The long-running **Legend of Zelda ** series has seen many entries, but never another protagonist besides Link. While there have been brief instances within games where players have had the chance to play as another character, Link has always been an integral part of each title. In the many stories told by the games over time, however, several other characters have been introduced who could serve as worthy video game protagonists besides Link thanks to their interesting narrative potential and new manners of combat when that could switch things up for the bet

Gamers finally learned the title and release date of The Legend of Zelda 's new video game from the Nintendo Direct event in September 2022. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for the Nintendo Switch is set for a May 12, 2023 release d

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild.] So-called Breath of the Wild 2 until recently, Tears of the Kingdom is continuing Link's journey after the defeat of Calamity Ganon. Not much is known about Tears of the Kingdom , but it's expected to be open-world like Breath of the Wild . As for the story and villains, there are only rumors and theories about whom the newest threat to Hyrule is and why the trailer seems to feature Zonai writ

Continuing with the Skyward Sword connections, part of this rumor stems from Calamity Ganon being defeated at the end of BOTW and Lynel boss fight TOTK needing a villain to take his place, a position which Demise could be likely to fill. The images in stone for the TOTK trailer show a woman hovering similar to Zelda when Ghirahim is trying to summon Demise, which means that they could be depicting another point in time when Demise was summoned. He may have been sealed away in Skyward Sword, but he was sealed in Zelda's iconic Master Sword, which is broken in TOTK. Due to this, the seal may have broken as w

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

Sheik always seems to appear out of thin air when finding Link throughout Ocarina of Time , showing off a sly nature that would fit perfectly in a more stealth-focused title than the average Zelda game. A Sheik game could fall during the period of time Link is asleep in the Temple of Time and show more about what Sheik was actually doing in Ocarina of Time . Little is known about what happens during the seven years Link is asleep, and a Sheik game would be a great way to learn more about that period of time as well as explore Sheik's combative capabilities as they hold their own in Link's absence and wage war against Ganond

After the reveal of **The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom ** , it didn't take long for theories and rumors about the trailers to surface. Nintendo has done its best to keep the information given in trailers to a minimum, but the hidden details have been more than enough to spark rumors. While some rumors don't hold much weight, others have enough credence to possibly be included in Tears of the Kingdom when it launc

Ganondorf is hands-down the most iconic Legend of Zelda villain in the entire series, returning again and again to face up with Link throughout the series' timeline. Zelda games are better when Ganondorf, not Ganon alone, are there, and although the series has done a good job over the years fleshing out the antagonist's backstory, he could still absolutely shine in his own game. The story could perhaps show the powerful King of Gerudo during his ruling era, struggling to provide for his people in the Gerudo Desert before taking a deeply evil turn. In addition to telling a fresh take on his story, Ganondorf's magical powers could provide interesting new combat mechanics that switch up gamep

Regardless of their extensive knowledge, however, BOTW ’s characters are seemingly unaware that Princess Zelda is the era’s incarnation of the Goddess Hylia herself. Zelda devoted her entire life to prayer in order to awaken her sacred power, but her prayers went unanswered by the Goddess. However, Tears of the Kingdom ’s plot may awaken Zelda’s memories as the Goddess Hylia, allowing her to invoke the full extent of her hidden power in BOTW ’s seq

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