The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is sort of right here, and from the seems of it, the enigmatic faction referred to as the Zonai might play a giant function in the sequel after largely current in the background of Breath of the Wild. If you’re feeling such as you’re strolling in on one thing or such as you missed a giant plot beat in the final sport, don’t fear. Despite loads of concept crafting over the years, even the greatest Zelda followers don’t have loads of concrete particulars as to who or what the Zonai had been. But let’s break down what we do know and why followers suppose the Zonai are being primed as a key participant in Tears of the Kingdom.
What can we already learn about the Zonai?
In Breath of the Wild, the Zonai are described as a tribe that not exists inside Hyrule, however their nature is seemingly up for debate inside the sport’s world. They’re described each as a savage tribe of barbarians, in addition to highly effective magic customers who worship animals, particularly Farosh, a water dragon that may be present in locations like the Gerudo Highlands. Traces of their existence are seen in locations like the Zonai Ruins in the southern space of the map, with long-abandoned structure hinting at their reverence for Hyrule’s wildlife. In the lore and artwork guide The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion, it’s revealed the animals prominently featured in what’s left of the Zonai’s dwelling reference the three items of the Triforce: a dragon for Courage, an owl for Wisdom, and a boar for Power. Beyond the animals, the Zonai even have their very own crest resembling a spiral, which is seen on structure related to the tribe.
Beyond that, Link can purchase a Barbarian armor set in Breath of the Wild believed to be worn by members of the Zonai way back after navigating particular labyrinths implied to have been constructed by the tribe. While all of it matches collectively, a lot of what we learn about the tribe is concept fostered by the sport’s ambient storytelling. It’s a really minimalistic, FromSoftware-style strategy to world-building and largely rewards those that need to discover the sport’s huge world. However, it could be paying off for all of us in Tears of the Kingdom.
Why do followers suppose Tears of the Kingdom will contain the Zonai?
Theories that the Zonai can be a serious participant in Tears of the Kingdom have been prevalent since the sport’s reveal in 2019 as a result of of the give attention to the spiral motif central to Zonai structure. However, the connection is rather more concrete now due to the most up-to-date gameplay showcase. During this stream, Nintendo revealed the Zonai are tied to the occasions of Tears of the Kingdom by a bit of loot. In the 10-minute gameplay trailer, Link defeats an enemy in the floating sky islands, and it drops an merchandise referred to as a Zonai Charge. The video doesn’t linger on the merchandise, but it surely clearly has the similar inexperienced power seen to energy the machine-like enemies Link is preventing, the (damaged) seal round Ganondorf seen in the authentic trailer, and Link’s corrupted, glowing arm.
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Will we meet the Zonai in Tears of the Kingdom?
Given how quiet Nintendo has been relating to Tears of the Kingdom’s story, it’s arduous to say whether or not or not Link will truly come throughout a member of the Zonai tribe. Given the group appears to have been totally gone from Hyrule in Breath of the Wild, with the solely info we have now on them coming from theories and their remaining structure, it appears most rational that the Zonai have been worn out or have gone into hiding. But even so, their expertise and magic are nonetheless current and inflicting hassle for our hero in Tears of the Kingdom. All that being stated, it’s not totally out of the query that some might have survived and have been ready for the occasions of this sport to disclose themselves. The sequence can be no stranger to time journey, with it being a key pillar to video games like Ocarina of Time and Oracle of Ages. So there’s an opportunity Link might come face-to-face with the Zonai throughout their prime, however that’s not confirmed.
Wait, how does Twilight Princess play into all this?
Like most of the prospects mentioned right here, the connection between The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Tears of the Kingdom continues to be hypothesis, however followers imagine they’ve discovered connections between the Zonai and the Twili, who had been launched in Twilight Princess. Breath of the Wild incorporates a number of tribes and species from the sequence’ lifetime from the Sheikah to the Zora. The Twili, nevertheless, are notably absent, however given the similarities to structure and magic seen in Tears of the Kingdom and that of the Twili, followers speculate that the Zonai may very well be the authentic race that was become monsters by Zant in Twilight Princess. There are even some breakdowns of iconography and sigils all through Breath of the Wild that do intently resemble imagery in Twilight Princess. It’s all concept crafting at this level, and Breath of the Wild itself doesn’t do a lot by itself to straight make this potential tie-in obvious. So don’t really feel such as you utterly missed out on a possible connection. This is all fan interpretation, for now.
Whatever the Zonai are, it does look like they are going to be not less than half of Tears of the Kingdom’s bigger setup. Whether we truly meet one stays to be seen, however we’ll discover out when the sport involves Switch on May 12.
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