You can’t play as Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom, but you might be able to in the sequel

As much as fans might want her to be, Zelda is unfortunately not playable in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - but that doesn't mean she won't be in a future game.

Pretty much since the very first teaser trailer for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, fans have been speculating over whether Zelda herself will actually be playable in a main series game. The biggest piece of evidence for her being playable was a simple thing: she had a haircut (short hair means it wouldn't clip through her body). This wasn't helped by the fact that Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma acted oddly coy about whether or not she would be playable. Unfortunately for those hopeful she would be, she is in fact not playable. But Aonuma said that doesn't mean she won't be in a different game.

Speaking with Vanity Fair about the game, Aonuma shared his perspective on the possibility of making Zelda a playable character. "We feel like what takes most priority is this idea of gameplay," Aonuma said. "If it turns out that the particular gameplay we’re trying to bring to fruition would be best served by having Zelda take that role, then it’s possible that that could be a direction we could take. With that said, of course, because we are not sure what the next gameplay experience is going to be, we can’t say what Zelda’s next step is going to be."

Obviously this isn't an outright confirmation that she will be playable in the next game, or even any game after that, but it at least means Nintendo is open to the idea. Here's a little advice from me to you Nintendo: you should do it. She's arguably the main character of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, but she deserves the full Zelda experience - it's her name on the dang box after all!