In the lead-up toTears of the Kingdom’s launch, the final few trailers focused heavily on the game’s story, which takes place several years after Breath of the Wild. Being a direct sequel, I and many others expected the story to connect more closely to the first game.
Other than returning characters and it taking place in the same version of Hyrule, there isn’t much that connects Tears of the Kingdom toBreath of the Wild. Many people jumped into the sequel without having played Breath of the Wild, and they’re probably better off for it.
Calamity Ganon and the Sheikah technology are no longer worth mentioning beyond a few references here or there. The most glaring instance of this disconnect is the lack of Guardians and the Divine Beasts across Hyrule — they’ve now vanished without a trace.
Tears of the Kingdom’s director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, recently said,“It is believed that since the Calamity disappeared, they [the Sheikah technology] also disappeared as their role had been fulfilled.”
I’m sorry, what? They just “disappeared”? Obviously, from a gameplay standpoint, removing the Sheikah tech makes sense — we’re focusing on Zonai technology now, so there’s no need for Sheikah tech. But, when it comes to creating a believable world, ‘they’re gone’ seems like the easiest, and worst, answer they could have provided.
There are tons of ways they could have removed the Sheikah tech, and had it explained in a way that enhances the believability of Hyrule. Considering how easily Calamity Ganon possessed the Guardians and Divine Beasts when they were unearthed, perhaps the people dismantled the technology in fear that it would happen again.
What bothers me the most is that the game itself refutes Fujibayashi’s explanation. If you go to the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab, there’s a Guardian on the roof. Why didn’t this one “disappear” like the others? The only reason I can think of is that it’s decayed and non-functioning, but so were most of the other Guardians in Breath of the Wild.
In the interview, Fujibayashi went on to say that Hyrule’s citizens are well-accustomed to “mysterious events and strange phenomena” so they weren’t concerned about the sudden disappearance of the Sheikah tech. While this is somewhat believable, I do struggle to believe that “no one […] has tried to explore the matter further.” You’re telling me not a single person in Hyrule would care? Really? Not Purah, Robbie, or even the NPC who was downright obsessed with Guardians in Breath of the Wild?
It wouldn’t be difficult to have an NPC comment on the strange disappearance of the Sheikah tech — especially in Tarrey Town, where the construction site is literally built on what used to be a field of Guardians — or have a side quest where you investigate what could have happened to it, even if you only find hints or small clues. Zelda excels at weaving its storytelling through exploration, so it’s disappointing there wasn’t an attempt here.
While the Sheikah tech simply disappearing is a small thing in the grand scheme of things, particularly when Tears of the Kingdom is brimming with new lore, the lack of continuity adds up. It seems as though the developers focused so much on creating an experience that’s accessible to those who haven’t played Breath of the Wild that they forgot this was a sequel in the first place.
No one can seem to agree on how long it’s been between the end of Breath of the Wild and the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom. Kass, a fan-favorite character who you meet plenty of times during your first go around Hyrule, is nowhere to be seen in the sequel, and no one in the game seems bothered by his disappearance either.
It’s made all the more frustrating by a few small details thatdoshow that they had it in mind, but didn’t want to take it any further — like horses from a Breath of the Wild save showing up in your stables, and the photograph of Link and the Champions in Link’s house if you completed the DLC.
If Tears of the Kingdom were its own stand-alone game, one that’s not connected to Breath of the Wild other than being part of the same series, perhaps I would have enjoyed it a lot more. But, as it stands, the Sheikah tech’s “disappearance” is another thing that leads me to prefer Breath of the Wild’s story over Tears of the Kingdom’s.
