The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Developers Comment on Sequel Speculation, Future Uses of Ultrahand

Posted on December 08 2023 by Kora Burton

In a recent interview conducted by Game Informer‘s Brian Shea, Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma and director Hidemaro Fujibayashi discussed the game’s reception, its timeline placement, comparison to other games in the series, subverting players’ expectations, and more. With hopes for DLC being solidly squashed not only previously but again during this interview, with Aonuma stating that Tears of the Kingdom is the product of “removing all of the parts that didn’t make sense or didn’t fit perfectly,” audience attentions seem to be moving forward once again to the development of future Zelda titles.

When Shea asked about whether the developers have ruled out another sequel within the Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom universe, Aonuma laughs and responds:

Well that would be a sequel to a sequel, which is getting a little bit wild when you think about it! But as I’ve mentioned previously, with Tears of the Kingdom, we were seeking to build on top of the world we created with Breath of the Wild and really exhaust the possibilities of what we could put into that world. I think it is – to use a bit of a term – an apotheosis, or the final form of that version of The Legend of Zelda. In that regard, I don’t think that we’ll be making a direct sequel to a world such as that that we’ve created.

Along this vein, Shea asked about the integration of Ultrahand in future titles, since it “now feels so integral to the experience” of Tears of the Kingdom players. Fujibayashi had this to say:

…the crux of the experience in playing Tears of the Kingdom is Ultrahand and the freedom to create… that is what Tears of the Kingdom is. So every time we’re making a Zelda title, we want to create something new… What we want to do from a game creator’s perspective is create something new. From that perspective, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Ultrahand in every Zelda game or anything in the future.

Aonuma agreed with his own take that the creation of Tears of the Kingdom was a “very selective” process. “We created what we wanted to create and felt that it was complete in that fashion,” he said. “So from that aspect as well, I think we definitely won’t be including Ultrahand in titles going forward.”

With Tears of the Kingdom winning Best Action/Adventure Game at The Game Awards this year and Aonuma stating early on during the Game Informer interview that many players have said they’ve delayed beating the game “because they don’t want it to end,” it certainly seems that right now is the time to bask in the newest Zelda game’s glory just a little longer, rather than looking too far ahead. When the developers are ready to announce future plans for the series, though, as much as I have fallen in love with the current iteration of Hyrule, I’ll be happy to see Zelda moving in a new direction.

What do you think of Aonuma and Fujibayashi’s comments? Could you see Ultrahand or something like it being utilized in future Zelda games? What do you think about the idea of “a sequel to a sequel,” as Aonuma put it? Let us know your thoughts down below!

Source: Game Informer (via Nintendo Life)