Zelda Notes On Switch 2 Will Breathe New Life Into Tears of the Kingdom
The Switch 2 Nintendo Direct livestream on April 2 was jam-packed with hardware information, exclusive game reveals and third-party collaborations -- including information about Switch 2 upgrades for the Legend of Zelda games that essentially bookended the original Switch console's lifespan: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
With all of the hype surrounding these games, I couldn't blame you if you missed what seemed like a new minor feature buried within the Nintendo Switch App. Zelda Notes, as it's called, is compatible with the Switch 2 editions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, helping players navigate Hyrule more effectively, view their in-game achievements and access save data on the fly.
Watch this: Switch 2 Detailed: What You Need to Know
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Perhaps most importantly, Zelda Notes will allow the Tears of the Kingdom community to build a library of Ultrahand builds that anyone can import into their game.
The Switch 2 edition upgrades for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are free so long as you have a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. Otherwise, you'll have to shell out some money to take advantage of Zelda Notes when the Switch 2 launches on June 5.
Here's why this new Nintendo Switch App feature is such a big deal.
Making Ultrahand easy for everyone
From simple cars to complex flying machines, you'll be able to access any Ultrahand build you want with a single tap.
Nintendo/Screenshot by CNET
Forget the sky islands and the underground Depths: Ultrahand is the key selling point of Tears of the Kingdom. The Switch's Legend of Zelda games are about tackling problems creatively and giving the player complete agency over handling tricky situations.
The Ultrahand ability is the Platonic ideal of player freedom. As long as you possess the proper building blocks, you can Frankenstein them together into whatever abominable tool you please.
That doesn't mean Ultrahand has ever been easy or intuitive to use, though. And a lot of people just aren't imaginative or dextrous enough to engineer the massive mech suits, flying machines or dragons that go viral on Reddit. I know I'm not.
The Zelda Notes app ensures we no longer have to live vicariously through these skilled builders. Now, they can share their Ultrahand builds with a QR code and other players can import them directly into their game.
While the feature seems like a way to jot down some notes or view some stats on first glance, it's really the ultimate distribution of player freedom. Your average Tears of the Kingdom player will soon be able to open the Autobuild Sharing tab of Zelda Notes to play with brand-new vehicles and contraptions very soon -- the philosophy of this new app is very LittleBigPlanet-esque.
Item sharing, daily bonuses and other odds and ends
The voice memories feature will add much-appreciated lore to the Switch's mainline Zelda games.
Nintendo/Screenshot by CNET
Speaking of QR codes, the Zelda Notes app tries to promote a sense of community in another way as well. Players are able to create QR codes that share items like food, weapons and crafting parts when scanned. You're able to make deposits in a Zelda Notes deposit box for other players to claim when they're needed.
A new photo mode makes it easier for players to share their favorite Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom vistas, as well as any wacky moments they encounter in-game. QR codes for item and autobuild sharing can be stamped on these pictures as well.
Voice memories will expand upon the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom story, providing new contextual dialogue from key characters as you explore important locations throughout Hyrule.
The daily bonus spins a wheel that turns on a 24-hour boost for your save file. You can unlock improved meals, weapon repairs, increased energy cell regeneration or health recovery times and more.
Zelda Notes also keeps track of your compatible scanned amiibo figures, and will enable you to start using the amiibo twice in one day once you've scanned it for five separate daily bonuses.
All of these bonuses and extra features will be available for the Switch 2 editions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom when they're released on June 5.
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