Polygon.com - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Link needs to start talking in the Zelda games

Corey Plante — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 16:00:16 GMT

After an early-game battle inHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the gregarious Goron Daruk offers the hero Link a massive hunk of Prime Rock Roast. “Why don’tcha dig in, little guy?” he says with a beaming smile. Link, expressionless, nods and grunts before tearing into the giant rock with his teeth. Zelda and Impa recoil with shock and horror. We’re not even allowed to see the “little guy” chowing down, but we hear the horrible gnashing of Hylian teeth on a rock dripping with lava.

Tears of the Kingdom's engineers keep trying to build the impossible

Patricia Hernandez — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 14:01:16 GMT

It looks like any other contraption, jumbled together in a neon whir will inevitably push Link forward. Steadily, the giant fan cuts through the water as Link holds on to the steering wheel. What's this? The ship is about to hit a wall. Why isn't Link pulling away?

Where to buy Zelda amiibo for TOTK and BOTW

Cameron Faulkner — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:53:53 GMT

Different Zelda amiibo go in and out of production throughout the year, making some harder to find in stock (and at a reasonable price) than others. These amiibo not only look great, allowing fans to rep their favorite Zelda characters, but also unlock items and rewards in Switch games, including Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom players find new, risky Master Sword glitch

Nicole Carpenter — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 18:06:34 GMT

Video games are meant to be broken — at least, according to a certain subset of gamers believe. And with a game as big as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, there’s a lot to break. Typically, players exploit glitches to assist in speed runs or adjust something in game — say, add the ability to duplicate important items. Arguably, Tears of the Kingdom’s most important item is the Master Sword.

This Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom player made a functional airship that doesn’t require energy cells

Ana Diaz — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 22:30:00 GMT

Something that always stuns me are the ways dedicated players find ways to push the limits of the games they play. Whether it’s Animal Crossing designers who know the perfect way to line up buildings to fake certain perspectives, or a Tears of the Kingdom player who created an ultra-fast flying machine by holding the fan up in a particular way, I’ve always appreciated the commitment and creativity that goes into pushing a game to its limit. I was doing the rounds on Reddit when I saw something that truly astounded me: Reddit user Scalhoun03 created a completely wind-powered airship in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Tears of the Kingdom devs talk about the Zonai and Rauru’s final days

Ana Diaz — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 15:00:00 GMT

Despite the fact that the Zonai are not physically present in Link’s era, this ancient civilization forms a foundational part of the game’s world. Their technology allows Link to build machines to traverse the land and overcome challenges. Early in the game, Rauru himself appears in spirit form to Link and serves as a key guide in Link’s journey to find Zelda. Polygon sat down with Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma and Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi. There, Fujibayashi spoke at length about the writing of Rauru and the team’s approach to creating the Zonai.

Zelda developers explain why the series might not get its Mario Maker

Ana Diaz — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 17:00:00 GMT

In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players didn’t just play through another story set in Hyrule. The sequel to Breath of the Wild took the previous game’s sandbox elements several steps further, allowing players to use a new set of powers to construct machines, weapons, and tools using items in the world. By introducing this, Tears of the Kingdom encouraged players to be truly creative and push the limits of building in the game.

Zelda: TOTK developers on saying goodbye to the Switch, Zelda’s future

Ana Diaz — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 16:00:00 GMT

As soon as players had Tears of the Kingdom in hand, they tinkered with Link’s newfound building powers to delightful and chaotic results. Fans constructed mega bridges and skateboards and, if they were skilled enough, even Godzilla-like kaijus. Outside the world of the game, fans dove into Hyrule and its history; they theorized about what would happen and lamented lost romance. If Breath of the Wild set a new gold standard for open-world exploration in games, Tears of the Kingdom proved all over again that the team could find new ways to delight players. For these, and countless other reasons, Polygon named Tears of the Kingdom our top game of 2023.

Zelda: TOTK player remakes an entire Godzilla movie with Zonai devices

Ana Diaz — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 22:00:00 GMT

The Legend of Zelda has gotten another (and unofficial) Divine Beast: Godzilla.

Nintendo Tears of the Kingdom ad brings back Sad Zelda Dad

Oli Welsh — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:45:00 GMT

If, like me, you got a little bit overinvested in the sad plight of the central character of one of Nintendo’s launch ads for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, then here is some balm for your soul: Sad Zelda Dad is back, and things are looking up for him.