shira Gomar shrine during the Champions Ballad, they mention how Dinraal has been too close to the village and acting strange.

A girl in the Woodland stable talks about how there’s a “kingdom in the sky that only good kids can see”

When I first saw the trailer, I just remembered the little girl from the side quest "Balloon Flight", she talks about a land in the skies!

I personally think that the islands have always been there, and that we can’t see them because of the sky barrier. The theory that the dragons also go through the sky barrier when they disappear in the sky would support this as well

I honestly can't take scene of Link popping out of the ground serious anymore since I imagined him whispering, "Hi, we've been trying to reach you regarding your car's extended warranty."

"But there are other people that can see dragons..." *shows Dinraal* Me: Ah yes he means Revali and the other Rito because of the Champion's Trials- "the Zonai" Oh.

Ah man this video turned out so well! Thanks again for having me on the channel man, it was an absolute honor.

*literally anything whimsical* Zelda theorists: Z o n a i

The broomstick emblem is a representation of the Zonai’s trademark weapon-the fierce WOODEN MOP

I think it's no coincidence that Skyward Sword HD is being released. I think it may tie into Breath of the Wild 2, considering the focus is sky islands, much like Skyward Sword.

I wonder if the dragons will make a return in the sequel, as this sky area seems like it may be infringing upon their territory.

Should also be noted that the islands are shown near ridgeland tower which is very close to rito village. If anyone’s gonna help you get to the sky islands it would logically be the people with wings

I feel like everyone has collectively erased the twilight princess tiddy chickens from their memories. they really out there with a whole ass ancient sky temple and no one wants to acknowledge them :')

Beautiful collaboration! 😍

Seeing as though many things have shown to be invisible to certain people, I would go as far as to say that once link gains his ancient arm, he is given the ability to see these islands. A sort of lens of truth ability. Also, the wind tribe's tablet in minish cap is also made from a smooth green stone.

Minish Cap had a killer OST. Kudos for using music from MC.

Zeltik writes his video scripts like High School English essays. Mans got the thesis statements and everything

I feel like the assumption that Link is using the tri-force when he sends the spike ball back up the hill is incorrect. It makes far more sense to me that it is yellow because it's an aberration of stasis. I'm just guessing myself but it seems like link loses the sheikah slate in this one and i feel like a lot of it's functionality is going to be taken up by the magic hand that seems to possess him.

The theory about an advanced civilisatiom sounds a lot like the film "Castle in the Sky" from Studio Ghibli. BotW took a lot of inspiration from Ghibli movies, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are more parallels in the sequel

Zelda is one of the only series that can turn a short trailer into hours of speculation and theories.

I always get a good laugh at Zeltik's ways of connecting the games. Aonuma: "I just put those there, for game design" Zeltik: "That tree in Faces of Ganon is the same one in Phantom Hourglass. Therefore..."

It's so refreshing to hear people talk about the Minish Cap.

Based on the first theory, I just wanna put this out there Legend of Zelda: Sacred Skies

FINALLY SOMEONE TALKS ABOUT MINISH CAP RESEMBLANCE WITH THE ZONAI

Eiji Aonuma: *makes a giant robot enemy in LOZ* Literally every theorist: hmm yes eiji, brilliant of you to insert Z O N A I

Aren't the "pinecone" shape a Lotus Bud? It would hit well with Skyword Sword.

I think the “pinecones" are dragon eggs. And the green Bot takes care of the place. My guess is those islands are where dragons are born and people there are very connected to the dragons. But maybe the people there vanished and all that is left are some robots who are automated to defend and take care of the breeding of dragons. Link probably needs something from there in order to defeat Ganon once more. And maybe the shrines are all up there. So the surface world would be largely unchanged from botw but with new enemies and the skies would be where the most interesting parts would be.

The twilight realm is also in the sky similar to the trailer. Also maybe this will be the return of the "magic bar".

I personally like the Demise’s personal return theory, and feel like the sky islands support it, since one iconic sky island we’ve seen is Skyloft, from the same game as Demise

I'm guessing when Link's arm became corrupted it somehow robbed him of the ability to use the Master Sword, or even destroyed the Master Sword entirely. Maybe Link needs to go to the clouds to build a new one.....

Has anybody talked about why the barbarian gear does not contain markings on the right hand while link wears it but his entire body AND left arm are covered?

Let's assume this Hyrule isn't exactly Hyrule. It has a lot of references to a Hyrule from long ago, but it isn't the same place. This Ganondorf is obviously a man still. And when he was a man, not the beast, he wanted to rule Hyrule. If he is responsible for what's happening to the floating land masses, it may be possible this Ganondorf is trying to manipulate the land to better resemble the Hyrule he knows. This could all be a transition phase with the sky islands and the final stage yet to be seen. As for how he is manipulating the land, he may secure the triforce before throwing Zelda into the chasm. Or it may be a wish he already made with the triforce long ago that the arm, the arm of the goddess or some such powerful being, is keeping from coming true -- but it finally does come true, fully, in this game. Perhaps that explains the blood moon as well, part of the wish, turning this Hyrule into something like the dark world. Ganondorf's heart making another twisted kingdom.

I really hope we get more toys to play with, I miss getting dungeon rewards like the hookshot and boomerang.

I love how all y’all Zeldatubers collaborate. You each have different vibes and takes but it’s so nice to see everyone getting along. Just a celebration of Zelda!!

Just watching like every single video about BOTW 2 since the trailer dropped

The sky area looks so cool im so hyped

The fact that he called the green thing a "construct" years before we knew their name is crazy

If this game doesn't have amazing dungeons im gonna be disappointed.

As much as I love having a new Zelda game to explore, there’s a part of my theorist heart that loves this moment more. A new trailer drops and we have a million questions that our imaginations can run wild with. I remember seeing a Majora’s Mask prerelease screen shot in Nintendo Power as a kid. My friends and I thought the clock at the bottom was some sort of bow, and we went crazy with theories.

When I saw those islands I immediately thought it was the ruins of skyloft

I know I’m late to the party here, but I really hope the Minish Cap references bear fruit. I loved that game and would love to see the Minish themselves play some kind of role in BotW 2, but Wind Tribe lore-expansion would also be amazing, they were so enigmatic in MC with the only other references being in TP with the Ooccoo. Great video as always Zeltik!

I just thought about this, but I think the green robot is a care taker robot because of the broom on the symbol. Brooms are used to clean things and the robot doesn’t look hostile so I think it fits.

The dragon portal idea, makes the most sense to me🐲💚

The shield item could be running on a resource. I'm calling it guys. We are getting the magic meter back!

the islands from Skyward Sword, Oocca also live in the sky and the ruins here look a lot like them and they were technologically advanced too. We've also had witches in the games a lot that fly around. The broom symbol could be pointing to a whole tribe of them. There are tons of options, we have to remember it is 10,000 years or more.

Who else wants to have Darknuts as a common enemy again in BOTW2? Moblins and Bokoblins are fun but the Darknut would add a level of difficulty to the over world enemy line up.

The green golem makes me think of a reimagined Gohma. Of course, it could easily be something else entirely.

Everything can be explained by saying “Zonai”.

The more I watch your videos the more excited I get haha. I think - 1) Link & Zelda explore under the castle/zonai ruin that leads under the castle 2) Ganondorf is held sealed by the green arm (zonai magic? spirit?) 3) He wakes up (maybe due to proximity to Zelda and Link), breaks free, gets rid of Zelda and the Master Sword, Link gets his arm hurt by Malice 4) Link jumps after Zelda, gets grabbed by the green arm and taken to safety (which leads me to think the arm has a will of its own) 5) The arm attaches itself to Link and he's told to go to the Sky Islands (for some reason), which is a hidden realm above Hyrule. You can see hints of it in BOTW already with the dragons disappearing up in the portals in the sky. I also think it's like you said, a realm created/inhabited by the Zonai. Can't wait!!

I’m hoping that we get the “hook shot” back.

This reminds me of a question I always had with Skyward sword. Impa claims she is from the sheikah clan, but WHERE were the others in this “clan” living. Impa definitely wasn’t from skyloft, so were they on a different sky island or on the surface?

The "pure of heart" idea towards the end is very interesting; I would like to add some additional ideas. Mainly, there may be other ways aside from being "pure of heart" to have such magical things happen. While Age of Calamity is not *completely* canon, one thing that is noticeable is how Koroks worked there. When visiting the Lost Woods just prior to obtaining the Master Sword, no one is able to see or hear Hestu, including the Champions, several guards, Link, or even Zelda, at least at first, despite him shaking his maracas and dancing furiously right next to them. It is only after Zelda's mind seems to wander, that she seems to "tune in" to Hestu's presence, with his song picking up in volume and she turns to finally see him. For whatever reason, Zelda's sighting of Hestu then allows all the others present to also see him, with the Champions also now conversing with him, Link running from the front to the back again to protect Zelda from the big Korok beast (lol), and they never mention or reference having problems sighting the Koroks after this point. But is there a reason that Zelda was the first to see Hestu? And can that ability be shared with those near you, and "once you've seen them, you'll always see them", or something? Even if the explanation is that "they are all pure of heart, Zelda just a bit moreso pure", then... what does pureness of heart look like? Does having a huge ego and boasting/putting people down like Revali is prone to not disqualify you? Does their connection to their Divine Beasts give them some sort of divine Sheikah ability that allows them to tune in, too? What about the other fighters, several of whom would seemingly have no ability to detect them based on their own merits? Or as a counterpoint, if all of the fighters can see them simply because of "being pure", including the likes of Master Kohga, then why do we never find any Hylians who aren't children who can see the Koroks or dragons? Or is something more going on? I propose that being pure of heart is *one* way to see Koroks, dragons, Picori, or other such things in Hyrule... but it is not the only way. The presence of the power of the Triforce likely is a way to circumvent it, perhaps parts of the abilities of the Sheikah (such as the Lens of Truth, or connection to Divine Beasts), and perhaps simply having or even just at one time being near someone with "the Golden Power" or the Sealing Power, who has also discovered these hidden creatures, can allow one the ability to see it as well, and perhaps other ways in addition to this exist as well. Perhaps the Zonai had their own ways of seeing what is normally unseeable to the average Hylian. But I believe there is evidence that it has something to do with Zelda's powers/presence, even prior to her fully unlocking the full sealing power. Even if we treat Age of Calamity as non-canon, there still is the question of if anyone aside from Link can see the creatures. Who can, and why? Does Link have a free pass simply for being the chosen hero? Could he always, even 100 years ago? Can Zelda? She can talk to the Deku Tree so probably... but what of everyone else? Do some races always have the ability to, but not Hylians? What makes the exceptions?

I love that MC music. Adding to that, the eye on the shield Link is weilding, resembles a lot to Vaati symbol, like the one in his grave-seal before the Four sword.

That Wind Tribe segment was impressive. Minish Cap is the first Zelda game properly directed by Fuijibayashi if I remember correctly, and the minish were in BotW concept art. The streamers on Link's paraglider exist to show the direction of the wind, and getting to and from islands would definitely require some wind-bending so to speak. Cool theory!

Considering the fact that Breath of the Wild takes so heavily from Skyward Sword and that we're getting Skyward Sword HD, I like to think that the islands are the future Skyloft.

i think that the arm, that held ganon in that ruin, becomes links hand, after it gets infected with malice

Hold up. I just replayed the intro cinematic with Roam. Where he's says that the bane of Malice lies dormant far beneath the ground. That's the hand! The green hand could be anti malice!

Let's all not forget that when Zelda took the master sword to the pedestal by the great deku tree that it wasn't rusted, it was the malice that made it look so battered. If malice did that to the master sword before Link was taken to the shrine of resurrection imagine what that level of pure unadulterated malice would do to it. Also, side note - the master sword was created in the skys. Link would probably have to get a replacement if Ganon used his powers to shatter the blade.

Hey Zeltik. How about a video explaining the cancelled Wind waker 2 for the GameCube and the cancelled Twilight Princess sequel which became Link's Crossbow Training and had reused ideas for Skyward Sword. Thanks 💘

By the way.... if Link took a picture of the koroks or the dragons with his sheikah slate would other people be able to see them on the picture? 🤔

5:26 WAIT I THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST THE SEQUELS VERSION OF STASIS Great catch!

I love your theories. And I also love you divide your videos in chapters. Shows consideration to your audience's time. Besides your great quality in content, this is also a reason why I give you likes. I still end up watching them whole without skipping, though.

They’re including some other scrapped elements from BotW 1 into 2, so maybe the Minish (and other elements from their lore) will be added.

I think that the Flame thrower thing represents dinrael the dragon and there is two others that represents the other dragons.

Link looks like the hero on the story mural, with long floaty hair and a green shirt but no hat

I've been thinking about it ever since the trailer came out, but I think the sky islands have always been there, but we couldn't see them due to the Zonai and their magic. I think what happened was after some kind of battle or war, the Zonai sealed Ganondorf's body away underneath Hyrule Castle and almost wiped all knowledge of themselves and Ganondorf from history, they hid themselves away by raising certain parts of Hyrule into the sky, creating the sky islands, leaving the Zonai ruins, the Spring of Courage and the labyrinths behind. I think they also put a invisibility spell on the islands so the people of Hyrule below wouldn't be able to see them and eventually just forget about them over time. That is until, several thousands of years later, when Link and Zelda find Ganondorf's remains and break the seal off him, the Zonai seal chose a new host to inhabit, being Link, giving him access to new powers, and when he collapsed from exposure, the Zonai magic broke the invisibility spell on the islands and brought them down to a lower altitude. Anyway, that's my theory. ❤️😊

Thanks for the consistent uploads and theories! They always keep me entertained while I mow lawns for my job! Zelda theories are the ultimate podcast

I’m wonder if we’ll see some old islands from skyward sword. If we do I feel like maybe there will be new people there, or they’ll be abandoned. But we’re probably exploring new parts of the sky.

Awesome work. I love how changing the saturation revealed the structures even more clearly

I wonder if we just won't discover more zonai's ruins in the underground of Hyrule with maybe a temple to do but it is not necessarily link to the sky world. I think the power that link has are related with the triforce of courage

That shield mounted flamethrower 100% gave me The Rising Of The Shield Hero vibes, I hope we can see more shields. Different shields. And I want my Ice spear back, loved that thing. So mush fun.

you think this time the dragon's items (the dragon shard fangs and claws) will have more use? like maybe scale armor (farosh for example's full scale bouns can be any arrow shot out will have a thuder orb following it)

I and a friend of mine were discussing theories, and he theorized that as Breath of the Wild is possibly the end of the timeline, that this sequel to it is the spark to having the entire cycle start over again, going to the creation of Skyward Sword as parts of Hyrule being lifted up from the ground to create Skyloft once more so as to allow the remaining races on the land to escape the malice as Demise resurrects through the revival of Ganondorf's corpse, preparing to regain his power to war with the goddess again, starting the cycle anew.

Why is no one calling these “islands in the sky” what they really are, … Skylands

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Sacred Realm?? Great theory as always, man!

In the stone talus shot you can’t see the islands from the ground, I would understand why they wouldn’t be visible from the ground in the end shot, but the stone talus scene seems to be later in the game.

Those egg shaped decorations look almost the exact same shape as the top of the lamps surrounding the monks in shrines. Obviously, the ones in the shrines are translucent and have inner blue glows, while the ones in the trailer are solid and textured, but it makes sense they might both be lamps.

Best part of waiting for the new release is watching theory and analysis videos!

theories season is back!

I somewhat assumed the "golden light" from Link's hand was him using an updated stasis rune, rewinding time rather than just freezing time.

the shield flame througher part is a very good point 👍

Love the collab fellas great video!

8:58 Woah, hold up. That looks like the markings on the twili skin. (Twilight Princess). The marking's glow looks almost identical to their glow. (To me at least) The Fused Shadow also has the same green glow when used. Maybe the tribe in botw is the Twili clan, or the Zonai and Twili were allies

doesn't the "golem" look like a dragon? the egg shape decoration are its horns, and the green energy runs down its neck. it even was claws/paws/hands

I think the golem is like a friendly npc or a cleaner of some sorts who takes care of the islands

The squiggles in the pillars of the wind tribe line up perfectly with the dragons on the pillars of zonai ruins

Unrelated Theory alert: We know the three golgen godesses came to their plane of existence to give order to chaos. What if... Demise, and every subsequent expression of his hatred is the kami of their plane of existance rejecting their foreign "order", like an organism rejecting a foreign body. He is not the villain, he is the resistance. He is making a stand against an imposing foreign force that shaped his plane of existence arbitrality. The three golden godesses and Hylia are the villain. And the spirit of the hero is nothing but a pawn in their hands.

Maybe get a dog was actually above highrule The whole time

11:15 I think some other People are also able to see the Dragons and the Koroks because right around that location in the video, there was a Rito who was send there by Kaneli to watch the Fire Dragon or also known as "Dinraal" in the DLC. I dont know the Missions exact name anymore, but you had to shoot the dragons horns who started glowing in the Ancient Blue color at night, and it had something to do with the Upgrade of Revali's Gale and the 5th Divine Beast. I could be wrong with this but I have in Mind that there definetly was a Rito who told me he had to check on the Dragon, because lately Dinraal flew around that location pretty often and after the Chaos with the Divine Beast, Kaneli didnt want to risk a possible treath.

Yes! I've been saying it could be the sacred realm since the trailer released, since the only floating islands shown are covered in golden trees and greens. If the islands aren't visible from the surface, it's because it's a hidden realm not meant to be seen.

My Theory: The islands are from Twilight Princess, the Ococoo islands. They have the golden like trees and they are not visible on the the ground. Although we don’t see small pillars with egg like things on them, we see on the tower a giant egg. The tower is also in the trailer.

I have a theory! So, from the teaser, we saw links upgraded stasis completely reversing time for one object. Maybe, just maybe, he reverses time so much that the sky islands appear. It's a pretty dumb theory but it makes sense to me.

5:19 I must add that maybe with the "mummy" Ganondorf coming back to life, the Triforce (which presumably Zelda had) broke again in 3 pieces and Zelda, Link and Ganondorf got each one (as happened in Twilight Princess)

The zonai temples and that fire breathing shield give off serious aztec vibes / inspiration. Specifically, that head would not be a dragon, but the feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl. Interestingly, he is a god of winds!

Now I can see what Miyamoto meant by Breath being 'Open Air' games. I really want Aonuma to deliver on his promise on delivering more content too and looking at the already wider enemy variation just off the trailer he is keeping to that promise.

Maybe an ancient other realm place from before Skyloft, and Skyloft was pulled from wherever they came from before Skyward Sword?

3:35 is the picture I immediately thought of when link is running on that golden looking floating island

@Zeltik Got a few new theories for you to dissect. The shot where it shows link climbing up through the floor gives me a new theory for you to look into. What if the glowing green hand is the same kind of creature as the floor masters? Would explain how he can climb up through the floor and would make even more sense that the ritual chamber is deep underground. What if the green hand and the floor masters are the last remnants of the Zonai? The Zonai were a magical race, maybe the reason they no longer "exist" is because they became a truly magical entity. Also another side theory, if you look at the floor masters from Wind Waker, they appear to be made of the same stuff as the calamity. Definitely something for you to look into.