Nintendo Treehouse Showcase Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 2, Zelda Notes App

Posted on April 08 2025 by Julia Wilson

The recent Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition presentation from Nintendo Treehouse, which was steamed last Thursday, opened with Link seamlessly diving from the Great Sky Island down to the Forest of Time Chasm. The image quality looked spectacular, and the dive seemed smoother and faster than it would have been in the Switch version, as Link glided cleanly through the three layers of Hyrule. That’s a strong way to make a first impression.

The rest of the demonstration looked at the different aspects of Zelda Notes, which will be part of the Nintendo Switch app. The first aspect shown was the Navigation feature, which will point players to desired points of interest — like enemies, items and locations — much like a GPS. The app was filtered to the Enemies category, and navigation was set to find the nearest Frox for battle. Zelda Notes even features “Voice Guidance,” a voice navigation tool that will offer directions to the desired destination in real time.

If you are low on resources, worry no more! With Zelda Notes, your friends can easily send you Weapons, Materials and Meals via the Item Sharing option – although the usual rules of available space for weapons still apply. The presentation also mentioned that you can share materials between your plays of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which has the potential to make the early game stages much easier.

If you or one of your friends make a fabulous Ultrahand invention, that too can be shared, this time via a QR code and imported into the game. There’s also the Daily Bonus, which sees users spin through a list to win a prize like a Hearty Meal, Warding Meal, or Stamina Recovery.

The My Play Data option displays statistics, including the number of enemies defeated, time spent in Hyrule, deaths, treasure chests opened, distance travelled, Rupees collected, Koroks found, and the percentage of locations visited. There are also in-app medals based on your performance, such as “Distance Tracker” or “Wealthy.” Alongside this, the Global Play Data compares your statistics to those of other players around the world.

Zelda Notes also includes Photo Studio, which enables the importing of images from your Switch 2. The photos can then be resized, cropped, and embellished by stamps; one can even add a QR code for an Ultrahand invention. The new images can also be shared using a QR code too.

Finally, Voice Navigation was used to take Link to the Temple of Time to hear one of Zelda’s Voice Memories. These brand-new audio Easter eggs, available in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, will feature commentary by Princess Zelda on specific locations throughout Hyrule. If you haven’t opted for spoiler-free play, you can see all the Voice Memory locations and easily visit them all using the Voice Navigation option. It should be fascinating to hear all the extra details that have never been heard before.

Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will be available on June 5th, 2025. If you already own either game on the Switch and have a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, you can upgrade to the Switch 2 edition at no extra cost. You can otherwise purchase an upgrade pack separately for $9.99 USD, or purchase a boxed Switch 2 copy which will contain a Switch cartridge and an upgrade pack.

Are you excited to get your hands on a Switch 2 and play Tears of the Kingdom — Switch 2 Edition? Do you think the Zelda Notes function will be great fun, or will it take away some of the enjoyment of exploration? Finally, do you think being able to share items with yourself between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom could make the game too easy? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Nintendo Treehouse