Although the main draw of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is undoubtedly its open-world gameplay, the game’s story also has plenty of big twists that are certain to surprise players who seek out every part of its main plot. Continuing from where Breath of the Wild ended, Tears of the Kingdom‘s story is a rarity by the standards of the Zelda franchise, which usually changes settings fairly drastically between entries. As a result, the events of TOTK‘s story, as well as the fates of some of the game’s returning characters, may be particularly surprising to players already familiar with BOTW.
Much like Breath of the Wild, the main story of Tears of the Kingdom is split between a few different main quests – the game’s Geoglyphs, for example, expose players to a different facet of TOTK‘s plot than the temples. Moreover, Tears of the Kingdom being a direct sequel means that the game plays off of BOTW‘s existing setting and characters in interesting ways, making changes to the world and its inhabitants that players familiar with BOTW might not expect. Even more so than BOTW, however, Tears of the Kingdom‘s story is home to some truly unexpected twists.
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11 The Return Of Master Kohga
While those who played through BOTW will likely remember the boss fight with Master Kohga in the Yiga Clan Hideout, his reappearance as an enemy in TOTK might come as a surprise. After being knocked down a large chasm at the end of his BOTW boss fight, Kohga returns in the sequel, first appearing as part of the quest A Mystery In The Depths, where players will need to fight him again after obtaining Autobuild. While Kohga doesn’t have much relevance to the main story of TOTK, he and the Yiga Clan are recurring enemies in the Depths, becoming the subject of a lengthy side quest.
10 Yunobo Is An Antagonist
With Tulin, Sidon, and Riju all having been shown taking active roles in trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, Yunobo (or another Goron representative taking his place) was conspicuously missing from promotional material, causing some players to wonder about his place in the story. Heading towards Death Mountain, however, will reveal that Yunobo has seemingly become a villain in TOTK, responsible for the problems currently plaguing Goron City – at least until the quest advances further, at which point it’s revealed that Yunobo has been mind controlled by a mysterious mask. Once freed, he becomes a companion just the same as the others.
9 The Zonai Are Extinct
Whereas the mysterious Zonai were only hinted at in Breath of the Wild, it was relatively clear that they would have a larger part to play in Tears of the Kingdom even from the initial few trailers. However, while many theories speculated that the Zonai might fully return in Tears of the Kingdom, and play a large role in the game’s plot, most of the focus is on the remnants of the Zonai, such as their technology. By the time of modern-day Hyrule, the Zonai are fully extinct – and even in the distant past, it’s stated that Rauru and Mineru are the last two remaining.
8 Queen Sonia Is Killed By Ganondorf
Appearing only briefly in pre-release trailers for Tears of the Kingdom, Sonia’s resemblance to Zelda was the cause of heavy speculation, with some theories even placing her as a past reincarnation. Unfortunately, Sonia’s role in the story of TOTK is relatively minor – after the Geoglyph memories introduce her as a past queen of Hyrule, she’s killed by Ganondorf near the end of the chronological sequence of events, with her Zonai secret stone being stolen and used by Ganondorf to gain an immense amount of power.
7 Zelda is the Past Sage of Time
While many of TOTK‘s initial plot hooks have to do with Zelda, most players will discover relatively early on that she’s been sent to the distant past. What might come as more of a surprise is how involved she is in much of the plot, both present and past, as one of the seven sages – the Sage of Time. While in the past, Zelda becomes heavily involved in the war, both in the initial fight against Ganondorf, and its aftermath – a role that most players will see in action after completing their first temple.
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6 Zelda In Present Day Is An Impostor
With Zelda confirmed to be in the past, however, TOTK‘s story sets up another mystery – the present-day sightings of Zelda, as well as her seemingly causing or being associated with several disasters, both minor and major. While some players are likely to figure out the twist early, possibly with the help of Geoglyph memories, it’s eventually revealed that the “present-day Zelda” is in fact Phantom Ganon in disguise, appearing all across Hyrule to spread confusion and cause various disasters, including each of the hazards afflicting the four major regions where the game’s temples can be found.
5 The Purah Pad Holds Mineru’s Spirit
When it comes to the current-day sages, some players may notice early on that one is noticeably missing from the Regional Phenomena quest – the Sage of Spirit, which in the past was the Zonai Mineru. After completing the four temples and fighting Phantom Ganon in Hyrule Castle however, players will be led to the game’s fifth temple, where it’s revealed that Mineru used her abilities as the Sage of Spirit to separate from her physical body, residing in the Purah Pad until a new body is constructed for her in the present.
4 The Master Sword Is Sent To The Past
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After being broken at the start of the game, and mysteriously vanishing at the end of the Great Sky Island, what exactly happens to the Master Sword, as well as where it’s gone, becomes one of TOTK‘s major mysteries. As players uncover more of the game’s story, however, the Master Sword’s long journey is eventually revealed – at the end of the Sky Island, it’s sent to Zelda in the past to be restored, remaining out of reach until players can track it down and reclaim it from the head of the Light Dragon in the present.
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2 The Light Dragon Is Zelda
Possibly the largest plot reveal of TOTK‘s story is that the Light Dragon is Zelda, who swallows her secret stone in order to empower the Master Sword over the course of thousands of years. While some players might be able to find the Light Dragon (and can even see it flying in the distance in the game’s opening moments), it won’t become clear that it’s Zelda until players find the last few Geoglyphs. The Master Sword’s location on its head, however, as well as it simply being called “the Light Dragon”, as opposed to the other dragons like Farosh, may tip some off to its plot relevance.
1 Zelda Is Restored After The Final Battle
Finally, after figuring out Zelda’s fate, one of the last remaining plot reveals comes at the very end of the game. After the final boss fight against Ganondorf, where the Light Dragon crucially assists Link in the final phase, Zelda is restored to her original form, courtesy of the lingering spirits of Rauru and Sonia, allowing the game to end on a somewhat lighter note than it otherwise might have. As the journey of Zelda forms one of the major plot lines of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the game ends by resolving it with a relatively happy ending.
