The latest installment in the Zelda franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom, has plenty of new features including four new abilities for Link. These new abilities include Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall and all can be acquired during the tutorial
All of these abilities will be acquired during the completion of the first four shrines on Tears of the Kingdom's Great Sky Island. Upon entering each of them, Rauru will appear and gift link with one of the abilities. The Shrine for Recall, however, will be visited a little after the first three shrines must be completed and Link must return to the Temple of Time beforehand.
Ultrahand
Ultrahand is the new ability that allows Link to lift, move, and rotate objects. While similar to the Magnesis ability from Zelda: Breath of the Wild which allowed Link to simply move objects in an effort to solve tasks, the Ultrahand ability has the added bonus of merging objects together in any specific way that accomplishes whatever Link is attempting to achieve. Instead of simply moving a piece of wood to create a bridge, Link can now connect various objects and build stable platforms to help him reach a variety of areas.
This Ultrahand ability also plays into another new aspect of Tears of The Kingdom where Link is able to build vehicles of all kinds in order to help him get to hard-to-reach areas. The vehicle combinations include carts, boats, and even flying vehicles. The possibilities are limited only by the player's imagination. In order to obtain this ability, Link must complete the Ukouh Shrine on Great Sky Island which will require him to build several contraptions to reach the end. Additionally, there is an Autobuild ability that Link can gain through completing an available side-quest later in the game.
Fuse
While the usual durability mechanics haven't been taken away completely with Tears of the Kingdom, the ability to Fuse materials to Link's weapons and shields does increase their durability as well as increase their damage or add a new effect to them. This gives players the ability to get creative and construct their own combinations to make tons of new weapons to help Link battle Tears of the Kingdom bosses. This is a great asset for exploring as Link is no longer necessarily limited by not having the right weapon in inventory and now has the ability to build anything he needs.
The Fuse ability is acquired through the In-isa Shrine on Great Sky Island. This Shrine will require Link to fuse together various weapons to accomplish tasks throughout the Shrine. Including Fusing a rock onto a sword that allows Link to smash through barriers as well as fusing an arrow to Fire Fruit to knock down a key. After completing the Shrine, Link will have fully gained the ability to Fuse which can be accessed via the ability selection wheel. Keep in mind that Fusing items is not permanent, but Link will have to progress to a certain point in the story to gain the option to undo it.
Ascend
The Ascend ability gives Link a new and interesting way to explore the map in Tears of The Kingdom. Ascend allows Link to rise up through solid objects and create shortcuts. This works on hillsides, ceilings, and even some enemies. This creates unlimited options for exploring as Link can now get to previously out-of-reach ledges as well as escape from sticky situations with ease.
This ability is acquired through the Gutanbac Shrine on Great Sky Island where Link will ascend through various platforms to reach the end of the Shrine.
Recall
The Recall ability is the last of the four tutorial abilities Link will learn. Recall gives Link the power to reverse an object's movement by a limited recent amount of time. This can allow him to easily retrieve thrown weapons, send flying projectiles back toward enemies, or even take a ride back up on a previously falling object like an elevator to the sky. This ability is acquired through completing the Tears of The Kingdom Nachoyah Shrine. The Shrine's challenge will teach Link various methods of using Recall such as riding items on a reverse path or changing the direction of consistently moving objects.
With all of these new abilities, Link is able to explore both the land and sky of Hyrule with ease. Be sure to try out the seemingly unlimited combinations of weapon and vehicle builds. Anything that seems like it may work, can likely be done with these new abilities that offer numerous ways to solve any problem that Link encounters throughout his journey. After completing the full tutorial on Great Sky Island, Link can now continue on with the exciting journey awaiting him in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Summary:
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the anticipated follow-up to Breath of the Wild, released in 2017. A rare occurrence in Zelda titles, Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel instead of loosely connected. In Tears of the Kingdom, Link will take to the skies and learn about a mysterious kingdom in the clouds. Additionally, he will discover the secrets of the dark ones that dwell below and above the earth. The sequel is being built on the same engine as the original, with unique physics tools again being utilized. However, little about the plot and gameplay is known.
- Franchise:
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform:
- Nintendo Switch
- Released:
- 2023-05-12
- Developer:
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher:
- Nintendo
- Genre:
- Action-Adventure
- ESRB:
- E10+
- Prequel:
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- How Long To Beat:
- 35-50 hours
