Summary
One ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s andTears of the Kingdom’s most prominent features is Link’s hugely customizable wardrobe, allowing players to don a variety of armor sets, each providing gameplay benefits of some kind. This was an unprecedented move inThe Legend of Zelda’s history, as previous games in the franchise have never leaned heavily into what Link wears, aside from occasionally requiring him to wear certain tunics to ward off elemental effects. As such, armor, as it is now, is a relatively new concept to theZeldaseries and one that may not be so quickly set aside in subsequent installments.
Nintendo has yet to confirm where it is takingThe Legend of ZeldaafterTears of the Kingdom, but it’s possible that the series could be going back to its roots. If it does, Link’s current equipment system would need to be drastically altered, as there is little room for such an enormous amount of armor in traditionalZelda. However, barring Nintendo choosing to retainBreath of the Wild’s andTears of the Kingdom’s foundational mechanics to some extent, it could potentially preserve Link’s current equipment system as well, though there is one feature it should consider adding in that case that bothBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdompassed on.
The Next Legend of Zelda Game Needs an Armor Transmog System
How Transmog Systems Work
Transmogrification (transmog) is a feature that has been around for some time in the gaming industry and has become increasingly popular as the desire for character customization has grown. With transmog, players can alter the appearance of their character’s gear without changing the gear itself. This feature is especially useful in games where certain armor pieces work well with other visually non-matching pieces due to their stat/perk combinations. TheMonster Hunterfranchise, for example, adoptedtransmog inMonster Hunter Risewith Layered Armor, as the series is notorious for having armor pieces that match mechanically but not cosmetically.
How Transmog Could Benefit Zelda Beyond Tears of the Kingdom
BothBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomsolve the issue of mismatched cosmetics by including set bonuses, which encourage players to equip a complete armor set rather than mixing individual armor pieces. As each armor set has been created to match from a visual standpoint, there is seemingly no need for a transmog system, from a certain point of view. However, players may want to wear an armor set for its gameplay benefits and still want Link to take on a different appearance, and this is where the need for a transmog system comes into play.
InTears of the Kingdom, there are 35 different armor setsfor players to collect plus 30 individual armor pieces. This means there is a rather strong case for a transmog system in the game, simply due to the wide variety of armor pieces and the diverse bonuses they offer. Unfortunately, Nintendo chose not to implement the ability to transmog items into the game, but it may need to in future installments, especially if it chooses to continue using Link’s current equipment system. On the other hand, even if the series does go back to its roots, some sort of outfit customization system for Link would be enough to compensate for the lack of armor as a feature.
It’s unclear why Nintendo opted not to include a transmog system inBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom, other than perhaps wanting to encourage players to observe their armor set bonus mechanics. Still, asThe Legend of Zeldaprogresses, whether it ends up back at its roots or evolvesbeyondTears of the Kingdom, a transmog or appearance customization system is long overdue for the franchise, considering the high demand for character customization in modern gaming.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
WHERE TO PLAY
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to the beloved open-world adventure, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This installment once again sees Link and Zelda battling to protect Hyrule from falling to Ganondorf. This new adventure takes place in the same land of Hyrule as Breath of the Wild but sees something called the Upheaval, which allows link to travel to Sky Islands, as well as deep into the Depths beneath Hyrule. Players can use special abilities to fuse together weapons, and build items to help them progress through the release.
