What if, you used the fuse rune for the master sword to repair it? And as you said, the vials will be an upgrade, but it will upgrade what you can fuse?
Dang, I think this theory is actually really likely. It makes a lot of sense that you’d be able to drive and fly farther as you progress and collect vials.
Omg I think I know what we are going to be doing in this game. Speculative SPOILER ALERT AHEAD! . . . . . . . . We are going to have to upgrade this battery pack more and more throughout the game and we are going to build better and better flying vehicles and we are going to climb miles and miles into the air, much much further than any island we can see from looking into the sky. Fight bosses, discover new lands, new civilization up there, maybe even the final boss at the very top if not the underground.
@@MatthiasW97 It reminds me of a game called motherload. It would be cool once we got to 9999 coordinates up in the sky, we can go even higher and the coordinates will turn into ????
yes! it's the limit to air travel distance that stamina posed to climbing height in botw. I'm curious about how (or if!) we'll be increasing stamina and hearts this time
This is the high class mechanic theories that I watch you for. Far from the 1st time I've heard the Hip vials being connected to battery live since the gameplay video but my god did you really dive into, explore the Idea and provide supporting evidence. I would be supprised if the game deviates from your prediction by more than a hair.
Oh yeah, I am DEFINITELY not the first to make the connection to a battery system. Not even close. But I was always sceptical about the idea that they either power Link's new abilities, or store them in some way. It seemed kinda clunky from a gameplay perspective. Imagine having to wait for the battery to fill back up every time you want to fuse weapons, glue things together or jump through the ceiling, haha.
Okay, calling it. This will be 99% if not 100% true. Everything about this makes so much sense. God, with every video that you guys make on here I'm getting more excited for this game. It's only a month but it seems like forever.
rock solid theory tbh. I was gonna say it seemed weird to put your batteries on link's hip when it could have made more sense to do that with a more important upgradeable thing like hearts or stamina, but then I realized you can pretty much check your hearts or stamina capacity at any point with a quick glance to the UI or a quick press of the run button, but to check your max battery capacity, you'd have to find a machine part to turn on or maybe dive into your pause menu and look for it. the vials let you just glance at link's hip
I also speculated that it was basically the 'stamina wheel' or 'heart containers' for the vehicles. Im glad to see it articulated so well. I have a different theory about the Master Sword however; I think it was broken in order to encourage the player to fuse it with other objects. Basically it's now the "Master Handle" and you can create your own pseudo "Master Spear" or "Master Axe". The handle might have infinite durability but the rest of the weapon won't.
I like to believe that it's a battery for ultrahands power, and the more vials you collect, you can use fans and wheels for longer, allowing you to reach new spaces! Edit: Whoops, just got to the point of the video where you talked about it, but I do have a theory. There are seven tears, and link has seven missing vials. Maybe getting a tear gives you another vial!
This is exactly what I've been thinking! If they are dungeon rewards, it kind of also makes sense with the concept of the "tears" of the Kingdom--they're essentially a massive energy source, which an ancient civilization like the Zonai would definitely revere and want to harness, especially since it appears that their civilization is built on this green energy. Plus, that ties directly into limiting progression to dungeon completion like the traditional Zelda games do, without relying on particular items that are required to access certain spots, which would limit the players creativity and force the game into a more linear progression. Rather, without the batteries, we're forced to stay within a particular altitude band that is limited by the max height of the Recall ability. The more batteries you get, the more progression. When you think about it, its the perfect medium between BotW's true open world non-linear progression and the more traditional dungeon-style format that fans have been asking for.
Yeah, you wanted open-world? Great, sea level is completely open to you! Oh, that’s not enough, and you want the traditional dungeons, too?! Fine, then the sky will be more linear… the harder bosses/dungeons will be at higher altitudes, so you can’t accidentally stumble into them in the early game.
I really hope you are on the money with this one! It would be a perfect Dungeon reward, and brings back a bit of the classic linearity to contrast the open world!
The problem with this is that in the ascend patent there is ankention of no height restrictions. Meaning you could potentially ascend to the highest of skylands if you are standing right below them..
@@jaredponder4149 that may be the case for the technology overall, but I would be surprised if they actually implemented it that way. otherwise...what's the point of having the islands in the sky? and so far apart? it doesn't make sense from a game design perspective to make it that easy.
I agree that the vials probably aren't abilities, but remember that we never saw more than 1 ability used between cuts. If Aonuma was clever he may have used different save files between each ability, assuming the abilities, like the Sheikah runes, can be obtained in any order on the Sky Great Plateau. That way he only ever had 1 ability, correlating to 1 vial, at a time.
To add on to what you’ve said, I think the vials will be permanent upgrades you can get throughout the story, and the big glowing thing on the car is a temporary battery that you can buy from the battery shops. Once depleted, they are gone, allowing you to have more battery early in the game, but in a limited capacity so as to keep that sense of progression
You'll also notice that the battery drains much faster as soon as the raft is out of the water. The battery drains slowly, even though all 4 fans are on, as long as it's in the water. I wonder what'll determine when and how battery life decreases faster or slower. You'd think water resistance would demand more battery life than air resistence. Then again floating upwards with 4 fans may be easier than lifting it into the air altogether. It seems to be quite the intricate, improved physics engine, more so than BotW was.
That is a very solid catch! I didn't even think of that. As soon as it loses it's boyancy, the battery get's smacked, haha. And you're right, this game will no doubt have a crazy amount of logic and details when it comes to the physics. BotW already did an amazing job with the chemistry engine, but this game will be next level ^^
This theory makes a ton of sense for the pacing of the game progression. I feel like it would be earn tear, boom new vial, now you can explore a little further each time you earn a tear/vial
I think that it is more complicated than tears equaling vials. They look nothing alike, with the vials being green stones and the tears being either golden or white. I think it is more likely that vials are acquired in a different manner than the tears.
Solid theory! Could see these being done in a way where you get a battery at the end of a dungeon, each one giving you more battery life and allowing you to travel further/higher, to the next dungeon. God I hope we get a old fashion Link vs Gannondorf fighter in the end like in windwaker and twillight princess
I like the idea of having to spend the battery to use the damaged Master sword. This would mean the sword itself won't break, but you can't keep using all the time either.
I actually also really like this concept, it seems pretty likely. Also, if this is the case, I have an idea for a (small) cutscene that might be in Tears of the Kingdom that references Breath of the Wild. Remember how in Breath of the Wild, having the Master Sword equipped while entering the Calamity Ganon fight changed the cutscene slightly by having Link draw the Master Sword, which glows bright blue shortly after being drawn? Well, in Tears of the Kingdom, we could have something similar to that; if you have the Master Sword equipped while entering the final boss fight, Link could draw the Master Sword in its broken form and when it reaches his side, the Zonai energy part of it would ignite before the boss fight started. Again, just a small cutscene reference that I think will make it into the game.
I think it's also a good way to use the fuse mechanic, possibly can use the Master sword as a fused weapon with special results but it also has a energy use. Pretty much making strong but short lived ancient weapons from BOTW. I like your idea more but it would be weird to introduce a whole new system and not have the Master sword be used with it in some way.
The art book actually shows that these "vials" are not liquid, but solid discs that slot onto a central pole. Each section has 5 discs and there are 8 sections so 40 overall - 40 things to collect? But I feel like MM already knew that judging by the design of his 3D model 👀
I did, but I promised my audience not to show or talk about the leaks, so I had to work around them ^^ It is worth noting that the artbook mostly consists of concept art. There's even a little footnote that states that some things in the book may not represent their in-game equivilant. In the footage you clearly see only 3 discs, so maybe they reduced the amount from 5 to 3 later on. But yeah, they are indeed solid ;)
@@MonsterMaze I'm glad I looked at these comments first, as I was just buzzing with the same info - I absolutely love that most people have avoided the artbook, and it's really fun to watch your videos knowing the "extra" things you know!
When they fused the stick to the Boulder th rock got smaller, so - even though it wouldn't be bc of fusing - I wondered if the vials maybe could get smaller when you put it on the belt? meaning the one on the car is the same vial but then I thought, what if an unseen hand ability you get later is miniaturization? And you could shribk objects to make them easie to carry. But THEN I thought, what if you could miniaturize yourself??! and interact with Picori, or just experience Hyrule from a new angle? Obviously the fuse turning a rock into something small enough to wield doesn't dictate or even suggest this will be an ability, but it's cool to think about
So the viles are the equivalent to Links stamina wheel, but for machines, and can be upgraded for extended use. Not a bad theory. This also implies upgrading the power meter would come into play for both puzzles and possibly required for certain main quests (like needing 13 hearts to pull the Master Sword). Perhaps collecting all eight viles means the Master Sword becomes usable. It looks like Link has it early game, but it's useless and broken. Requiring all eight power viles to actually use the sword - pretty on point for a Zelda game.
I hope it limits us, forcing closed off areas to exist and thus creating a nice progression route. Hope also as we unlock these, that we are able to somehow interact with hopeful dungeons with specific abilities
The thing about the master sword being partially made of Zonai tech is what I've been saying all along, I bet we're even gonna use Zonai charges to power it.
This was my theory exactly, and to increase the vial count it would make sense to be a reward like the stamina vessels from the original for completing shrines
im really hoping that the stuff like the flamethrower and cannon are permanant items used for fusing. I think that would be a great way to incorporate some semblance of classic Zelda items. Have items that can be fused and unfused from objects without destroying the item and these give some sort of special effect. Like a hookshot could easily be something you fuse to a shield or something like that. I'm also thinking that if bombs are in the game(it would be a shame if they werent) that they will be tied to fusing in some way, like maybe you have to fuse 2 items together to make a bomb
I think you get them from the shrines in this game or the spirals of green energy. Perhaps they give you spirit orbs and then you have the option to upgrade hearts, stamina, or zonai energy.
Possible for sure! The only concern I have is that it would require an incredible amount of "shrines" if you want to be able to max out everything. In BotW you couldn't max out both the stamina wheel and hearts in the base game, even with 120 shrines. You had to choose either max hearts or max stamina. So having 3 choices now could be an issue. You'd either need a lot of shrines, or they need to reduce the amount of spirit orbs necessary for the upgrade ^^
@@portiac6097 in order for them to be quest rewards, which is possible, there would have to be a logical explanation as to why sidequests reward the player wiht more charges on the vial. Theres no reason to think average hylians would have access to zonai energy charges, so the vials would either be recieved through the main quest or quests given by residents of the sky islands, such as friendly constructs maybe giving these quests.
This by far has been my favorite theory for the vials on Link's hip and its nice seeing someone go deep in detail about it. The idea that they are rechargeable batteries and not a sort of "magic meter" fits better, since Nintendo has practically moved away from magic meters in Hyrule since TP in 3D Zelda games.
My standing theory is that the strange green capsule shown on the car link drove in one of the trailers is actually a battery for machinery. The vials on links hip probably power his own abilities specifically, or zonal devices which link uses. That, or each vial is a new power, and he slots them into his arm to switch powers. We’ve never seen link switch powers yet, so it’s possible there’s a dedicated animation for that.
It's like stamina 2.0. I can see leap-frogging from skisland to skisland to reach the higher ones. Likely getting additional containers from Zonai shrines, which I think will replace Sheikah shrines.
I mean, pretty obvious if you ask me. As for the battery icon, I would guess it to be a shop where you can purchase Zonai parts; wheels, battery tanks, etc. Or maybe as said, a place to exchange materials to get battery upgrades as I doubt that system will ever be able to have the ability to fly across the whole map. Progression is going to be a big part of this game and it's vital that they nail it after a game where you can go straight to the last boss.
Oh wow thanks for sharing my graphics!! This is an awesome video as always - the animation of the battery system you put together was such a helpful explanation!! 🎶 Zoooonaaaaiii confirmedddd 🎶
PS - Also realized looking at your build of the gadget how much the top looks like an eye… would make a convincing case for the vials to be the “tears”!
I think when you repair the master sword with some kinda zonai energy, you'll be allowed to fuse things to it like other weapons. When it runs out of energy, the tip of the sword will vanish, and what you fused to it disappear as well, allowing for it to be balanced the same way other weapons are without arbitrarily deleting your fused items with no in-universe explanation.
I have come from the future to confirm that you have this 100% correct! Excellent job on your analysis! Well, barring the Master Sword, but still great!
To add to the theory, it seems like the battery icon on the map is similar to a shop or stable... Its probably similar to BotW finding all the Great Fairies. The starting island gives you the first one but only has the one in stock or to give you, then you have to find each shop to get another battery. So no matter where you explore in the sky you have the potential to get the battery upgrades.
I've been saying this since the Battery Gauge popped up! I was thinking, "What? What's the point if you have to let the batteries recharge every couple seconds?!" Then it occurred to me, that mechanic is most likely not strictly _for_ vehicle building. There could be puzzles in dungeons, quests linked to making non-powered structures, like towers and forts, opportunities in battle, or possibly horse drawn vehicles, like chariots or carriages using UltraHand in the early game. Then, once you acquire more vials, it actually becomes usable in building cars, scooters, airplanes or even possibly stationary powered stuff, like a conveyor belt, etc. in the end game🔋⚔🚁🏡🏹🗼
I feel like the vials are the power source to the glove, while the glove is just a conduit. Also that the vials aren't just a magic meter, but a refilling magic meter. It would make sense to limit these seemingly ridiculously OP abilities to a certain rate a minute. Edit: at least that's what I thought before I heard your theory. That fits perfectly!
The theory was the same thing I was thinking that it was tied to the battery power because with how fast it runs out when he tired to go up you'd need some kind of upgrade to make it last longer so you can reach higher areas or travel longer
This would make sense to lock link out of late game islands. It would also have to extend the recall length so that he can't just skip the vials due to recall.
As a person that came back to Nintendo systems for the Switch, after only playing the NES, getting this hype and seeing this come to life is awesome! Can’t wait to play TOTK
I love the idea of this. You get the Sheikah Slate-equivalent abilities somewhere near the start, same as BotW, but then you get Zonai-powered items throughout the game whose charge is tied to the battery, a la Link Between Worlds. Anything to give some item progression would be awesome, and I think that could be so cool. Good ideas here, I totally forgot about the vials lol
Interesting theory. There are some serious issues with it though. 1) we already saw Zonai batteries that you can attach to vehicles in the previous trailer which would render vials obsolete 2) we noticed that when Link adds more objects to a build, the battery life actually increases, meaning that the energy is coming from the tech and not from Link's vials.
One thing I noticed in the raft was that while the propellers were still touching the water, the battery drainage wasn't that high. But the moment the raft takes off the drainage increases dramatically.
I'm discovering your channel after the podcast appearance. I'm shocked at how good all of you Zelda content creators are, but this video being pinpoint accurate is ridiculous.
Thank you! I modelled the gadget in Blender. I wanted something appealing to show in between gameplay and trailer footage, since there's not a lot of good footage of this device ^^
I'm glad a powerful Zelda YT-er has the same idea as I do about Link's battery 😊 As always, your content is just top notch! Keep doing what you do, MM!
I really like your speaking style. There are way too many copycat TH-camrs who sound the exact same, making the same vocal inflections, same gags, same awkward pauses and “confused looks”. But you are very comfortable and interesting to listen to. You match the content you speak of. Thank you. 😎👍
This one feels so rock solid I would be shocked if it wasn't true. One thing with the battery usage when you mentioned the number of fans increasing power consumption, why in that case would the 2 fan boat Link makes drain so much slower than the single fan facing upwards that Aounuma demonstrates shortly prior?
I have an alternate theory , the Vials are for saving vehicles so you dont have to build them again and again Edit: Sorry, now after watching the Video yours makes a lot more sense , but i hope that when you get the 7th Upgrade the Batteries are limitless , like an Reward at the End of the game so you can Travel to infinite and beyond or something
Not that it’s a big deal but one minor correction at 5:45. Unlike the Stamina Wheel or the Rune Recharge wheel, the Battery is not tied to link but rather statically placed on the screen it doesn’t move no matter what is happening on screen. Which doesn’t disprove but it could also imply it’s not entirely dependent upon link. It could instead show the overall power of all connected devices because having 4 battery icons display on the screen is way too much visual clutter.
Zonaaaiiiiiiii !!! I love love LOVE your thinking on the vials.. something had been tickling the back of my mind on this line since seeing the battery icon on the fan activation and the battery location-marker minimap in the gameplay showcase, and you've articulated it beautifully! I do think the vials are batteries in the way you describe and are possibly conceptually tied to the 'Tears of the Kingdom', possibly granted as rewards for beating hypothetical dungeons, or otherwise milestones in progression (seems reasonable considering there is one vial in the gameplay showcase and four in the earlier trailer, with the former taking place earlier in the game than the latter). How that ties in with the Battery Shop on the map though.. I can't wait to discover! Mad props for your renders also! :)
The reason the bar depletes faster with the four fans is not because there are more, but because it left the water. Making a flying machine will most likely use more energy
Only thing I would add about the raft and the battery: The battery doesn't drain faster than the boat. When he turns on the power for the fans, you can see they use the same amount of energy as the boat. However, as with much of the physics engine in this game (most notably climbing) you use more energy for more difficult tasks. Once the raft lists out of the water, it would naturally have more strain on the battery, causing the battery to deplete faster. So we actually see 2 different stress levels on the battery, which is why it changes like it does.
The fact that the battery and the vials both have 3 segments is a pretty clear indicator to me that you're right. At this point I would be extremely surprised if that wasn't what the vials were.
Agreed! 100%. The battery icon is the vials. It only makes sense. It basically just like the stamina wheels. You could even think of it as being like the magic meter.
Likely though another that's been tossed around is that it's Recall. Basically Recall is a different style of ability than Ultrahand, Fuse, and Ascend, this combined with the other similar symbols found on the themed joy-cons and in the pin set implies there're more of these and that by having one vial Link would only be able to access Recall, but by collecting more from say dungeons, he'd get more powers.
Side thought, but I hope they don’t completely get rid of Shiekah Tech in Tears. It looks like they are, but I feel it’d be a disservice to get rid of all the Shrines, Guardians, and Divine Beasts. I just think it’d be cool if we could fuse a Shiekah Chainsaw with a Zonai Flamethrower. I mean considering how prevalent fusing is in this game, and how the Master Sword is appearing to get Zonai Modifications while itself being Shiekah Tech (cause of the Trial of the Sword and its color scheme), I think that’ll be the case, but you can’t be too sure.
Something worth noting, the raft powered by 4 fans actually has normal battery depletion rate, but the moment the vehicle leaves the water the battery usage skyrockets, so it seems it might not be what you use but how you use it that determines the battery speed
Now this is a video I can stand behind. This is how you do tears of the kingdom videos. When I first saw the battery gauge I knew it could be upgraded, which hopefully means even more shrines then in breath of the wild. I wonder how long it’ll be until somebody copies your theory and makes their own video with it?
Zonai confiiiiiirmed!
Also, this theory turned out great! Wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being true ^_^
Zonai confirmed.
Hi
@@bobbyweeeee6308 CRIMINAL BOT
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What if, you used the fuse rune for the master sword to repair it? And as you said, the vials will be an upgrade, but it will upgrade what you can fuse?
Dang, I think this theory is actually really likely. It makes a lot of sense that you’d be able to drive and fly farther as you progress and collect vials.
Yeah, plus the vials are almost identical to the battery on the car...just different sizes.
Omg I think I know what we are going to be doing in this game. Speculative SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!
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We are going to have to upgrade this battery pack more and more throughout the game and we are going to build better and better flying vehicles and we are going to climb miles and miles into the air, much much further than any island we can see from looking into the sky. Fight bosses, discover new lands, new civilization up there, maybe even the final boss at the very top if not the underground.
@@shesaidbaby3820 would be pretty bad ass. Like Skyward Sword was in my imagination when it got announced
@@MatthiasW97 It reminds me of a game called motherload. It would be cool once we got to 9999 coordinates up in the sky, we can go even higher and the coordinates will turn into ????
yes! it's the limit to air travel distance that stamina posed to climbing height in botw. I'm curious about how (or if!) we'll be increasing stamina and hearts this time
The zonai confirmed part quite literally had me in tears 😂
Were they Of the Kingdom?
@@kalemstiles3456 Haha! Beat me to it!
My singing was a bit off-key though xD
Yes
@@kalemstiles3456 I walked right into that one 😂
People don't appreciate enough the renders he makes for his videos, amazing work!
It would be very difficult to know for sure if people appreciate it enough or not
@@LinksQuest ☝🤓
@@LinksQuest ☝️🤓
Have a great week everyone!
You too!
oh my gaaaah! is that 3 zonai swirls?!?!?!?!
Oh dude you are 3000% correct the vials on his hip are the amount of energy he has to run the devices
Awesome video 😊
I heard about this video
This is the high class mechanic theories that I watch you for. Far from the 1st time I've heard the Hip vials being connected to battery live since the gameplay video but my god did you really dive into, explore the Idea and provide supporting evidence. I would be supprised if the game deviates from your prediction by more than a hair.
Oh yeah, I am DEFINITELY not the first to make the connection to a battery system. Not even close. But I was always sceptical about the idea that they either power Link's new abilities, or store them in some way. It seemed kinda clunky from a gameplay perspective. Imagine having to wait for the battery to fill back up every time you want to fuse weapons, glue things together or jump through the ceiling, haha.
0:09 played inside everyones head when we saw the zonai charge
That was an incredible open. I’m going to be singing “Zonai Confirmed” until release day now 😂
Great. More reason to dip out of the Zelda "community".
@@cbalan777 ok dude. more for the rest of us then!
yes it just made my day with that Tim and Eric edit! lolll
@@jakethesnakedrummer I guess so. Such a shame though.
@@cbalan777 I've never seen someone so upset about something so inconsequential
Okay, calling it. This will be 99% if not 100% true. Everything about this makes so much sense. God, with every video that you guys make on here I'm getting more excited for this game. It's only a month but it seems like forever.
Gotta love the first 30 seconds😂
rock solid theory tbh. I was gonna say it seemed weird to put your batteries on link's hip when it could have made more sense to do that with a more important upgradeable thing like hearts or stamina, but then I realized you can pretty much check your hearts or stamina capacity at any point with a quick glance to the UI or a quick press of the run button, but to check your max battery capacity, you'd have to find a machine part to turn on or maybe dive into your pause menu and look for it. the vials let you just glance at link's hip
I also speculated that it was basically the 'stamina wheel' or 'heart containers' for the vehicles. Im glad to see it articulated so well. I have a different theory about the Master Sword however; I think it was broken in order to encourage the player to fuse it with other objects. Basically it's now the "Master Handle" and you can create your own pseudo "Master Spear" or "Master Axe". The handle might have infinite durability but the rest of the weapon won't.
the Master Hilt is fantastic- as soon as you get fuse, you'll never be without a potential weapon.
We can finally make the master torch
LET'S GOOO NEW VIDEO OF MONSTER MAZE A VERY DELICIOUS VIDEO TO APPRECIATE!!!
I like to believe that it's a battery for ultrahands power, and the more vials you collect, you can use fans and wheels for longer, allowing you to reach new spaces! Edit: Whoops, just got to the point of the video where you talked about it, but I do have a theory. There are seven tears, and link has seven missing vials. Maybe getting a tear gives you another vial!
You might be onto something there!
It would be cooler if we got those vials from shrines and heartpieces from dungeons and open world.
This is exactly what I've been thinking! If they are dungeon rewards, it kind of also makes sense with the concept of the "tears" of the Kingdom--they're essentially a massive energy source, which an ancient civilization like the Zonai would definitely revere and want to harness, especially since it appears that their civilization is built on this green energy.
Plus, that ties directly into limiting progression to dungeon completion like the traditional Zelda games do, without relying on particular items that are required to access certain spots, which would limit the players creativity and force the game into a more linear progression. Rather, without the batteries, we're forced to stay within a particular altitude band that is limited by the max height of the Recall ability. The more batteries you get, the more progression.
When you think about it, its the perfect medium between BotW's true open world non-linear progression and the more traditional dungeon-style format that fans have been asking for.
Yeah, you wanted open-world? Great, sea level is completely open to you! Oh, that’s not enough, and you want the traditional dungeons, too?! Fine, then the sky will be more linear… the harder bosses/dungeons will be at higher altitudes, so you can’t accidentally stumble into them in the early game.
I really hope you are on the money with this one! It would be a perfect Dungeon reward, and brings back a bit of the classic linearity to contrast the open world!
more evidence for my theory that we will end up in space for the final dungeon/boss in the game
The problem with this is that in the ascend patent there is ankention of no height restrictions. Meaning you could potentially ascend to the highest of skylands if you are standing right below them..
@@jaredponder4149 that may be the case for the technology overall, but I would be surprised if they actually implemented it that way. otherwise...what's the point of having the islands in the sky? and so far apart? it doesn't make sense from a game design perspective to make it that easy.
I agree that the vials probably aren't abilities, but remember that we never saw more than 1 ability used between cuts. If Aonuma was clever he may have used different save files between each ability, assuming the abilities, like the Sheikah runes, can be obtained in any order on the Sky Great Plateau. That way he only ever had 1 ability, correlating to 1 vial, at a time.
Hmm, I don't think that's a likely theory, but I do suppose it is a possibility. I'm gonna bet on the battery theory, but keep yours in mind
To add on to what you’ve said, I think the vials will be permanent upgrades you can get throughout the story, and the big glowing thing on the car is a temporary battery that you can buy from the battery shops. Once depleted, they are gone, allowing you to have more battery early in the game, but in a limited capacity so as to keep that sense of progression
You'll also notice that the battery drains much faster as soon as the raft is out of the water. The battery drains slowly, even though all 4 fans are on, as long as it's in the water.
I wonder what'll determine when and how battery life decreases faster or slower. You'd think water resistance would demand more battery life than air resistence.
Then again floating upwards with 4 fans may be easier than lifting it into the air altogether.
It seems to be quite the intricate, improved physics engine, more so than BotW was.
That is a very solid catch! I didn't even think of that. As soon as it loses it's boyancy, the battery get's smacked, haha. And you're right, this game will no doubt have a crazy amount of logic and details when it comes to the physics. BotW already did an amazing job with the chemistry engine, but this game will be next level ^^
This theory makes a ton of sense for the pacing of the game progression. I feel like it would be earn tear, boom new vial, now you can explore a little further each time you earn a tear/vial
I think that it is more complicated than tears equaling vials. They look nothing alike, with the vials being green stones and the tears being either golden or white. I think it is more likely that vials are acquired in a different manner than the tears.
Solid theory! Could see these being done in a way where you get a battery at the end of a dungeon, each one giving you more battery life and allowing you to travel further/higher, to the next dungeon. God I hope we get a old fashion Link vs Gannondorf fighter in the end like in windwaker and twillight princess
You notice everything no one else does. Amazing. You always have the most reasonable and unique videos on zelda, that no one else talks about!
I'm pretty sure everyone noticed the huge battery icon that shows up when the fans are turned on.
@@AzureRoxe Oh, the fans are turned on, alright! 🔥
@@Margar02 Heyo!
I like the idea of having to spend the battery to use the damaged Master sword. This would mean the sword itself won't break, but you can't keep using all the time either.
Hm, use battery to construct the damaged half? So it could literally look like it does in the logo? Interesting
I actually also really like this concept, it seems pretty likely.
Also, if this is the case, I have an idea for a (small) cutscene that might be in Tears of the Kingdom that references Breath of the Wild.
Remember how in Breath of the Wild, having the Master Sword equipped while entering the Calamity Ganon fight changed the cutscene slightly by having Link draw the Master Sword, which glows bright blue shortly after being drawn? Well, in Tears of the Kingdom, we could have something similar to that; if you have the Master Sword equipped while entering the final boss fight, Link could draw the Master Sword in its broken form and when it reaches his side, the Zonai energy part of it would ignite before the boss fight started.
Again, just a small cutscene reference that I think will make it into the game.
I think it's also a good way to use the fuse mechanic, possibly can use the Master sword as a fused weapon with special results but it also has a energy use. Pretty much making strong but short lived ancient weapons from BOTW. I like your idea more but it would be weird to introduce a whole new system and not have the Master sword be used with it in some way.
The art book actually shows that these "vials" are not liquid, but solid discs that slot onto a central pole. Each section has 5 discs and there are 8 sections so 40 overall - 40 things to collect?
But I feel like MM already knew that judging by the design of his 3D model 👀
I did, but I promised my audience not to show or talk about the leaks, so I had to work around them ^^
It is worth noting that the artbook mostly consists of concept art. There's even a little footnote that states that some things in the book may not represent their in-game equivilant. In the footage you clearly see only 3 discs, so maybe they reduced the amount from 5 to 3 later on. But yeah, they are indeed solid ;)
@@MonsterMaze I'm glad I looked at these comments first, as I was just buzzing with the same info - I absolutely love that most people have avoided the artbook, and it's really fun to watch your videos knowing the "extra" things you know!
Yup. The design seems based on old copper batteries
@@MonsterMaze Google "voltaic pile". I think you might find the results interesting
@@kit76149 Spot on ^^
When they fused the stick to the Boulder th rock got smaller, so - even though it wouldn't be bc of fusing - I wondered if the vials maybe could get smaller when you put it on the belt? meaning the one on the car is the same vial
but then I thought, what if an unseen hand ability you get later is miniaturization? And you could shribk objects to make them easie to carry.
But THEN I thought, what if you could miniaturize yourself??! and interact with Picori, or just experience Hyrule from a new angle?
Obviously the fuse turning a rock into something small enough to wield doesn't dictate or even suggest this will be an ability, but it's cool to think about
That is actually pretty darn smart! Maybe the battery on the car is one of the vials vial, but detatched from the gadget and back to it's real size.
So the viles are the equivalent to Links stamina wheel, but for machines, and can be upgraded for extended use. Not a bad theory. This also implies upgrading the power meter would come into play for both puzzles and possibly required for certain main quests (like needing 13 hearts to pull the Master Sword). Perhaps collecting all eight viles means the Master Sword becomes usable. It looks like Link has it early game, but it's useless and broken. Requiring all eight power viles to actually use the sword - pretty on point for a Zelda game.
If it's like the requirement for the master sword in BotW, you know speedrunners will only need a campfire and a little tricky positioning 😂
I hope it limits us, forcing closed off areas to exist and thus creating a nice progression route. Hope also as we unlock these, that we are able to somehow interact with hopeful dungeons with specific abilities
The thing about the master sword being partially made of Zonai tech is what I've been saying all along, I bet we're even gonna use Zonai charges to power it.
Would have been a really interesting mechanic. Almost ashamed they didn't go that route now. Still loving the game tho
This was my theory exactly, and to increase the vial count it would make sense to be a reward like the stamina vessels from the original for completing shrines
im really hoping that the stuff like the flamethrower and cannon are permanant items used for fusing. I think that would be a great way to incorporate some semblance of classic Zelda items. Have items that can be fused and unfused from objects without destroying the item and these give some sort of special effect. Like a hookshot could easily be something you fuse to a shield or something like that. I'm also thinking that if bombs are in the game(it would be a shame if they werent) that they will be tied to fusing in some way, like maybe you have to fuse 2 items together to make a bomb
I think you get them from the shrines in this game or the spirals of green energy. Perhaps they give you spirit orbs and then you have the option to upgrade hearts, stamina, or zonai energy.
Possible for sure! The only concern I have is that it would require an incredible amount of "shrines" if you want to be able to max out everything. In BotW you couldn't max out both the stamina wheel and hearts in the base game, even with 120 shrines. You had to choose either max hearts or max stamina. So having 3 choices now could be an issue. You'd either need a lot of shrines, or they need to reduce the amount of spirit orbs necessary for the upgrade ^^
No they are rewards for quest
@@portiac6097 That is also possible, but don't say it as fact because it's not more probable than the original commenters theory
Maybe those green balls in the island are what give you something to upgrade the things
@@portiac6097 in order for them to be quest rewards, which is possible, there would have to be a logical explanation as to why sidequests reward the player wiht more charges on the vial.
Theres no reason to think average hylians would have access to zonai energy charges, so the vials would either be recieved through the main quest or quests given by residents of the sky islands, such as friendly constructs maybe giving these quests.
Thank you for your consistent attention to detail and quality.
The models he made are so good
I was waiting for your video and it seems I am right on time
I keep coming back just to rewatch the beautiful "Zonai Confirmed" at the beginning
Damn, imagine during the final boss you have to fuse the triforce to the master sword or something... Probably not gonna happen but that would be sick
This by far has been my favorite theory for the vials on Link's hip and its nice seeing someone go deep in detail about it. The idea that they are rechargeable batteries and not a sort of "magic meter" fits better, since Nintendo has practically moved away from magic meters in Hyrule since TP in 3D Zelda games.
It makes perfect sense that those "vials" are some kind of battery charge. I would not at all be surprised if you're right.
My standing theory is that the strange green capsule shown on the car link drove in one of the trailers is actually a battery for machinery. The vials on links hip probably power his own abilities specifically, or zonal devices which link uses. That, or each vial is a new power, and he slots them into his arm to switch powers. We’ve never seen link switch powers yet, so it’s possible there’s a dedicated animation for that.
It's like stamina 2.0. I can see leap-frogging from skisland to skisland to reach the higher ones. Likely getting additional containers from Zonai shrines, which I think will replace Sheikah shrines.
Turns out this theory was spot on, nice work man
I mean, pretty obvious if you ask me. As for the battery icon, I would guess it to be a shop where you can purchase Zonai parts; wheels, battery tanks, etc. Or maybe as said, a place to exchange materials to get battery upgrades as I doubt that system will ever be able to have the ability to fly across the whole map. Progression is going to be a big part of this game and it's vital that they nail it after a game where you can go straight to the last boss.
I think the upgrades will be more vials and pickups like the “zonai charge” will slowly refill them.
This is actually a very cool and interesting theory
Oh wow thanks for sharing my graphics!! This is an awesome video as always - the animation of the battery system you put together was such a helpful explanation!!
🎶 Zoooonaaaaiii confirmedddd 🎶
PS - Also realized looking at your build of the gadget how much the top looks like an eye… would make a convincing case for the vials to be the “tears”!
I couldn’t wait for your next video but it was worth the wait. Really interesting theory. I didn’t even think of that!
I think when you repair the master sword with some kinda zonai energy, you'll be allowed to fuse things to it like other weapons. When it runs out of energy, the tip of the sword will vanish, and what you fused to it disappear as well, allowing for it to be balanced the same way other weapons are without arbitrarily deleting your fused items with no in-universe explanation.
This aged like fucking wine. Well done MM. Lets hope some of tour other theories age just as well
I have come from the future to confirm that you have this 100% correct! Excellent job on your analysis! Well, barring the Master Sword, but still great!
The eye at the top of the vial chain is the same as the golem in the first trailer. I wonder if you get it from that thing in the first place.
To add to the theory, it seems like the battery icon on the map is similar to a shop or stable... Its probably similar to BotW finding all the Great Fairies. The starting island gives you the first one but only has the one in stock or to give you, then you have to find each shop to get another battery. So no matter where you explore in the sky you have the potential to get the battery upgrades.
I've been saying this since the Battery Gauge popped up! I was thinking, "What? What's the point if you have to let the batteries recharge every couple seconds?!" Then it occurred to me, that mechanic is most likely not strictly _for_ vehicle building. There could be puzzles in dungeons, quests linked to making non-powered structures, like towers and forts, opportunities in battle, or possibly horse drawn vehicles, like chariots or carriages using UltraHand in the early game. Then, once you acquire more vials, it actually becomes usable in building cars, scooters, airplanes or even possibly stationary powered stuff, like a conveyor belt, etc. in the end game🔋⚔🚁🏡🏹🗼
I feel like the vials are the power source to the glove, while the glove is just a conduit. Also that the vials aren't just a magic meter, but a refilling magic meter. It would make sense to limit these seemingly ridiculously OP abilities to a certain rate a minute.
Edit: at least that's what I thought before I heard your theory. That fits perfectly!
You always manage to convince me haha Id be surprised if this wasn't true. Your arguments are very compelling and well put together!
The theory was the same thing I was thinking that it was tied to the battery power because with how fast it runs out when he tired to go up you'd need some kind of upgrade to make it last longer so you can reach higher areas or travel longer
this video aged like fine wine
This would make sense to lock link out of late game islands. It would also have to extend the recall length so that he can't just skip the vials due to recall.
Thanks for the compendium of layered maps and screenshots, haven't seen a video that incluyes everything up to date so dar. Good intro!
As a person that came back to Nintendo systems for the Switch, after only playing the NES, getting this hype and seeing this come to life is awesome! Can’t wait to play TOTK
This is simply the best theory I've seen so far. Excellent analysis. Very thorough.
I was thinking the same thing after seeing the gameplay video. I was surprised that nobody else was talking about this.
Super freaking awesome theory and video. I really enjoyed it! Also, that Vial model looks sick!
I love the idea of this. You get the Sheikah Slate-equivalent abilities somewhere near the start, same as BotW, but then you get Zonai-powered items throughout the game whose charge is tied to the battery, a la Link Between Worlds. Anything to give some item progression would be awesome, and I think that could be so cool. Good ideas here, I totally forgot about the vials lol
Thanks! Seems a lot of people forgot about the vials, haha. They kinda got overshadowed by the new and awesome abilities, environments, lore etc ^^
Excellent theory and explanation! I wondered about those vials too. This certainly makes a lot of sense to me.
Interesting theory. There are some serious issues with it though.
1) we already saw Zonai batteries that you can attach to vehicles in the previous trailer which would render vials obsolete
2) we noticed that when Link adds more objects to a build, the battery life actually increases, meaning that the energy is coming from the tech and not from Link's vials.
One thing I noticed in the raft was that while the propellers were still touching the water, the battery drainage wasn't that high. But the moment the raft takes off the drainage increases dramatically.
Such a well made video! The vial and broken master sword 3D models were awesome
Out of all the Zelda TH-camrs, you were the one I most anticipated for. Excellent Video MM.
Once again I'm amazed by your videos! I really think you're on to something here! Great job! 👏🏼👏🏼
I'm discovering your channel after the podcast appearance. I'm shocked at how good all of you Zelda content creators are, but this video being pinpoint accurate is ridiculous.
Hilarious intro! I like the ideas you purpose, and great animations as always. Have you made those models of the gadget yourself?
Thank you! I modelled the gadget in Blender. I wanted something appealing to show in between gameplay and trailer footage, since there's not a lot of good footage of this device ^^
It was appealing indeed!
I'm glad a powerful Zelda YT-er has the same idea as I do about Link's battery 😊 As always, your content is just top notch! Keep doing what you do, MM!
Woah I feel like you're totally right about this theory!! It makes so much sense!
I really like your speaking style. There are way too many copycat TH-camrs who sound the exact same, making the same vocal inflections, same gags, same awkward pauses and “confused looks”. But you are very comfortable and interesting to listen to. You match the content you speak of. Thank you. 😎👍
This one feels so rock solid I would be shocked if it wasn't true. One thing with the battery usage when you mentioned the number of fans increasing power consumption, why in that case would the 2 fan boat Link makes drain so much slower than the single fan facing upwards that Aounuma demonstrates shortly prior?
I have an alternate theory , the Vials are for saving vehicles so you dont have to build them again and again
Edit: Sorry, now after watching the Video yours makes a lot more sense , but i hope that when you get the 7th Upgrade the Batteries are limitless , like an Reward at the End of the game so you can Travel to infinite and beyond or something
Maybe that will be the reward of the DLC, like the Trial of the Sword
This aged like fine wine. Good video!
The big, similar-looking vial on the car sold the theory to me.
Hmm.. Your theory makes al lot of sense!! Great Job. And as always: great editing! :D
Makes alot of sense. Well done as always.
Not that it’s a big deal but one minor correction at 5:45.
Unlike the Stamina Wheel or the Rune Recharge wheel, the Battery is not tied to link but rather statically placed on the screen it doesn’t move no matter what is happening on screen.
Which doesn’t disprove but it could also imply it’s not entirely dependent upon link.
It could instead show the overall power of all connected devices because having 4 battery icons display on the screen is way too much visual clutter.
I really like this theory and it's nice to finally hear something else than: "the Vials will be used to store the tears of the kingdom"
Nintendo : how could this person guess? we have to delay this game next year by changing the vial's concept
I think they'll be used to store Tears of the kingdom lol
Zonaaaiiiiiiii !!!
I love love LOVE your thinking on the vials.. something had been tickling the back of my mind on this line since seeing the battery icon on the fan activation and the battery location-marker minimap in the gameplay showcase, and you've articulated it beautifully! I do think the vials are batteries in the way you describe and are possibly conceptually tied to the 'Tears of the Kingdom', possibly granted as rewards for beating hypothetical dungeons, or otherwise milestones in progression (seems reasonable considering there is one vial in the gameplay showcase and four in the earlier trailer, with the former taking place earlier in the game than the latter). How that ties in with the Battery Shop on the map though.. I can't wait to discover!
Mad props for your renders also! :)
I thinks its a batery like when link uses an anility his arm glows maybe it consumes one of those things
The reason the bar depletes faster with the four fans is not because there are more, but because it left the water. Making a flying machine will most likely use more energy
Only thing I would add about the raft and the battery: The battery doesn't drain faster than the boat. When he turns on the power for the fans, you can see they use the same amount of energy as the boat. However, as with much of the physics engine in this game (most notably climbing) you use more energy for more difficult tasks. Once the raft lists out of the water, it would naturally have more strain on the battery, causing the battery to deplete faster. So we actually see 2 different stress levels on the battery, which is why it changes like it does.
The fact that the battery and the vials both have 3 segments is a pretty clear indicator to me that you're right. At this point I would be extremely surprised if that wasn't what the vials were.
This is exactly what I thought! I saw the one vial on his hip in the gameplay, but I didnt see anyone saying this theory! Great video!
great video as always keep making some of the best zelda content on youtube!
Agreed! 100%.
The battery icon is the vials.
It only makes sense.
It basically just like the stamina wheels.
You could even think of it as being like the magic meter.
Likely though another that's been tossed around is that it's Recall. Basically Recall is a different style of ability than Ultrahand, Fuse, and Ascend, this combined with the other similar symbols found on the themed joy-cons and in the pin set implies there're more of these and that by having one vial Link would only be able to access Recall, but by collecting more from say dungeons, he'd get more powers.
Just found your channel and watched this video today. Damn were you spot on huh! Amazing analysis and subbed for future content. 😊
i mean, looking closely, they definitely look a lot like a fuse to me.
Side thought, but I hope they don’t completely get rid of Shiekah Tech in Tears. It looks like they are, but I feel it’d be a disservice to get rid of all the Shrines, Guardians, and Divine Beasts. I just think it’d be cool if we could fuse a Shiekah Chainsaw with a Zonai Flamethrower.
I mean considering how prevalent fusing is in this game, and how the Master Sword is appearing to get Zonai Modifications while itself being Shiekah Tech (cause of the Trial of the Sword and its color scheme), I think that’ll be the case, but you can’t be too sure.
5:52 it’s an eyeball with “tears” falling down. It has to relate with the tears of the kingdom in some type of way.
Something worth noting, the raft powered by 4 fans actually has normal battery depletion rate, but the moment the vehicle leaves the water the battery usage skyrockets, so it seems it might not be what you use but how you use it that determines the battery speed
At 6:30 the car looks like it has a huge vial on it like the ones on his him so this could be true
Awesome video. Very well edited and narrated. I’m so hype. I can’t wait for this game.
9:36
holy shit, 3 years or something of speculating what the hell this water droplet is and I think you finally cracked it
Now this is a video I can stand behind. This is how you do tears of the kingdom videos. When I first saw the battery gauge I knew it could be upgraded, which hopefully means even more shrines then in breath of the wild.
I wonder how long it’ll be until somebody copies your theory and makes their own video with it?