The Legend of Zeldahas never followed the conventional chronological order of storytelling, with its video games crafted in such a way to allow players to jump into a title without any prior knowledge of backstories. Given the sheer number ofThe Legend of Zeldagames, it makes sense to let new players pick up a game without having to sieve through years of content, but the beautiful holistic view of the universe can be lost in the bid to appeal to a fresh audience.The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomcontinued this longstanding tradition, but some light needs to be shed on elements like the Master Sword to see how the myth of its creation ties into the game.
There are so many interconnected loops of time-skippedlore inThe Legend of Zelda, and keeping track of every important detail can be a daunting task for even the most dedicated gamer. To aid fans in their struggles to understand the fantasy world of Hyrule, developer Nintendo published an official timeline of events, the Hyrule Historia, back in 2011. The Master Sword, one of the most iconic items inThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, had its legend told in theSkyward Swordinstallation – and the tale plays a role inTears of the Kingdom’s story.
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The Master Sword and its Links to Zelda
After playing through the standardThe Legend of Zeldastarting procedure that is equipping Link with an arsenal of weapons from all around Hyrule inSkyward Sword, players discover the Goddess Sword through the guidance of a guardian spirit called Fi. Much ofSkyward Swordis spent tracking down three magical fires left behind by Hyrule’s gods, and Link forges the Goddess Sword with their embers once players find them. After Zelda and Link reunite, the forged longsword gains its brilliant color and unmistakable length when it is blessed byHylia, the Goddess of Light, through the hand of Zelda herself, becoming the Master Sword as players know it.
The Master Sword, as the name implies, can go toe-to-toe with some of the greatest evils in theZeldauniverse. InTears of the Kingdom, Link calls upon the Master Sword to fight Ganondorf, but his efforts are in vain as the sword gets destroyed by the Demon King’s gloom.Hyrule Castleis hoisted into the sky upon Link’s defeat, and a blue arm whisks him to safety. The arm’s blue tinge shares similarities to that of the Master Sword, and it is later revealed the blue arm belonged to the spirit of Rauru, the first king of Hyrule.
The Master Sword’s origins have their main links toThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomin Zelda’s story, as the princess is transported back in time after she gets separated from Link during Ganondorf’s attack. After Rauru and the Sages foil the Demon King’s invasion of Hyrule and subsequently imprison him, Zelda tries to fix the broken Master Sword and find her way back to Link’s timeline. The Master Sword can grow in strength after prolonged exposure to divine light, and the princess eventually figures out how to restore its power. By grabbing the destroyed Sword and swallowing her secret stone simultaneously, Zelda transforms into an eternal dragon, and the blade lodges itself in her head.
The power of her light recharges the Sword, gradually restoring its glory over the centuries it takes her to catch up with Link’s timeline and ultimately making it even stronger than before. This storyline resembles the Sword’s original creation, where Link first transformed the Goddess Sword into the Master Sword using the flames of Hyrule’s gods, albeit with a little twist. In this way, theMaster Sword’s creationmyth ties intoThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomand is a testament to Nintendo’s expert storytelling.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available for Nintendo Switch.
