Indulge Your Inner Nerd as this Zelda Fan Charts Tears of the Kingdom’s Waterways
Posted on August 03 2024 by Nick Miller
Have you ever wondered where Hyrule’s waters come from? Where does it all end up? To answer these questions, YouTube creator Any Austin embarks on an adventure, rafting through the rivers of Tears of the Kingdom‘s Hyrule and charting his way through its many lakes, caverns, and tributaries. Unlike what we understand from real-world hydrology, you may be surprised to hear that none of Hyrule’s rivers make it to the ocean, which is in part what spurred Any Austin’s curiosity and set him out on this quest for discovery.
Along the way, Any Austin analyzes natural formations, hypothesizing about how the waters formed and altered the landscape over time. By comparing Breath of the Wild‘s topography with Tears of the Kingdom‘s, he even discovers some clear indicators of erosion that will drastically change Hyrule’s waterways in the future (spoiler alert: a particularly large chunk of land is going to wash out into the ocean). He also discusses things such as the geographical implications of the giant whirlpool in Lake Hylia and how structures built by the Hylians and Zora completely altered Hyrule’s landscape.
So, check out this video. It is well researched, informative, and presented in a concise and entertaining way. Be sure to check out Any Austin’s other content as well, including a video in which he calculates Clock Town’s unemployment rate, and another which analyzes Tears of the Kingdom‘s woodworking.
Now, tell us what you think. Were you surprised by where Hyrule’s rivers end up? Do you think Nintendo developers intentionally considered principles of hydrology when terraforming the landscape? Is Any Austin overthinking it? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Any Austin
Nick is a writer for Zelda Dungeon and a longtime fan of the Zelda franchise. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, archery, skateboarding, and some good ol’ fashioned family time. He’s an advocate for physical media and an avid video game collector. His favorite Zelda game is Ocarina of Time, though Breath of the Wild and the Link’s Awakening remake are close contenders. His other favorite video games series include Kingdom Hearts, Fallout, and Ratchet & Clank.
