The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is impressive from the very beginning, but fails to keep that energy up until the end. TOTK builds on an expansively detailed system of physics and object interactions introduced by Breath of the Wild. Its gameplay offers unprecedented player freedom, its visuals are irresistibly gorgeous, and overall, it pushes the limits of what a Zelda game can be.

[Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for TOTK's ending.]Still, many facets of TOTK's late game were far from perfect. Its final boss is a little underdone, lacking any of the mechanics that made the rest of the game so interesting. Its best armor and shield are huge wastes of time to get, and become pretty much useless by the time the player gets them. And its post-game activities represent a missed opportunity of the sort that players have come to expect such a detailed, polished game like TOTK to take.

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Zelda: TOTK Should've Depicted A Post-Ganondorf World

As it stands, no one in TOTK seems to acknowledge when the player has defeated Ganondorf and returned peace to the world; the game basically flashes back to a pre-final-boss-battle state. The Gloom still blights the land, heavy boulders still fall from the sky islands onto innocent people, and the new monsters empowered by Ganondorf's resurrection are still milling about. Many NPCs still act like there's an imminent, existential threat to the world itself, even though living in fear is no longer necessary. The only thing that really changes is the star that appears on the player's save file, making TOTK's post-game feel more like an afterthought than the next stage of Zelda gameplay.

Zelda: TOTK Already Has The Perfect Setup For A Constructive Endgame

Instead of an apparently unchanged Hyrule, Zelda: TOTK's endgame could've depicted Link rebuilding a fractured Hyrule. Players are able to see just how much the world developed in between BOTW and TOTK - it'd be nice to participate in the post-Ganondorf cleanup effort directly in the sequel. Of course, TOTK already sets this up perfectly by giving Link supernatural constructive abilities in the form of Ultrahand and Fuse.

Imagine the kinds of side quests this Zelda: TOTK endgame could spawn: rebuilding houses crushed by falling rocks, or engineering cranes to lift the Ring Ruins from the Kakariko Village border hills. Players could even use Recall to undo some of the more recent damage. Characters like Purah and Robbie would likely participate in efforts to develop a substance that can clean the remaining Gloom off the ground, or build guardrails and bridges over treacherous chasms. Final monster cleanup efforts could make for some excellent endgame bosses, as players attempt to drive away powered-up Lynels who have taken over evacuated villages that people are preparing to reinhabit.

All in all, something like this would have a similar effect to TOTK's Tarrey Town quests, only on a grander scale. It might not be as epic as the final showdown with Ganondorf, but rebuilding the world takes effort, and would be exciting, too. It would also give the game a little further opportunity to characterize Link and Zelda outside their world-saving adventures, allowing them to humble themselves and put their boundless kindness on display.

Games Other Than Zelda: TOTK Have Already Executed This Concept Perfectly

The 2021 indie game Littlewood used a similar formula to this proposed TOTK post-game and met with great success. It takes place just after a great, RPG-esque hero has saved the world by defeating a dark wizard and decided to move into a picturesque, pixelated small town.

Gameplay takes on a Stardew Valley-like feel, with players planting crops, harvesting wood, collecting ore, catching bugs, reeling in fish, cooking delicious meals, et cetera. Slowly but surely, players rebuild the desolate fantasy town, erecting new structures like libraries and lumber mills to their hearts' desire and their daily tasks' ease. The townspeople will also give the player requests, which increase relationship meters and unlock new scenes. It'd be a mistake to expect mechanics this deep and varied from a Tears of the Kingdom endgame, but still, there's a well of inspiration waiting in Littlewood.

Another first-party Nintendo Switch came before TOTK and followed a similar, but distinct formula: 2017's Super Mario Odyssey. After the player defeats Bowser in what's effectively the game's final boss, the Kingdoms are demonstrably changed; characters move around, and players can visit them on their new worlds to find additional Power Moons. A few additional Kingdoms are even unlocked, and once players collect enough Power Moons, even more become available with even further Power Moons to collect.

The post-game seems to go on forever, but that's not a bad thing; players can hop in and out of it as they wish, and at least for a time, whenever they come back to it there'll be new content available. Instead of a similar concept, though, TOTK's post-game is limited to clearing out the last few side quests and tracking down all 152 shrines.

TOTK Would've Had To Fill In Some Plot Holes For This Post Game To Work

The biggest obstacle standing in the way of a post-Ganondorf post-game for TOTK, however, is the very nature of its ending. After defeating Ganondorf, Link gets his original arm back and loses his prosthetic one, which means he can no longer access all the powers the prosthetic arm granted him. A TOTK post-game where Link doesn't have access to Ultrahand or Recall would be dull and limiting, preventing him from completing the remaining shrines or even being a particularly effective builder. There's also no more Blood Moon after Link defeats Ganondorf, which means the supply of enemies for players to fight would be permanently depleted each time they beat down a Bokoblin.

In order to explain the alternatives for these things in a post-game, TOTK would have to invent some kind of awkward plot contrivance. That's not something the Zelda series has necessarily been opposed to in the past - the plot of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is the perfect example - but it's probably something best avoided in future installments.

All in all, there'll probably never be anything like this in a Zelda game. It's a cool idea that would really expand the world of TOTK, but seems impossible. Zelda games are usually too expansive to incorporate this kind of plot-focused, meaningful post-game; anything other than some combat trials or side quests would make the story drag on too long. For the time being, players who want to rebuild a shattered fantasy world will have to look to alternate titles like Littlewood or Super Mario Odyssey. But plot contrivances aside, there's always a chance Nintendo will incorporate the rebuilding of a post-Ganondorf world into a future DLC release for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.