Daily Debate: What Name Should We Use To Refer To Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom Collectively?
Posted on October 02 2023 by Sean Gadus
Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom represent a massive shift in the direction of the Zelda series. While Ocarina of Time established the template for 3D Zelda games (in which the game worlds gradually unfurl themselves as the player progresses), Breath of the Wild transformed the series into an open world adventure where the player can go almost anywhere at any time. Because Breath of the Wild is such a significant break with the structure of previous Zelda games, it is easy to divided the 3D Zelda games into two distinct groups, the games made before Breath of the Wild, and games that have come out since Breath of the Wild.
Because Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are set in the same Hyrule, focus on the same versions of Link and Zelda, and following a similar structure, they feel like their own distinct subseries within the larger Zelda series. Fans and critics often discuss the two Nintendo Switch games together, even if there is not easy way to refer to these games without stating both of their titles. With this in mind, what name could be used to refer to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom collectively?
Overall, this is a very fun (and sometimes very silly) discussion that I have already had with a few staff members at Zelda Dungeon. Nintendo used to the term “Open Air” to discuss the structure of Breath of the Wild in interviews leading up to the game’s 2017 release, and “Open Air Zelda games” would be a simple way to refer to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom collectively. Another strategy could be to create a portmanteau that combines the two titles. A portmanteau is a word that combines the meaning and sound of two words. For example, we could refer to the games collectively as “Tears of the Wilds” or “Breath of the Tears”. Finally, I have always loved the term duology, and the “Wilds Duology” would be a fun way to refer to these two games collectively.
As these games become part of history and more books about the Zelda series are released (perhaps an updated Hyrule Historia), it will be interesting to see how Nintendo decides to refer to these two two deeply interconnected games.
What do you think? What name should we use to refer to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom as a subseries? Let us know your creative opinions 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.
