The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom fans have been waiting 1,430 days, but the next 24 hours are proving to be unbearable

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

We are hours away from getting our hands on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and fans are celebrating the end of a 1,430-day wait the only way they know how. 

You probably don't need me to tell you that May 12 is a very special day for The Legend of Zelda fans. This Friday marks the end of the almost four-year wait for Nintendo's Breath of the Wild sequel, Tears of the Kingdom. Fans have been counting down to this day in a variety of ways - including the fan who's been drawing bad Zelda comics for 900 days - but the wait is very almost over. 

It's almost bittersweet to see the wait come to an end. The Legend of Zelda community has been coming together to share their excitement for the game for the last few years now, and although they're about to all get what they've been waiting for, I can't help but miss just how chaotic the game's dedicated subreddit would become each time we'd get a new Tears of the Kingdom trailer or piece of artwork. 

That being said, the Zelda community hasn't let us down in those final 24 hours. Half of the world isn't even awake yet (at the time of writing) but there are still loads of countdown posts on the subreddit all patiently waiting for tomorrow to come. Since we're such fans of the Tears of the Kingdom subreddit, here are some of the best posts we've seen so far today. 

First up, we've got the classic meme that sees the grim reaper collecting the soul of Breath of the Wild ahead of Tears of the Kingdom's release. "Was I a good game?" Breath of the Wild asks before the grim reaper responds: "No… you were the best." Wow, that's got me weirdly emotional about a game's release. 

It was an honour. from r/Breath_of_the_Wild

Next up, we've found a meme that uses the Oscar Isaac and Timothée Chalamet scene from Dune, which has been swapped to feature Tears of the Kingdom and its players. "What if I don't live up to the hype?" the game asks, with Oscar Isaac-I mean the player replying with: "Then you'll be the only thing I needed you to be… A Zelda game." This one clearly hit home with a number of other Zelda fans, with one replying in the comments: "I feel this in my soul." 

We’re almost there from r/Breath_of_the_Wild

Finally, we also love the Zelda fans channeling the Majora's Mask on the "dawn of the first day" countdown for Tears of the Kingdom. This trend started at the 72 hours mark, then continued with 48 hours, and then 24 hours. "It's been a pleasure riding this hype wave with you all," one player says as they share the '24 hours remain' meme in the subreddit. "This is the post I've been waiting for," another fan responded. 

[MM] [TotK] 24 hours left! It's been a pleasure riding this hype wave with you all :) from r/zelda

Not ready to say goodbye to the hype? Here's when and where the last big Zelda Tears of the Kingdom gameplay showcase is streaming.  

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom screenshot of Link riding a horse across a vast field.
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