Final Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom trailer confirms Ganondorf's return

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
(Image credit: Nintendo)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's final trailer has rolled out ahead of launch next month on May 12, finally showing us our villain.

Earlier today on April 13 saw the release of the final trailer for Nintendo's highly-anticipated sequel, presented by series producer Eiji Aonuma. The brand new Tears of the Kingdom trailer finally confirm the return of Ganondorf, as well as Link and Zelda once again struggling to defeat him to secure the fate of Hyrule, this time for good.

This new Tears of the Kingdom finally sets up the story of the Breath of the Wild sequel, giving players some much-needed motivation for their exploits around Hyrule (something we touched upon after last month's gameplay trailer). We've seen plenty of gameplay and cinematic snippets from Tears of the Kingdom to date, but none that have set up the sequel's story like this.

This new trailer being story-driven gives it an undoubted resemblance to Breath of the Wild's launch trailer, which debuted in March 2017. The trailer quickly became beloved among Zelda fans for putting some of the more heart-wrenching moments front and centre with an awe-inspiring score, setting up the epic struggles of the Switch launch game.

Before Tears of the Kingdom's final trailer even aired today, many Zelda fans were anticipating the new trailer similar to the famed Breath of the Wild one above. Only time will tell as to whether this new trailer for the sequel ends up being remembered with the same reverence fans hold for Breath of the Wild's final pre-launch outing, but that's a seriously high bar to live up to.

If you're still looking to reserve your copy of Tears of the Kingdom before launch, or even bag that fancy Collector's Edition, you can head over to our full The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pre-order guide for more. Recent data from a Japanese retailer claimed Tears of the Kingdom pre-orders are outpacing Breath of the Wild's, which bodes incredibly well for Nintendo's sequel.

Check out our upcoming Switch games guide for a look ahead at everything else Nintendo players have to look forward to this year. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom screenshot of Link riding a horse across a vast field.
The best Zelda games of all time
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is at the front line of the debate over the Nintendo Switch 2's computing power, because if the Switch 1 can load three worlds at once, imagine what its sequel can do
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond screenshots showing Samus crouched in an action pose next to a Big in 2025 logo
23 years later, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is set to revitalize the bounty hunter on Switch, just as the original did on GameCube
A screenshot from Super Mario Odyssey showing Mario throwing Cappy in New Donk City.
As Nintendo remains quiet on Switch 2 lineup, retailer lists "New 3D Mario" and "Legend of Zelda Remake/Remaster" under 2025 games
Donkey Kong in newly shared gameplay of what seems to be mario kart 9
Switch 2 Mario Kart trailer reveals a whole new Donkey Kong seemingly inspired by the Mario movie: "DK ain't look right"
Zelda holding up a collected item in Echoes of Wisdom, with the screenshot framed by GamesRadar+'s Year in Review artwork
2024 was the year The Legend of Zelda lived up to its name, and the result was a bit like mixing rock salt and floral nectar
Latest in Action
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows will take upwards of 80 hours for completionists, creative director confirms, and Ubisoft is considering adding New Game+ post launch
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' worst feature is its "ridiculously poorly built UI," according to fans of the new action RPG – but there's already "a mod that fixes that"
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
I figured Assassin's Creed Shadows' Red Bull collab would just be some naff cosmetics, but it's actually a pair of surprisingly useful gameplay boons for Naoe and Yasuke
Fighting side-scrolling opponents in Absolum
Street of Rage 4's developer returns with Absolum – a fantasy flavored beat 'em up with a Hades twist
John Cena stares evilly while embracing Cody Rhodes
"We got heel Cena before GTA 6": Even John Cena himself is comparing the 20-year wait for his WWE heel turn to the 12-year wait for the next Grand Theft Auto
Two characters pointing at the camera in LA Noire
GTA developer Rockstar opens new Australian branch by acquiring the studio that's been working on its ports for "this past decade"
Latest in News
MobLand
First trailer for Guy Ritchie’s new crime drama sees Tom Hardy and Pierce Brosnan rule a brutal mafia empire
Ncuti Gatwa in Doctor Who season 2
Doctor Who fans think they've spotted a tease for surprise villains in new season 2 trailer
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 has an endgame problem, but a developer assures us "things are coming," they just can't say what yet because otherwise our expectations will be too high
inZOI Character Studio trailer showing a young woman with ginger-y long hair and a white baseball cap smiling, her hand against her chin
The Sims 4's hyper-realistic competitor inZOI will only "sort of" have sex – but I'm sure a Wicked Whims-style mod will take care of the rest
A screenshot of the title card for the upcoming DC show, Starfire.
James Gunn confirms that the Starfire animated TV show will be Elseworlds like Batman and Joker
Narset flowing in the air with waves of blue magic floating around her
MTG Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s autistic hero may be able to protect the multiverse but that doesn’t make her immune to sensory overload