by Underground, overground – Hyrule looks bigger than ever.
Fans of The Legend of Zelda think that the latest trailer for Tears of the Kingdom has given even more evidence that there will be some sort of underground area to explore in the game.
While most of Tears of the Kingdom’s marketing points to the fact that Link can now take to the skies and explore new areas and islands high above Hyrule, Breath of the Wild fans have been theorizing for some time that Tears of the Kingdom also include underground areas, something that seems to have been hinted at in the latest trailer.
This theory started when Tears of the Kingdom was first revealed to be “the sequel to Breath of the Wild”. During the first trailer, Link and Zelda are seen exploring some underground caverns, before coming across what appears to be Ganondorf’s corpse and starting a new adventure. This focus on an underground cavern, combined with the darker vibe of Tears of the Kingdom, had fans believing an underground system was at play.
Though subsequent showings of Tears of the Kingdom have really placed an emphasis on Link exploring the skies, with most of the footage focusing on Link soaring. Hope is not lost, however, as the newest trailer for Tears of the Kingdom, which was shown during this week’s Nintendo Direct, seems to once again hint at underground exploration.
As reported by GamesRadar+, YouTuber Monster Maze points out several instances in the trailer that seem to show an underground location. The biggest one is one of the first scenes in the trailer, which shows a Bokoblin mining in a dark area. While it appears to be some sort of forest at first glance, a closer look reveals that the trees actually appear to be large mushrooms, which would fit in an underground area.
Most of the other scenes in the trailer before this point also showed thunder, lightning, and rain, but this specific one has none of that, which would make sense if it was shielded from the outside world. It may not have these elements, but he does appear to contain spores, which again would suit the underground vibe.
Another interesting element of this area is that there are small blue flames that can be seen roaming around, which the Monster Maze compares to Twilight Princess’ Twilight Realm. If this area isn’t an underground cavern, it’s possible it could be a new realm, which would be just as exciting.
This opening scene is the most evidence of an underground area, but it’s not the only one. There are two scenes in the trailer that show a cave system of sorts, one where Link is being chased by a Hinox into a cave and another where Link is attacking a large stone monster with a new hammer weapon. Both are clearly situated inside a cave, something Breath of the Wild didn’t have many, so it would make sense for it to be a new cave area.
