The Legend of Zeldahas a pretty long and controversial history with water. Any of you reading that played the older N64 games like Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask when they first came out will no doubt have just had a shiver run down your spine, as the former’s Water Temple is renowned as being one of the most difficult and frustrating. However, after a bit of a lull in the underwater sections, it seems like Zelda fans want to take to the depths once more.
The topic was recently put to the Legend of Zelda subreddit, after u/Smooth-Vermicelli162 asked whether fans miss being able to swim underwater like in games such as Twilight Princess. While there are understandly a couple of fans that wince whenever underwater mechanics are mentioned, the vast majority begin to reminisce about how great it was in older titles to be able to explore the depths of a lake or ocean.
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There are some that even have their fingers crossed that Nintendo has worked in a way for Link to swim underwater inTears of the Kingdom, though we haven’t seen any evidence of such mechanics in any of the game’s trailers. Of course, those that have playedBreath of the Wildwill know that Link isn’t the biggest fan of swimming, as his stamina meter determines how long you’re able to stay in the water. Link instantly drowns if the meter runs out while you’re still in the water, so underwater exploration was never really an option.
That hasn’t stopped fans from hoping that Tears of the Kingdom will be different though. One user called u/ForgeoftheGods thinks that Nintendo missed a trick by not letting players swim underwater with the full Zora armor set in Breath of the Wild, while others wish that Nintendo would let them “zoom around like a dolphin” in Tears of the Kingdom, similar to how it was implemented in Majora’s Mask when Link turns into a Zora Warrior.
While it’s true that some of Zelda’s most notorious levels across the series take place underwater, you can’t help but feel it would really take exploration up a notch if you could dive down into lakes or rivers. Add in an underwater cave or two and some unique enemies and it would greatly expand the Hyrule that we’re already very familiar with. There are some fans that are even pining for a completely underwater Zora Domain, which probably would be a lot more believable considering they’re a race of fish people.
It’s not looking like Tears of the Kingdom will be adding underwater swimming mechanics, but we don’t have to wait too long to find out, as the game launches on May 12 exclusively on Nintendo Switch.
