Ever since it was first spotted in early trailers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players questioned what role Link's arm would serve in the sequel, with its most recent trailer seeming to hint it will replace the Sheikah Slate. Since it served various in-game menus and abilities in Breath of the Wild, it seems inevitable that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom would need to see the Sheikah Slate return in some capacity. However, it remains uncertain whether the slate's return would be expanded and to what extent.
With new gameplay footage shown in February's Nintendo Direct, the new function of Link's arm would have almost been lost in the mix of other revelations, from Ganondorf's voice reveal to all new vehicle mechanics. Keen-eyed viewers noticed that where ordinarily Link would whip out the Sheikah Slate to use runes, his arm instead seemed to be the conduit for these abilities. Going further, it appears that Link no longer even carries the slate, judging by close-ups within the trailer, potentially confirming that Tears of the Kingdom will augment Link's arm in lieu of the Sheikah Slate.
Tears of the Kingdom Shifting From Slate To Arm Expands Its Mechanics
When it was initially introduced in Breath of the Wild, the Sheikah Slate was very likely an in-game substitute for the Switch or the Wii U GamePad back during its earliest development. It was a clever touch of continuity between the physical console itself and the in-game counterpart, capitalizing on functions like the Switch's motion controls to influence its own gameplay. As a result, many of these mechanics feel natural to Breath of the Wild, as it blends together the Switch and Sheikah Slate into one seamless experience.
However, this also means that much of Breath of the Wild's most essential functions relied upon the Sheikah Slate. So, with the expectation that Tears of the Kingdom would expand the Slate, the challenge facing Nintendo is how to broaden such a basic tool that encompassed so many abilities in an organic, justifiable way. An easy solution is to just move past these expectations, reuse the Slate as normal, and come up with some game logic that "unlocks" hidden abilities within the Slate. Breath of the Wild's DLC has already done similar things.
Nintendo hasn't taken this route. Instead, based on the trailers so far, it seems that whatever has happened to Link's arm will now grant him access to various abilities. In doing so, Tears of the Kingdom has given itself the freedom to expand on these abilities and how the player might use them, with potentially better integration into combat or all-new abilities beyond what's been seen so far. No longer constrained to the Sheikah Slate, Tears of the Kingdom could see a more direct control over the unusual magical technology of the Sheikah.
Link's Arm Could Hint to Tears of the Kingdom's Story
Beyond just the technical details of in-game mechanics, its prominence in trailers and marketing suggests that whatever has happened to Link's arm is important to Tears of the Kingdom's plot. With the Sheikah Slate nowhere in sight for the time being, it could be possible that it has somehow fused with Link and thus granted him its abilities. However, at the very end of the recent trailer, Link is seen lunging away from a surge of Malice with his arm blackened but not infused with any technology.
This seems to indicate that two events will need to occur for Link's arm to reflect what's seen in gameplay footage. First, Link will need to be attacked by Ganondorf's Malice as seen in other trailers. Link is then presumably augmented by Sheikah technology in order to counter or control the effects of this Malice. A rough parallel to Twilight Princess and Wolf Link's transformation, Tears of the Kingdom could be establishing a story in which Link turns an unfortunate curse inflicted by Ganondorf to his advantage.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set to release on May 12, 2023, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.