Nintendo's Original Name For Tears Of The Kingdom Was A Massive Spoiler

The following article contains major spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Summary

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom had a different name very late in development.
• The team didn't want to spoil the game's major twist with their title.
• The logo was intended to subtly tease the twist, without giving it away.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom almost had a different title that didn't mention Hyrule, according to series producer Eiji Aonuma (thanks GamesRadar+).

The critically acclaimed sequel to Breath of the Wild was almost called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Dragon, a clear reference to Princess Zelda's reincarnation as the Light Dragon, a major twist of Tears of the Kingdom's narrative.

Tears of the Dragon

"Letting it slip that the Light Dragon is Zelda would have been a problem, and this had an effect on the title, too," Aonuma wrote (translated by Nintendo Everything). "One of the candidates for the title that made it to the end was 'Tears of the Dragon'. But it would have been a bad idea to have 'Dragon' in the title."

Aonuma goes on to say that the team wanted to have dragons in the logo, a more subtle tease than putting Dragon in the title. However, they couldn't think of a title that suited the narrative but didn't give away the twist, so the game was still called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Dragon until very late in development.

"We through many words, and then one time a staff member suggested, 'What about Kingdom?'. With 'Tears of the Kingdom', it felt like the phrase could connect to the Light Dragon, and we could use dragons in the logo. With the title decided, the logo finally became what it is now," Aonuma finished.

The Tears of the Kingdom logo, for those who haven't looked closely, is two interwoven dragons that resemble the Light Dragon.

The next Legend of Zelda title, Echoes of Wisdom, is set to release on September 26. Echoes of Wisdom finally casts Princess Zelda as the protagonist in the legendary series named after her.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

WHERE TO PLAY

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to the Nintendo Switch hit Breath of the Wild. In it, Link must team up with Princess Zelda to rid Hyrule of another threat to its existence.