5 Things We'd Love To See In Zelda Games After Tears Of The Kingdom

Tears of the Kingdom introduced a lot to the Zelda series, so what should the future games look like?

The Legend of Zelda is a nearly 40-year-old series, with Tears of the Kingdom taking the spot of being the 20th mainline game. However, anyone could safely bet that we haven't seen the end of things yet, and there will be more Zelda games to come.

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Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, and though it does a lot differently and takes new steps, it also treads dangerously close to its predecessor - so close in fact, that it loses some of that magic and instead offers new toys in this familiar sandbox. Looking to the future of the series, however, there are some things that we'd love to see implemented and some things we want to change.

Weapon crafting and upgrading is nothing new in video games, and has been a staple of many RPGs and action games to date. The Fuse Power in Tears of the Kingdom, however, is a refreshing take on this tried and true mechanic. Instead of sitting down to craft an extra thing for your weapon in menus, making sure you have enough materials and components, you can just magically stick whatever onto your sword and shield on the go, and call it a day.

This is an excellent feature in TotK, and one that works to balance out the weapon durability and the same-old equipment we all know too well. Going forward with the series, it would be excellent to see more of this ability. Not the specific Zonai power, but just being able to upgrade and combine equipment wherever and whenever in order to overcome obstacles is fantastic, and would do well to continue a presence in the series. The durability though? We can step back from that just a bit - maybe not entirely, but it doesn't need to return after these two games.

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both share similar-yet-equally-fulfilling side quests that involve town building. In Breath of the Wild, you gather residents and assist in the establishment of Tarrey Town. In Tears of the Kingdom, you provide materials to help rebuild the destroyed Lurelin Village. Both of these quests are charming, and put you amongst the real inhabitants of Hyrule in order to create something you'll feel accomplished with afterward.

Whatever the future of the Zelda series looks like, this quest idea should continue in new ways. Bigger towns, more assistance for residents, and just smaller tasks for Link that are much bigger for the ordinary Hylian. Nothing establishes the world of Hyrule and makes it feel as alive as those that live in it, and when you get to assist them in their daily life, it makes for an engaging and empowering mini-story.

It makes sense that a lot was familiar in Tears of the Kingdom and that we were still in the same place, as it was a direct sequel in order to tell the second part of the story. However, the next Zelda game needs to uproot and take us to a new Hyrule once again. With the new tech, the new look, and the new ideas, it would bring a childlike wonder again to discover a brand new Hyrule once more - something that never gets old.

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With this, of course, would come a new version of Link. Younger, older, maybe even a different race - whatever this new hero that wields the Master Sword looks like, it would be fantastic for fans and the series to get to know them all over again. Whatever it may be, and wherever we will be taken, one thing is for certain: we need to see an undestroyed Hyrule again - a kingdom in its prime, complete with Hyrule Castle, bustling communities, and Lon Lon Ranch.

While Ganon and Ganondorf are iconic to the series as a whole, there have been a couple of times when we've seen some deviations in the antagonist role. Whether that be a standalone villain, a means to lead to Ganondorf/Demise, or something entirely different in a new place like in Majora's Mask, it's always refreshing to have something a little different. After the big role that Ganondorf has in Tears of the Kingdom, the next game should try something new again.

What would make this even more interesting, however, is if we saw a new villain that was a reincarnation bound to Demise. A new form of this eternal evil, taking part of a villain who has more motivation behind their goals than just domination or power. Perhaps a villain who seeks to destroy the gods out of revenge, or one who is set on something much more intimate than the entire kingdom. Maybe they could even internally oppose the Demise that's a part of them, leading to some complications in their morals and methods.

Breath of the Wild set a new standard for open-world games, and for video games in general. Tears of the Kingdom advanced that in many ways, focusing on new ways to play and mechanics you could use to get creative in every situation imaginable. Both of these have developed a lot of ideas that the series will take into the future, and that's absolutely wonderful. Still, something that it should leave behind to an extent is the formula.

Both of these games feature a fantastic open-world formula, and while a new world with a new map would make for something just as exciting, the series needs to move on from what it has done here in some capacity. Rather than yet another 120+ shrines or shrine equivalents, it should focus on new ways to provide puzzles. Rather than visiting each region and then heading to the final confrontation, it should flip what we know and take us to places we don't expect, doing things we haven't seen.

A new game needs to both continue the innovations that these games have set, and also back away from repeating a lot of it for the sake of guaranteed success.

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After writing online for over 8 years and running a small-scale website on the side, Sam joined TheGamer as an editor in 2021, and now acts as Deputy Lead for Evergreen.