We love a good tangle of theories here at NL, especially when it's anything to do with the Zelda series — a story so tangled that even its creators aren't really sure what it all means.
So this latest theory intrigues us — the idea that Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom will form a triforce trilogy of games, with each one representing one of the three virtues of the triforce: Power, Wisdom, and Courage.
We've already gone all-in on the idea that the three virtues are represented by the three tribes of Yiga, Sheikah, and Zonai, and this video by Naydinfar posits that the three games match up, too.
Skyward Sword, with its origin story for Demise and Ganon and its red-and-black colour themes, represents Power. Breath of the Wild, which heavily features the technologically advanced (and blue) Sheikah tribe with its Sheikah slate, shrines, guardians, and towers, represents Wisdom. So it stands to reason that Tears of the Kingdom, with its teal-green colour palette and its hints at the Zonai, represents Courage.
This theory is bolstered by the three shrines of Power, Wisdom, and Courage in Breath of the Wild each featuring hints at this theming.
The Spring of Power in Akkala is a recreation of one from Skyward Sword, linking the two games together. The Spring of Wisdom is surrounded by Malice, and has the dragon Naydra imprisoned by Ganon's dark aura, tying it to BOTW's themes. The Spring of Courage, on the other hand, is found in the Zonai Ruins, surrounded by Zonai architecture and dragon statues.
You can read more about what the Zonai and Sheikah hints in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom mean in our trailer breakdowns and theory features:
- Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Trailer Breakdown - Theories And Speculation
- 16 Theories About Link's Weird Arm In Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2
- Fans May Have Translated The Zonai Text In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Trailer
- Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: Everything We Know So Far
What do you think? Is Tears of the Kingdom the missing piece of the triforce puzzle, or are we just going a bit nuts with speculation? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Comments 73
I have a feeling it's in the ancient past of a Link to the Past. What we're observing in tears of the kingdom is hyrule separating from lorule
Never really associated Skyward Sword with Breath of the Wild. I sort of hope Tears is the second game in a BotW trilogy instead.
Skyward Sword is sort of my least favorite mainline Zelda title too, honestly, whereas BotW is my favorite, so that might be why I feel that way.
Stop trying to shoehorn Skyward Sword where it does not belong in.
How do you figure? Skyward sword was completely different in style to BOTW. TOTK has the sky theme going but there's been no mention of loftwings or anything else really connecting it to skyward sword.
I remember years ago someone wrote an article here at Nintendolife about skyward sword titled "how could a dungeon have a sky view?" A reference to the Skyview temple which funnily enough wasn't even in the sky. It just had an ending area where you could look up into the sky. This was written before the game had released.
Let's not assume too much. We still know next to nothing about Tears of the kingdom. Anyone else hoping Zelda is at some point playable? I mean if Assassins creed can have multiple playable characters why not zelda?
Leave Skyward Sword- the worst 3D Zelda- out of this.
It's funny how people don't count Age of Calamity, but yes TOTK is the final part of a trilogy.
In a narrative sense however there does seem to be a lot of ties to Skyward Sword. Many theorists do hint that things will come full circle and TOTK will break the Curse of Demise (beginning of the timeline, end of the timeline). Fujibayashi is also the lead director on SS, BOTW, and TOTK so there's that connection too.
I think it's cool to see the connections and think of them as a trilogy. Skyward Link isn't the same Link we see in Breath and Tears, but that doesn't mean the stories can't link together
@somnambulance BotW is kind of an antithesis to SS. Everything people didn't like about SS (mainly the constrained map and progression) was used as a guide in the making of BotW.
That said, I like SS for what it is, even if I like BotW way more
Nope.
Definitely not.
@Mattock1987 😂 but it's the literal origin of the entire Zelda timeline...
In some ways i think i still Like the traditional progression of the zelda games instead of the BOTW go anywhere from the start thing. You shouldn't be able to just run straight to the final boss. That kills the whole earning it by going through struggles and making accomplishments to get there. I'm still torn on the breakable weapons thing too. Maybe every weapon shouldn't be breakable.
@Bizzyb still the worst game.
Technically, it's already in a trilogy with BotW and AoC. And the team didn't sound all too eager to clarify its ties with the general series timeline before.
@Tinglemies I thought "shoehorning things where they don't belong" was the theme of SS???
How will it rank against the original Zelda trilogy? I mean of course Faces of Evil, Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's adventure.
@Bobb I get what you mean, but the stamina bar and the glider were lifted from SS for BotW.
Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom have the same game director, so it's not a strange idea that there is a relationship between the 3. But then again so are Minish cap and the Oracle games.
@Truegamer79 Oh, I HATE the breakable weapons! It's one thing if it's a tree branch, but a sword doesn't just snap in half because you hit a guy with it six times. At least have a repair option of some kind. It's honestly the worst thing about BOTW - but I still played the heck out of it!
I've tried so hard with Skyward Sword. I just want buttons. The controls feel awful with the pad. I guess I could try with motion controls...but honestly I'd rather just play another Zelda game.
I doubt this would be popular, also, but I'd be pretty happy with no Gorons, Sheika, Zora, etc and their associated environments. I'm still really excited for TotK, but it would be pretty rad to see a bunch of completely new stuff.
I honestly think tears of the kingdom will be a reset of the Zelda series. I don’t have anything to back this up, nor do I want this to happen. But I do think this is the way things will go.
@Truegamer79 honestly they really haven’t mentioned anything about this game mostly just short trailers that don’t give much detail. The only names we know is the title
@LikelySatan you are probably right, but I guess we can agree on both were much improved on BotW
No it wont be the final part
I sure hope TotK is the last of this phase of Zelda
@Bobb It's both, oddly. The games are completely different, but have some strange things in common.
@Exerion76 Kind of like 2D Mario, unless they do something absolutely mind blowing, I don't see the point.
@Bizzyb Oh right. The "Zelda Timeline." lol.
If only it was their final attempt into open world to fit in with other popular games. Has no place in Zelda games.
@theModestMouse yeeeeeeah, you might not be too happy with the franchise for a while. There was the OoT era (Oot-SS), and it was wonderful...but I just don't think there's much life in it anymore. BotW trying to "fit in with other popular games" would make more sense if BotW didn't masterfully innovate on open world games to the point where tons of them are trying to accomplish even a bit of what that game did.
It's pretty ridiculous to say that the open world has no place in Zelda games. Why? What do you mean?
People forget Fujibayashi directed all 3 of these. I think it makes sense too, one of the biggest reasons SS exists is for Demise's curse and he was a big focus of the game. BotW had a strong Zelda focus, with all the memories. So far for TotK, we've seen two forms of Link meaning it could have a greater focus on him and round out the triforce trio.
@Bizzyb That doesn't make a crappy game good. If Skyward Sword had been a new IP, or even just a couple games deep, it never would've gotten a sequel. It's good reviews came purely from it's pedigree.
I didn’t realize we hated on skyward sword as much as we do. I think it is a stretch to be calling totk a sequel to SS in any way other than like saying twilight princess is. They all zelda games in the same universe.
After that, skyward sword does not deserve the hate, especially the switch version which fixed the only true complaint, motion controls. It’s in no way the best 3D zelda, and reuses a couple bosses, but the world is like constantly exploring a dungeon, until you get into a dungeon, in which they are as good as any, something that botw has none of.
Zelda games are probably the only games that I could never get sick if replaying, and replay a couple a year just because. SS was my most recent.
I actually hope that totk is the SECOND in a trilogy, partly because calling aoc part of the same series as botw feels kinda weak to me. It's the start of a completely different universe, and the gameplay of both is night and day. Also, I just want a third game like botw lol.
It's a historical wraparound! TotK will be a sequel to BotW and a prequel to SS! Starting the cycle all over again!
The most recent new Zelda game in my opinion was A Link Between Worlds. I consider BOTW a spinoff.
Yeah it could be. It ain’t out yet. It could be anything. It’s pretty obvious that they have taken Ideas from Skyward Sword. I’d like to see a bit of Kid Icarus in the flying sections.
Everyone hating on Skyward Sword fills me with glee!
As I said in the article about reveal trailer, my guess is that it will be the 2nd chapter of a trilogy, with the final chapter yet to come.
@Li_Bae
I really liked switch version more than wii. Control support was right thing to do to make it much better experience
I swear in my opinion, Demise will be in this game. Call me crazy, but remember Demise was sealed under Hyrule in the present timeline of Skyward Sword. They use the term destroyed in game, but maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was dead and waiting for a chance to revive. Now with so much of Hyrule floating in the sky, he has that chance. Not to mention the Demise that Link sealed in the Master Sword in the past of Skyward Sword could be trying to escape as well. Can’t say I’m right, but you also can’t say I’m wrong.
There’s a connection, but trilogy is a stretch. Skyloft comes down and seals demise. Pre BOTW times people start digging to find all the ancient tech. Whoops someone weakens the seal, breath of the wild happens. And tears of the kingdom follows breath of the wild.
But the 10-20 odd games that then fall in the middle? Kinda hard to pick 3 games at opposing ends of a timeline and say trilogy
It's a little known fact that Tears of the Kingdom is actually the prequel to the CD-i games. [citation badly needed]
Wow is it Wild Theories and Rumor season already? I guess it’s still fun enough for people to type about it, but as someone who was in that world for almost 30 years, I’m just tired lol. Nintendo just makes fun games. Any connections are Easter eggs, and I don’t think anyone aside from Masahiro Sakurai thanks deep about video game lore anymore. Especially not Nintendo.
I really don't try to keep track of this stuff, i just like to enjoy the game and story
No. Absolutely not. No Skyward Sword.
Age of Calamity holds a better representation of Power than Skyward Sword does. Not only does the game push an emphasis towards the usage of Malice, including Astor's mysterious relic that appears comparable to the Sheikah Slate and Zonai Arm, but the game also emphasizes on the power of each individual in this game when they are brought together, in a battle that was lost in Breath of the Wild due to the lack of such virtue. It also shows the Power of Calamity Ganon, being powerful enough that he could accelerate the revival of his timeline variations and put Hyrule in a war even before the Calamity ever begun.
Man it's gonna be a long decade or two for those of us that thought BOTW was mid, to borrow a phrase from the kids.
This article has nothing to do with SS's quality yet people are still railing it SMH. Its a great game (especially after the switch ver), get over it.
@BrianJL @Truegamer79 The breakable weapons is what killed the game for me. Played it for a few hours and never went back because of that design idea. I hope the next Zelda doesn't use that idea.
@Tasuki
Seeing as how it's the sequel to BOTW I'd say there's a pretty good chance breakable weapons are back.
To be honest the BOTW is linked to most of the earlier games
@sleepinglion from the trailers, it looks like we may be encountering two Links in this game. Toga guy might be SS Link or a descendent.
Hardcore 20+year Zelda fan here. I’m on board with this theory. It definitely seems like there will be some connections with SS and it seemed like Aonuma was intentional to get people as familiar with SS as possible with the remake and the way it was announced.
I adore all the mainline Zelda games (except links adventure), but I don’t think this is a good theory. There is a sect of LoZ fans who obsess over timelines and connections between games and I have to say, it really does feel every legend of Zelda game is entirely independent of one another. Even if they use the same engine, they still at most just hint at links to where they connect to the franchise. I seriously doubt when they were putting together tears of the kingdom that they were heavily focused on tying in skyward sword specifically as part of this storyline. Why would they? It’s one of the least popular Zelda games.
@Mauzuri BotW is nothing special? How exactly?
Don't know, don't care. Not coming back after BotW poison pilled the franchise for me. Please don't go shoehorning a connection with Skyward Sword. There isn't one.
I could be wrong, but I don't recall seeing something that placed BOTW in the accepted Zelda Timeline as of yet. For me to even consider this theory I first need to know canonically where BOTW belongs in the timeline.
@MeloMan
Here's what has been confirmed so far:
Ffs, Skyward Sword is not part of the direct story of botw and totk. In totk, the floating islands were obviously ripped off the ground by malice, leaving behind possible underground entrances. Skyward Sword is situated in a time eons before botw and its sequel. Its floating islands do not have any relation to the next Zelda.
@Mauzuri
You asked: What BotW did compared to Skyrim and other crappy western open world games? Here's a list!
1. The open world has been handcrafted and works like a big puzzle. The main content of the game is this question: " how do I get there?" An example would be how to cross frozen river. Unlike other games, water can be either warm, normal or cold in this game. Cold water kills you fast. So, will you cut a tree to make a bridge over it? Maybe use cryonis to create ice blocks? Try to find a way to circle around? Find a high place to paraglide over it?
In a normal open world game you just swim past it, because you can't cut trees, temperatures are not changing and your only traversal option is walking or riding a horse with crappy controls. BotW also has horses but the controls are perfect and the horses have different stats. You need to tame them and you can customize their looks and find useful gear to them.
2. The overall polish is beyond any other open world game. I think even the haters admit this.
3. Chemistry engine. In BotW, you can TOUCH everything. Also, nothing halts your progress. You climb over fences in a realistic way instead of clumsyly trying to jump over it using the same animation as in every jump. Different elements react in various ways in contact.
4. You can climb everything. Except shrine walls.
5. Everything you collect is useful. Remember all those apples and bowls you could put in yout inventory in Skyrim, just to not ever using them. In BotW, everything has a use.
6. Traversal options. In games like Skyrim you can just walk or swim. Because your horse is so slow and crappy why bother. In BotW the moving around itself is fun. This is very important in any game is it not? You can walk, run, ride a horse with great controls and unmatched animations, paraglide down from hills, surf with your shield, ride a sandseal, swim- just get the full zora armor set to get some speed on swimming, and climb. Did I forget something?
7. Physics engine. Which allows you to try almost everything and usually it works.
Would you like me to continue or was this enough?
If you value some boring sidequests over the "how could I get there" then I suppose it's a matter of taste. You must hate games like Zelda and Metroid in general.
@Mauzuri BotW is different than the Bethesda and CDPR approach to open world games. It is different in that it emphasizes free exploration over dialog and waypoints. BotW doesn’t emphasize side quests. There’s open space to the game, something that is truly unique to the title. It’s about being lost in the wilderness and braving the landscape more than it is about anything else. As the story coalesces amidst that, you can complete the game in any way you like. I remember the game feeling greatly liberating when I first played it and it still retains that feeling. Few games have that similar feeling. It took what Shadow of the Colossus did many years before it and improved that feeling of gameplay many times over. Perhaps only Elden Ring matches it in its scope of player agency and freedom. Granted, Skyrim too, is an unmatched game as of yet in its interpretation of the open world genre as well, as is Red Dead Redemption 2, and Death Stranding. The open world genre is diverse.
And I echo what @Cia has articulately detailed as well for more specific examples.
@ModdedInkling Yeah see, that's basically what I know as well, that's why I'm not understanding the SS trilogy theory since SS is at the absolute beginning.
@MeloMan
It mildly bothers me given the differing art styles and just an overall difference in the world. Skyward Sword may have established a lot of the lore in the franchise, but floating islands and malice does not immediately mean it's associated. Actually, I cannot stress enough how many Zelda games already have floating islands. It's not one game, for sure.
So you're just going to straight up diss Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity? You might as well call it Breath of the Wild Zero. Literally the same world and characters as BOTW. Only it's not open world.
@Mattock1987 Worst? Maybe in the sense that every game is a 10 and SS is a 9.5 sure, but any true Zelda fan would still find an insane amount of joy from the title. All the same narrative elements, themes, and comedy is there, and just like every single title before it it follows its own path that you have to respect. Zelda is one series that truly hasn't had a bad game whatsoever.
The creators certainly do know what the timeline is, or have you not read the official book they put out detailing this very thing? This is why non-gamers shouldn't be writing about gaming. Research the topic before you start throwing your opinion in the hat.
@RobynAlecksys that’s a good point Roman extent, but 9.5 for SS? Even after the Switch version fixed the dodgy motion controls, it still had problems; backtracking, an overlong and patronising tutorial section, a dull flying mechanic, and the puzzles were generally boring slogs. 7 at best. I agree SS is the closest thing to a bad Zelda game.
@darkzero1
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is exactly the kind of thing that bothers me so much about this article...
@RobynAlecksys
To be fair... this website is full of journalists dedicated to video games. It certainly isn't ScreenRant, if you want to look at bad standards.
Yess, I think it is final game from the three games and I hope the best.
I agree with this theory since Breath of the Wild has the most connections to Skyward Sword than any other Zelda game. Zelda's dress when going to awaken her power looks similar to Skyward Sword's Zelda once she's in the surface. The goddess statue found throughout Hyrule is based on Skyward Sword's design. Fi herself has been referenced multiple times, even indirectly mentioned. These are not just simple easter eggs. They could've chosen not to include these, but they did so for a reason. For anyone saying that Nintendo makes easter eggs all the time, yes, but this is the first time since Twilight Princess mentioning the Hero of Time multiple times and even having him that references such as these are incorporated into the story multiple times. There's a bigger connection, combined with the fact that the director for Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom is Hidemaro Fujibayashi.
Yess, I think so it is the final part from the trilogy. It will be awesome game I can feel it.
It's amazing that no one understood that the story of Zelda relies to the Triforce and that no one made the connection:
1 - Zelda BREATH of the Wild (Wind)
2 - Zelda TEAR of the Kingdom (Water)
3 - Zelda ***** of the ***** (Fire)
There will therefore be 3 games in the universe that we know from BOTW. Skyward Sword has nothing to do with it.
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