The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis one step closer to coming out, marked by another trailer releasing in the February 2023 Nintendo Direct. News onThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomhas been sparse, but the amount fans know about it is growing with every trailer. This time, viewers heard what may have been Ganondorf talking, and saw a tease for a new figure shown from the chest down. New enemies appeared, and the number of changes toBreath of the Wild’s Hyrule seem to grow with every preview, including newNuts & Boltsstyle vehicles.
Fans could still use a proper gameplay preview forTears of the Kingdomto contextualize the differences between it andBreath of the Wild, but that should come closer to the game’s launch. Right now,discussions ofBreath of the Wild’s weapon durabilityand dungeons have been briefly pushed aside by a brand-new feature that caught everyone by surprise.Tears of the Kingdomseems to allow Link to craft different types of vehicles for use throughout his journey, and the feature feels oddly similar toBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.
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Link suddenly tapping into his inner mechanic is a lot like the shift Banjo and Kazooie felt going into their third major console game. After a successful platforming career on the N64 withBanjo-KazooieandBanjo-Tooie, the Rare mascots came with the company when it was sold to Microsoft. After a few years, Rare began gearing up for a newBanjo-Kazooiegame on the Xbox 360. What emerged in 2008 confused and upset fans, asBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Boltsstripped much of the older titles’ collectathon platformer elements in favor of vehicle creation and driving. The game opening with a scathing parody of pastBanjo-Kazooietitles didn’t improve anyone’s mood.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Boltsbombed commercially, and directly contributed to Rare being restructured into theSea of Thievesdeveloper it is today. However, sentiments toward the game have improved over time, and some now note how far ahead oftitles likeMinecraftandBreath of the Wildthe game was in player freedom and customization.Nuts & Boltsstill has the multiple semi-open worlds and collectible Jiggies of pastBanjo-Kazooieentries, though the on-foot sections are de-emphasized in favor of vehicles. Players can collect many blueprints and over 1,000 parts to build any vehicle that they can imagine. Relevant vehicle types can then be used in challenges, and even these allow for creative solutions on the player’s part.
Tears of the Kingdom Incorporates Nuts & Bolts’ Best Aspects
It shouldn’t be a surprise thatTears of the Kingdomis drawing so many comparisons toNuts & Bolts. Link may not make a habit of using vehicles throughout the franchise, but several could be found inBreath of the Wild. The DLC Master Cycle is an obvious example, but Link can also jury-rig a couple more travel methods. Using a Korok Leaf to steer rafts across water is a notable mechanic, but Octorok Balloons can also give any wooden platform temporary flight. This feature is integrated into the game’sMaster Mode for aerial enemy encampments, and it seems that assumptions of these flying platforms inspiringTears of the Kingdomwere more correct than anyone could have known.
According to close analysis of the recent trailer,Tears of the Kingdomwill feature many mechanical parts scattered across Hyrule, all of them sharing a distinctive green color possiblyassociated with the Zonai people. At what fans suppose are scattered Sheikah workshops, Link can assemble these parts into anything from an automobile to a hot air balloon, and even a functional hoverboard. The specifics of this system are not yet known, but it could end up working like a less directed form ofBanjo-Kazooie’s vehicle creation.
A heavily modular design approach, combined with Link’s preview automobile resembling Banjo’s flat, rectangular starting vehicle, makes it easy to see how both systems align. Like how players gradually learned to useNuts & Bolts’ physics to creatively solve problems, this new tool beingadded toTears of the Kingdom’s mechanic repertoireshould exponentially expand the player’s arsenal. WhileTears of the Kingdomprobably won’t see Link getting into many races, crafting transportation should add a valuable layer toBreath of the Wild’s gameplay, and could makeNuts & Boltsshine even brighter in retrospect.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomwill release June 08, 2025, for the Nintendo Switch.
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