We’re just days away from the official release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on May 12, and Nintendo has just released a special “Ask the Developers” interview to give us a better look at what’s to come.
The interview covers a range of topics from the construction of Breath of the Wild to the intricacies of the building process, but one odd point that struck us is the emphasis the developers seem to place on hands in the game, even going going so far as to describe them as the “key theme” of the title.
We’ve known about Link’s arm since we discovered the game in 2019 and then learned that it would play an important role in the game’s sequel, Sheikah Slate-style, thanks to the trailer for gameplay, but can it really get any deeper than that? Apparently, yes.
When asked about Link’s physical changes, series producer Eiji Aonuma emphasized the importance of the hands to the game as a whole. Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi further emphasized this point by stating the following:
The titles in the Legend of Zelda series intertwine all the elements of gameplay, mechanics and story, and combine them into one game. For this title, we chose "hands" as the main theme to bring them all together. For example, the abilities Link uses to solve puzzles are all released by his hand and arm. We even incorporated this theme symbolically into the game mechanics, for example in scenes where hands are used to open special doors. This theme of "hands" also appears here and there as a key element in the development of the story.The game’s art director, Satoru Takizawa, and music director, Hajime Wakai, also explained that hands played an important role in their respective fields. Come to think of it, we’ve seen a lot of hands-on content in the trailers and Wakai even noted that the team mixed clapping into the score to accentuate the theme.
What is it exactly? Why settle for hands? The developers did not want to explain this decision in detail, although Aonuma hinted that it would be directly linked to the story:
Simply put, “hands” express the idea of “connection.” This also applies to the story, which is tied to Hyrule's past. There is also talk of a major battle called the "Imprisonment War", which was until now considered a myth, even in Hyrule.Hmm, looks like there’s going to be some serious Zelda history to unpack with this story and it all ties into the idea of hands. May 12th is really not ready to arrive!
To learn more about the game, be sure to check out the full “Ask the Developers” interview.