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Play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild first if you are new to this version of Hyrule or to open-world Zelda. It introduces the setting, traversal, shrines, cooking, scavenging and weapon durability in a relatively clean progression. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom can be played first—Nintendo designed its new ideas to be approachable—but it assumes that the return to Hyrule and its expanded systems will be more meaningful if you know the earlier game.
Choose Tears of the Kingdom first only when a larger, more experimental sandbox matters more to you than release-order context. The sequel stands on its own well enough for a newcomer, but it is a denser first lesson.
Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom at a glance
| Question | Breath of the Wild | Tears of the Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Release | March 3, 2017 | May 12, 2023 |
| Series position | Foundational open-world entry | Sequel to Breath of the Wild |
| Primary setting | A largely surface-level Hyrule explored through towers, shrines and environmental routes | A changed Hyrule expanded with sky islands and a cataclysm mystery |
| Core abilities | Traversal, environmental interaction, cooking and scavenging | New abilities, construction and more vertical exploration layered onto the earlier vocabulary |
| Best first-game quality | Clearer introduction to the open-world loop | Broader creative freedom and a more elaborate sandbox |
| Current hardware option | Switch 2 Edition launched June 5, 2025; Switch owners can purchase an upgrade pack | Switch 2 Edition launched June 5, 2025; Switch owners can purchase an upgrade pack |
Nintendo describes Tears of the Kingdom as a sequel, not a separate continuity. That does not make the first game mandatory, but it explains why release order is the safest recommendation for most players.
Why Breath of the Wild is the better starting point for most players
It establishes the world before the sequel changes it
In Breath of the Wild, Link awakens after a 100-year slumber in a Hyrule he no longer remembers. That premise gives you the same basic task as the protagonist: learn the landscape, identify what happened and decide where to go. The game introduces its history through exploration rather than requiring a detailed knowledge of earlier Zelda stories.
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Playing it first also gives the sequel’s returning locations, characters and references context. You will recognize what has changed and why a familiar place matters without needing to stop and reconstruct the earlier game’s events. This is the cleanest order for anyone who cares about narrative progression, even if they intend to keep the story mostly spoiler-free.
It teaches the foundational loop one system at a time
The first game asks you to read the environment, climb or glide toward a destination, investigate a shrine, cook what you have gathered and manage equipment that wears out. More than 100 shrines provide compact puzzles and repeatable opportunities to learn the game’s physics. Towers reveal parts of the map, while scavenging and experimentation turn ordinary terrain into a source of solutions.
Those systems are not isolated tutorials. They form a loop: exploration supplies ingredients and weapons; cooking and equipment management help you survive; shrines improve your capabilities; and improved capabilities open more routes. Because Breath of the Wild presents fewer overlapping tools, a first-time player can understand that loop before deciding how far to push it.
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Weapons wearing out can feel inconvenient, but it teaches you to treat equipment as temporary and to search for alternatives. Limited resources encourage experimentation instead of attachment to one ideal weapon. That expectation carries directly into the sequel, where a newcomer who already understands durability can concentrate on the new systems rather than wondering why the game keeps replacing gear.
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Can you start with Tears of the Kingdom?
Yes. You do not need to finish Breath of the Wild to follow the basic objective, learn the controls or enjoy the sequel’s main adventures. Nintendo producer Eiji Aonuma said that the new gameplay ideas were designed so they could be solved intuitively and that first-time players could feel comfortable entering the game. Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi likewise said the team worked to make it comfortable for both first-time players and people who had played the previous game.
That accessibility answers the practical question—“Can I start with Tears of the Kingdom?”—but not the preference question. The sequel returns to Hyrule with more systems active at once. It is easier to appreciate its changes when you remember the earlier map, tools and assumptions. Starting there is best for a player who wants maximum creative possibility immediately and accepts that some callbacks will have less impact.
How the two games differ for a first-time player
Narrative continuity
Breath of the Wild provides the cleanest story sequence because it introduces this version of Hyrule, Link’s lost memories and the calamity that shaped the present. You encounter the setting without an earlier game in this specific open-world line to explain.
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Tears of the Kingdom can stand alone, but it contains sequel references and assumes that Hyrule is a place with a recent history. You can understand its immediate mystery without knowing every detail of the first game; you simply lose some recognition and contrast. If your priority is seeing the world evolve in release order, begin with Breath of the Wild.
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Learning curve and system density
The first game has a comparatively legible set of verbs: move, climb, glide, fight, cook, collect, solve and upgrade. Its openness can be intimidating, yet the individual systems remain easy to identify.
The sequel retains that foundation and adds new abilities and construction-oriented experimentation. More possible interactions mean more ways to solve a problem, but also more menus, materials and decisions competing for your attention. A player who already knows how climbing, stamina, cooking and weapon replacement work can spend that attention on invention. A newcomer may need more time to decide which tool is appropriate before learning the underlying rule.
Exploration and scale
Breath of the Wild focuses on discovering a connected surface world. Towers help you read the terrain, shrines reward detours and environmental clues often point toward a solution without marking it explicitly. The pleasure comes from deciding whether a distant landmark, unusual rock formation or visible structure deserves your next stop.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchTears of the Kingdom broadens that model with islands floating in the sky and a changed Hyrule below. Vertical travel becomes a larger part of route planning, and the sequel’s cataclysm mystery gives the expanded spaces a distinct purpose. If you want the most elaborate sense of three-dimensional discovery from the outset, the sequel has the advantage; if you want to master surface navigation first, the original is clearer.
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Creativity versus clarity
Breath of the Wild leaves room for improvisation through physics, weather, terrain and the interaction of basic tools. Its rules are broad enough to reward unusual solutions without presenting as many construction decisions.
Tears of the Kingdom pushes experimentation further with new abilities and building possibilities. You can approach obstacles with more deliberate engineering and combine materials in ways the earlier game does not support. That is the sequel’s defining attraction, but it is also why it can feel busier as a first Zelda: the game is asking you to learn the world and invent within it at the same time.
Combat, equipment and survival habits
Both games expect you to rotate through weapons rather than preserve one item forever. In the first game, that expectation is introduced alongside scavenging, cooking and environmental problem-solving. You learn to pick up what is available, use it effectively and replace it when it breaks.
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The sequel gives experienced players more ways to turn materials and abilities into solutions. The underlying survival habits remain valuable: carry useful ingredients, watch your stamina, inspect the terrain and avoid treating a single weapon as irreplaceable. Starting with the original lets those habits become automatic before the sequel adds more choices.
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Choose your starting game by the experience you want
Start with Breath of the Wild when:
- This is your first open-world Zelda game.
- You want the clearest introduction to this Hyrule and its history.
- You prefer learning a smaller set of mechanics before adding more.
- You enjoy discovering a surface landscape through towers, shrines and environmental routes.
- You plan to play both and want the sequel’s changes to feel meaningful.
Start with Tears of the Kingdom when:
- You already know Breath of the Wild and want to revisit Hyrule in a changed form.
- Building, experimentation and solving problems with multiple tools are your main priorities.
- You care more about a larger vertical sandbox than release-order context.
- You are comfortable learning several interconnected systems at once.
- You want the newest design immediately and accept that some returning elements will have less emotional weight.
Choose based on your tolerance for spoilers
If you intend to play both stories and want every reveal to arrive in sequence, play Breath of the Wild first. Starting with the sequel will not make the first game unplayable, but it can reveal that the world and its characters have moved forward. The more sensitive you are to that kind of context, the stronger the case for release order.
What changes when you buy both games
A practical two-game plan
- Play Breath of the Wild far enough to understand its exploration, shrine, cooking and equipment loops. You do not need to complete every optional activity before moving on.
- Take a break if the open-world format starts to feel repetitive. A pause can make the sequel’s different pace and expanded toolkit easier to notice.
- Begin Tears of the Kingdom with the expectation that familiar geography may have changed. Treat the differences as part of the sequel rather than trying to reproduce the earlier route.
- Use the sequel’s new abilities experimentally. Your knowledge of the first game should reduce the basic learning burden, leaving more time to test creative solutions.
There is no requirement to transfer a save or complete a checklist in the first game. The value of playing in order is context and skill familiarity, not an account-level progression system.
Switch and Switch 2 buying considerations
Both games are Nintendo Switch products, and Nintendo released Switch 2 Editions for each on June 5, 2025. These editions include enhanced graphics and gameplay features. Owners of the original Switch versions can buy upgrade packs, but the exact offer depends on the edition and region, so confirm the terms shown for your account and retailer before paying.
When choosing a copy, check three details:
- Platform label: Make sure the listing identifies the Switch version or the Switch 2 Edition you intend to use.
- Upgrade eligibility: If you already own a Switch copy, verify whether the available upgrade pack applies to your edition and region.
- Current availability: Prices, stock and regional product codes change; confirm them at the time of purchase rather than relying on an old listing.
The hardware decision does not change the recommended play order. The original game remains the cleaner first lesson, while the Switch 2 Editions are the current enhanced options for compatible hardware.
Is Tears of the Kingdom better than Breath of the Wild?
There is no source-backed objective ranking between them, and “better” depends on what you value. Tears of the Kingdom is the stronger choice for a player who wants more tools, more vertical space and more elaborate creative problem-solving. Breath of the Wild is the stronger choice for someone who wants a more focused introduction, a quieter discovery loop and the first chapter of this Hyrule’s story.
The sequel’s greater number of possibilities does not erase the original’s strengths. Conversely, the original’s cleaner structure does not make the sequel unnecessarily complicated; its density is the point for players who enjoy experimentation. Treat the games as different emphases within one open-world design rather than as a simple quality ladder.
Bottom line for common situations
| Your situation | First game | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| New to open-world Zelda | Breath of the Wild | It teaches traversal, shrines, cooking, scavenging and durability with fewer simultaneous systems. |
| Know the first game and want more experimentation | Tears of the Kingdom | Its new abilities, construction and sky exploration build on familiar foundations. |
| Want the clearest story context | Breath of the Wild | It introduces this Hyrule before the sequel references its past. |
| Only have time for one and value the newest sandbox | Tears of the Kingdom | It is accessible to newcomers and offers the broader creative toolkit. |
| Buying both for a long-term playthrough | Breath of the Wild, then Tears of the Kingdom | The sequel’s changed world and expanded systems have greater impact in release order. |
For the typical first-time player on Switch, start with Breath of the Wild. Start with Tears of the Kingdom only when its construction-focused, vertically expanded sandbox is the feature you most want, and you are comfortable giving up some sequel context.
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