The collection is known as The Legend of Zelda, however until you’ve performed one thing like Hyrule Warriors or Tremendous Smash Bros., it’s uncommon that you simply get to regulate the Hylian princess herself. That doesn’t imply it won’t occur sometime in the primary franchise, nevertheless, as producer Eiji Aonuma pulled a Justin Bieber and stated “by no means say by no means.”
In an interview with IGN simply earlier than The Recreation Awards, Aonuma, accompanied by director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, talked about Zelda’s position in Tears of the Kingdom. Hyperlink is at all times the primary character in a collection that isn’t named after him, so IGN requested the 2 builders what’s up with that and if Zelda will ever be playable. Neither recreation maker gave an easy reply, as a substitute leaving the response comparatively ambiguous. Nonetheless, Aonuma did say that “perhaps,” in the future sooner or later, you’ll be capable to play because the princess moderately than merely saving the princess.
“Yeah, it’s fascinating when you concentrate on the identify of the collection, The Legend of Zelda, however Hyperlink is at all times the primary character,” Aonuma stated. “And Hyperlink has been the primary character, and Zelda has at all times been concerned, and so they have a relationship and their very own guidelines in every of the video games. However it’s true that, I believe there’s at all times room for desirous about such a factor and Zelda’s position. And there could also be some kind of chance for one thing like that sooner or later.”
Zelda performs a considerably greater position in Tears of the Kingdom than in Breath of the Wild. With out spoiling an excessive amount of, the descendant of the Hylian Goddess is generally there with Hyperlink in some capability, although her presence is very felt on the finish of the sport. She’s bought some flashy strikes in each Hyrule Warriors and Tremendous Smash Bros., and her alter ego is the badass kunoichi Sheik. (She’s additionally the star of Zelda’s Journey for the CD-i however the much less stated about that, the higher.) No matter guise a playable Zelda would possibly take sooner or later, it may make for a welcome change from Hyperlink’s brooding, quiet stoicism.
Kotaku reached out to Nintendo for remark.
Tears of the Kingdom has been a smash hit for Nintendo since its Might 12 launch. In November 2023, the corporate introduced that the sport had bought nearly 20 million copies in simply 4 brief months. (That quantity’s most likely a lot increased now.) And at The Recreation Awards, the open-world recreation was nominated for copious trophies, together with Recreation of the Yr (which went to Baldur’s Gate 3), however walked away because the winner of the Finest Motion/Journey accolade. Zelda might not be playable—not but, at the very least—however her video games are doing very nicely.