Being the largest game in
The Legend of Zelda series to date, the game has spawned no shortage of memes.
For memes about other games in the franchise, see here.
Please add entries in the following format:
- The meme. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The explanation behind the meme, if necessary.[[/labelnote]] ExplanationLike this.
- Further mutations and successor memes, if any.
- Rehydrated Ganondorf ExplanationThe E3 2019 reveal trailer for the game prominently featured an intimidating and desiccated undead corpse that is widely assumed to be Ganondorf. This inspired lots of fanart of a revived version of the corpse in the same skimpy clothes but with fully un-decomposed flesh, usually for Fanservice. Example 1
, 2. The meme was revived when the third trailer dropped, alongside art of a fully revived Ganondorf, when it showed the fully revived Ganondorf buff, handsome and basically shirtless. There were also jokes about how animator kekeflipnote accidentally predicted the plot of the game with his fan video, where Ganonbird literally rehydrates by stepping into a puddle and draining it instantly. - Zelda's haircut. ExplanationThe reveal trailer showed Zelda's hair to be much shorter than it was in Breath of the Wild, leading to theories and jokes about how and why it got cut so short. For example...
- Give us Playable Zelda, you cowards!ExplanationZelda's new short haircut in the game's original 2019 teaser trailer, combined with Link and Zelda exploring the underground catacombs together, made players hopeful that she would be playing a far more active role than in Breath of the Wild as a playable character. The fact that every teaser since would downplay Zelda's presence caused this to morph from pure speculation to a fandom demand, hence the "you cowards" part of the meme.
- Protagonist Zelda Explanation Plenty of fanart depicts Zelda in Link's place, Zonai arm and Master Sword included. However, people quickly realized that Link's TOTK outfit exposes the right side of his upper torso, which when applied to Zelda... is a different matter entirely; some depict her with a chest wrapping to cover up, but plenty don't. This became somewhat of a meme among artists and numerous fans wishing to have a playable Zelda.
- "Please, lend me your power!"ExplanationThis is what many fans interpret Zelda's last line at the end of the February 2023 trailer to be, which naturally leads to speculations if Zelda has finally been Promoted to Playable. This interpretation is quickly debunked by fans pointing out that the line is most likely "Please, lend him your power!", meaning Zelda is referring to Link and not herself. But the misinterpreted line itself has become a popular phrase to express the desire for Zelda to be playable.
- Punished "Venom" Link.ExplanationIn the E3 2021 trailer, Link is shown with a prosthetic arm after losing his right arm. Naturally, lots of MGSV memes came along with it.
- Everything always comes back to the Zonai.ExplanationThe Zonai, an enigmatic tribe responsible for many of the ancient ruins found in Breath of the Wild (and whose name is a Pun on the Japanese word "nazo" meaning "mystery/mysterious"), have been a subject of intense fan speculation ever since the sequel's first teaser, which showed Link and Zelda exploring a cave system filled with Zonai architecture. In the two year gap between the game's first and second trailers, theorists ran wild trying to figure out who the Zonai were, what happened to them, and what role they'd play in the story, while also trying to connect them to just about everything else in the series they could, long before they had any substantial information about them.
- "Is that a spiral? ZONAI CONFIRMED!"ExplanationOne motif that was commonly associated with the Zonai in Breath of the Wild was a spiral pattern, found carved into much of their architecture. Since spirals are also incredibly common throughout the Zelda series in general, fans started joking that every single instance of a spiral, no matter how innocuous, must have ties to the Zonai as a jab at how tenuous some of the Zonai theories were getting.
- "FI WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!"ExplanationUpon seeing the destroyed Master Sword in the delay announcement trailer, many fans expressed their concern about Fi, the spirit the resides in the Master Sword, with comments much like this one.
- Extending from the above, people drawing Fi's humanoid form with the rust and damage seen in the trailer.
- Skyward Sword Link beating the crap out of Breath of the Wild Link.ExplanationSkyward Sword is the game in which we are introduced to Fi as an Exposition Fairy, and that Link is the one who created the Master Sword from the Goddess Sword and had a very close bond with her. So it's agreed on that he'd be less than happy to see the Master Sword's current state.
- No wonder it was delayed. ExplanationThe day before the September 13, 2022 Nintendo Direct, it was announced that the Direct itself would not be streamed in the UK due to national mourning surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II. This Direct included the title reveal for Tears of the Kingdom, a fact which some viewed to be a direct contribution to the showcase's delay, citing it as Nintendo getting around some very unfortunate timing.
- Upon the reveal of the title, people were quick to call the game The Legend of Zelda: Tears for Fears as a play on the title.
- "Releasing 5 December, 2023" ExplanationBecause the UK livestream of the September 13, 2022 Nintendo Direct was cancelled out of respect for the death of Elizabeth II, British fans and streamers who still wanted to watch the Direct live had to watch the American version. In Britain (and most of the rest of the world), dates are ordered as Day/Month/Year, but Americans order it as Month/Day/Year — and the release date in the trailer said "5-12-2023". This left many Brits initially dismayed by the apparent 15 month wait before they realized that the game was actually releasing on May 12.
- "Surfin' Bird" ExplanationLink is shown crouched atop a bird-shaped glider as it flies in the 2022 trailer, leading many to recognize the unintentional Visual Pun.
- S U A V E M E N T E ExplanationOn 1 May 2023, almost two weeks before its intended release date, 12 May 2023, the entire game leaked on the Internet, meaning it could be played before its release date (see the game's Trivia tab), but among the legitimate copies floating around was an NSP file (the ROM format the Switch uses) that looked like the legitimate game at first glance, but was actually a Unity program consisting of TerminalMontage's "Cucui Ganon" video (basically an animation of Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time dancing in various locations set to a poorly made text-to-speech and MIDI rendition of Elvis Crespo's "Suavemente" with a Spanish text-to-speech voice reading out the lyrics) on a loop with an animation of Link's model from Breath of the Wild doing the "Orange Justice" dance from Fortnite overlaid on top. It also had all sorts of meme-related files in it to pad out the file size so people would think it was the real thing. In response to its surge in popularity following the leak, TerminalMontage followed it up with a sequel video, to the delight of many fans, and again with "Something About The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom".
- "The Legend of Zelda: Nuts & Bolts" ExplanationAfter the February 2023 trailer showed off Link driving what appeared to be several custom vehicles, many were quick to make a comparison between this game and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.
- "OH NO HE'S HOT!!!"ExplanationBy far the most common SpongeBob meme used in reference to Ganondorf's reveal in the final trailer for the game, in reference to how incredibly buff he is in this game.
- "Link, you must find me..." And the fans took that as a challenge.ExplanationThe final trailer for the game ends with a shot of Zelda on a platform overlooking Hyrule, urging Link to come and find her. The fandom quickly took her up on her request, with YouTuber Looygi Bros. in particular using the background landmarks to recreate the shots in Breath of the Wild and pinpoint her location as somewhere near the Temple of Time.
- Zelda's Mod.ExplanationLink's new power in this game to fuse things together to create new weapons and automations has gotten numerous comparisons to Garry's Mod. Due to using Breath of the Wild as base, many people have jokingly started to call it Zelda's Mod as a comparison.
- "Our last line of defense will be Link." ExplanationIn response to the part of the third trailer where Link is stated to be everyone's last hope, fans joke that Link might not be the best choice considering all the bizarre antics the player could get into throughout Breath of the Wild. This soon led to people making edits of the third trailer where, after this exchange happens, it cuts to Breath of the Wild footage of Link dying/hurting himself in increasingly ridiculous ways or by making increasingly convoluted and sometimes immature contraptions. An alternate trend has also appeared where the footage is of insanely high level play showing off intricate trick shots and combat techniques from players skilled enough to turn the game inside-out.
- The Saxophone ExplanationThe soundtrack for the third trailer (and likely for the game) unexpectedly uses a Saxophone for the score. Despite it being a bizarre instrument choice for a Zelda game, the saxophone section has become a fan favorite.
- "...and that was all you could do?" ExplanationThe game opens with a Curb-Stomp Battle where Ganondorf cripples Link's arm and shatters the Master Sword. Given that Rauru had proudly warned Ganondorf that Link and the Master Sword would be his doom, and considering Ganondorf is a Blood Knight who looked forward to the fight, the Demon King is rather disappointed. The shot of him saying this line while smugly raising an eyebrow is a popular "reaction meme" image.
- "I'd like nothing more than to smash the Demon King." ExplanationOriginally an innocent line from the Sage of Fire, many fans voiced they would also like to "smash" Ganondorf after seeing his new design.
- Rauru’s disgust at how Link uses his replacement arm. Explanation (Slightly NSFW) Rauru replaces Link’s arm with his own after Link’s is destroyed by Ganondorf. It took the dirtier-minded fans no time at all to joke about how Rauru would react to Link using his replacement arm to masturbate.
- Korok Torture Simulator ExplanationThe game allows you to weld the backpack-wearing Koroks to objects, so due to the fandom's opinion of them, videos that involve them getting hurt in creative ways (such as launching them into the stratosphere or crucifying them) have become popular on social media.
- Fallout: New Hyrule ExplanationSome players drew comparisons between players' treatment of Koroks and Caesar's Legion's treatment of prisoners in Fallout: New Vegas.
- Addison ExplanationAddison is an employee of Hudson's construction company, and he is periodically seen trying to erect signs advertising the business. Link is supposed to create an Ultrahand build to keep his sign from falling over so he can secure it in place, but some players do stuff like build the most elaborate contraption possible to accomplish the simple task, trap Addison within the build so he'd realistically have no way of securing the sign or leaving, or even attaching rockets to the build to launch the sign into the air.
- "These trees are trying to kill me. F#@k you nature."ExplanationThe Evermean is a new type of enemy that is basically a disguised tree, that will jump up when Link gets close, walk over, and start trying to slam him using its body. It didn't take ProJared fans long to make the connection to his Hydlide videos.
- "EVEN SOME OF THE TREES ARE ON GANON'S SIDE!!!" ExplanationSome fans immediately thought of this line from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, upon encountering the Evermeans.
- Korok Space Program ExplanationA play of Kerbal Space Program. The game introduces Koroks who need to be guided to their friends and can be attached to devices using Ultrahand. People have fun torturing the little guys, or in some cases, lauching them into space like the titular Kerbals. And, of course, people just HAD to make a logo or two for the Korok Space Program.
- If it works, it works ExplanationA phrase that’s been making the rounds on the community in regards to the more ridiculous constructs people have come up with. The level of freedom with ultrahand building has led to people making ridiculous, immature, or downright bizarre creations. This phrase has become the most common excuse.
- Zelda sus Explanation (spoiler)Near the end of the game, it's revealed that the "Zelda" seen throughout much of the game is actually a disguised Phantom Ganon being used by Ganondorf to sow discord and confusion throughout Hyrule, as well as to keep Link occupied while the real Ganondorf regained strength. Jokes about Zelda being the imposter were inevitable, especially since "imposter" is the exact term used by characters (such as Yunobo and Purah) to describe the false Zelda.
- In Breath of the Wild, some fans made jokes about Link using The World or Star Platinum with Stasis. Here, Rewind can be compared to Moody Blues.
- Zelda stole Link's house. ExplanationWhile it's implied they live together/Link gifted the house to her, Link's house in Hateno Village is repeatedly referred to as Zelda's house (at least in the English Translation), leading to fans joking that she stole it/used eminent domain to seize it. Other jokes have been made about her making him sleep outside/on the floor have also been made. The game having a sidequest about Link buying another house doesn't help matters either.
- Link is Tony Hawk. ExplanationThe fact that quite a few people fail to recognize Link even when they really should (such as people in Hateno) has led to the joke that Link has Tony Hawk levels of popularity; everyone knows who he is, but no one recognizes him when he's right in front of them. It helps that he can fuse stuff like minecarts to his shield to make a makeshift skateboard, plus the addition of rail grinding in the game.
- We miss the Guardians...Explanation (minor spoiler)Guardians, the most terrifying enemies from Breath of the Wild are absent in this game. Instead, the player can encounter Gloom Spawn, a writhing mass of hands with eyeballs in the palms that can appear out of the ground, turns the sky blood red when they approach, and will grab and squeeze Link when they get within range, poisoning him with Gloom. Not helping things is when the Gloom Spawn is defeated, Phantom Ganon spawns in to finish the job. When faced with the Gloom Spawn, a lot of players lament that they would much rather face a Guardian instead. And then someone had the bright idea to create a Guardian-Gloom Spawn hybrid.
- War Crime Simulator 2023ExplanationGiven the game lets you build anything with Zonai parts, people have already taken to building giant war machines to fight enemies with. With how effective some of them are, many joke that Tears for the Kingdom is just a war crime simulator.
- It runs on pure hatred/spite.ExplanationA way people often use to sum up their builds.
- Ascend is the new Cryonis.ExplanationJust like the Cryonis ability in Breath of the Wild, there is a prevalent tendency for players to constantly forget that the Ascend ability exists, and as a result are completely stumped whenever they encounter a situation where you're intended to use it.
- Ganondorf's deranged face◊Explanation (spoiler!)After he murders Sonia, Ganondorf's exaggerated grin has become an instant meme once fans saw how ridiculous and yet terrifying it is. It's used for various reactions on the Internet, most often to mock Zelda theories that have been debunked thanks to Tears of the Kingdom's release or just the idea that Ganondorf could actually be a good guy for once.
- Goron Crack EpidemicExplanationThe Gorons becoming addicted to marbled rock roast quickly drew comparisons from players (and Doobus Goobus) to the US crack epidemic of the 1980s. It doesn't help that their predicament doesn't seem as extreme as a deadly blizzard, sludge falling from the sky, or a horde of insectoid monsters combined with a sandstorm.
- This is the moment where Yunobo became Heisenbergoro.ExplanationPart of the reason the Marbled Rock Roast epidemic happens is because Yunobo ends up becoming Brainwashed and Crazy thanks to the mask he's given by the False Zelda manipulating him. Seeing the timid but well-meaning young Goron become what amounts to being a ruthless drug lord inevitably caused many fans to draw comparisons to Breaking Bad's main protagonist Walter White, and subsequently many jokes connecting this game to that series.
- BotW TulinExplanationTulin becoming an Ascended Extra in Tears of the Kingdom led to his design◊ in Breath of the Wild (with the image being taken from his character folder on This Very Wiki) becoming a meme due to how off-putting he looked back then.
- Sonia is a FurryExplanationQueen Sonia is a Hylian married to Rauru, a member of the ambiguously animalistic Zonai race. Naturally this led to jokes and memes about her being a furry.
- Similarly, "I'm not a furry but Mineru..."ExplanationIn the weeks since the game's launch, there have been a lot of players who have expressed bewilderment in public spaces that, although they don't consider themselves part of the furry fandom, they've found Mineru to be conventionally attractive. The jokes have run wild that Mineru has turned into something of a gateway to the broader furry fandom for a lot of players.
- Rhea if she wasn't a complete psychopath.ExplanationSonia's English voice actress is none other than Cherami Leigh, who previously voiced Rhea in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Both characters are authority figures, however Sonia is a tad less Ax-Crazy than Rhea (at least during the Crimson Flower route). Some have also made comparisons to Rhea from Sonia's calm, mature voice and Rhea's role as what is effectively the ruler of Fodlan.
- We can ride Zelda! Explanation (spoilers!)It's revealed in the final Dragon Tear that Zelda transformed into the divine Light Dragon, which Link can stand on. Dirty-minded players quickly began to make jokes about how Link can now "ride" Zelda in both senses of the word.
- "My first girlfriend turned into a dragon." "That's rough, buddy." Explanation (spoilers!)After learning that Zelda became the Light Dragon, many players drew comparisons to an Avatar scene where Sokka laments that his first girlfriend turned into the moon, swapping in Link for him and one of his companions for Zuko.
- "Would you still love me if I was a wyrm?" Explanation (spoilers!)A variation of the "Would you still love me if I was a worm?" meme. Fans joked that Zelda would ask Link this very question, either before or after her transformation.
- She's cuter as a dragon anyway.Explanation (spoilers!)When people discovered that the Light Dragon was actually a draconified Zelda, they wasted absolutely no time making designs and art of an anthropomorphized version of said draconic form. On top of that, this led to people lamenting that her transformation was entirely undone at the end of the game and that her decision to become a dragon should've still had permanent physical consequences, such as her still having a draconic form even after regaining a humanoid body. Of course, you can imagine people who espouse this opinion either aren't keen on the perceived Ass Pull reversion to status quo for Link and Zelda at the end, find anthro!Light Dragon Zelda to be cute/hot, or both.
- Why'd you do it?ExplanationOriginally a Mondegreen of Yunobo's line "I can do it!", this became popular as an unintentional What the Hell, Player? for subjecting Yunobo or other NPCs to Video Game Cruelty Potential.
- Goatse shrines.ExplanationThe new design of the shrines (resembling two hands tearing open a hole in the center) was noted to be more than a little reminiscent of Goatse.
- "Hi I'm Link, welcome to Jackass!"ExplanationWith how ridiculous some of the contraptions built can end up being plus the kinds of self-harm one can inflict on Link in the process of testing them out, a lot of fans have joked that the entire game is one gigantic Jackass simulator, with many stunts and contraptions being akin to the kind of stuff you'd see Johnny Knoxville and co. engage in.
- "Glory to Master Kohga."ExplanationA trend of social media posts in which fans pretend to be Yiga Clan members, proclaiming their love of bananas and their hatred of Link in various goofy ways, as one can see here.
- "Demon King? Secret stone?" Explanation with spoilersWhen you clear a temple, Link and his partner get an exposition from a Sage about the Demon King, the secret stones that the sages used, and the Imprisoning War. Link's partner will say "Demon King? Secret stone?" since they have no idea what those are. Due to the non linear nature of the game, the cutscenes are basically repeated for each dungeon cleared with little to no variance between them. Ergo, expect to hear "Demon King? Secret stone?" a lot.
- "Mommy" ExplanationWhile Purah's adult design existed more or less since Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, her new design for Tears of the Kingdom after she managed to reverse her de-aging back to her early twenties won her a lot of popularity, with the amount of fanart of her exploding, particularly memes where she tells Link to "call her Mommy".
- "[NPC]... my long shadow..." Explanation (spoiler!)When it was discovered that players can snatch NPCs from their programmed stationary locations with creative uses of various objects and Zonai devices, some posted gameplay videos under the context of Link taking them out for a romantic rendezvous, particularly with Purah and Paya. Jokes about the Light Dragon, aka Princess Zelda finding out and reacting accordingly ensued, including this memetic meltdown reaction from Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
- YorkExplanationWhen attempting to perform searches about the game using the abbreviation "TOTK", Google would autocorrect it to "York", leading people to find information about the English city rather than what they wanted. This in turn led to memes making fun of the phenomenon.
- Looney Tunes simulatorExplanationDue to the amount of ways players can build things, Looney Tunes inspired traps and contraptions aren’t that uncommon. There’s also the fact that a player’s constructs can fail spectacularly (a cart breaking at an inconvenient time, a Zonai device flipping on Link, etc.), which can lead to moments reminiscent of one of said cartoons.
- Forklift Certified Master KohgaExplanation (minor spoilers)In this game, Master Kohga is a recurring miniboss in the Depths, where he constructs various vehicles to attack Link with. As such, many fans have jokingly suggested that Master Kohga officially got a license to drive the Zelda equivalent of a forklift, amongst other things.
- "Lore accurate Link"ExplanationThis is the standard phrase used by fans to refer to stylish gameplay clips in which Link employs creative uses of his new magic to take out enemies.
- The Air BikeExplanationDespite not being an official Autobuild design in the game, the Air Bike, which is just two Fans with a Steering Stick between them, quickly became famous among fans for being a ridiculously effective vehicle, to the point where it's a common sight in fanart and fan animations.
