The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Was Originally Supposed to be Called Tears of the Dragon

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Was Originally Supposed to be Called Tears of the Dragon

As a seasoned Zelda fan who has traversed Hyrule countless times, it’s fascinating to delve into the behind-the-scenes development of Tears of the Kingdom. The revelation that the game’s original title was “Tears of the Dragon” adds another layer to my appreciation for this masterpiece. It’s intriguing to imagine how different the game might have felt with such a title, given its potential spoilers.


NOTE: There are spoilers ahead for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

It’s worth recalling that the official title for “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” was unveiled quite near its release date, and it turns out there’s a good reason behind this delay.

According to Nintendo Everything’s latest report, an official artbook for the open-world action-adventure game “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” has been released. This booklet revealed that the game’s original title was going to be “Tears of the Dragon”.

In the book, Series Producer Eiji Aonuma reveals that the game’s title was initially intended to be “Tears of the Dragon,” but the development team hesitated to make this official as it directly referenced a significant plot twist that would have been considered a spoiler.

Keeping the secret about the Light Dragon being Zelda might have caused complications, and these ripples extended to the title as well. One of the final contenders for the title was “Dragon’s Tears.

Instead of incorporating “Dragon” in the title, we opted for a different approach since we wanted dragon motifs in our logo. However, highlighting the term would overshadow the Light Dragon concept, so we went another way [laughs]. Unfortunately, other creative ideas weren’t materializing quickly enough, and we were pressed for development time…

After much discussion, a staff member proposed the idea, “How about ‘Kingdom’?”. The suggestion of “Tears of the Kingdom” seemed to resonate with us as a link to the Light Dragon. This connection allowed us to incorporate dragons in our logo design. With the title chosen, we were able to finalize the logo and bring it to its current form.

Prior to the game’s release, Nintendo hesitated to reveal the game’s title because it might offer subtle clues about the storyline. Indeed, the title Tears of the Kingdom does subtly suggest Princess Zelda’s destiny in the game, but not as directly as the initially planned title would have.

In the meantime, coming soon to the Zelda franchise is “The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom,” slated for release on Nintendo Switch on September 26.

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2024-09-10 03:11