The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Also known as: Zelda no Densetsu: Tears of the Kingdom (JP) Developer: Nintendo EPD Publisher: Nintendo Platforms: Nintendo Switch Released internationally: May 12, 2023 This game has unused items. This game has unused text. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences. This game has a prerelease article

This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. And as such, Link is of course the last line of defense.

It also allows players to build their own vehicles (sounds familiar?).

To do: This spreadsheet is full of useful data relating to this game and has some unused content in it. Key items tab also has a unique Soldier's Helm icon in row 35 with an internal name of "Helmet_001" (seems to be unused), and an item internally named "Weapon_Base" in row 266 using the Sword of the Hero as the icon. Internal project name is EX-King according to this table.

Sub-pages

Prerelease Info

Development File Path References

To do: There may be more.

System/LuaConfig/CommonModule.engine__lua__LuaConfig.bgyml and Debug/ClickMenu/EnemyCommon.engine__debug__ClickMenu.bgyml mentions filepaths from the development end, all not present in the final game.

Work/Lua/System/PickMenu/敵/この敵以外消す.lua
Work/Lua/System/PickMenu/敵/無敵(リアクションあり)にする.lua
App/Lib/Engine/Work/Lua/System/EngineModule/EngineCommon.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/AppCommon.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/GameActorCommon.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/OldFunctionDefine.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/NpcTestCommon.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/SequenceCommon.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/EventCommon.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/PlayerCommon.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/GameGraphicsCommon.lua
Work/Lua/Patrol/Utils/ActorCaptureUtils.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/GameDataCommon.lua
Work/Lua/System/Module/ChowderCommon.lua

Unused Text

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Can the Goddess Statue text be seen in this game in the same way it can be seen in BOTW using hacks this time? The Horned Statue text is identical to text found in BOTW. Verify that it is used there and note here after confirming.

Goddess Statue

Hylia has this unused text:

You already overflow with life force and
stamina. Increasing your power any
further may destroy you.

(Source: MrCheeze (text dump))

This text was also unused in Breath of the Wild, and could be encountered if glitches were used to reach the maximum number of Heart Containers and Stamina Vessels, and then the player attempted to exchange four Spirit Orbs for another.

Horned Statue

The Horned Statue has unused text if first encountered without having obtained a Heart Container or Stamina Vessel yet. This is impossible because obtaining a Heart Container is required to open a door in the Temple of Time at the Great Sky Island, which is before the Horned Statue can be encountered.

What's this?

You haven't received even one more
Heart Container or Stamina Vessel?

Such a pity... I was eager to help you
with a minor transaction. But not if you
have nothing to trade.
Consult a Goddess Statue to improve
yourself, and then return here to pray.

(Source: MrCheeze (text dump))

Schema Stone

Schema Stones have a different description if Autobuild is not yet obtained. This is impossible to see because having Autobuild is a requirement to receive Schema Stones from Steward Constructs and Josha at Lookout Landing.

A stone etched with what looks like a design
schematic. It could be useful...

(Source: MrCheeze (text dump))

Text from Breath of the Wild

Some reference strings from Breath of the Wild were left over in reference.msbt, including "Guardian", "King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule", and the names of the Divine Beasts. Rito Stable is also present in the locations file, despite being replaced with the Lucky Clover Gazette.

Many NPCs also have text labeled TerrorGuardian, including new ones like Steward Constructs. While it seems like unused text related to Guardians, the text is actually used as a response to Gloom Spawn or Phantom Ganon. Some NPC reactions are based on "terror levels" "emitted" by different things; for example, most enemies have a terror level of 3. The trigger for the "TerrorGuardian" text is actually a response to a terror level of 5 (the maximum), something only emitted by Guardians in Breath of the Wild and Gloom Spawn/Phantom Ganon in Tears of the Kingdom. Presumably, it was seen as too much work to rename this when it functions exactly the same. (That said, due to the relative rarity of Phantom Ganons in the world, it can be rather difficult to get elicit one of these responses from an NPC anyways.)

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Items

Ancient Hero's Aspect

An unused version of the Ancient Hero's Aspect armor exists with models and inventory icons for the body and leg pieces, called Armor_1036_Upper and Armor_1036_Lower. Instead of transforming Link into the ancient Zonai hero, it simply has Link wearing the garb that the ancient hero wears.

Zonai Arm

Data for Link's Zonai arm as an item can be found in PouchActorInfo, categorizing it as "Armor" with an ArmorRank of 1.

Master Sword

There are unused versions of the Master Sword called Weapon_Sword_071 and Weapon_Sword_071_Broken. They reference some parameter files from the regular Master Sword, Weapon_Sword_070, but have no WeaponParam or inventory icon.

Test Actor

The actor data has been remove, remaining model names:

• Excavate_A.Excavate_A_02
• dammy_data.dammy_san

Test Actor Model

(Source: MrMystery (discord))

Unused Effects

Cooking Effects

Unused cooking effects exist called TwiceJump and EmergencyAvoid. They do nothing when applied. They have a unique unused icon that is a half-green, half-yellow heart. They both have a menu name of 未定 "undecided", a BaseTime of 60, a Rate of 1.8, a Priority of 10, and range from Level 1 to 2. However, TwiceJump has a DispName of 二段ジャンプ and EmergencyAvoid has a DispName of 緊急回避. These DispNames translate to roughly the same as their effects.

The SwimSpeedUp, AttackUpCold, AttackUpHot, and AttackUpThunderstorm cooking effects have a MaxLv of 3 in the CookingTable despite it being impossible to cook food with level 3 bonuses of those effects.

Armor Effects

The AncientResistance armor effect parameters from Breath of the Wild is leftover in Player.game__component__ConditionParam.

Unused Graphics

Unused Inventory Icons

Several inventory icons exist in the files which are unused.

Actor Name	Icon	Details
Armor_1036_Upper		For an unused body piece of an unused version of the Ancient Hero's Aspect armor
Armor_1036_Lower		For an unused leg piece of an unused version of the Ancient Hero's Aspect armor
Item_Ore_N		Icon for an unknown, unused ore material resembling a bundle of ingots. The last kind of ore in-game is Item_Ore_M, which is Large Zonaite.
Npc_Zelda_Torch		Unused icon for the torch that Princess Zelda uses during the intro of the game
Obj_LinkHouse_A_01_0 Obj_LinkHouse_D_01 Obj_LinkHouse_E_01 Obj_LinkHouse_F_01		Unused icon for a room of the dream home
Obj_LinkHouse_B_01_0		Unused icon for a room of the dream home
Obj_LinkHouse_C_01_0		Unused icon for a room of the dream home
PlayerRaulHand		Unused blank 256x256 icon for Link's Zonai arm.

Character Profile Images

To do: Upload images, including final Teba for comparison.

There are a few images related to the Character Profiles on the Purah Pad that go unused.

• Artwork and a sprite of Rhondson by herself; normally she is always with Hudson.
• A render of Teba which was seemingly the basis of the artwork actually used, and accompanying sprite.
• A strange, cut-off image of Mineru's Construct, and a sprite of its head. It is titled "Npc_RaumiGolem_Sage_Picture", with other Sages' updated images being suffixed similarly. However, Mineru's Character Profile (which only has her Zonai form) isn't unlocked until the Spirit Temple is entirely complete.

Unused Models

The Huge Crystallized Charge (worth 100 normal crystallized charges) has a model that can never be seen in-game. While regular and Large Crystallized Charges (worth 20) sometimes appear in the overworld, such as in shops or dropped by enemies, all instances of the Huge Crystallized Charge come from treasure chests, so it never exists in the overworld. If one is spawned in the overworld, picking it up gives 100 charges' worth as expected, but the item has no gravity.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Device Dispenser

There's an unused Device Dispenser, RBox_Field_P, that drops Beam Emitter at 20% chance, Sled at 20% chance, Mirror at 30% chance, Fan at 15% chance, and Small Wheel at 15% chance.

Oddities

Tutorial Master Sword

The Master Sword that Link uses in the tutorial intro of the game is different from the one you obtain in the main game, both having a different model due to story reasons and because Nintendo gave it infinite durability to prevent a softlock from occurring. That said, it is possible to obtain this sword in the main game either through hacking or glitches, and it does have strange effects and odd behaviors when interacting with various elements of the main game it was never meant to. It has a unique inventory icon that isn't glowing despite it always glowing when held, not even near Gloom. When trying to use Fuse a message, saying "You can't use Fuse on this equipment" will appear and prevent you from using fuse on this equipment. However, if you glitch the game to fuse the weapon, its name will actually change back to "Master Sword" in the inventory, though its icon will remain unchanged aside from indicating it's a fused weapon and its description also remains the same.

(Source: Dot eSports)

Sage Weapons

The weapons the sages use in both NPC and sage avatar form are also different from their regular counterparts too. They have no icon in the menu, are strapped to Link's back horizontally when sheathed rather than being displayed vertically, transform into their normal counterparts when displayed on a weapon stand and are impossible to fuse anything to.

(Source: The Unused Content of The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom! (YouTube))

Weapon_Lsword_154

This is the Boulder Breaker used by Yunobo as a sage. It is weaker than the normal one, with only 33 attack power, but looks identical in game.

Weapon_Spear_150

Meanwhile this is the Lightscale Trident wielded by Sidon as a sage. It's actually stronger than the normal one, with 40 attack power, and again looks identical in game.

It does however have a strange property when things are fused to it, in that the fused material will just float in mid air about a foot away from the end of the spear.

Weapon_Sword_152_Main & Weapon_Sword_152_Sub

These are the Scimitars of the Seven used by Riju. They're weaker than the normal one, with 25 attack power rather than the 28 that normal version has.

Weapon_Bow_116

Tulin's Swallow Bow. This has 9 attack power compared to the 8 the normal one has, but otherwise looks and functions identically in game.

Weapon_Bow_128

A strange single shot version of the Great Eagle Bow wielded by Tulin. It's significantly weaker than the normal one, with only 26 attack power in total.

Weapon_Bow_129

A carbon copy of the normal Great Eagle Bow only used by Tulin. It looks and acts exactly the same as its regular counterpart, and even transforms into it if dropped on the floor.

Ganondorf's Weapons

Ganondorf also has his own version of the Demon King's Bow, which is identical to the normal one minus the inventory icon. It's labelled Weapon_Bow_166_For_Ganondorf in the files.

Miscellaneous Weapons

Finally, there are also some interesting NPC only weapons that can be obtained via save editing. These are the weapons for Mineru's Construct, the Seized Construct and Yunobo, and aren't meant to be used by Link, leading to some odd behaviour.

Weapon_RaumiGolem_Left & Weapon_RaumiGolem_Right

These are the left and right arms of Mineru's Construct, which are treated as weapons internally. When added to the inventory, they have 38 attack power, no icon or description and are invisible when wielded in game.

Using fuse when one of these is equipped will freeze the game, though they work as expected in most other ways.

Weapon_DungeonBossZonau

A copy of one of the above weapons used by the Seized Construct boss. Have the exact same properties when added to the inventory.

Weapon_RaumiGolem_Back

This is the weapon/item slot for the back of Mineru's Construct. It displays as a blank icon with no attack power, and cannot have anything fused to it. If placed on a weapon stand, it'll be added as expected, but will become impossible to collect again afterwards.

Weapon_DungeonBossZonau_Front

The other arms for the Seized Construct. Unfortunately, these do not appear to function in game, and cause the game to freeze before loading the file.

Weapon_Goron_Knuckle

Yunobo's ability as a weapon. It displays as an invisible item with no icon and 0 attack power, and acts like a cross between Weapon_RaumiGolem_Left and Weapon_RaumiGolemRight, being usable in game, but also getting stuck on any weapon stand it's displayed on.

For some reason, doing a spin attack with this item equipped freezes the game.

Internal Names

Crystallized Charge

Regular Crystallized Charges are named Energy_Material_01, Large Crystallized Charges are named Energy_Material_03, and Huge Crystallized Charges are named Energy_Material_04. There is no Energy_Material_02, suggesting a type of Crystallized Charge never made it into the final game.

(Source: MrCheeze (text dump))

Ore materials

Icon for Item_Ore_N

Ore materials follow the pattern from Breath of the Wild of being suffixed alphabetically, with the last one from that game being Item_Ore_J (Star Fragment). Tears of the Kingdom adds Item_Ore_L (Zonaite) and Item_Ore_M (Large Zonaite), but there is no Item_Ore_K. Additionally, there exists an unused icon for Item_Ore_N, depicting a bundle of green-and-gold ingots similar to Zonai technology.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Paraglider Fabric

Paraglider fabrics aside from the Ordinary Fabric are named Obj_SubstituteCloth_XX, with XX being a number ranging from 00 to 56. Numbers 42, 44, 47, 50, and 54 do not have a corresponding fabric, suggesting some fabrics never made it into the final game.

(Source: MrCheeze (text dump))

Unused Dungeons

To do: Add file paths/IDs

Early versions of the 4 main temples and Hyrule Castle can be found in the files, along with an expanded version of the Spirit Temple meant to act like a separate dungeon. These have various changes from the final areas and take place on separate maps rather than the main overworld.

File Paths

• LargeDungeonWind - Wind Temple
• LargeDungeonFire - Fire Temple
• LargeDungeonWater - Water Temple
• LargeDungeonThunder - Lightning Temple
• LargeDungeonHyruleCastle - Hyrule Castle
• LargeDungeonSoul - Spirit Temple

You can search through these by selecting Temples (Large Dungeon) then the relevant dungeon name in the Object Map.

(Source: Tears of the Kingdom Object Map)

General Differences

Many of these maps don't have the contents set for treasure chests, and hence will give the player an Opal when they open one of them. This might be different on separate maps, since the Lightning Temple sometimes uses other gemstones as placeholders for items instead.

Enemies in these areas also usually have weaker weapons than in the final versions. For instance, the Constructs in the early Fire Temple use wooden weapons and shields instead of Zonaite ones, while the ones in the Water Temple use rusty weapons.

It is also impossible to Ascend through most surfaces in these unused areas.

Finally, the lighting is very simplistic and doesn't seem to be affected much by things like lava or torches. Because of this, the lower levels of the Fire Temple are extremely dark, and normally dark areas like the Lightning Temple are fully lit up.

Wind Temple

In this version of the Wind Temple, most elements from the final dungeon are in place. However, the cyclone surrounding the ship isn't present, nor are the other smaller ships you can usually see orbiting it.

The area also has a higher temperature than the final one, with only one level of cold resistance being needed to survive rather than the two levels needed for the final game.

Water Temple

If visited after clearing the version in the normal game, the sludge is invisible on this map. It still slows Link down when he walks on it in this state, but cannot be seen or washed off with items like Splash Fruit.

Fire Temple

The scorching climate usually found here doesn't exist in this version of the map. As a result, things like bombs can be used as expected, and wooden weapons won't burn up when equipped.

There's also a different setup for the roof, with glitchy textures on top of the dungeon. These are fixed in the final version, though it's only possible to see said roof by going out of bounds due to the Depths ceiling.

Lightning Temple

If the player visits before activating the final version of the dungeon in the main story, the Gibdo hives and pink orb on the front of the building are missing. This indicates they're not present in the map by default, and are only added once the temple rises up from the sands.

There are also no ore deposits in this version either. The bases where these deposits should be is included, but the actual deposits themselves are absent.

A couple of architectural hazards seem to be absent too, such as the collapsing floor in one of the early rooms.

Hyrule Castle

Unlike the previous four, this one can be used to progress the story. Fake Zelda appears as expected in this map, and the triggers for things like the Phantom Ganon battle are loaded as expected. However, trying to fight the latter softlocks the game due to the map using different coordinates from the final dungeon, so it's only possible to complete the area fully if a glitch is used to escape the battle in the regular version.

Many weapons in the final game are missing, with most being rusty versions (possibly placeholders), and nearly all treasure chests contain opals (the fallback item if a chest has nothing set).

Strangely, the Shrine of Light is still present, but instead of being Serutabomac Shrine as in the final version, it is Isisim Shrine, which is normally found in Death Mountain. Entering the shrine, it acts as normal, and exiting it will use its regular entrance at Death Mountain. Koroks are also present, but some have no animations.

Some changes have also been made to the Monster Forces between versions too. For example, the Hinox is a basic one without the iron greaves the one in the final map has, while the Fire-Breath Lizalfos are unarmed (they've got Knight tier equipment in the final version). There are also no Horriblins in this version of the castle. The tunnel they're usually found in is empty in this one.

Other changes include various geometry bugs and issues. For instance, the water in the moat is cut off in many places, and things like trees pop into existence when Link approaches them, rather than being loaded in seamlessly like in the final map.

Spirit Temple

Meanwhile this dungeon is completely different from the final game, being an actual obstacle course rather than a glorified boss room like the final one is.

The starting area has a floating platform above a large flat piece of ground, with a copy of Mineru's Construct in the centre near a warp pad. This area is connected to a lower level by a set of stairs near some Gloom.

This lower level contains one Soldier Construct, a spiked ball and an iron pole. This appears to be designed as a way to test the player's combat abilities with Mineru's Construct.

From here, another set of stairs goes down to a larger platform filled with Soldier Constructs, plus a single Captain Construct. There are various objects that can be fused to the Construct here too, like more spiked balls and poles.

Dropping off the edge here brings the player to another area, with multiple flame and beam emitters, plus one ice block. This then connects to another platform, with a single Ice Chuchu, plus an Ice-Breath Lizalfos.

No further rooms or areas are accessible here, so there's no boss fight or cutscenes.

There's also no map data either. Trying to view the map will just bring up a darkened version of the Central Hyrule map with no floors listed, and saving in the area will set the location name to Hyrule Field instead. This indicates it was cut very early in development, likely before the final sequence of events was decided for the Fifth Sage quest.

(Source: The Unused Dungeons Hidden in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom! (YouTube))

(Source: The Unused Dungeons Hidden in Tears of the Kingdom!)

Unused Rooms

Various unused rooms can also be found in the game via glitches or mods. For example, there's one behind a door at the top of the Hyrule Castle main tower, and one behind the Fashion Passion Shop in Gerudo Town. These were both previously in Breath of the Wild, and are fully modelled in both games.

Unreleased patches

romfs for 1.1.0 contain files with "101" suffix, which may mean the 1.0.1 patch

(Source: TotK RomFS Changes (Google Sheets))

Regional Differences

In-game UI Changes

Like in Breath of the Wild, the temperature gauge on the bottom right section of the HUD shows ºF in North America and ºC in every other region.

North America	Japan/Europe/Australia

Additionally on the map menu, degrees are shown in Fahrenheit in North America and Celsius elsewhere.

In North America and Japan the game uses 12-hour time anywhere in-game time appears, while in Europe and Australia 24-hour time is always used.

Revisional Differences

To do: Ask the speedrun community what glitches were known to be patched. These patches did impact speedruns from item duplication glitches getting patched. Clarify that 1.0.0 does exist as a digital version.

Version 1.0.0

The version of the game that was shipped on the physical Game Card format.

Version 1.1.0

Version 1.1.0 was released on May 5, 2023 for reviewers and the digital preload.

Official Patch Notes

General Updates

• Horse name inputs now allow for Korean, Chinese (Simplified), and Chinese (Traditional) characters.
  • If the system language is not set to Korean, Chinese (Simplified), or Chinese (Traditional), some inputted characters will not display.
• Made other, additional fixes to allow for a more pleasing gameplay experience.

(Source: Nintendo)

Version 1.1.1

Version 1.1.1 was released on May 18, 2023.

Official Patch Notes

General Updates

• Fixed issue where, sometimes, the player could not clear main quest “The Closed Door,” even if they fulfilled the conditions to advance the quest.
  • If you have already encountered this issue, you will be able to clear the quest by downloading this update data.
• Several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

(Source: Nintendo)

Version 1.1.2

Version 1.1.2 was released on May 25, 2023.

Official Patch Notes

Audio Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the sound would play at an extremely high volume in certain conditions.

Additional Fixes

• Fixed an issue in the main quest, “Camera Work in the Depths”, where players could not progress beyond a certain point. Downloading the update will allow players to proceed past that point.
• Several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.
  • A material duplication glitch was patched that uses shield jumping.

(Source: Nintendo)

Version 1.2.0

Version 1.2.0 was released on July 4, 2023.

Official Patch Notes

General Updates

• By starting the game from within certain articles released on a specific Switch News channel (accessed via the HOME Menu) players can receive a number of in-game items.
  • Depending on the state of gameplay progression or the location in which the data is reopened, there may be cases in which the items cannot be received.

Additional Fixes

• Fixed an issue where players could not progress beyond a certain point in the main quests “A Mystery in the Depths” and “Secret of the Ring Ruins”, the side adventures “Hateno Village Research Lab” and “Lurelin Village Restoration Project”, the shrine quest “Dyeing to Find It”, and the side quests “Village Attacked by Pirates”, “The Incomplete Stable”, and “Seeking the Pirate Hideout”. Downloading the update will allow players to proceed past that point.

• Fixed an issue preventing fairies from appearing under certain conditions when they originally should have appeared.
• Fixed an issue preventing the meals provided by Kiana of Lurelin Village from changing under certain conditions.
• Several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

(Source: Nintendo)

Version 1.2.1

Version 1.2.1 was released on August 22, 2023.

Official Patch Notes

Fixed issues

• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the screen to flicker intensely when large amounts of stamps were placed on the Map.
• Fixed an issue that prevented players from obtaining the contents of treasure chests attached to Flux Constructs when the treasure chests vanished as a result of the Flux Construct’s attacks.
  • If the treasure chest vanished, reloading the save data will either restore the treasure chest or cause the chest’s contents to automatically appear in your Pouch.
• If a certain event does not trigger when talking to Koltin after collecting all of the Bubbul Gems, downloading this update data will fix it so that the event triggers.
• Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

(Source: Nintendo)