The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is shaping up to be one of the most exciting entries in the franchise yet, and one of the most intriguing features of the game is the Ultrahand ability. With this new feature, players can pick up almost anything and stick them together to create fascinating and unique devices. The possibilities seem endless, and players can rotate found objects and add a seemingly unlimited number of Zonai devices to their creations.
Ultrahand
But there was one concern that many fans had about this new system: the potential that they would have to recreate these necessary constructs every time they wanted to cross a river or glide over a ravine. However, after a hands-on session with the game, we’re happy to report that there’s a way to streamline building with Ultrahand.
In Tears of the Kingdom, you can attach just about anything in any way, and the Zonai devices add a level of power and uniqueness to your creations. The devices are operated by a “battery” attached to Link, and some drain the battery faster than others depending on how powerful they are. Fans and Rockets, for example, can propel an object they’re attached to, but fans are slower and deplete the battery slowly, while rockets are faster and deplete the battery quickly.
New Abilities
We saw just a handful of these Zonai devices during our hands-on session, but we know that there will be many more to discover in the game. From Flame Emitters to Balloons, there are likely unique and interesting objects to be found in the world to attach them to. The possibilities for creating constructs that are both useful and cool looking are endless, and players can use sets of Wings and other objects to create monstrous flying devices, for example.
Recall is an exciting new feature in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that allows you to “rewind” any object’s movement, even if you’ve already manipulated it yourself. I found this particularly useful when I needed to empty out a reserve of water to get to a chest. By holding the floodgate up in the air for about 10 seconds and then “recalling” that motion for around 30 seconds, I had enough time to open the chest before the reserve filled back up.
Another feature that I’m really excited about is Fuse. This ability lets you combine objects with new Zonai devices, like a rocket, to create new weapons and shields. The possibilities for this feature seem nearly endless, and fusing two items together not only boosts its damage or defense but also extends its durability. For example, you can fuse a stone to a stick and instantly get a hammer to break through rocks with cracks in them.
On the other hand, Ascend might be a bit challenging to use at first. This ability allows Link to move up through any ceiling to get to the floor above. It freezes the action for a moment once you get to the top, giving you the chance to assess whether there are any enemies up above and retreat if necessary. Although I don’t have the instinct to “look up” in-game to see if there are ceilings above my head in Hyrule, this ability could get you to many hidden spots if you remember to use it.
The precise location of some of these Zonai devices on an object can make a huge difference, and it may take players a few tries to get fans or rockets positioned correctly to get going in the right direction. However, the good news is that players can quickly and easily recreate things they’ve previously built with Ultrahand, as long as they have the right materials to do so.
Overall, the new abilities add a new level of creativity and exploration to Tears of the Kingdom. Players can let their imaginations run wild and create unique and powerful devices that will help them in their adventures. With streamlined building and the ability to quickly recreate previous designs, players can spend less time building and more time exploring the vast and beautiful world of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
