-
0:15—Among the floating islands seen here, we briefly see a mountain peak with smoky tendrils on the left side of the scene. The smoke is extremely reminiscent of Ganondorf’s wavy red hair, which we’ll see up close at 1:18.
-
-
0:25—A Construct is seen chopping down a tree, suggesting that enemies have tasks to keep them busy while they wait for Link to engage them in battle. The cutting down of trees itself could indicate an in-universe reason why these structures were created in the first place or could be a way for enemies to gather resources for their own larger construction projects.
-
0:41—We see a huge, intricate pattern drawn on the ground here, a reflection of another that appears on a mountainside around 1:28. What do they mean? Were they left here by ancient aliens?
-
0:56—Our first glimpse of a city that seems to have a strong affinity for mushrooms.
-
1:08—What’s hiding in that unnatural-looking cloud tower high in the stratosphere? Our money is on a large dungeon and/or boss.
-
1:23—We saw Zelda wearing this kind of Link-style Activewear outfit in previous trailers, and we caught a glimpse of her falling into darkness between tumbling rocks. Could this be the key moment where Link and Zelda are separated early in the game?
-
1:34—Dropping into the middle of a tunnel of lasers, we briefly see Link roll out a feathery wingsuit to quickly change direction. That’s a change from the hand glider we’ve seen it use to hover in other scenes.
-
1:36—Look at all those blue bubbles in the glass ball in the background. Is this the world’s largest gashapon machine?
-
1:39—This shot gives a glimpse of the return of horseback combat. More importantly, we can see a group of farmers and townspeople fighting alongside Link in the background (including one with a pot on his head). At the very least, it looks like they’ll provide a way to distract enemies while Link prepares his attacks.
-
1:54 – The adventurous Link-style garb that Zelda previously wore is gone, replaced by a strapless dress and dainty jewelry. You still have a few weeks to create your own headcanon fanfic of how/why Zelda transitions from one outfit to another.
-
2:08—In prison, a teardrop tattoo like Zelda’s would have a very important meaning in gang culture. Here, though, it’s more reminiscent of the teardrop on the Sheikah decal, and it’s probably an important clue about the title of the game. Also worth noting, that teardrop is not visible on Zelda’s face as she falls at the time stamp of 1:25…
-
2:14—Left’s shield is actually attached to the blade of his two-handed sword, adding spice to a defensive parry. If you pause at just the right moment, you’ll see this shield fly away after absorbing an enemy attack. Is it broken or can Link pick it up for another block?
-
2:19—You can see some kind of bird friend flying next to Link here. That same companion reappears in a cutscene at 3:08 and says, “Okay, let’s go.”
-
2:20—This looks like a horseback escort mission where Link must protect townsfolk from attack while being transported down a road. The sticky gel on the wagon’s axles and the connection to the horse’s bridle suggest that Link built this wagon himself from parts.
-
2:2—Another shot of the fiery red dreadlocks emerging from the distant mountain as we get a glimpse of basic platforming gameplay. Don’t look down, Link!
-
2:34—This huge walking rockballista once again indicates that enemies may also be able to build larger structures from component parts.
-
2:45—For years, a large contingent has been speculating loudly that Zelda will be a playable character at some point in the game. Zelda saying “I know why I’m here. It’s something only I can do” will certainly add to that speculation (as will the presence of Link fighting alongside other characters in this trailer).
-
3:10—This dark-skinned character’s earrings, necklace, and brow comb match exactly the ones we saw on a particular princess earlier in the same trailer. Only this character has eight teardrop tattoos? Interesting…
-
3:14—A nice “getting the band back together” shot of Gorons, Gerudo, and a few different Hylians standing next to Link. But none of them can light a candle for the lanky man in front with a wooden bucket for a helmet. A+, no notes, the new favorite Zelda character of all time.
-
3:15—As Zelda says, “You’re not alone,” we get some quick gameplay footage of Link fighting alongside a red Zora-esque character twice his size. This is almost certainly a computer-controlled combat ally, but is some kind of limited two-player mode too much to ask from Nintendo? If so, we’re counting on Modders to add two-player support to the emulated version of the game!
-
3:22 Zelda in a flowy dress (and with two teardrop tattoos on her face) clings tightly to the Master Sword. “Link, you’re our last hope,” she says, followed shortly by “Link, you’ve got to find me!” Is she another damsel in distress? Or is that just what Nintendo wants us to think?
Years after Nintendo’s 2019 announcement of a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel, we had to live on a relatively short gameplay trailer for a hint of just how highly anticipated Tears of the Kingdom would play. Today, as we approach the game’s scheduled May release, Nintendo shared the final trailer for the game, its third public gameplay tease in as many months.
As we wait for our first hands-on time with the first Zelda title in six years, we went through that final trailer almost frame by frame to pick out all the interesting features and speculative tidbits we could pick out. Here’s a quick look at some moments that might have quickly clouded your eyes on first viewing, along with trailer timecodes for you to see in full context for yourself.
