The wait forThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomcontinues, but not for much longer. With a May release date, the next majorZeldatitle has many fans hoping for a game that can recaptureBreath of the Wild’s magic with smart improvements. Sky islands will feature prominently inTears of the Kingdom, and Link will seemingly need to ascend them to restore a broken Master Sword and defeat a new Malice-fueled threat. Beyond that, there’s still not much that fans know, and a Nintendo Direct detailing the game is expected in the next few months.
Fortunately, Nintendo recently added an ESRB age rating to the game’s official store page. There is no detailed description associated with it, but just having a rating indicates that the game should be nearing completion. However, a common narrative has been thatTears of the Kingdomwould include dark tonesand content similar toMajora’s Mask, an entry beloved for those very elements. Yet the rating revealed to be E10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes, fans now have reason to keep their expectations in check.
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Zelda’s Age Ratings Have Always Trended Low
The Legend of Zeldahas always been an action-fantasy franchise oriented toward younger players. Fans of all ages can enjoy each game in the series, andZeldadoes not flaunt its mature content. More often than not,Zeldatitles receive E for Everyoneand, more recently, E10+ ratings. Ganon’s forces aren’t going to slay themselves, so players need to cut through the various beasts in Link’s way, and there are occasional moments of dark storytelling alongside grim locations like the Shadow Temple and the Arbiter’s Grounds. Most other adult content is downplayed or turned into a running joke, like the “adult” milk bars.
The only mainlineZeldagame to break this trend in ESRB ratings isThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which received a T for Teen mostly due to the game’s realistic art style - though the presence of some blood and intense violence also pushed it up. The only otherZeldatitles with T ratings have been the twoHyrule Warriorsgames and,thanks to its association withTwilight Princess,Link’s Crossbow Training. Even the infamously morbidMajora’s Maskoriginally got an E rating, which was later bumped up to E10+ alongsideOcarina of Timefor their 3DS remakes.
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Tears of the Kingdom Seems As Dark As Usual
The Legend of Zeldaserieshas not felt any particular need to push its ratings higher. It’s telling that it took an extra dose of realism or the sight of Link mowing down entire armies to get any T ratings. Most recently,Breath of the Wildreceived E10+ for Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, and alcohol use that could have been removed by changing a couple lines. Now,Tears of the Kingdomhas received the same rating for the same reasons except alcohol.
In November 2022, the South Korea Rating and Administration Committee gaveTears of the Kingdoman age rating of 12 and up, only citing mild violence. The ESRB rating a month later agrees that there will be fantasy violence, as well as mild suggestive themes that could be attributed to the Gerudo people’s voe-based antics. As the most recent versions ofevery major 3DZeldatitle exceptTwilight Princessnow share an E10+ rating, it’s hard to say what this means for darker elements. Even with less warning labels on its rating,Tears of the Kingdomcould still rival titles likeMajora’s Maskin some respects. Yet fans may have jumped the gun assuming this title would be a return toMajora’s Mask’s nature.
From the first teaser for the unnamedBreath of the Wildsequel, people were talking about how much darker it could be considering the trailer went for a horror tone with distorted music and the resurrection of what looked like a mummified Ganondorf. Comparisons were drawn to thelast direct console sequel in theZeldaseries,Majora’s Mask, and the discussion became so ubiquitous that producer Eiji Aonuma commented on it with IGN. Aonuma noted that the trailer was definitely darker thanBreath of the Wild, and possibly even darker thanMajora’s Mask. However, the relationship was no deeper than that.
EmulatingMajora’s Maskwas not a priority of the development team, and Aonuma stressed that the game was deep in production and might not keep this tone. Considering this interview was from 2019, it’s reasonable to assume the vision forTears of the Kingdomhas solidified into something more typical for theZeldaseries. The original quote may have even been misinterpreted, with Aonuma just comparing the trailer’s tone toBreath of the Wildand notMajora’s Mask. Either way, theorizing how darkTears of the Kingdomcould be is a dominant part of the game’s discourse, and now that fans are starting to learn more concrete details,Tears of the Kingdomshould - as Aonuma and later Bill Trinen have said - take on a life of its own.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomlaunches May 13, 2025, for Nintendo Switch.
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