That's what I was thinking, maybe since Ganondorf isn't underground to get his soul sucked and power the sheika stuff, it all breaks, and things like that are the only ways you can power the tech
This will be a long winded appreciation post. I've never been a Zelda fan. Had never even owned a Nintendo console until my wife and I bought a switch for our children. I found your channel during the lead up to Elden Ring. I found your way of communicating and articulating to feel very natural and have been watching your videos since. My youngest son played Breath of the Wild extensively from about the age of 4. He's almost 8 now. Helping him with "tricky bits" was my introduction to the Zelda series. He's now much better than me at the game and needs no assistance. Between his excitement and your commentary I think I've personally become even more excited for Tears of the Kingdom than I was for Elden Ring at this point. Consider me a convert to the Zelda series. I think you have a real knack for blending thoughtful analysis and genuine passion into your videos. Thank you and please keep covering topics you're passionate about.
Welcome to the fandom! The good news is you have a fantastic and extensive backlog of Zelda titles to explore (though stay away from the 1989 cartoon).
the thought that we might have the option to revive hyrule town+castle and have it become a lived in area full of NPCs sounds awesome that's why Terry town was one of my favourite quests in BoTW
It was my favorite side quest of all Zelda's. Hope there is something similar in TotK. I really loved the Majora's mask quests because they had some depths and the charakters felt alive, missed that feeling in later Zelda's
Something I see lots of people not realising is that what we hear in the trailer doesn’t necessarily match what is being shown, something that is really important to know when theory crafting. The last scene with Zelda for example, she might not be asking to be found at that moment, but at some other point in the game we’ve yet to see. This is pretty important given theories of time travel stem from the idea that Zelda is asking for Link to search for her when she seems to be in a reachable point, as if she’s in the past.
True. This is what made me fail in a lot of my personal Elden Ring theories, like with the trailer with the man saying "THE RADAAAAAAAHN FEEEESTIVAAAAL", I thought that, because of how Radahn was in the background fighting, maybe that voice was Radahn voice, talking about his own festival were he would fight like a crazy man with the strongest warriors of the Lands Between. And, no, it was just a montage and Radahn was almost dead and crazy AF. So, yeah, we have to be carefull with this shit xd The only moment were Zelda truly talks in camera is when she talks with the Zonai creature and says "¿Link?", I think
@@rayzu4380 Yeah exactly, even the dialogue during that scene isn't necessarily from the Zonai individual at all! Voice doesn't really fit but who knows, but I'm pretty confident Zelda is saying "Link?" at that time given she blushes at that moment
Thanks for pointing this out! This is a classic tactic used in trailers for years, so there's not much of a point in theorizing over the voice lines AND what's being shown at the same as one event, because the likelihood is: they're separate.
@@Legendary_Honey No problem! You'd think more people would be aware this since, as you said, trailers have been doing it for years, but I feel like people forget since they get so caught up in the hype and theory crafting
While I agree the green swirly rocks are shrine replacements I don't think it's just going to be "shrines, but Zonai", I have a feeling it's a lot more involved
I would be very disappointed if they are analogous to BotW's shrines, 10x more disappointed if they are as numerous, lacking in creativity, and easy as BotW's shrines.
@@brookejon3695 honestly that was one of the biggest complaints with botw, so it would be weird if they didn't learn from that. Not saying it's impossible, but they do listen sometimes.
Sinkholes in a desert is so reminiscent of the 2D Zelda games. The first one that comes to mind, for me at least, is the desert area in Oracle of Seasons. I love how they’re bringing more concepts from 2D Zelda games into 3D, like Gleeok.
That's exactly what I thought too! Reminded me of links awakening and uarna desert, or the Oracle games. I'm hoping you can fall through them and down into a cavern below just like in 2D
If you ask me, I think that there are actually 8 tears, which correspond to the 8 statues of the Heroines. 7 are actually shown and praised, while the last is hidden and has lost its sword. I think the 8th heroine here is in fact Ganondorf, while the other 7 are the 5 we have seen, + a Goron + a Sheikah person who carries one (perhaps Paya?)
You might be right. In the paintings that show the 2 heroes face off against the calamity, we always assumed it to be Hylia and link. But now that we’ve seen ganondorf, it actually looks like he was a hero at some point
From what I gather from trailers and the gameplay shown, we start in the sky, get the 3 powers, ultrahand, ascend and fuse as we mess around, jumping off the island just resets us, then at the end we go through the big doors of that pegoda building, get recall and are then allowed to jump off on the circular platform with the plinth (where get get recall from) That is the tutorial area. From gameplay, artbook and leaks (cannot trust leaks though) It looks as if we are going to collect 7 tears, there are 7-10 dungeons and they are indicated from above via the geo glyphs. One "leaker" said there are 10 traditional dungeons, first 3 are small like divine beasts and have to be done in order, 3 are completely optional and last 4 have to be done in order but are large dungeons. Art book indicates at at least 9 dungeons via the geo glyphs.
Sure, but what leads us to start in the sky? That’s just such a massive jump for it to happen like “yup, there are islands in the sky and we are starting on them with new abilities” I just don’t get how it will work with the story, unless there is a massive cutscene in the beginning leading up to it. I don’t want to be viewing past events again either like in botw.
@Ovalsquare I feel like it will be a big cutscene and link will be incapacitated after he gets the arm and he will need to figure out why he woke up on the sky islands. Also if it's like red dead 2, the game might have chracter chapter's that can be done in any order and after each one is completed it will progress "main story" cutscenes and change the game world in a meaningful way. This is probably why we see sky islands in certain places in some shots, and why we don't see them in others.
What do you mean 9 dungeons based on the glyphs in the artbook when i saw the artbook i did see a lot of dungeons but no indication that theres 9 or a connection to the glyphs. Maybe like 7 dungeons based on the art did i miss something
@@ovalsquare because like the first game you will probably wake up in some outhouse up there with no memory of who you are walk outside then the game begins.simple.
I think the reason why the malice is able to damage the master sword is much like wind waker it hasn't had any great fairies/sages praying for it and has lost some of it's power. And we even seen in botw in the past that the sword had splotches of malice on it from Link fight off so many guardians
Yeah, I mean there's so much precident for the Master Sword being powered down, dormant, not at full strength, and even more recently and relevant being broken. It had to slumber in its pedestal for 100 years to be repaired.
21:30 - you might be the first person I’ve seen point out the “anti-gravity particles” it would be interesting if those are used to let the player know when they can space jump. They also exist at 11:32 where Link does another space jump into the water bubbles!!
Yeah, but they're produced by the stones, not divorced from the stones. It's a field; an area. Something has to produce it. This is even more obvious when you consider the stone in the center of the water bubbles, clearly holding the bubble together.
Hey Ratatoskr, thanks for uploading another analysis, its nice to see someone else theorizing with the time travel. I've seen it from the beginning ❤️ love your voice overs.
I don’t really have much to say but I want to point out 2 things you didn’t mention 1) 17:35 that’s a healthy Link right hand. perhaps that scene of him taking the sword happens early on in the game, before his arm gets all messed up? Maybe some sort of prologue sort of thing before him and Zelda get separated? 2) 30:33 you can see a Boulder Breaker so presumably Yunobo is right there with Riju, Sidon, and Tulin
Can’t get enough!! First time I watched this trailer I almost got teary eyed, like damn. My childhood, Nintendo really is bringing it. The first game I really played was Ocarina as a kid. This game feels like it will have that kind of magic!
The platform that Zelda stands on at the end of the trailer is the same platform that's attached by a bridge to the big tower in the sky island in the first shot. You can see the bench and the waterfalls line up However, its clearly still on the ground when zelda is there, supporting time travel back to when Zonai inhabited all of Hyrules surface.
I watched a theory some time before the recent Final trailer talking about the Master Sword getting damaged. In that video it was theorized that the Master Sword isn't as strong as it used to be. The guy in the video proposed two explanations, but the strong one is the second: 1-The multiple upgrades it has received had end up hindering its evil repelling power. 2-It is factual that the TRUE power of the Master Sword isn't awakened/active unless it is blessed, in Skyward Sword it was thanks to the Goddess Hylia herself through Zelda that the Sword shone brilliantly. In Wind Waker at least two sages had to be awakened and pray for the Sword to be imbued in sacred power. Notice how in the games where the Master Sword is upgraded through blacksmiths (because the blade by itself isn't strong enough) are games in which the Seven Sages haven't been around in a long time and have not prayed to the Master Sword, these games being A Link to the Past, and A Link Between Worlds. Also, in A Link to the Past the last hit wasn't by the Master Sword it was the Silver Arrows, and in A Link Between Worlds Link's Courage and the Triforce did the trick to defeat Yuga-Ganon. Now, the following are my own opinions and additions to the theory: the Master Sword in Ocarina of Time was alright due to one major factor (probably 2 more), Rauru the Sage of Light was present and actively guarding the door to the Sacred Realm, Zelda after the 7 year time-skip knows all about the sages and their role and even hers as the leader of the sages, no one but Impa could've told her taught her that, meaning Impa already knew she was the Sage of Shadow even when Link was a kid, there we have TWO sages that knew their roles and two sages are enough to power up the Master Sword following Wind Waker's example. In Breath of the Wild, there are NO sages, and I actually believe the only sage present is the mysterious Zonai. In the scene when they are facing the camera and malice particles are floating, two blurry and cut figures are in the back, one being actualy an Orni with on of the Tears. This is a theory within a theory, but here I go: That scene might be a flashback, the Zonai individual is a sage and they're accompanied by the rest of the sages of long ago, maybe the events of 10,000 years before BotW who knows, but long ago is the key. The case is that out of all of those sages, the Zonai is the only one left, they might pray for the Master Sword's sacred power, but being only one sage the sword is weak. The sword already got damaged before when Link fell during the Calamity, Zelda brought the Sword to the Forest for it to rest, 100 years of rest and praying for this lone sage might've done the trick to restore it then, but its power is now very frail; therefore, explaining why in game it's power deteriorates with use and why it's uncappable of shining unless in presence of malice. My guess is that after encountering Ganondorf's mummy and being attacked the Sword was uncapable of dealing with the overflow of malice due to its weakened state and this caused it to be badly damaged. I suppose Zelda is using her tear which I believe is her unique power as a sage is recalling the Master Sword to the time it was fine, and the mission is to re-awaken the sages, and collect the tears for each of them in order for them to pray and restore the TRUE power of Master Sword.
I just want to point out that the Gate of Time is literally in that shot in Hyrule castle. It's at the center of the shot in the top back. Also the altar that Zelda is at on the ground at the end of the trailer is visible in the sky in this trailer as link is falling but also in the previous trailer when he opens the large stone doors.
A lot of people I knew doubted, some talked crap, but I had a very strong feeling that it would be well received when the game came out. Obviously we can't be 100% certain, but this last trailer has reaffirmed my beliefs that the game will be enjoyable I want to be objective so I don't want to assume it will be a 10/10 for me, although some reviewers might give it that score if it is good. I'm hoping for at least an 8/10, I can be happy with that Super psyched to find out what happens!
I'm still seeing some people stick to their guns, insisting that this still isn't anything more than a DLC that we are being scammed into buying as its own game. I suspect they will hate until years from now, then they will insist that they were always a fan and excited for it.
That music you keep playing is possibly my favourite music I’ve ever heard in a trailer. I can’t stop watching that part of the trailer, that song fucks incredibly hard
I'm so happy you've made this, it's everything I've been thinking! Zelda is in a different timeline. This is why certain villages are ok but others are destroyed.
Yep TOTK is the sequel to AOC not BOTW lol 😂 it’s not in a different timeline it’s in the same timeline as BOTW just the champion descendants are gonna be sages that will help Link defeat Ganon and later aid Link into battle against Demise
On the Master Sword breaking, perhaps the malice attacked Link, and was going to consume him, but Fi sacrificed the power of the sword to save him or something. Weird and contrived, but its really the only thing I personally can think of.
I really appreciate your analysis and theories because it feels a lot more grounded in reality based on what we've seen rather just trying to link everything to something you hope is in the game
The theory about the altar is spot on was actually going to make my third video about this today. They def are communicating through time and Zelda repairs the sword in the past
I'm calling now that the spheares in the sky will be the skies "towers" which unlock map sections, and that going inside and using the mechanism we see at 12:02 is how we activate them
For the malice eating away at the Master Sword, my hail Mary guess is that since time is involved, it fermented long enough to fundamentally change so that it bypasses the Master Sword, or it just got strong enough after so long. Even antifreeze will freeze if it's cold enough.
Wow. I really really love your time travel theory. I was hoping there would be some time mischief, but I didn’t know how it might work. Hope this is how it goes!
i think link doesnt really send the master sword back through time, but zelda is instead holding the master sword of the past. the two of them are using it as some kind of recall-powered telephone, though only one way because link has nothing to say.
The, I think it's a Saxophone being played for the trailer, is the most unique and masterful work of music I have heard in a long time. I love it when stories; particularly films, and videos games use classical sounds like this. It's masterful because of the fact that most modern music, while sounding cool alot of the time, could never trump songs made by people like Joe Hisaishi or even Shiro Sagisu's music from Evangelion, especially the new movies even though there objectively pretty bad. But from the old Evangelion especially. I'm writing a novel right now, and I plan for it to be my magnum opus, and if I get to adapt it to a TV show, I'm going to have quite classical sounding music, almost like strait from the golden age of movie soundtracks, the 80's and 90's. The trailers use of the saxophone makes both the track used and the trailer surprisingly the most inspiring piece of art that I have ever heard and seen in a long time. I cannot wait for the games daybeau.
Love the idea of being able to restore Hyrule castle earlier than the end of the game. I want a fully rebuilt castle town, and I want all those ruins to become proper towns.
I was wondering about the TotK twin snakes circle logo - it looks a bit Ouroboros-like, and made me wonder whether they're going to link TotK and Skyward Sword somehow (with the trailer's possible hints of time travel and maybe Demise as well as Ganondorf). Also nice touch that the sword in the logo is corroded too. Either way, I've really enjoyed your thoughtful analysis, & I'm looking forward to playing the game soon...
Skyward sword is technically the first Zelda game isn't it? What if TOTK is actually the beginning and also end of the timeline and things are just coming full circle.
@@ashwilliams3859 That's actually exactly the theory I had since the sky islands and the Ouroboros symbols were revealed. Now after the trailer, my best guess is that Zelda will be send back in time to even before Skyward Sword. And Link will have to battle Ganondorf in the present to be able to reach her in the past. The climax would then be Zelda and Link battling Demise in the past to seal him on the surface while Skyward Sword's sky islands are formed
@@mihyouko The ouroboros on the main logo is definitely noteworthy at the very least. Either way I suspect something weird is going on with the timeline.
From someone who really wasn’t feeling hyped about this game up till now, I’m not exaggerating when I say this trailer made me cry lol. This should’ve been the second trailer we got. The music, Link being cool as fuck, all the cool locations and stuff. I’m glad to finally be hyped for this game!!!
In the scene of link riding up the sheikah elevator, the audio track includes a distorted voice saying “the future”. Lends more weight to possibility of time travel.
With the time travel stuff I get the distinct feeling that the wheels have come off the proverbial Ultra hand crafted wagon, in both the present and the past. Who knows what happened to the Zonai era's Link and Zelda, but it seems like their situation requires the future versions of both. Which explains a bit why Zelda seemed a little surprised Creepy Hand brings him up. Like "Link? You are aware he's currently 10k years in the future right? Don't you have one?" I suspect that Link is going to have to deal with all the bullshit Ganondorf has wrought in a Hyrule just getting back on it's feet, and at the end of the day travel Alllllll the way back to the past to seal that sonovabitch again and recue his boo. And possibly fight that Zonai guy. He is sus.
I definitely think "Demise" is a fusion of Demise AND Calamity Ganon (Specifically the playable character interpretation in Age of Calamity) especially when there is a scene where the mastersword is consumed by the malice. ALOT Of the sky islands are arcitecture of skyward sword and skyloft. Especially the platform and alter which is IDENTICAL to a location in Skyward Sword. Also - The golden light orb is likely just the Rewind ability - This is directly connected to the long gone race of the Zonai, she likely fell into an area where remaining Zonai's exist, which is why the man reassuring her is wearing construct attire which is related to the zonai directly through the drops from the Constructs - That guy reassuring Zelda is DEFINETELY a Zonai, Zelda is also wearing Zonai attire, so is the Hylia (who is hopefully that elf lady at the end) - regarding Sidon being alive, it makes sense for Sidon to still be alive but Riju is more confusing. Zoras can live for hundreds of years, infact in BOTW Sidon is over a hundred years old as young sidon existed before Link's slumber. But Riju is just a gerudo human
@@williamswan5247 No, this Ganondorf was sealed under Hyrule castle for tens of thousands of years. Calamity Ganon was just a construct of Malice that Ganondorf managed to create while sealed.
@@vincenoname I mean, Ganons reincarnation in BOTW lasted over a hundred years so technically the reincarnation of the new Ganon happens now. The thing that confuses me is how they don’t even try to stop the male gerudo at all until he is an adult.
We couldn't wander off the Great Plateau, but now I believe we can fall off the islands! The shrines are maybe in a locked state, if they don't have the swirl, and if Link has the right ability for the shrine (maybe linearity is a bit back) you will see the swirl!? But who knows... Did they ever show scenes from the endgame in a trailer? Rubies on arrows are perhaps explosive, because the slime balls are elemental too!? Great video! Your observations are very good, except some details, but that's normal! You based some on kind of facts from other material, I like that!
This has been my favorite analysis so far, great work. ☺️ I’ve been so excited for TotK that I’ve gotten into watching all the videos that pop up on my feed. 💚 I can’t wait to see what theories come to fruition.
Has anyone noticed links hands while holding the sheikah slate? It doesn't have malice. Could it be possible that this scene where he has the sheikah slate is just a flashback from the past? 🤷
One thing about the music that might blow your mind if you haven't heard it already: The main melody, the portion you give that segment, it's the same one used in the first teaser trailer with the distorted voices, and the other segments reference both the other two trailers' songs which might be why the trailer as a whole felt the way it did, we've subconsciously been hearing it for over 5 years and this was the climax of that.
The highlighted song really gives me Halo 3 “One Final Effort” vibes. Also I’m SO HAPPY someone else thought the new “Zelda” was simply another incarnation of her in a different time. I feel so validated and not crazy now haha
Nintendo UK's page for Tears of the Kingdom refers to the cataclysmic event as "The Upheaval". Saying: The Upheavel has come to Hyrule Embark on a perilous quest to find the missing princess and unravel the truth behind a cataclysmic event that has sent the kingdom into turmoil.
I can’t remember if you mentioned this, but some of the sky islands have a different architecture. Mainly the ones involving water and where Sidon is fighting with Link. These islands that I mentioned look more like Zora architecture rather than Zonai which is strange considering we thought only the Zonai would be up in the sky.
14:37 If we really going to get Theme-based dungeons like Fire (Death Mountain), Desert (Arbiters Ground?) then maybe a sheikah based dungeon like in Ocarina of Time: That would be nice. Imagine a big classical dungeon but with sheikah implementations and puzzles solving like in Breath of the wild but so much bigger and with more rooms and keys to open doors. Dayum, I like the shrines and returning as a complete new designed Dungeon to obtain a tear would be amazing. Edit: 19:05 haha I feel it. I love the music section and I hope it will be in the final game, please Nintendo
Here is my theory about Link's own shiekah slate. The ability is to unlock map and compass to navigate a 3d map for every dungeon and over world map areas where you have to unlock again as the original sheikah towers from botw nowhere to be seen. I forgot the camera features and the encyclopedia thing when you taken pic from everything you pictured.
that kinda tracks, cause i think the elevator is inside the sheikah towers, but if you look at the website screenshot, they look like they were recently built/more modern. Maybe Purah and Robbie built these outposts after the end of BOTW, and because of the sky falling and zonai interference, we need to reactivate these data nodes?
@@Paradox1012 yeah probably they built it or have link help on it to build tower sort of side quest and also unlocking the map area again that would work to his new sheikah slate looking more like switch too. Imagine also the weapon we fuse also has data for encyclopedia and give details what it do.
It would be awesome if the sky islands move (after the first time you’ve gone) imagine having to go to different places to get to the sky it would add a level of exploration as well as make it so every play through would be a bit more unique
16:05 The boss construct is in a dark area and has light coming out of his head. Its likely this boss fight will require link to use stealth 21:50 Look at the smoke from Death Mountain, its very red and curly, not how it looks usually, and it doesn't look natural. it does however look like (not)demise's curely red hair in that one shot in the trailer. Death mountain and that person are likely connected, perhaps that's where you'll find him
17:26 The hand that grabs the master sword would be that person's right hand of which currently Link's right hand is a gross shriveled blackened corpse of a hand so presuming that IS link(and not some new person capable of wielding the master sword coming out of left field) it's probably not current day and rather just a flashback to botw of some kind OR more likely, with this game's focus around the master sword, the first time link ever pulled the sword 100 years prior.
i do agree that the area Zelda is sitting is at or near the Great Plateau because on the left side of the shot you can see the Faron forest or whatever its called, dont have any names in front of me, and i THINK you can see Farosh (the dragon) in the distance, but that could just as easily be some trees that looks vaguely like a dragon, idk. but you can definitely tell that its Faron because of the redish rocks and cliff faces, and to my knowledge nowhere else on the map looks like that. and on the right is what i think is a bit interesting, a mountain that appears to be slighty cold in some places given the concentration of white around it, which typically depicts snow in videogames. unless thats a cloud going through the mountain in which case its probably cold because its high enough for clouds to form around it. but on top of the mountain thingy, there is some sort of (presumably man/Hylian/whatever-made) structure. now this is probably a reach, and ive not played BOTW recently enough to verify proportions, but i think that structure might be the cliff that has the Stasis shrine on top of it. alternatively, it could be that instead of to the northwest of the forest we are to the northeast, and that that mountain is the ice dragon mountain which after the time jump people theorize will take place (not time travel, time jump, as in the game taking place more than a few days after BOTW, i personally agree with this theory as BOTW itself had a time jump in one of the endings that presumably took place a few weeks/ months after you beat Ganon) the mountain might have civilization on or around it. maybe that box is some sort of prison the Hylians built, or a military base if for some reason the Hylians and Zora are about to go to war. idk, im throwing some stuff at the wall in hopes something will stick, and maybe this can form some new theories and get people talking about that side of the map, ice only heard of people talking about the main story locations from BOTW getting expanded, maybe Nintendo wants to expand some of the less beaten paths in the game?
One thing I noticed about the place Zelda is at in 3:07 . Just a few second prior Link is falling through a similar scene. Comparing the 2 scenes and taking into account Zelda's view and how there is no gate in the picture, one of the step-like/dragon head structures she sees should be broken..... but it isn't. So either she's in the past or another location with a less broken altar.
I've been concerned up to this point. Now? Now I'm genuinely excited. This has given hope for dungeons, difficulty, rebuilding, and stuff I WANT out of a Zelda game. Please, please let this be what it seems
whoa man that is really shocking to me.. zelda being stuck in the past, on the same altar, then helping repair the master sword, they all make sense.. great analysis thank you
I'm feeling a lot of odd Elden Ring parallels, like the ruins from the sky scattered all over the map and the all but confirmed existence of a large underground area. I wonder just how much they were able to add into the game in the last year and I'm very curious what a post-Elden Ring open world Zelda game will be like.
I would have to expect that this world was designed before Elden Ring released. At most they might have adjusted some things to use ideas from Elden Ring, but I wouldn't expect them to take too much from it.
I'd bet it's just coincidental. If I were to make a sequel to a game with high emphasis on exploration, but reuse the world map, the logical move is to place new areas in already-existing but previously inaccessible areas: the sky, and the depths.
22:05 - nobody seems to notice the strange rock with the red veins in the background in this shot. It looks like the one from the February trailer on death mountain. And may be the same type of rock the bokoblins were mining in that trailer.
I think the reason we sometimes don’t see sky islands is because far-off sky islands in the footage that’s been released seem to be rendered in a way that they fade out and gain more transparency the further away they are. So it might be that any shot of the sky we see that doesn’t have sky islands is actually a shot where the sky islands are far enough away that they are invisible from where you’re standing. If this is the case, it makes for a clever way to improve performance while also giving an in-universe reason why nobody was able to see the sky islands before, and could serve as a means of hiding late-game areas from view until you get close enough to see them and travel to them.
The only Zelda that actually was Hylia's reincarnation was Skyward Sword Zelda. The rest are descendants of her bloodlines, hence "the princess with the blood of the goddess." I also don't think that Zelda "fused" with Hylia, but you can't make the argument you're making because this Zelda and Hylia are not the same person. BOTW/TOTK Zelda is a descendant of Hylia/SS Zelda
Because Zelda is on the ground in the zonai architecture building and we’re assuming that she’s in the past, this actually makes a lot of sense What if the time she gets sent back to isn’t just when the zonai were still alive, but while they were on the ground as well as evidenced by the zonai ruins around hyrule I’ve heard theories that the sky islands come from the sacred realm after Ganondorf is revived and sends that malice beam into the sky-breaking the barrier between the two. What if the Zonai ascended into the sacred realm using their technology to avoid Ganon’s wrath, and Zelda is just sent back to the time before that all happens?
12:53 - 15:00 Remember Purah from Hateno village made her own Sheikah slate to make a reverse aging rune as documented in her diary upstairs. Well what if to use certain Sheikah tech you have to use Purah's borrowed homemade Skeikah slate and have it powered by Robbie's ancient tech which means it needs to remain connected to a power source by cable? This would also explain why the Sheikah slate is different and needs to be plugged in it's not a true Sheikah Slate.
In the shot of the tornado boss coming up, you can see a lot of floating ruins. You can see similar floating ruins in the shot where Link and the lil bird person jump up on some sort of trampoline. Looks to me like the Tornado/Stormclouds you see the camera focus on near the start of the trailer may be the Wind Dungeon.
Hard agree on the time travel! I was also pretty adamant there wouldn't be time travel, but there's too much in this trailer that hints at it. The only thing you covered that I have a different opinion on is Re the sparkly castle. I haven't seen anyone else mention this, but the first thing that came to mind when i saw that shot of the throne room was the frozen castle from Wind waker & the Temple of Time dungeon in Twilight Princess. Both are instances of revisiting a *place* that has been frozen in time, and im wondering if something similar is happening here. Cause i agree, i dont think link himself has gone back in time in this moment, but maybe this is a projected "memory" of the castle pre calamity. Really love your videos! I somehow hadn't noticed that the cart shot was missing sky islands so now I have a whole new set of theories to ponder while I wait for the game lol. Looking forward to the next one :)
from the thumbnail in this video i got time travel from that trailer but it's not a split, it's a fixed time event meaning the reason why those ruins knew about ganon and everything is because this always happened. and that lizard we saw is a zonai. perhaps they're evolved from the leaping lizards of ocarina of time ? that tear zelda is holding also looks like an ocarina.
note: the zonai lizard guy has the same jewellery on his arms as link's funky arm and by extent the one in the first trailer holding ganondorf so if zelda is in the past he might actually be the guy who was keeping ganondorf stuck
In one of the previous trailers we can see link at that same altar when he pulls out the damaged master sword. There is a yellow glowing orb which resembles the recall ability. Maybe it has something to do with Zelda being in the same location with the undamaged master sword in the past
Something else to mention is that the existence of the floating water bubbles may imply the inclusion of underwater traversal, given link has a unique underwater swimming animation now
I think the tents in the Castle Town Ruins were set up as part of the first step in a reconstruction project, but were likely vacated once the Castle itself went on vacay.
This is probably what the reverse music was supposed to represent from the very first trailer. We were so caught up in trying to interpret it, that we forgot to consider it’s most basic meaning, that of being reversed in time. To the creators it may have seemed worryingly obvious what this would mean and they may have felt they had given the game away too much already, but thankfully we were all none the wiser. Just a thought but what if we use time travel to go back to the peaceful post calamity Ganon, but pre ganondorf, hyrule, and use our ultra hand abilities to help rebuild hyrule. What if the only way to stop ganondorf this time is to somehow create a world where he could never wake up? That is to say he’s so powerful when he is fully restored it’s not actually possible for link to defeat him normally. Zelda even says “I am not sure you can defeat him this time”.
@Ratatoskr OKAY SO I THINK I GOT IT: First, some random thoughts. There are a lot of things that remind me of the original Zelda and A Link To The Past. If you can recall, one of the original lines of intent when creating BotW was to attempt (to an extent) to remake the original Zelda and it's open ended exploration driven style. A Link To The Past has always felt like the closest thing to a direct sequel to the original Zelda to me, and this Tears To The Kingdom is screaming out similarities. The main things that keep popping back into my head are how easy it was to travel between the normal overworld and the dark world in ALttP. Also, in that game the Master Sword was not the strongest sword in the game, and had to be upgraded to become stronger until you had turned it into the Gold Sword. In the original Zelda and Zelda 2, entire dungeons rose from underground, and that is what the dungeon in the desert reminds me of. Okay let's get to business on what I think is the haps. Something about this hand, it is seen being the force that is holding Ganondorf down before the decision is made to save ZELDA (it grabs her wrist in the very first trailer) from falling. It is the same type of hand belonging to both Link and the new big eared robed figure, only with golden glowing cuffs that jut out at parts along the forearm. I don't think that the golden hand belongs to either Link or the big ears. Going back to A Link to the Past, when Link enters the dark world he is transformed into A RABBIT. This is because the dark world changes people to reflect their true nature. So... I think that Ganondorf opens a portal to the Dark World at some point in the game, changing the beings of Hyrule into their "natural form," which is why Ganondorf looks like Demise and Link and friends turn into different forms. You can see Bunny Link is not alone and has friends with him in the background, notably the Rito with the same tear on the same foot but looking different as well. Zelda remains unchanged because she was in the past. She meets Link at the gates of time and doesn't recognize him until he puts his hand on her shoulder. The voiceover at this point of the trailer is of someone else and meant to mislead the audience. Zelda goes to the dark world with Link and transforms into the other Zelda we see. Their jubilance in that shot of them in what looks like the Korok forest could be them meeting the Great Deku Tree in the past. Just shut up everyone I'm done.
I think the person you said had a creepy hand is the past version of the hero and he helps current Zelda in the past, and because she’s in the past maybe past Zelda got sent to replace her so she’s helping link
Did you notice that the "creepy" guy's arm is the exact same one holding down Mummy-dorf, that saves Link from falling, and subsequently FUSES with his right arm? I think you can rest assured he's on the level.
Link grabbing the mastersword from the forest probably does happen in BOTW2 but at the beginning cinematic, he pulls the sword to go investigate the ganon area. They probably made it seem way more impactful than it is... The reason I say that is because this iteration of link is right handed and he's grabbing that with his right hand, but we know from the trailers that his right hand is black from malice, this is a clean hand.
If there are going to be time travel shenanigans, maybe Ganondorf from the trailer is supposed to be from the past, and that Demise-looking figure is Ganon in the future after he rehydrates.
Knowing that we can use Ascend on some enemies makes me think back to an interview I read years ago with Miyamoto (or possibly Aonuma). It says they wanted the final battle with Ganon in OoT to be way bigger, similar to something from Shadow of the Colossus, but the technology at the time couldn’t do that. It really makes me wonder if they’re going to do something like that with this game, with a Ganon fight where he’s so huge you can climb him using Ascend.
I don't think it's a winch. I think it's a wire spool
That's what I meant. I forgot the word.
@@ratatoskr6324 oh, alright. Understandable 🙏
That's what I was thinking, maybe since Ganondorf isn't underground to get his soul sucked and power the sheika stuff, it all breaks, and things like that are the only ways you can power the tech
Ur moms a winch
Had to reflect on that too, winch is the handle part, isn't it? Though Google puts it as the whole mechanism.
This will be a long winded appreciation post.
I've never been a Zelda fan. Had never even owned a Nintendo console until my wife and I bought a switch for our children.
I found your channel during the lead up to Elden Ring. I found your way of communicating and articulating to feel very natural and have been watching your videos since.
My youngest son played Breath of the Wild extensively from about the age of 4. He's almost 8 now. Helping him with "tricky bits" was my introduction to the Zelda series. He's now much better than me at the game and needs no assistance.
Between his excitement and your commentary I think I've personally become even more excited for Tears of the Kingdom than I was for Elden Ring at this point.
Consider me a convert to the Zelda series.
I think you have a real knack for blending thoughtful analysis and genuine passion into your videos.
Thank you and please keep covering topics you're passionate about.
That is wonderful to hear, hope you enjoy the games!
Welcome to the fandom! The good news is you have a fantastic and extensive backlog of Zelda titles to explore (though stay away from the 1989 cartoon).
i agree, Ratatoskr can tell me how i failed everything in my life and I would gladly listen to it
Wholesome. Thanks for sharing.
How has your (and your son’s) experience been with Tears of the Kingdom?
the thought that we might have the option to revive hyrule town+castle and have it become a lived in area full of NPCs sounds awesome that's why Terry town was one of my favourite quests in BoTW
Terry town was one of the things that saved BOTW for me
It was my favorite side quest of all Zelda's.
Hope there is something similar in TotK.
I really loved the Majora's mask quests because they had some depths and the charakters felt alive, missed that feeling in later Zelda's
i can’t imagine that really being an option considering that the malice death castle rises into the sky a few hundred feet away
@@linkszxx you sound like fun 🙄😒
@Brooke{&Jon} What do you want dude-bro? 90% of the game was the collection of korok seeds and shrines. 😂
Something I see lots of people not realising is that what we hear in the trailer doesn’t necessarily match what is being shown, something that is really important to know when theory crafting. The last scene with Zelda for example, she might not be asking to be found at that moment, but at some other point in the game we’ve yet to see. This is pretty important given theories of time travel stem from the idea that Zelda is asking for Link to search for her when she seems to be in a reachable point, as if she’s in the past.
Seriously. Marvel has messed with us so much it's taught me we can't trust anything we see and hear 🤣
True. This is what made me fail in a lot of my personal Elden Ring theories, like with the trailer with the man saying "THE RADAAAAAAAHN FEEEESTIVAAAAL", I thought that, because of how Radahn was in the background fighting, maybe that voice was Radahn voice, talking about his own festival were he would fight like a crazy man with the strongest warriors of the Lands Between. And, no, it was just a montage and Radahn was almost dead and crazy AF. So, yeah, we have to be carefull with this shit xd
The only moment were Zelda truly talks in camera is when she talks with the Zonai creature and says "¿Link?", I think
@@rayzu4380 Yeah exactly, even the dialogue during that scene isn't necessarily from the Zonai individual at all! Voice doesn't really fit but who knows, but I'm pretty confident Zelda is saying "Link?" at that time given she blushes at that moment
Thanks for pointing this out! This is a classic tactic used in trailers for years, so there's not much of a point in theorizing over the voice lines AND what's being shown at the same as one event, because the likelihood is: they're separate.
@@Legendary_Honey No problem! You'd think more people would be aware this since, as you said, trailers have been doing it for years, but I feel like people forget since they get so caught up in the hype and theory crafting
While I agree the green swirly rocks are shrine replacements I don't think it's just going to be "shrines, but Zonai", I have a feeling it's a lot more involved
Definitely gonna be different then BOTW shrines but they definitely are gonna work the exact same as they did before for map teleports.
Let’s hope so
I would be very disappointed if they are analogous to BotW's shrines, 10x more disappointed if they are as numerous, lacking in creativity, and easy as BotW's shrines.
@@brookejon3695 honestly that was one of the biggest complaints with botw, so it would be weird if they didn't learn from that.
Not saying it's impossible, but they do listen sometimes.
I hope so, or we'll never hear the end of "IT'S JUST DLC"
Sinkholes in a desert is so reminiscent of the 2D Zelda games. The first one that comes to mind, for me at least, is the desert area in Oracle of Seasons. I love how they’re bringing more concepts from 2D Zelda games into 3D, like Gleeok.
That's exactly what I thought too! Reminded me of links awakening and uarna desert, or the Oracle games. I'm hoping you can fall through them and down into a cavern below just like in 2D
Or they just suck you in like the bogs.
If you ask me, I think that there are actually 8 tears, which correspond to the 8 statues of the Heroines. 7 are actually shown and praised, while the last is hidden and has lost its sword. I think the 8th heroine here is in fact Ganondorf, while the other 7 are the 5 we have seen, + a Goron + a Sheikah person who carries one (perhaps Paya?)
You might be right. In the paintings that show the 2 heroes face off against the calamity, we always assumed it to be Hylia and link. But now that we’ve seen ganondorf, it actually looks like he was a hero at some point
From what I gather from trailers and the gameplay shown, we start in the sky, get the 3 powers, ultrahand, ascend and fuse as we mess around, jumping off the island just resets us, then at the end we go through the big doors of that pegoda building, get recall and are then allowed to jump off on the circular platform with the plinth (where get get recall from)
That is the tutorial area.
From gameplay, artbook and leaks (cannot trust leaks though)
It looks as if we are going to collect 7 tears, there are 7-10 dungeons and they are indicated from above via the geo glyphs.
One "leaker" said there are 10 traditional dungeons, first 3 are small like divine beasts and have to be done in order, 3 are completely optional and last 4 have to be done in order but are large dungeons.
Art book indicates at at least 9 dungeons via the geo glyphs.
Sure, but what leads us to start in the sky? That’s just such a massive jump for it to happen like “yup, there are islands in the sky and we are starting on them with new abilities” I just don’t get how it will work with the story, unless there is a massive cutscene in the beginning leading up to it. I don’t want to be viewing past events again either like in botw.
@Ovalsquare I feel like it will be a big cutscene and link will be incapacitated after he gets the arm and he will need to figure out why he woke up on the sky islands.
Also if it's like red dead 2, the game might have chracter chapter's that can be done in any order and after each one is completed it will progress "main story" cutscenes and change the game world in a meaningful way. This is probably why we see sky islands in certain places in some shots, and why we don't see them in others.
What do you mean 9 dungeons based on the glyphs in the artbook when i saw the artbook i did see a lot of dungeons but no indication that theres 9 or a connection to the glyphs. Maybe like 7 dungeons based on the art did i miss something
@@Jonathanmeraz8749 He said some of them might be optional , i feel like some dungeons Might not involve those glyphs if they are optional
@@ovalsquare because like the first game you will probably wake up in some outhouse up there with no memory of who you are walk outside then the game begins.simple.
I think the reason why the malice is able to damage the master sword is much like wind waker it hasn't had any great fairies/sages praying for it and has lost some of it's power. And we even seen in botw in the past that the sword had splotches of malice on it from Link fight off so many guardians
Yeah, I mean there's so much precident for the Master Sword being powered down, dormant, not at full strength, and even more recently and relevant being broken. It had to slumber in its pedestal for 100 years to be repaired.
Just like link did. They're connected. One is wounded beyond normal means of repair/healing, then so is the other.
Could also explain why the master sword CONSTANTLY needs to recharge
21:30 - you might be the first person I’ve seen point out the “anti-gravity particles” it would be interesting if those are used to let the player know when they can space jump. They also exist at 11:32 where Link does another space jump into the water bubbles!!
Yeah, but they're produced by the stones, not divorced from the stones. It's a field; an area. Something has to produce it. This is even more obvious when you consider the stone in the center of the water bubbles, clearly holding the bubble together.
@@brookejon3695 i think ive seen it in the shot of link gliding through a floating labyrinth too.
Hey Ratatoskr, thanks for uploading another analysis, its nice to see someone else theorizing with the time travel. I've seen it from the beginning ❤️ love your voice overs.
Just wanted to say this is the BEST TOTK trailer analysis I have seen. Very detailed and well thought out. Nice work…
I don’t really have much to say but I want to point out 2 things you didn’t mention
1) 17:35 that’s a healthy Link right hand. perhaps that scene of him taking the sword happens early on in the game, before his arm gets all messed up? Maybe some sort of prologue sort of thing before him and Zelda get separated?
2) 30:33 you can see a Boulder Breaker so presumably Yunobo is right there with Riju, Sidon, and Tulin
What a catch
didn’t notice that first one
That a great damn catch right there
Can’t get enough!! First time I watched this trailer I almost got teary eyed, like damn. My childhood, Nintendo really is bringing it. The first game I really played was Ocarina as a kid. This game feels like it will have that kind of magic!
The platform that Zelda stands on at the end of the trailer is the same platform that's attached by a bridge to the big tower in the sky island in the first shot. You can see the bench and the waterfalls line up However, its clearly still on the ground when zelda is there, supporting time travel back to when Zonai inhabited all of Hyrules surface.
I watched a theory some time before the recent Final trailer talking about the Master Sword getting damaged. In that video it was theorized that the Master Sword isn't as strong as it used to be. The guy in the video proposed two explanations, but the strong one is the second: 1-The multiple upgrades it has received had end up hindering its evil repelling power. 2-It is factual that the TRUE power of the Master Sword isn't awakened/active unless it is blessed, in Skyward Sword it was thanks to the Goddess Hylia herself through Zelda that the Sword shone brilliantly. In Wind Waker at least two sages had to be awakened and pray for the Sword to be imbued in sacred power. Notice how in the games where the Master Sword is upgraded through blacksmiths (because the blade by itself isn't strong enough) are games in which the Seven Sages haven't been around in a long time and have not prayed to the Master Sword, these games being A Link to the Past, and A Link Between Worlds. Also, in A Link to the Past the last hit wasn't by the Master Sword it was the Silver Arrows, and in A Link Between Worlds Link's Courage and the Triforce did the trick to defeat Yuga-Ganon. Now, the following are my own opinions and additions to the theory: the Master Sword in Ocarina of Time was alright due to one major factor (probably 2 more), Rauru the Sage of Light was present and actively guarding the door to the Sacred Realm, Zelda after the 7 year time-skip knows all about the sages and their role and even hers as the leader of the sages, no one but Impa could've told her taught her that, meaning Impa already knew she was the Sage of Shadow even when Link was a kid, there we have TWO sages that knew their roles and two sages are enough to power up the Master Sword following Wind Waker's example. In Breath of the Wild, there are NO sages, and I actually believe the only sage present is the mysterious Zonai. In the scene when they are facing the camera and malice particles are floating, two blurry and cut figures are in the back, one being actualy an Orni with on of the Tears. This is a theory within a theory, but here I go: That scene might be a flashback, the Zonai individual is a sage and they're accompanied by the rest of the sages of long ago, maybe the events of 10,000 years before BotW who knows, but long ago is the key. The case is that out of all of those sages, the Zonai is the only one left, they might pray for the Master Sword's sacred power, but being only one sage the sword is weak. The sword already got damaged before when Link fell during the Calamity, Zelda brought the Sword to the Forest for it to rest, 100 years of rest and praying for this lone sage might've done the trick to restore it then, but its power is now very frail; therefore, explaining why in game it's power deteriorates with use and why it's uncappable of shining unless in presence of malice. My guess is that after encountering Ganondorf's mummy and being attacked the Sword was uncapable of dealing with the overflow of malice due to its weakened state and this caused it to be badly damaged. I suppose Zelda is using her tear which I believe is her unique power as a sage is recalling the Master Sword to the time it was fine, and the mission is to re-awaken the sages, and collect the tears for each of them in order for them to pray and restore the TRUE power of Master Sword.
Daniel holy shi** this is incredible
YES thank you...just because of 18:23 you got me subscribed, that part of the theme is so freaking good...why is almost nobody talking about it
I just want to point out that the Gate of Time is literally in that shot in Hyrule castle. It's at the center of the shot in the top back. Also the altar that Zelda is at on the ground at the end of the trailer is visible in the sky in this trailer as link is falling but also in the previous trailer when he opens the large stone doors.
What time in the video exactly does the gate of time appear?
Where? It's just a bird statue and the triforce, nothing that looks like the gate is there.
@@seannotshawnorshaun_ 16:19 above the bird statue.
@@nerdycurls6253 it's actually there the entire time during BotW too. You can go look at it and stuff while infiltrating Hyrule Castle.
@@TheJcris87 ohh okay, just checked and I can see it 😂 I was trying to see the gear didn't even realize the arms were right there. Thanks.
A lot of people I knew doubted, some talked crap, but I had a very strong feeling that it would be well received when the game came out. Obviously we can't be 100% certain, but this last trailer has reaffirmed my beliefs that the game will be enjoyable
I want to be objective so I don't want to assume it will be a 10/10 for me, although some reviewers might give it that score if it is good. I'm hoping for at least an 8/10, I can be happy with that
Super psyched to find out what happens!
I'm still seeing some people stick to their guns, insisting that this still isn't anything more than a DLC that we are being scammed into buying as its own game. I suspect they will hate until years from now, then they will insist that they were always a fan and excited for it.
There always be doubters, some genuine, some being unreasonably negative.
That music you keep playing is possibly my favourite music I’ve ever heard in a trailer. I can’t stop watching that part of the trailer, that song fucks incredibly hard
love your videos, always excited to see one in my feed
I'm so happy you've made this, it's everything I've been thinking! Zelda is in a different timeline. This is why certain villages are ok but others are destroyed.
Yep TOTK is the sequel to AOC not BOTW lol 😂 it’s not in a different timeline it’s in the same timeline as BOTW just the champion descendants are gonna be sages that will help Link defeat Ganon and later aid Link into battle against Demise
@@probenfetchak8076 demise????
@@probenfetchak8076 how tho 😂 there’s no reason for it to be an AOC sequel
“And probably also mushrooms“ I don’t know why that cracked me up
On the Master Sword breaking, perhaps the malice attacked Link, and was going to consume him, but Fi sacrificed the power of the sword to save him or something. Weird and contrived, but its really the only thing I personally can think of.
I really appreciate your analysis and theories because it feels a lot more grounded in reality based on what we've seen rather just trying to link everything to something you hope is in the game
The theory about the altar is spot on was actually going to make my third video about this today. They def are communicating through time and Zelda repairs the sword in the past
The line talking about the song was amazing, really showed your passion thank you!
I'm calling now that the spheares in the sky will be the skies "towers" which unlock map sections, and that going inside and using the mechanism we see at 12:02 is how we activate them
For the malice eating away at the Master Sword, my hail Mary guess is that since time is involved, it fermented long enough to fundamentally change so that it bypasses the Master Sword, or it just got strong enough after so long. Even antifreeze will freeze if it's cold enough.
Finally mushrooms are recognized for their infinite fashion potential
Wow. I really really love your time travel theory. I was hoping there would be some time mischief, but I didn’t know how it might work. Hope this is how it goes!
These videos always bring me joy to watch
i think link doesnt really send the master sword back through time, but zelda is instead holding the master sword of the past. the two of them are using it as some kind of recall-powered telephone, though only one way because link has nothing to say.
The, I think it's a Saxophone being played for the trailer, is the most unique and masterful work of music I have heard in a long time. I love it when stories; particularly films, and videos games use classical sounds like this.
It's masterful because of the fact that most modern music, while sounding cool alot of the time, could never trump songs made by people like Joe Hisaishi or even Shiro Sagisu's music from Evangelion, especially the new movies even though there objectively pretty bad. But from the old Evangelion especially.
I'm writing a novel right now, and I plan for it to be my magnum opus, and if I get to adapt it to a TV show, I'm going to have quite classical sounding music, almost like strait from the golden age of movie soundtracks, the 80's and 90's.
The trailers use of the saxophone makes both the track used and the trailer surprisingly the most inspiring piece of art that I have ever heard and seen in a long time. I cannot wait for the games daybeau.
Love the idea of being able to restore Hyrule castle earlier than the end of the game. I want a fully rebuilt castle town, and I want all those ruins to become proper towns.
about the hyrule castle scene, im not sure if that's a rebuild section due to links arm being normal and not corrupted in that shot.
I was wondering about the TotK twin snakes circle logo - it looks a bit Ouroboros-like, and made me wonder whether they're going to link TotK and Skyward Sword somehow (with the trailer's possible hints of time travel and maybe Demise as well as Ganondorf). Also nice touch that the sword in the logo is corroded too. Either way, I've really enjoyed your thoughtful analysis, & I'm looking forward to playing the game soon...
Skyward sword is technically the first Zelda game isn't it? What if TOTK is actually the beginning and also end of the timeline and things are just coming full circle.
@@ashwilliams3859 That's actually exactly the theory I had since the sky islands and the Ouroboros symbols were revealed. Now after the trailer, my best guess is that Zelda will be send back in time to even before Skyward Sword. And Link will have to battle Ganondorf in the present to be able to reach her in the past. The climax would then be Zelda and Link battling Demise in the past to seal him on the surface while Skyward Sword's sky islands are formed
@@mihyouko The ouroboros on the main logo is definitely noteworthy at the very least. Either way I suspect something weird is going on with the timeline.
Random Theory:
You will be able to use recall on urself. That way if u fall from super high up, you don't have to do a bunch of backtracking
Lol that would be *wild*
It says on the website you can use it on thrown weapons, I wonder if that means thrown weapons don’t break immediately?
@@Splitboltxful Recall bout to make stasis look like a prototype lol
From someone who really wasn’t feeling hyped about this game up till now, I’m not exaggerating when I say this trailer made me cry lol. This should’ve been the second trailer we got. The music, Link being cool as fuck, all the cool locations and stuff. I’m glad to finally be hyped for this game!!!
In the scene of link riding up the sheikah elevator, the audio track includes a distorted voice saying “the future”. Lends more weight to possibility of time travel.
My dude I love your channel. I don't even need to agree all the time. Keep doing you
4min 5 Zelda is a chad
With the time travel stuff I get the distinct feeling that the wheels have come off the proverbial Ultra hand crafted wagon, in both the present and the past. Who knows what happened to the Zonai era's Link and Zelda, but it seems like their situation requires the future versions of both. Which explains a bit why Zelda seemed a little surprised Creepy Hand brings him up. Like "Link? You are aware he's currently 10k years in the future right? Don't you have one?"
I suspect that Link is going to have to deal with all the bullshit Ganondorf has wrought in a Hyrule just getting back on it's feet, and at the end of the day travel Alllllll the way back to the past to seal that sonovabitch again and recue his boo. And possibly fight that Zonai guy. He is sus.
7 dungeons for the 7 tears 👀👀👀👀
"Honey, it's been 20 minutes. Time to listen to that epic sax again."
Yes, dear. FUCK yes!
30:19 part of your team there is the couple you find near Lover's pond in BOTW , the guy and the gerudo girl in the back
I definitely think "Demise" is a fusion of Demise AND Calamity Ganon (Specifically the playable character interpretation in Age of Calamity) especially when there is a scene where the mastersword is consumed by the malice. ALOT Of the sky islands are arcitecture of skyward sword and skyloft. Especially the platform and alter which is IDENTICAL to a location in Skyward Sword.
Also
- The golden light orb is likely just the Rewind ability
- This is directly connected to the long gone race of the Zonai, she likely fell into an area where remaining Zonai's exist, which is why the man reassuring her is wearing construct attire which is related to the zonai directly through the drops from the Constructs
- That guy reassuring Zelda is DEFINETELY a Zonai, Zelda is also wearing Zonai attire, so is the Hylia (who is hopefully that elf lady at the end)
- regarding Sidon being alive, it makes sense for Sidon to still be alive but Riju is more confusing. Zoras can live for hundreds of years, infact in BOTW Sidon is over a hundred years old as young sidon existed before Link's slumber. But Riju is just a gerudo human
Of course Riju would be alive. This game likely takes place within a year to a handful of years of the end of Breath of the Wild.
@@pockoclock228 it’s 100 years is it not?
A new Ganon is reborn
@@williamswan5247 No, this Ganondorf was sealed under Hyrule castle for tens of thousands of years. Calamity Ganon was just a construct of Malice that Ganondorf managed to create while sealed.
@@vincenoname I mean, Ganons reincarnation in BOTW lasted over a hundred years so technically the reincarnation of the new Ganon happens now.
The thing that confuses me is how they don’t even try to stop the male gerudo at all until he is an adult.
@@vincenoname also I don’t think so? That Ganondorf looks new compared to the shriveled up malice corpse sealed under Hyrule.
We couldn't wander off the Great Plateau, but now I believe we can fall off the islands! The shrines are maybe in a locked state, if they don't have the swirl, and if Link has the right ability for the shrine (maybe linearity is a bit back) you will see the swirl!? But who knows...
Did they ever show scenes from the endgame in a trailer?
Rubies on arrows are perhaps explosive, because the slime balls are elemental too!?
Great video! Your observations are very good, except some details, but that's normal! You based some on kind of facts from other material, I like that!
This has been my favorite analysis so far, great work. ☺️ I’ve been so excited for TotK that I’ve gotten into watching all the videos that pop up on my feed. 💚 I can’t wait to see what theories come to fruition.
god that playing of the song around 18 min was too perfect bro
Would be funny if the OG great plateau functioned as an insanely difficult challenge area
Has anyone noticed links hands while holding the sheikah slate? It doesn't have malice. Could it be possible that this scene where he has the sheikah slate is just a flashback from the past? 🤷
One thing about the music that might blow your mind if you haven't heard it already:
The main melody, the portion you give that segment, it's the same one used in the first teaser trailer with the distorted voices, and the other segments reference both the other two trailers' songs which might be why the trailer as a whole felt the way it did, we've subconsciously been hearing it for over 5 years and this was the climax of that.
The fact that the ascend ability mentions enemies makes me HEAVILY think we’re gonna have to use it through some big badass boss battle!
There are Koroks, indeed, it's been confirmed. You can see a ring of stones in one of the shots of the leaked TOTK ad.
The highlighted song really gives me Halo 3 “One Final Effort” vibes.
Also I’m SO HAPPY someone else thought the new “Zelda” was simply another incarnation of her in a different time. I feel so validated and not crazy now haha
Nintendo UK's page for Tears of the Kingdom refers to the cataclysmic event as "The Upheaval". Saying:
The Upheavel has come to Hyrule
Embark on a perilous quest to find the missing princess and unravel the truth behind a cataclysmic event that has sent the kingdom into turmoil.
I can’t remember if you mentioned this, but some of the sky islands have a different architecture. Mainly the ones involving water and where Sidon is fighting with Link. These islands that I mentioned look more like Zora architecture rather than Zonai which is strange considering we thought only the Zonai would be up in the sky.
14:37 If we really going to get Theme-based dungeons like Fire (Death Mountain), Desert (Arbiters Ground?) then maybe a sheikah based dungeon like in Ocarina of Time: That would be nice. Imagine a big classical dungeon but with sheikah implementations and puzzles solving like in Breath of the wild but so much bigger and with more rooms and keys to open doors. Dayum, I like the shrines and returning as a complete new designed Dungeon to obtain a tear would be amazing.
Edit: 19:05 haha I feel it. I love the music section and I hope it will be in the final game, please Nintendo
Here is my theory about Link's own shiekah slate. The ability is to unlock map and compass to navigate a 3d map for every dungeon and over world map areas where you have to unlock again as the original sheikah towers from botw nowhere to be seen.
I forgot the camera features and the encyclopedia thing when you taken pic from everything you pictured.
that kinda tracks, cause i think the elevator is inside the sheikah towers, but if you look at the website screenshot, they look like they were recently built/more modern. Maybe Purah and Robbie built these outposts after the end of BOTW, and because of the sky falling and zonai interference, we need to reactivate these data nodes?
@@Paradox1012 yeah probably they built it or have link help on it to build tower sort of side quest and also unlocking the map area again that would work to his new sheikah slate looking more like switch too.
Imagine also the weapon we fuse also has data for encyclopedia and give details what it do.
It would be awesome if the sky islands move (after the first time you’ve gone) imagine having to go to different places to get to the sky it would add a level of exploration as well as make it so every play through would be a bit more unique
16:22 My first thought was that this was some kind of projection of the past, but what you described is very plausible. That would be so goddamn cool.
16:05 The boss construct is in a dark area and has light coming out of his head. Its likely this boss fight will require link to use stealth
21:50 Look at the smoke from Death Mountain, its very red and curly, not how it looks usually, and it doesn't look natural. it does however look like (not)demise's curely red hair in that one shot in the trailer. Death mountain and that person are likely connected, perhaps that's where you'll find him
17:26 The hand that grabs the master sword would be that person's right hand of which currently Link's right hand is a gross shriveled blackened corpse of a hand so presuming that IS link(and not some new person capable of wielding the master sword coming out of left field) it's probably not current day and rather just a flashback to botw of some kind OR more likely, with this game's focus around the master sword, the first time link ever pulled the sword 100 years prior.
New radiant quest giver NPC Greston Parvey leaked dialogue: "There's a settlement that needs your help. I'll mark it on your map."
I think the stone bird is pretty much a flying master cycle that u can whistle for in midair and it will swoop in like a loftwing
That sax goes so hard in this trailer. My man had bills to pay
i do agree that the area Zelda is sitting is at or near the Great Plateau because on the left side of the shot you can see the Faron forest or whatever its called, dont have any names in front of me, and i THINK you can see Farosh (the dragon) in the distance, but that could just as easily be some trees that looks vaguely like a dragon, idk. but you can definitely tell that its Faron because of the redish rocks and cliff faces, and to my knowledge nowhere else on the map looks like that. and on the right is what i think is a bit interesting, a mountain that appears to be slighty cold in some places given the concentration of white around it, which typically depicts snow in videogames. unless thats a cloud going through the mountain in which case its probably cold because its high enough for clouds to form around it. but on top of the mountain thingy, there is some sort of (presumably man/Hylian/whatever-made) structure. now this is probably a reach, and ive not played BOTW recently enough to verify proportions, but i think that structure might be the cliff that has the Stasis shrine on top of it. alternatively, it could be that instead of to the northwest of the forest we are to the northeast, and that that mountain is the ice dragon mountain which after the time jump people theorize will take place (not time travel, time jump, as in the game taking place more than a few days after BOTW, i personally agree with this theory as BOTW itself had a time jump in one of the endings that presumably took place a few weeks/ months after you beat Ganon) the mountain might have civilization on or around it. maybe that box is some sort of prison the Hylians built, or a military base if for some reason the Hylians and Zora are about to go to war. idk, im throwing some stuff at the wall in hopes something will stick, and maybe this can form some new theories and get people talking about that side of the map, ice only heard of people talking about the main story locations from BOTW getting expanded, maybe Nintendo wants to expand some of the less beaten paths in the game?
One thing I noticed about the place Zelda is at in 3:07 . Just a few second prior Link is falling through a similar scene. Comparing the 2 scenes and taking into account Zelda's view and how there is no gate in the picture, one of the step-like/dragon head structures she sees should be broken..... but it isn't.
So either she's in the past or another location with a less broken altar.
I've been concerned up to this point. Now? Now I'm genuinely excited. This has given hope for dungeons, difficulty, rebuilding, and stuff I WANT out of a Zelda game. Please, please let this be what it seems
whoa man that is really shocking to me.. zelda being stuck in the past, on the same altar, then helping repair the master sword, they all make sense.. great analysis thank you
I'm feeling a lot of odd Elden Ring parallels, like the ruins from the sky scattered all over the map and the all but confirmed existence of a large underground area. I wonder just how much they were able to add into the game in the last year and I'm very curious what a post-Elden Ring open world Zelda game will be like.
I would have to expect that this world was designed before Elden Ring released. At most they might have adjusted some things to use ideas from Elden Ring, but I wouldn't expect them to take too much from it.
@@AzariahWolf yea this game was in dev for 6 yrs meaning it couldn't have been much inspired by elden ring.
I'd bet it's just coincidental. If I were to make a sequel to a game with high emphasis on exploration, but reuse the world map, the logical move is to place new areas in already-existing but previously inaccessible areas: the sky, and the depths.
22:05 - nobody seems to notice the strange rock with the red veins in the background in this shot. It looks like the one from the February trailer on death mountain. And may be the same type of rock the bokoblins were mining in that trailer.
When Link jumped into that water sphere my first thought was diving is coming back
Love all your videos!
I think the reason we sometimes don’t see sky islands is because far-off sky islands in the footage that’s been released seem to be rendered in a way that they fade out and gain more transparency the further away they are. So it might be that any shot of the sky we see that doesn’t have sky islands is actually a shot where the sky islands are far enough away that they are invisible from where you’re standing.
If this is the case, it makes for a clever way to improve performance while also giving an in-universe reason why nobody was able to see the sky islands before, and could serve as a means of hiding late-game areas from view until you get close enough to see them and travel to them.
The only Zelda that actually was Hylia's reincarnation was Skyward Sword Zelda. The rest are descendants of her bloodlines, hence "the princess with the blood of the goddess." I also don't think that Zelda "fused" with Hylia, but you can't make the argument you're making because this Zelda and Hylia are not the same person. BOTW/TOTK Zelda is a descendant of Hylia/SS Zelda
Because Zelda is on the ground in the zonai architecture building and we’re assuming that she’s in the past, this actually makes a lot of sense
What if the time she gets sent back to isn’t just when the zonai were still alive, but while they were on the ground as well as evidenced by the zonai ruins around hyrule
I’ve heard theories that the sky islands come from the sacred realm after Ganondorf is revived and sends that malice beam into the sky-breaking the barrier between the two.
What if the Zonai ascended into the sacred realm using their technology to avoid Ganon’s wrath, and Zelda is just sent back to the time before that all happens?
12:53 - 15:00 Remember Purah from Hateno village made her own Sheikah slate to make a reverse aging rune as documented in her diary upstairs. Well what if to use certain Sheikah tech you have to use Purah's borrowed homemade Skeikah slate and have it powered by Robbie's ancient tech which means it needs to remain connected to a power source by cable?
This would also explain why the Sheikah slate is different and needs to be plugged in it's not a true Sheikah Slate.
11:11 hey I love the skyward sword silent realm music you put here. I think the silent realm was super creepy and would love to see it return.
In the shot of the tornado boss coming up, you can see a lot of floating ruins. You can see similar floating ruins in the shot where Link and the lil bird person jump up on some sort of trampoline. Looks to me like the Tornado/Stormclouds you see the camera focus on near the start of the trailer may be the Wind Dungeon.
Hard agree on the time travel! I was also pretty adamant there wouldn't be time travel, but there's too much in this trailer that hints at it.
The only thing you covered that I have a different opinion on is Re the sparkly castle. I haven't seen anyone else mention this, but the first thing that came to mind when i saw that shot of the throne room was the frozen castle from Wind waker & the Temple of Time dungeon in Twilight Princess. Both are instances of revisiting a *place* that has been frozen in time, and im wondering if something similar is happening here. Cause i agree, i dont think link himself has gone back in time in this moment, but maybe this is a projected "memory" of the castle pre calamity.
Really love your videos! I somehow hadn't noticed that the cart shot was missing sky islands so now I have a whole new set of theories to ponder while I wait for the game lol. Looking forward to the next one :)
from the thumbnail in this video i got time travel from that trailer but it's not a split, it's a fixed time event meaning the reason why those ruins knew about ganon and everything is because this always happened. and that lizard we saw is a zonai. perhaps they're evolved from the leaping lizards of ocarina of time ? that tear zelda is holding also looks like an ocarina.
note: the zonai lizard guy has the same jewellery on his arms as link's funky arm and by extent the one in the first trailer holding ganondorf
so if zelda is in the past
he might actually be the guy who was keeping ganondorf stuck
In one of the previous trailers we can see link at that same altar when he pulls out the damaged master sword. There is a yellow glowing orb which resembles the recall ability. Maybe it has something to do with Zelda being in the same location with the undamaged master sword in the past
The master sword is also glowing in this shot
I feel that elevator scene with the tech is the inside of those towers and thats how you get to the top of the tower
Something else to mention is that the existence of the floating water bubbles may imply the inclusion of underwater traversal, given link has a unique underwater swimming animation now
I think the tents in the Castle Town Ruins were set up as part of the first step in a reconstruction project, but were likely vacated once the Castle itself went on vacay.
This is probably what the reverse music was supposed to represent from the very first trailer. We were so caught up in trying to interpret it, that we forgot to consider it’s most basic meaning, that of being reversed in time. To the creators it may have seemed worryingly obvious what this would mean and they may have felt they had given the game away too much already, but thankfully we were all none the wiser.
Just a thought but what if we use time travel to go back to the peaceful post calamity Ganon, but pre ganondorf, hyrule, and use our ultra hand abilities to help rebuild hyrule. What if the only way to stop ganondorf this time is to somehow create a world where he could never wake up? That is to say he’s so powerful when he is fully restored it’s not actually possible for link to defeat him normally. Zelda even says “I am not sure you can defeat him this time”.
Dark Cloud 2 Vibes right there.
@Ratatoskr
OKAY SO I THINK I GOT IT:
First, some random thoughts.
There are a lot of things that remind me of the original Zelda and A Link To The Past. If you can recall, one of the original lines of intent when creating BotW was to attempt (to an extent) to remake the original Zelda and it's open ended exploration driven style. A Link To The Past has always felt like the closest thing to a direct sequel to the original Zelda to me, and this Tears To The Kingdom is screaming out similarities.
The main things that keep popping back into my head are how easy it was to travel between the normal overworld and the dark world in ALttP. Also, in that game the Master Sword was not the strongest sword in the game, and had to be upgraded to become stronger until you had turned it into the Gold Sword.
In the original Zelda and Zelda 2, entire dungeons rose from underground, and that is what the dungeon in the desert reminds me of.
Okay let's get to business on what I think is the haps.
Something about this hand, it is seen being the force that is holding Ganondorf down before the decision is made to save ZELDA (it grabs her wrist in the very first trailer) from falling. It is the same type of hand belonging to both Link and the new big eared robed figure, only with golden glowing cuffs that jut out at parts along the forearm. I don't think that the golden hand belongs to either Link or the big ears.
Going back to A Link to the Past, when Link enters the dark world he is transformed into A RABBIT. This is because the dark world changes people to reflect their true nature. So...
I think that Ganondorf opens a portal to the Dark World at some point in the game, changing the beings of Hyrule into their "natural form," which is why Ganondorf looks like Demise and Link and friends turn into different forms. You can see Bunny Link is not alone and has friends with him in the background, notably the Rito with the same tear on the same foot but looking different as well. Zelda remains unchanged because she was in the past. She meets Link at the gates of time and doesn't recognize him until he puts his hand on her shoulder. The voiceover at this point of the trailer is of someone else and meant to mislead the audience. Zelda goes to the dark world with Link and transforms into the other Zelda we see. Their jubilance in that shot of them in what looks like the Korok forest could be them meeting the Great Deku Tree in the past. Just shut up everyone I'm done.
24:46 btw for more information on the significance of this particular kind of tear shape, the word you want to investigate is "Magatama".
I like to come back to this video to re-live the hype 🤣 such a great game!
Why does the music go so hard? Its honestly phenomenal
17:00 "These Sparkles are a representation of your hard work." LMAO true
I think the person you said had a creepy hand is the past version of the hero and he helps current Zelda in the past, and because she’s in the past maybe past Zelda got sent to replace her so she’s helping link
Did you notice that the "creepy" guy's arm is the exact same one holding down Mummy-dorf, that saves Link from falling, and subsequently FUSES with his right arm?
I think you can rest assured he's on the level.
Link grabbing the mastersword from the forest probably does happen in BOTW2 but at the beginning cinematic, he pulls the sword to go investigate the ganon area. They probably made it seem way more impactful than it is... The reason I say that is because this iteration of link is right handed and he's grabbing that with his right hand, but we know from the trailers that his right hand is black from malice, this is a clean hand.
If there are going to be time travel shenanigans, maybe Ganondorf from the trailer is supposed to be from the past, and that Demise-looking figure is Ganon in the future after he rehydrates.
Imagine we all got jebaited that hard
In the shot of link anti gravity jumping, you can see the volcano with malice branch thingies coming out the top
Knowing that we can use Ascend on some enemies makes me think back to an interview I read years ago with Miyamoto (or possibly Aonuma). It says they wanted the final battle with Ganon in OoT to be way bigger, similar to something from Shadow of the Colossus, but the technology at the time couldn’t do that. It really makes me wonder if they’re going to do something like that with this game, with a Ganon fight where he’s so huge you can climb him using Ascend.