The ReDead are frightening enemies that are hard to forget about, Legend of Zelda enemies first introduced in Ocarina of Time . They typically take the form of a tall, emaciated zombie with a mask, and paralyze Link with their gaze before moving in to attack. They're slow-moving enemies that are weak to fire and sunlight, and live in underground ar

The Wind Waker is a game that for a long time stood out as a bit of an outlier in the series. It intentionally had a more bright and cartoonish look than past games, with a more expressive Link as well. This led to a game with a distinctly different feel from past titles. It also introduced one of the oddest items that Link has ever used in the Hyoi P

The biggest mystery, however, is the true identity of Breath of the Wild 's Zonai , an ancient tribe of magic wielders. Structures such as the three labyrinths and the Faron region’s stonework were created by the Zonai, easily identifiable by their Aztec-like designs prominently featuring dragon heads. Crucially, the Tears of the Kingdom logo also features these dragon designs, fueling speculation that more Zonai history will be explored in the game. Perhaps an underground Zonai ruin will form a dungeon, or a sprawling network of tunnels. A fantastic location for a Zonai-inspired dungeon would be beneath Lake Hylia, given its proximity to the Zonai ruins of the Faron reg

In BOTW , Princess Zelda makes a similar pilgrimage to Hyrule’s three sacred springs with the same intention of awakening the divine power of her ancestors. Instead of accessing her power, however, she finds herself cursing Hylia and questioning why her lifetime of devotion has gone unacknowledged. In the end, however, Zelda’s power finally awakens as she saves Link’s life, allowing her to keep the Calamity at bay until Hylia’s Chosen Hero could reawaken from his restorative slumber a century la

Popular theories draw connections between the Twili and the Zonai, including the serpent imagery noted in both the Palace of Twilight and the latest TOTK trailer, and the distinct blue-green hue of their magic. As such, the Zonai tribe’s disappearance could be directly related to the banishment of the Twili’s ancestors, making it possible for these tribes to actually be the same. If that’s the case, however, then the Zelda timeline implies that the Zonai vanished from Hyrule sometime after Skyward Sword when the residents of Skyloft repopulated the surface world, placing their disappearance significantly earlier in the kingdom of Hyrule's past than the events of BO

The kingdom of Hyrule was established by Zelda and the Hero of Sky after the events of Skyward Sword , and its name was chosen in honor of the Goddess Hylia. As Hyrule is threatened by Ganon’s curse of malice in each era, however, Hylia’s failure to defeat The Legend of Zelda 's Demise before her mortal reincarnation has essentially doomed her peaceful kingdom to cyclical suffering. In a sense, Hylia serves as both the protector of Hyrule as well as the mechanism behind which its very timeline can be woven and unraveled. As such, Tears of the Kingdom may be a grim but fitting name indicating that Hyrule’s god-princess will mourn the fate of her kingdom upon realizing the true extent of her power’s role throughout its hist

BOTW ’s developers have stated that the game takes place at the end of the Zelda timeline. While this leaves its exact placement ambiguous, Link’s lost memories suggest that he and the other characters are familiar with the timeline’s legends of old. Zelda distinctly references the Heroes of Sky, Time, and Twilight, and she and her fellow Champions are well aware that Link is the very same Hero reincarnated in their era. As such, it seems that the Triforce’s keepers in BOTW have some understanding of their place in the broader scale of this universe’s destiny, which places a lot of pressure on Zelda to succeed in unlocking her power before Ganon’s ret

The most obvious recurring location in Tears of the Kingdom is Hyrule Castle itself. Hyrule Castle has been prominently featured in trailers for the sequel, floating above Hyrule Field. In many Zelda games including Breath of the Wild , a corrupted Hyrule Castle has served as the final dungeon. This floating fortress of Malice looks set to be Tears of the Kingdom ’s own final dungeon, with Link and Zelda perhaps storming the castle after breaking a seal similar to Ocarina of Time . It remains to be seen, however, if Hyrule Castle Town has been rebuilt since the events of the previous game, now living in the floating castle’s sha

The machines created by Zelda 's Sheikah tribe were as powerful as the gods themselves, leading to a time of peace in Hyrule thanks to this advanced technology. However, the ancient Sheikah were later ordered to bury their inventions and forced into exile by the king of Hyrule at the time, who realized that his citizens feared their power and its potential to be used for evil. If Hyrule’s technology developed far enough to the point of being feared, this could also explain why the advanced machinery shown on the Surface of Skyward Sword ’s pre-Hylian world disappeared long before the story of any other Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom update game . As such, it’s not only possible for BOTW ’s First Great Calamity to take place shortly after Skyward Sword , but this placement could resolve several other questions regarding Zelda ’s lore that were raised in past ga