Daily Debate: Do You Think Any New Abilities From Tears of the Kingdom Will Become Series Staples Going Forward?
Posted on September 22 2023 by Sean Gadus
While Tears of the Kingdom was built off the same Hyrule as the one seen in Breath of the Wild, the developers of the 2023 game added some incredible new abilities to differentiate the game from its predecessor. New abilities like Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall transform the way that the player can traverse the world and engage with game’s complex systems. Of the four major new abilities in Tears of the Kingdom, Fuse is by far my favorite. I love combining different weapons or adding special properties like ice or fire to my existing weapons.
Since new abilities from Tears of the Kingdom have largely been well-received by both fans and critics, it is interesting to think about their place in the series going forward. With this in mind, do you think abilities like Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall to become series stables and appear in future Zelda titles.
Overall, I think that some of these abilities have a good chance of returning in future Zelda titles, while others are less likely to reappear. I am skeptical that Ultrahand will become a series staples going forward or be featured in another Zelda title after Tears of the Kingdom. While the freedom and creativity offered by Ultrahand is quite impressive, I also think that Ultrahand makes designing puzzles and dungeons extremely challenging for the developers. Ultrahand is also one of the most taxing abilities from a technical standpoint. In contrast, I think Fuse is more likely to appear in a future Zelda game. If Nintendo continues to use some of type of materials system similar to the ones seen in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom (which seems likely) Fuse could be implemented as a part of those games. While I would prefer for the series to return to the traditional one or two sword system seen in older 3D Zelda titles, the ability to combine weapons and materials is something I can foresee Nintendo continuing to implement in future Zelda games.
What do you think any of the major ability from Tears of the Kingdom will become series stables going forward? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. The final battle of Tears of the Kingdom is one of his favorite final battles in the entire series. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
