Nintendo just dropped the first two parts of its Ask the Developer Vol. 9 interview session with developers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The Q&A provides some helpful insight into new features like Sky Diving and how they will affect gameplay in the Breath of the Wild sequel.
We caught a glimpse of the all-new Sky Diving feature in the March gameplay demonstration for Tears of the Kingdom, hosted by game developer Eiji Aonuma. However, Aonuma and the team of developers have since expounded upon the new feature, clarifying that players will now be able to dive from Sky Islands to the surface of the overworld “without interruption.”
This contrasts similar features we’ve seen in previous installments to the franchise, namely Skyward Sword. In the 2011 title, you could travel from the sky to the ground via the map. Although, this was not a feature that required the player’s control.
Bringing Sky Diving Under Control in Tears of the Kingdom
Aonuma and other developers have explained the importance of the all-new Sky Diving feature in depth, stating that they knew they wanted to expand the kingdom of Hyrule in the sequel to Breath of the Wild rather than create a new world.
Just like somewhere you know inside and out, we understand where everything is in Hyrule from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and because of that, we believed it was possible to create new gameplay. For this reason, in the initial proposal, we clearly stated “the setting will not change” as an important concept.
Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Director
Fujibayashi goes on to say that he wished to add Sky Diving to the franchise since Skyward Sword. It seems that the revolutionary feature is already well-received by franchise fans, who are weighing on on Reddit. Most users share the same excitement expressed by the game’s director, while others are intrigued by how Sky Diving will expand the kingdom of Hyrule beyond what we saw in Breath of the Wild.
As we near the highly anticipated release of Tears of the Kingdom this Friday, we’re excited to see how Sky Diving and other new features will play out. Read part one and part two of the Ask the Developer interview session on Nintendo’s website, and look for more updates in our The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hub.
