Tears of the Kingdom is rich with story moments and great gameplay, and it’s gone on to be a best seller in the series in the short time it’s been available. Today I want to run down 12 of the best moments in the game looking at both gameplay and major story beats in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.

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Without further delay, let’s dive into the best moments in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.

Ganondorf rises

This moment forms part of the opening of the game, and we see Link and Zelda exploring the Depths under Hyrule Castle accompanied by eerie music and a deep sense of foreboding. The music does a great job here in the introduction, mimicing a heartbeat which helps ramp up the tension. Link and Zelda turn a corner and Ganondorf’s corpse is revealed. He’s twisted and deformed and as he rises his body contorts, it’s a horrifying realisation that The Demon King is back. Ganondorf destroys the Master Sword, Link is injured almost to the point of death and Zelda falls down through the floor, with a desparate Link jumping and reaching for her… only for her to be swallowed by the darkness.

Skydiving for the first time

Link wakes up in the Sky Islands and he has to make his way out of the cave he finds himself in. Once he gets to an opening, he leaps off the edge and we have the title card reveal itself as the music swells. The team had a big hill to climb to come up with something that would be as good if not better than the Hyrule reveal when Link first goes out into the open in Breath of the Wild, but I think the Tears of the Kingdom team did a fanastic job, especially when that music kicks in. Link is skydiving for the first time, giving us that sense of freedom of the skies we had hardly felt before, before safely landing in a pool, still on the Great Sky Island.

First time in the Depths

The Depths were a fantastical discovery in Tears of the Kingdom. While much of the build up to the game had focused on the Sky Islands, we didn’t know anything about the Depths. Elden Ring had done something similar and revealed vast underground areas, however, nothing like this. The Depths are dark, dangerous and full of gloom, and that first time when you find a chasm in Hyrule Field and then jump down into the Depths, it was one of the best moments in Tears of the Kingdom revelling in that sense of discovery the series is famous for.

Master sword

Finding and pulling the Master Sword is one of the best moments in any Zelda game, but Tears of the Kingdom elevated this moment to something grander in scale than we’ve ever seen before. There are various ways to the Master Sword, but my favourite is saving the Great Deku Tree first. Rid the Great Deku Tree of Gloom and you’ll get a flashback to Link and Zelda speaking to the Great Deku Tree and revealing the Master Sword can be healed via scared power. Very early in the game Link transports the broken Master Sword back in time to Zelda, where she sets about repairing it. Then later in the game Link locates the Master Sword buried in the forehead of the Light Dragon, which leads to Link locating the Light Dragon and pulling a fully restored Master Sword from it. In terms of scale and scope this is a huge moment, plus the build up through Dragon’s Tears and saving the Great Deku Tree, plus learning the fate of Princess Zelda… it’s simply one of the best moments in the game.

Climb to the Wind Temple

The Climb the the Wind Temple is one of my favourite sequences in the game. Link has to climb a mountain, then ascend high up into sky via the Sky Islands. The music get more intense the higher you go, and you have to climb higher and higher, until you finally have to fly into a tornado to reach The Wind Temple. I did this temple first, but if I had to do everything again I would probably save this one until last, as it’s a fantastic series of moments in Tears of the Kingdom.

Secret temple

Going into the game I was convinced there was only 4 temples, but we find out after completing the 4th that there is one more, a secret temple which we find through the use of a laser powered Zonai Device. We have to ascend up into the sky islands, through the dust clouds and find a Zonai device, which then points towards the Depths with a huge laser, and we have to put Mineru’s bot back together again. Discovering the 5th temple has to be up there with the best moments in the game.

Meet the Sages

We have to help out with the Reginal Phenomena quest, which takes us to help the Rito, Goron, Zora and Gerudo. Each have their own sage including Tulin, Yunobo, Sidon, and Riju, who help us out in the temples. When we defeat the final boss of the temple, we get a flashback of the original Sage who battled in the Imprisioning War against The Demon King. Link is passed an elemental power from each Sage, plus we learn more about The Demon King, his rise to power and how the original Sages stayed loyal to King Rauru.

Zelda is the Light dragon

One of the most jaw-dropping moments in Tears of the Kingdom is finding out about Zelda becoming the Light Dragon. This is told through the Dragon’s Tears questline, where we have to find pools to receive a cutscene with stories from the past. Zelda was transported back in time, received the broken Master Sword from Link and discovered it could be repaired through her powers, however it would take centuries to power up again. We also learned through the Mineru that swallowing a Secret Stone would lead to draonification, and while possible, it’s severely looked down upon in the Zonai community.

Zelda took the decision to transform herself into an immortal dragon, slowly powering up the Master Sword over time and waiting for centuries for Link to appear and retrive the Master Sword from her. The final cutscene with Zelda transforming into the dragon is one of the defining moments in Tears of the Kingdom.

Ganondorf’s health bar

Nintendo got a little playful in the final boss fight with Ganondorf. We start off by fighting Ganondorf, who we spar with for a few rounds, before knocking him down. He power himself up into The Demon King, and we see his health bar stretch across the screen, and I remember thinking “Oh my god, how am I going to take this guy down…” It’s a good moment, and one worth remembering for this list.

The Demon Dragon

In a moment of desparation, staring into the jaws of defeat, The Demon King makes the decision to swallow his secret stone and turn into a Dragon himself. At the end of the game we fight Ganondorf 1 on 1, and just when he appears to be defeating he swallows his stone and turns into a Dragon, clutching Link in his claws and flying high above Hyrule Castle.

Zelda saves the day

After The Demon King has turned into a Dragon and we take the combat to the skies for the final battle, all is seemingly lost when at the last moment the Light Dragon flies in and helps Link in his battle against Dragon Ganondorf. Together they fight, allowing Link to plunge the Master Sword deep into the head of the Demon Dragon, which leads to a huge explosion, and the end of evil throughout Hyrule for now. It’s an epic moment, which caps off the game in a great way.

Secret Ending

Once you defeat Ganondorf there is a ‘true ending’ to the game which you only get after completing the 5th Sage quest. Link, Zelda and the whole crew are standing near the Temple of Time on the Great Sky Island. Mineru tells Zelda her objective is complete. The whole group pledges their alligence to Zelda and Mineru is finally at peace. Mineru’s Construct also crumbles. Don’t worry though, you can still use this ability in the game after this scene. This closes the book on Tears of the Kingdom, and goes down as an excellent moment in the game.

Let me know what you think in the comments, and let me know your best moment in Tears of the Kingdom.