Shrines Are Back in ‘Tears of the Kingdom,’ but How Many Do You Need To Find?
For a while leading up to Tears of the Kingdom, you would hear a vocal section of the Zelda fandom pining for a return of classic Legend of Zelda series dungeons instead of a rehash of the shrines in Breath of the Wild. But why not both? Yes, shrines are back in TotK. But don’t worry—there are also dungeons. Everyone wins!
Personally, I’m glad the shrines are back. Dammit, I liked the mini-puzzle-dungeon vibe! And I loved hunting for them! But, like much of Tears of the Kingdom, this will be a case of twisting what’s familiar from Breath of the Wild. Because Link’s abilities are different this time around, the shrine puzzles will be different. Even their exterior is different—they have mysterious green swirls around them now, which are notably similar in color to Link’s new arm. Even the shrine alarm sound is different! It’s notably more pleasant.
But how many shrines are there? After all, there were 120 in Breath of the Wild. Reports are still mixed, but they seem to point towards all 120 of those shrines carrying over to TotK. Which means I may need to bust out my first Breath of the Wild game save, just for the map. (Yeah, I found them all. Please, your applause isn’t necessary.)
A few reports claim that there will be around 150 shrines, but this claim is currently unsubstantiated. However, since TotK expands BotW‘s map into the sky—and perhaps even underground as well—adding a couple dozen more shrines seems feasible.
(featured image: Nintendo)
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