31 little touches that make Tears of the Kingdom special

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is full of so many incredibly touches, it feels like we'll be discovering them for years to come. Here are 31 of our favorite special details from the first couple weeks with the game - from funny weapon fuses, to moblin quirks, to cheat codes turned mechanics.
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#tearsofthekingdom #legendofzelda

[@jampharos]

the pro skater thing is even funnier because everyone treats link like he's tony hawk. "your name is link? just like the hero?" "you kinda look like that swordsman"

[@nvrndingsmmr]

Hahahaha underrated comment!!!

[@polygon]

TRUUUUUUUUE

[@Gollvieg]

I actually met Tony Hawk one time and I was like, "Wow, you look just like Tony Hawk!"

[@DannoHung]

@@polygon Do a Shield surf!

[@Qwarky]

Besides parrying bees, one of my favourite little touches was: Zelda takes photos during the intro, and when you later receive the purah pad and check the photo gallery, the actual photos she took are there.

[@DJ-ty1us]

basic ass feature, you need more in your life

[@Qwarky]

Really, a character takes photos in a cutscene and the developers put the actual photos (from her angle) into a gallery that you're taking your own photos in. A "basic ass feature"? Well that sounds nice, I'm glad more games are doing that then!

[@sourwitch2340]

@@DJ-ty1us it's an easy thing to add, but it's by far not basic. a lot of the time, cut scenes serve as flavour to the game mechanics more than anything, so little details like this get left to the realm of the imagination but can't actually be found in game. so it is neat they chose to carry that through. and if you haven't noticed, this entire video is about enjoying the little things in life. do you need more? I don't know, but I don't think that matters here

[@sonicx1298]

I never deleted those pictures

[@injuredninja1848]

One of my favorites: there's a girl in hateno village who, in BotW, lives in one of the houses on the main street. In this game, she's been relocated into one of the hudson construction homes, but as part of her schedule she sometimes walks into her old house by accident and gets all embarrassed if you catch her in there.

[@Metaflossy]

if you bring ur giant stallion along while rescuing one of the korok friends, the korok will comment on how big ur horse is

[@brianfioca9847]

If lightning strikes close enough to the backpacking Korok it comments “zappity zap!!”

[@_Moe]

As soon as you get all the glide set upgraded to two stars, you're impervious to fall damage and can dive straight into the ground like it's water. Best set in the game. Its basically my default now.

[@hurgcat]

it's so sad the helmet is so ugly ahhahaa

[@magnetic_eye]

I was totally wondering if that was the case, I haven't felt like testing it haha.

[@Shinesprk]

WHAT

[@robertpaulson5095]

@@hurgcat I love the helmet :(

[@Kdkjdjewerdnxa]

@@hurgcat the helmet is the best part wym

[@gracemerchant8186]

My favorite little detail not mentioned is that if you stand still long enough (waiting for a dragon perhaps) Link will hold his new arm up and tilt it around looking at it

[@902496]

If you fuse an elemental item onto a windcleaver, the air blasts will be of that element.

[@starsgears9200]

Windcleavers with dragon horns on them are my new favourite weapon

[@grahammyhill6717]

I love fusing electricity to them so I feel like a storm god

[@ambermiller3751]

I also love that the game over font changes color depending on what killed you 😂

[@silentpoem]

It s the same in botw :)

[@wonder_platypus8337]

@@silentpoem just about to say this.

[@fearjunkie]

it does WHAT-

[@tiaanvanrensburg1032]

@@fearjunkie dying to ice makes the text blue, and dying to electricity makes it yellow. It did the same thing in breath of the wild and I think this video is stuff unique to totk

[@Linksond]

Well, Moblins chucking Bokoblins was also a thing in Breath of the Wild and it’s still listed here tho

[@pazamataz]

Some of the stalfos arms when fused have the fingers around the fused item which is cute x

[@nvrndingsmmr]

That's so cool!!

[@Jehayland]

My theory about the tree monsters. I think each one is just being controlled by a group of hightail lizards like a little tree megazord. Each time you kill one of those trees, like 2 or 3 lizards always pop out. Like every time.

[@BYakimets]

oh man I love this, I'm think I'm just gonna go with this idea from now on I love it

[@finnvost9349]

Canon.

[@mellilla8874]

i swear i thought i read somewhere that it was the yiga clan disguising themselves as trees

[@DrewBaker]

It is the yiga. One of their books in their hideouts tells you so.

[@denisi1283]

To the people in the replies: the evermean are not yiga. The Yiga disguised as trees always have a banana trap beside. It’s actually to mess up with them while disguides as a fellow Yiga.

[@JohnDoe-hk4zx]

In Botw a single apple can be found under a bridge in Kacariko village, in Totk you can find two apples

[@milk_choc7889]

The pinecones have the massive updraft, but spicy peppers were upgraded to have the same one!

[@thesuperrancher9684]

I caught a falling star in a blind playthrough and it felt so surreal

[@sethmilk]

Is the GAME OVER screen always yellow when you’re electrocuted to to death?!? Also, my favorite little detail in the Skyview Tower is when you activate the first one and Link gets a look of panic when the Guardian tentacles pop out from the floor.

[@aimelle3]

Yellow for electrocuted, blue for drowning or frozen, red for other kinds of damage. It was this way in BotW too.

[@Merlincat007]

​@@aimelle3 Two different blues, actually! Dark blue for drowning, light blue for freezing to death.

[@astaBeta59]

Zelda redecorated, AND the photos on the walls relate to the Princess Sightings quest!

[@Minihood31770]

I loved the Hudson Sign Guy, and the Korok Friends. Opportunities to puzzle solve with ultra hand were so much fun.

[@pokkiheart]

Puzzle solve? I just strapped the koroks to my horse and dragged them to their destination like it's a greek legend

[@_Moe]

Addison is my boy and I will defend him when anyone calls him annoying!

[@tiaanvanrensburg1032]

It was so magical when I first caught a star fragment in the air. This game feels so special

[@_Moe]

The horse god doesnt just resurrect your dead horses, she upgrades their stats, too, if you have the right food!

[@MisterTTG]

apparently Malanya is male! gets called "he" by the people nearby

[@Siturba]

The fact that the Depth map is Hyrule map but Montains becomes Valleys and Valleys becomes Montains

[@h00pla434]

And seas become walls.

[@nvrndingsmmr]

This is insane! I hadn't noticed the inverted heights!

[@daft8090]

they reused the same map twice! lol

[@Merlincat007]

Probably the easiest way to code it haha

[@PasCorrect]

I love Hestu's little backup dancers SO MUCH ❤

[@FuzzyDereck]

Hestu’s dance gave me an out-of-body experience 🙌😭💖

[@SpookyFraiser]

6:27 32. Fusing a star piece to a wand (or anything i guess, untried) will produce a wand that shoots light orbs instead of fire/ice/water/lightning. They last for a good sec and you can get the piece back at the guy in Tarry Town for -20 Rupees when the wand is about to break

[@MisterTTG]

i used one on the surface at daytime and was like "okay, lil balls of light, huh, wonder if they do any damage" but i never tried it, but then i was in the Depths and gave it a swing and was surprised how brightly they lit up the zone 😂

[@SpookyFraiser]

@@MisterTTG its day and night

[@algernopkrieger7710]

I caught a star while akydiving the other night, I thought I was special but they probably threw in an event that makes one spawn near a skydiving player to create that moment. Still cool as heck, though

[@kieran.grant_]

I thought the same thing, but I've seen dozens of people talking about it.

[@Neoicecreaman]

I warped, hopped in the sky tower, and instantly got one; so I believe they are coded to randomly spawn by you.

[@aimelle3]

They are probably fairly common, I've already caught two in mid-air.

[@ZoeBateman]

They’re definitely coded that way, not that that’s a bad thing! It’s a fun way to get them. Did you also know a similar thing happens if you’re getting dragon parts? When you shoot a dragon and are paragliding, the part you shoot pings off the dragon in your direction if you’re close enough, and you can catch it without having to follow it to the ground if you react fast enough!

[@jaxwarp8373]

I was riding a Zonai Wing and got hit by a star fragment and flung off my ship!

[@ismathers]

I don't know how many sets have some sort of dialogue, but when the Yiga Mask was the only stealth gear I had, I forgot to take it off before talking to Purah and she said something along the lines of not wanting to keep me from expressing myself but maybe I should think about my outfit (and other NPCs reacted badly as well, not just in Lookout Landing either)

[@Mangaka718]

same with a couple sets you can get in the Depths, people jump away from you in fear XD I haven't tried some of the weirder sets for reactions yet, but it's a goal for sure

[@loverofbigninnies1861]

in gerudo town you get thrown in jail for wearing the yiga set

[@denisi1283]

You can get a big reaction from Josha by talking to her in full Yiga.

[@tvanddy]

There’s no wrong way to solve a puzzle! The developers didn’t go out of their way to make it so you have to solve things as intended. It rewards creativity in such a satisfying way.

[@joseybryant7577]

I was making Beedle jump, and the person next to us laughed at his terror

[@kieran.grant_]

2:30 "I HAVE BEEN FALLING FOR THIRTY MINUTES!"

[@cinnamon_shakes]

Had to pause playing totk for this and was like 'oh huh I'm awake for a polygon vid upload, that's unusual,,,' Turns out it's 2:20am. Tears of the Kingdom is NOT special, it is deeply problematic for ruining my sleep like this

[@avataraarow]

You might say that Zelda redecorated Link’s house, but going by the notes she left it seems more like she kinda just stole it. Everyone refers to it as Zelda’s house now which is hilarious

[@lmac40762]

You have to get a new house because she stole yours

[@Merlincat007]

But it kinda seems like they were living together? 😮

[@datboi8357]

It literally implies that they lived together

[@sidhackney8831]

I was astounded and delighted when my horses from the first game were still there for me

[@just_a_turkey]

you can set your sensor+ to search for wells

[@nvrndingsmmr]

Genius!! Thank you!

[@rionsanura]

It's been such a fun time watching y'all play it onstream! I love to Respect Koroks.

[@SpookyFraiser]

4:38 26(a). Giant Brightblooms can be attached to a Depths vehicle and will travel with as charge-free lightsource. You just gotta catch/recall your vehicle after applying

[@ShinyPrimarina]

1:43 Tauro actually reacts by admitting he's a nudist

[@claytonandres1194]

Every time I use the ascend ability, I say "ouch" out loud in Plankton from Spongebob's voice and it makes the game just that much better

[@ChrisWCorp]

During the four main sage quests, as you complete parts in the dungeon/temple the music adds in sections of the band (ex. strings get added in after you complete the final part of the puzzle)

[@_pitako]

all of the amiibo rewards from botw can now be obtained without amiibo (or with amiibo if you want)

[@jay.p.88]

It's such an incredibly special game. My GotY for sure.

[@cryptidtd7294]

You can attach a brightbloom to zonai devices. This sheds more light than a headlamp and uses no power.

[@leahlou8804]

Still think the music that plays at a skyview tower for the first time is the best. Somehow gives a feeling of wonder and excitement every time.

[@Runitback42]

Some of the korok puzzles are part 2 to the ones in botw (like the boulders and missing pieces)

[@KyaKramer]

Bomb flowers only work once on like-likes. If you try it a second time, they'll just spit it out. Learned this fact on the very first like-like because I was stuck thinking about bomb flowers from Ocarina of Time.

[@MrMonkeyCrumpets]

“Using a Skyview Tower” Um ackchully the correct term is “yeet cannon”

[@rexdoom3848]

4:15 the falling star thing also applies to parts you shoot off dragons!

[@Demasx]

The Like Like Bomb Fruit tip is such a forehead slapper given my days playing Half-Life!

[@GeneralOlde]

One of my favorite details is how the mayor’s daughter Karin waits outside Link and Zelda’s house for Zelda to come home. It’s so adorable and heartbreaking at the same time.

[@dybchamp1777]

Spoilers for optional side adventure: At the end of the Yiga Clan hideout quest, the final room where you see their big Banana stack all secured contains a Yiga Clan member who tells you that the trees who attack you throughout the game were actually Yiga Clan members in disguise the whole time!

[@theepicbro99archive48]

not correct. when he says that the yiga clan has learned to disguise themselves as trees, he means it in reference to a few places in the game where trees burst into smoke and reveal themselves as yiga clan footsoldiers. evermeans that attack you are just monsters shaped like trees

[@Moj1989]

The fact that you can chop those same trees for wood has terrible implications.

[@brandonnguyen6718]

@@Moj1989 They're different things. Evermean are the ones that walk around, the ones that the yiga disguise as turn into Yiga.

[@Qwarky]

You can still parry bees, so once again Game of the Year.

[@delecti]

You can use a muddlebud on a *talus*?!

[@Smidgenism]

Thank you for including a few new item effects in here, I simply do not have time to experiment with all the things

[@swolecanadian4018]

3:40 absolutely roasted that seared meat

[@fizzypanic]

5:32 more like SHE STOLE IT!

[@nvrndingsmmr]

I love this! Thanks a lot! Also thank you for being so careful not to spoil any story stuff! I watched a video the other day that spoiled major stuff without warning and it made me upset 😅

[@4483Maria]

The reaction from NPCs when you ascend next to them :D

[@sir_vix]

those walking trees give me flashbacks to the broccoli from Commander Keen 3.5: Keen Dreams...

[@semireese7448]

ass-cend…….

[@ThatScrubWolf]

0:44 I noticed this yesterday and kept skipping around places 😂

[@McGomezAddams]

Greatest game ever conceived

[@jodyanthony]

My favorite part is You called the big one bitey

[@stevencooper564]

The first time i was skydiving and saw a star falling next to me i did the same thing. Blew my fucking mind. Skydiving is easily one of the more fun additions in this game, god damn.

[@moonbasket]

I have finished the game already and learned stuff from this. Also love the background music. A vibraslap?!

[@GeqNG]

0:45 In the same vein, Link will ready his spin attack in the other direction if you attack once before charging.

[@Silverwind87]

If you're smart, you can get infinite use out of a rare or hard to get weapon attachment, like the Talus Heart or the Flux Core. Just stop using the weapon once it's badly damaged, then go to Tarrey Town and have the attachment removed from the weapon. Then, attach it to a new weapon.

[@somerandomidiot8050]

You can also let Earth Octoroks reset the durability on the weapons you wanna keep

[@arcanelore3791]

This video makes me happy.

[@michaellombardi1620]

whoa, soooo many things I haven't even tried yet

[@aimelle3]

I had a question about the redecoration in Link's house, if anyone knows. If you finished the DLC for BotW you could hang a photo of the champions on your wall. Is that photo still there for those who had it completed on their previous save file (is the game looking at your previous save like it does for horses)? I deleted my BotW save file in order to replay it ahead of the TotK launch and didn't get far enough to complete the DLC on my new save, so I can't tell. But it would be a nice touch (and it wouldn't make sense lore-wise for Zelda to remove it).

[@OccidentalAvian]

It is!

[@jamiethemagpie]

22 - wait that wasn't just something Matt Mercer improv'd in the oneshot?

[@sydneygorelick7484]

Some characters will also comment if you're wearing some of the yiga outfit! Purah called me out for wearing the mask around lookout landing, said "isn't that in poor taste?"

[@livemynd]

I died at "ass-scend"

[@alepenagorbe9135]

Wait a minute. Fire pinecones? Walking trees? I smell Tolkien

[@Rafael-kr6zv]

00:44 also a thing on Ni No Kuni 2

[@Mesanin3]

i will be tearing up watching someone play this

[@qarsiseer]

I can’t believe you didn’t point out the tree monsters are “evermean”

[@greedyProphet]

How do you get on the Flyer while Gliding? I can never seem to do it

[@droher1344]

Okay, kinda spoilers maybe I'm not sure When you go down the whole way where you fight ganondorf you can see the torch zelda was carrying at the beginning of the game at the bottom of the hole in the imprisonment chamber

[@DulyDullahan]

Tried to take my clothes off at Gerudo Town and they just threw me in jail 😬 guess I didn’t need to to through the hole in the wall and ascend after all

[@barbarosaa87]

kick *a chest* with no boot will hurt your feet - that's a nice detail :P

[@thejetstarjump]

And the tree enemies are particularly susceptible to fire. I thought I’d try it because it made sense and what do you know?

[@Michael_Lindell]

31 in 6:38? Link and you'll miss one.

[@flobbingmaster]

put a honeycomb on a stick and swing it... i dare you

[@DeconvertedMan]

did not know you could deploy a glider in mid-air... :O OR about likelikes or about the light shrine O_O;

[@Ninon__]

I didn’t know that horses would carry over from BotW. Really hoping if I transfer the data to my new switch it’ll still work…

[@Ancusohm]

There is so much fun stuff in this game!

[@AspelShuyin]

Holy shit, I did not know these things.

[@kieran.grant_]

1:20 I didn't register a _lot_ of hourses, but i know I registered at least one! It never showed up though :(

[@Neoicecreaman]

Same, was super disappointed none of my horses were there.

[@AlaiaSkyhawk]

You need to be on the same profile as your BotW playthrough, and your save data needs to be on the switch (if you've backed it up onto the cloud or such and removed from Switch, it won't read it). You also need to try register a random horse at a sable before the stable guys go "oh you already have horses". Hope this helps you :)

[@kieran.grant_]

@@AlaiaSkyhawk I was! And my save is definitely still on that Switch. Maybe it's a problem with being in master mode, or registering a horse in one mode and then starting a playthrough on the other.

[@EKimatH]

It’s so refreshing to see a list-type video about a very popular and topical game that’s not made by a soulless content farm and is narrated by someone who genuinely does play the game

[@Ovetupp]

I do enjoy that all of the destinies and sacrifices needed for a chance at beating Ganon may be for nothing if Link skydives naked in to a thunder storm

[@ic3-demon976]

Since totk came out its time you make more dishes from zelda muahahahahh

[@Chaos0f7ife]

Link's house actually belongs to Zelda now. I like to believe that he gave it to her since she no longer has a home.

[@Amonkira1029]

I knew a lot of these came from Simone

[@HippoJPLauncher]

So much…. I had no clue about😲😲😲

[@JarrydHall]

Nice round up, however the audio echo on the video content is a tad distracting :)

[@markbasilejr9808]

regular playing totk definitley feels like cheating at totk

[@maxevocal]

YOU CAN CATCH A STAR WHILE SKYDIVING?! ❤

[@joshnizzle]

It’s good,but it still is basically a reskinned BOTW. Or BOTW with building and sky islands and depths. It was my second fav game this year. Baldurs Gate 3 was appreciably better

[@redcomet0079]

Leave it to a tubby contrarian like Matt Simmons to hate this game, when everyone else around the world adore it

[@DeconvertedMan]

its so pretty, so epic, so BIG.

[@ghintz2156]

Had no idea about the midair glider.

[@nightfrostbreeze]

The stables having your horses from BotW was such an awesome touch but I never got the Ganon horse in the original and apparently the game only checks for that once so now I won't be able to get him in TotK without resetting and it bothers me. Hopefully Nintendo will add in other methods to get the Zelda and Ganon horses like thro Amiibos or DLC or something.

[@SirenOfTheSea88]

You can still get them in totk! I don’t remember where but if you don’t catch them in BOTW the white stallion and Ganon horse are still roaming around in TOTK

[@nightfrostbreeze]

@@SirenOfTheSea88 Oh that's good to know thank you!

[@CouragelessOne]

29 Yeah and then stole it