A burning question resting on fans’ minds since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom released is where all the Guardian tech disappeared to after Breath of the Wild‘s events. Although some time passed between installments, the Guardians’ omission feels odd, given their previous prevalence.
Now there’s an official answer given by Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, and it’s uneventful. He stated in an interview with Telegraph that the Guardians “disappeared after the Calamity was defeated (sealed).”
“All of the people of Hyrule also witnessed this, but there is no one who knows the mechanism or reason why they disappeared, and it is considered a mystery,” said Fujibayashi. “It is believed that since the Calamity disappeared, they also disappeared as their role had been fulfilled.”
Fujibayashi then acknowledged how common “mysterious occurrences and phenomena” are to Hyrule’s various races. It’s why nobody saw this as any cause for concern since odd events are just part of everyday life.
He finishes his in-world explanation by stating how many Hyrule residents accept that “ancient Sheikah technology” was responsible. Many also saw it as something not worth delving into. He concluded by mentioning how both titles’ civilizations are completely different, and the team based each title’s concepts on the respective civilizations.
On Tears of the Kingdom‘s design, Fujibayashi said the team aimed to give players an “exhilarating and happy experience” while exploring the Sky Islands. Meanwhile, the Depths were to provide “tension” to players exploring.
The official explanation for the Guardians’ disappearance in Zelda being that they just left and nobody cared is honestly hilarious. It’ll likely be a while before we see them again as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom won’t have any post-launch content.
