Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Age Rating and Review
by Swetha P
Updated May 17, 2023
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
In 2023, Nintendo developed and published The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, an action-adventure game exclusively for the Nintendo Switch platform. Serving as a sequel to the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), Tears of the Kingdom builds upon its predecessor's open-world setting of Hyrule, offering even more opportunities for vertical exploration.
The game's storyline revolves around Link and Princess Zelda as they strive to prevent Ganondorf from unleashing destruction upon Hyrule. The concept for Tears of the Kingdom originated when the ideas for downloadable content (DLC) for Breath of the Wild became too extensive to be contained within that framework.
The development of the game was led by Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) division, with the return of Hidemaro Fujibayashi as the director and Eiji Aonuma as the producer, both of whom had previously worked on Breath of the Wild. A teaser for the game was unveiled at E3 2019, followed by a full reveal at E3 2021. Despite an initial planned release for 2022, the game's launch was later postponed to May 2023.
Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Age Rating
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has received an E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) rating from the ESRB, primarily due to its inclusion of Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes. This means the game is suitable for players aged 10 and above. Additionally, Tears of the Kingdom does not incorporate any Interactive Elements, ensuring that players cannot engage in online interactions or make in-game purchases.
The absence of these elements promotes a focused and self-contained gameplay experience. According to the ESRB Rating Summary, “Players use swords, hammers, bows, and explosives to attack enemies that generally disappearLink stands on a wide tractor-like contraption in the middle of a large field. amid smoke puffs and/or collectible items.
The battles in Tears of the Kingdom are stylized, often characterized by fast-paced action, impactful sounds, expressions of pain, and occasional brief explosions. The Rating Summary also cites that some characters “wear revealing outfits. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on the Nintendo Switch.
The standard edition of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is priced at $69.99. For those interested, there is also a Collector's Edition available, which offers additional goodies and is priced at $129.99. However, please note that availability of the Collector's Edition may vary and it might be challenging to find one.
Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Review
The review seems to be a positive one for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It mentions that the game is a terrific follow-up to Breath of the Wild, featuring new systems, amazing views, and more dungeon-type spaces. The review praises the addition of water wells and cave systems, which offer various rewards and side quests.
The Chasms, large underground areas, are highlighted as impressive in scale and intricacy, providing access to a second open world beneath Hyrule. The review also mentions the emphasis on gathering resources, which some players might find slightly repetitive or deadening. It discusses the returning weapon degradation system, which requires players to regularly craft new mining tools.
Additionally, the review introduces new abilities in Tears of the Kingdom, such as Ascend, Rewind, Fuse, and Ultrahand, which add depth to exploration and gameplay. The sky islands are described as majestic and exhilarating, while the Chasms provide a more oppressive and intriguing experience. The puzzles, shrines, and worldbuilding elements on the sky islands are praised for their toylike specificity and engaging gameplay.
The review mentions the narrative involving Princess Zelda's disappearance and the need to rescue her, but notes that she is portrayed as a more enigmatic figure than in Breath of the Wild. The major dungeons are said to be elaborate and enjoyable, with unique themes and mechanics. Overall, the review paints a positive picture of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, highlighting its strengths in world design, exploration, and new gameplay elements.
Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Trailer
Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Gameplay
Tears of the Kingdom maintains the open-world action-adventure gameplay that made its predecessor successful. Players take on the role of Link, who has the freedom to explore the vast world of Hyrule as well as two new areas: the Sky Islands and the Depths. Throughout their journey, players can discover weapons, resources, and complete quests.
Exploration in Tears of the Kingdom offers various methods such as walking, running, horse riding, climbing, and the use of the paraglider, which is reminiscent of the mechanics in the previous game. Introducing new elements, Tears of the Kingdom features Zonai devices and advanced technological tools that players can utilize for combat, propulsion, exploration, and more.
The game replaces the runes from the previous installment with five new powers: Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, Recall, and Autobuild. Ultrahand enables players to interact with and move different objects, allowing for the attachment of various items together. This can be combined with the Zonai devices to create unique vehicles or constructs.
Fuse allows Link to combine materials, equipment, or specific objects in the game world to enhance the attributes and durability of shields or weapons. For instance, fusing an explosive object to an arrow results in an explosive impact upon hitting a target. Autobuild enables instant recreation of a device created with Ultrahand, at the cost of zonatite.
Ascend empowers the player to move upwards through solid surfaces, while Recall can be employed to rewind the movement of certain objects. Shrines and Korok Seeds make a return in Tears of the Kingdom. Clearing Shrines grants players a Light of Blessing, and collecting four of these lights allows Link to increase either his heart count or expand his stamina wheel.
Korok Seeds can be used to augment Link's inventory capacity, enabling him to carry more melee weapons, shields, or bows. However, a new threat called the Gloom emerges in the game, primarily near deep craters accessing the Depths and on enemies encountered there. When exploring the Depths or encountering gloom-covered enemies, Link experiences persistent damage and cannot replenish lost hearts until he resurfaces to restore his maximum health.
Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Age Rating - FAQs
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom released on May 12th, 2023.
Ascend, Rewind, Fuse, and Ultrahand.
It allows Link to tunnel up through any flat surface directly above him.
Gloom is a flickering crimson substance that lowers Link's maximum health on contact.
You use the Rewind ability to travel between ground level and the sky islands.
Ultrahand is an ability that allows Link to bolt together objects and create various contraptions.