It was in the second official trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (the one that closed out the February 2023 Nintendo Direct) where we first got a snippet of Link driving around on what appeared to be a hand-made vehicle. We couldn't make sense of it. Are these cars dotted around Hyrule? Will someone make them for us? Is this just Zelda: Nuts and Bolts?
Some of these questions were answered in the 10-minute gameplay demonstration, in which Eiji Aonuma showcased a small amount of what the new Ultrahand ability would be capable of. We were amazed at the thought of being able to stick two logs together and whack a fan on the back. Maybe two or three. "It can't get more creative than this", we thought.
We were wrong.
Tears of the Kingdom has been out for a good few weeks at the time of writing and it's fair to say that the community of Zelda fans have delivered on the creativity front. Most of us here at Nintendo Life have been perfectly content so far with slapping four wheels on a pallet and calling it a "car", but others have been far more imaginative.
Below, we have collected together some of the very best, most creative builds that we have seen so far. We have tried to order them in terms of how impressive they are, though bear in mind that anything which works to its intended purpose has got us green with envy at the moment. Let us know in the comments if you've spotted something especially impressive — we may add to this list over time.
Get those Ultrahands at the ready, inspiration is about to strike...
Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom - Best Builds We've Seen So Far
Korok Liftoff
We begin modestly with something simple that just made us laugh.
Yes, we wouldn't be able to put together a 'Best Builds' list without addressing the elephant in the room (no, not all the, ahem, NSFW constructions): most of the clips online are all about dreadful Korok torture.
Now, we have tried to steer clear of too much Korok Kontent [Nice - Ed.] in this list, but we felt it was only right to start off slowly with this simple, but effective number:
If you want to see a rundown of other Korok torture devices (no judgement here), then be sure to check out our round-up below.
Link Of Troy
Yes, this absolutely deserves a place purely because of how much it made us laugh. We love the thought of @RobFletch1393's tactic actually working against Ganondorf. Come on, Nintendo, you said that we could come up with our own solutions...
Trucks Of The Kingdom
Why ride a horse when you can drive a truck? That's the question that Twitter user @Schlobster_ has asked, and the results are every trucker's dream. Need to get that shipment of Ironshell Crabs from Lurelin Village to Hyrule Castle? We know the man for the job.
Lawn Management
We like to think that in-between adventures, Link goes about his daily chores as if nothing has ever happened. Until somebody builds a washing machine in the game, @Wolfblur's fully-functional lawn mower is the best shot we have at living out this fantasy.
You CAN Pet The Dog
If you were disappointed that there is no option to pet the dogs found outside of many-a TOTK stable, then @noah________a's build might just solve your issue. Just go easy on that little guy, please.
Ride The Big Wheel
There's no point in messing around with multiple wheels when you could just have a single massive one, right? It doesn't look like the smoothest ride, but you've got to respect the effort from @liccnuke on this one.
Calamity Canon
Ok, now things are getting really clever. If you can build anything that moves as intended and grants a boost in combat then you're onto something in our book. Bonus points for looking as cool as @chrysaoravioli does while doing it.
Frosty The Snowmenace
It's all well and good to attack nearby enemies with something that looks like a weapon, but whatever happened to the element of surprise? We like to think that's what @chocrab_1226 thought as they sent off a snowman packed full of explosives into a Bokoblin camp...
Drive My Car
Yes, what you are about to see is a working car in Tears of the Kingdom. Of course, Hyrule isn't renowned for its highway system, but this cruiser by @komodoxeno looks like the way to travel in style all the same.
Top Gun: MavLink
*'Danger Zone' by Kenny Loggins plays in the background*
Gleeok Gunner
So far, we have only had the nerve to get in one swift hit on a Gleeok before running for the hills, so seeing this "orbital strike" machine posted to Reddit by 0KdQ6 has got us thinking that maybe we should try a different approach next time.
Stealth Bomber
Who would have thought that nine fans, a couple of bits of wood, and a cannon could look so cool? Hope you're prepared for a dogfight, Ganondorf.
Pacific Rim
Epona can sit happily in retirement, looking at Link ride around on his new Pacific Rim mech, safe in the knowledge that she did the best that she could. A number of questions spring to mind when watching this one, namely what?, how? and arms?
They Fly Now?!
Ok, we give in. You lot are far too clever for your own good...
That is but a brief selection of some of the very best builds that we have seen in TOTK so far, but we can expect to see many, many more over the coming weeks/months/years.
Which one of the above is your favourite? Did we miss any beauties? Let us know in the comments and we might just add them...
Comments 39
These are amazing. Love the trucker in the skies
Can you build settlements and towns or is there a limit to how many things you can fuse together?
Anybody else feel like they are WAAAY too stupid for the build mechanics in this? Normally I'm a pretty creative guy but I can barely manage to put the most basic of shapes together in this game.
@invictus4000 feeling the same. I spend a lot building the thrashiest unmovable car and once I get it finally working, the battery lasts for less than 100m before it runs out. Auto Build is helping but still far from these designs
Idk. I’m not a fan of thesesesss. Except the last stupid robot, he’s cool.
Hopefully they will add a way to share blueprints. There is no way I would be able to figure out how to build these things.
@Diowine same. Horses are way cooler.
@invictus4000 Yes, but I'm more than happy driving around on a plank of wood with a load of fans stuck to it rather than anything that's actually practical. I'm not getting too hung up on designing something cool and the game doesn't care if I do or not.
If I don’t like to build stuff, can I still play and complete the game without it?
This stuff is amazing. I haven't even scratched the surface of building yet it.
Also, 8 slots for autobuild is not enough lol.
@Dman10 I mean technically but I don’t see why you wouldn’t like to build. However a majority of shrines I’ve found required building. It’s a core mechanic of the game. (I will say this articles showing nonessential stuff, those are not required)
Just waiting for the inevitable "someone built a working computer in Zelda" article.
I normally hate crafting in video games, but TotK makes it fun. It reminds me of making lego cars and stuff when I was a kid, where you could snap stuff together in any shape you wanted and as long as it could stand up, you were good.
Wow, Im grinning ear to ear with some of these
Watching these makes me realise I have no imagination 😆
@invictus4000 You're not alone it can be pretty fiddly sometimes for sure. I can build Bridges no sweat but I've had a degree of difficulty rotating shapes to fit through holes or to properly attach to something.
And here I am with my struggles to keep president hudson standing.
Meanwhile in my game, I found a plank of wood, so got out 4 wheels to stick to it. 2 of the subsequently rolled down the hill, so my 2 wheeled plank mobile had to do 🤣🤣 I'm useless at this game but I seriously don't even care!
You know how Zelda had it's BotW moment. I think BotW just got it's 2fast 2Furious moment lol. Some of the stuff is bonkers lol
Absolutely amazing
Didn't get it day 1, but seeing how it scratches that Nuts'n'Bolts itch, I might give in.
My favorite I've seen is this attack helicopter: https://www.reddit.com/r/tearsofthekingdom/comments/13hjd4p/i_love_the_smell_of_zonaite_in_the_morning/
@Chaotic_Neutral Not exactly. While you CAN build such things,they won't stay for long. Blood moon will reset it or if you exit the game entirely,it won't be there when you come back.
I need to get to work on my flying toilet soon.
This proves beyond any doubt something we all should already know. in fact, it baffles me how many people DON'T know this, giving it's one of the most obvious and universal truths in our universe.
Adding a needle drop (unedited commercial song you think fits the theme) to your content makes it much worse. Don't do it. Ever. This is true of most $100 million movies, it's absolutely true of your 30 second clip.
I've told myself that I'm not spending another hour of putting together some abomination until I unlock the rebuild ability.
But honestly, all you need to get around is a rock and 2 fans. Everything else is just for pizzaz.
@ComfyAko
One of the reasons I'm probably skipping. I hated nuts and bolts and dislike any crafting.
Good for those who like that stuff but I bounce off it hard every time the mechanic is put in a game.
Meanwhile I just glue one log to another to make longer log
@Eel
More mecha, please <3
I'm not reading this article! I've bookmarked it to read in a couple of months!
Messing around with building stuff will be fun after completing the game and wrapping up final quests, items and collectibles.
Absolutely not something I want to do in the first week...!
@Dman10 No. The entire game revolves around building things. You don't have to make anything complex though.
@Dman10 I would say, particularly out in the world, that you can pretty much get by without building much more than the occasional raft or just needing to attach a couple of bits for story progression (such as balloons). My son hasn't built a thing other than a couple of required and very basic things and he's just finished the 3rd of 4 major story components and has retrieved a famous weapon.
Shrines are a little trickier, but if you pick and choose there are still more than enough to accrue decent hearts and stamina without needing to do any serious building.
I just don't have the patience to create anything remotely as good as these are. Bravo to all these players. I kind of wish this was an MMO now so I could just walk around seeing all these creations in the wild. lol
Seriously, what an epic compilation, sometimes I don't know if I'm watching a Zelda game! The next game in the franchise will face a huge challenge in differentiating from its predecessor.
I admit I might need therapy after looking at these and thinking of my lame attempts to build anything. I suck at it. I literally climbed Death mountain, that's how bad I am.
I've been tortured more than the Toroks on YouTube with my crappy builds. Caught on fire, drowned, launched into a ceiling, I was never good at legos, or tinker toys. Love the old Banjo Nuts and Bolts concept, but I suck at it.
Just like Minecraft, this will be something where I enjoy seeing other people's cool stuff but won't be doing any of it myself. I spend an hour trying to make a helicopter yesterday and all I made was a spinning abomination that wanted to die.
@Dman10 building is optional. Most basic builds to make progress in the game will be pretty obvious by the materials that are sitting around. These things are just extra.
@Chaotic_Neutral If they are connected, yes. if they are seperate, no, but good luck finding all those materials
I am bad at fighting monsters, so i just build 4 layer homes my horses can tow🤣🤣
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