Final ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ trailer reveals Ganondorf, returning champions

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THE MARGIN

Nintendo dropped its final “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” trailer on Thursday morning. 

The roughly four-minute clip managed to tease plenty of story beats without actually answering any of the questions that Nintendo players have had for years — such as whether Princess Zelda will be a playable character, finally, or where the sky islands came from? And, oh yes, why has the evil Ganon — or is that Ganondorf? — returned, and what does he want? 

Players will have to wait until the sequel to the Nintendo Switch’s wildly successful open-world adventure game drops in a month, on May 12. 

Check out the new trailer here: 

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” the revolutionary open-world installment of the beloved 37-year-old “Legend of Zelda” franchise, has sold more than 30 million copies since its release almost six years ago, including 29 million units on the Nintendo Switch and 1.70 million on Nintendo’s Wii U. So it should come as little surprise that its follow-up, “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” (aka “Breath of the Wild 2” or “TOTK,” as many gamers are calling it) is one of the most hotly anticipated videogames of the year.  

Eiji Aonuma, producer of the “Legend of Zelda” series, opened the livestream by promising viewers that “in this vast world that seamlessly connects the surface and sky, you’ll be able to enjoy using your imagination to the fullest while exploring.” 

Indeed, a previous trailer revealed that this game will introduce the ability to craft weapons and vehicles from materials found throughout the game’s open world. And players will be exploring the fictional kingdom of Hyrule both by land and sky — although previous trailers have teased underground elements, too. 

“I’m also very excited to see how you’ll explore this world,” Aonuma said. 

Previously: Watch the new ‘Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ trailer — preorders start at $70

The trailer led “Tears of the Kingdom” and “Ganondorf” to begin trending on Twitter Thursday morning. Highlights that got potential customers buzzing the most included shots of the antagonist Ganondorf, aka Ganon, (who, similar to the sword-wielding hero Link and the divine Princess Zelda, has been reincarnated and reimagined throughout the series.) 

There were also glimpses of more friendly familiar faces, such as Sidon and Riju, descendants of the champions from the previous “Breath of the Wild” game. 

And some new characters were hinted at, as well: 

And the trailer offered glimpses of Zelda on her own adventure, which raised hopes that perhaps the princess might become a playable character. “I really feel like at a certain point in the game we’ll get to play as Zelda!! I have hope,” tweeted one viewer. “Let us play as Zelda!” was also a common comment beneath the official Nintendo Twitter account’s post sharing the trailer.

Preorders are available now digitally through Nintendo, as well as on Amazon Best Buy Walmart and GameStop The standard version of “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” is $69.99, or $10 more than other Nintendo Switch games.