Tears of the Kingdom has adorable Ocarina of Time Easter egg

We're flying high and diving low in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, as the much-hyped sequel to 2017's Breath of the Wild is finally here. Leaning hard into the idea of bigger is better, Tears of the Kingdom looks like it's surpassing BotW in every way, while fitting into the complex lore of the Zeldaverse.

We've come a long way from the top-down days of the OG Zelda in 1986, and just like Breath of the Wild had nods and ties to what's come before, Tears of the Kingdom has hidden tonne of Easter eggs in its epic runtime. Players have already found an Ocarina of Time Easter egg lurking in this new Hyrule.

Tears of the Kingdom has an Ocarina of Time Easter egg

While new additions like the massive undermap and the ability to craft weapons are pushing Tears of the Kingdom in a new direction, familiar features like horseriding and cooking are back in style. Much like you could create tas dishes to protect you from heat or cold, Link can cook up a storm with his trust pot.

In Breath of the Wild, Link hummed while cooking his favourite dishes, but in Tears of the Kingdom, he's (quite literally) changed his tune. Players have noticed that Link will hum famous songs from the franchise's past. In particular, there's the iconic "Saria's Song" from Ocarina of Time.

It's not the easiest Easter egg to spot, however, you can clearly hear the melody made famous by Saria and the Lost Woods. Some have heard other tunes, with the staple Zelda theme tune also being an option. Still, we're left thinking about poor Saria and her arc.

While Princess Zelda is obviously Link's one true love, that didn't stop him flirting his way around Hyrule. In Ocarina of Time alone, he made goo-goo eyes at Malon, Ruto, and Saria. Heading back to Ocarina of Time, Saria was the green-haired Kokori Link saved from the Forest Temple and awakened as the Forest Sage.

Is Tears of the Kingdom an Ocarina of Time sequel?

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Deep breath because we're diving deep into the confusing timeline of the Zelda games. Although 2011's Skyward Sword is the start of all stories chronologically, the timeline splits into three with Ocarina of Time. 

The "Hero is Defeated" option heads into A Link to the Past, the "Hero is Triumphant" child timeline leads to Majora's Mask, while the adult timeline branches into Wind Waker. Things then come back together for Breath of the Wild, with Tears of the Kingdom being a true sequel to this at the (current) end of the timeline. 

For those who played Breath of the Wild, you might've spotted familiar locales like Ranch Ruins being a futuristic version of Lon Lon Ranch or the crumbling remnants of the Temple of Time. Then again, with the 1998 N64 title being held as one of the best games of all time, we're not surprised its legacy lives on.