Warning: MASSIVE STORY SPOILERS for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom ahead. Proceed at your own risk.Zeldagames often come with very high stakes, andThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis no exception. Princess Zelda disappears, and it’s up to Link to defeat the Demon King Ganondorf before he lays waste to Hyrule. Over the course of the journey, Link learns all kinds of things aboutBreath of the Wild’s mysterious Zonai, butThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomisn’t without its own mysteries. For instance, despite their outsized presence, the game’s story doesn’t give players an explanation for the Bargainer Statues.
There are a ton of shops inTears of the Kingdom,but the Bargainer Statues are some of the most remarkable. If Link gathers Poes in theDepths ofTears of the Kingdom, he can deliver these lost souls to Bargainer Statues in exchange for rare items and equipment. This service is invaluable, but their potential to contribute to the franchise’s plot may be more important. The Bargainer Statues' connection to the underworld could hint at aTotKsequel where Link and Zelda reunite with their fallen allies to prevent the Demon King from escaping death.
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Tears of the Kingdom’s Sequel Could Use Bargainer Statues to Explore the Afterlife
The end ofTears of the Kingdompresumably leaves Ganondorf dead. Unlike some other games where he’s banished or sealed away,Tears of the Kingdom’s final boss battle ends with Ganondorf seemingly obliterated by the energy released from his shattered secret stone. This wouldn’t be the first time that Ganon needed resurrecting, though. If the nextZeldagame sticks toBotW’s Hyrule again, then maybeMaster Kohga and the Yiga Clanwill return to open a door to the underworld for their beloved Ganondorf to pass through.
In that case, Link could find an ally in the Bargainer Statues. Given that these cryptic statues are supposedly caretakers for the undead with access to the underworld, they might lead Link through the afterlife as psychopomps so that he can strike at the heart of Ganondorf’s new seat of power. In that case, Link and Zelda would have a ton of allies waiting for them; bothBreath of the Wild’s Champions andTotK’s Rauru and Soniacould reappear as ghosts and play a role in thwarting Ganondorf again. Given how little screentime Link himself actually shares with each of these characters, reuniting them in Hyrule’s afterlife would be the perfect way to close out aBotWtrilogy.
AZeldaadventure through the underworld may seem a little outlandish, but it’s possible thatTears of the Kingdomis actively leading to that. After all,TotKhandles the Bargainer Statues in a very similar way to howBotWhandled the Zonai; they’re never fully explained by the plot, and most characters don’t even acknowledge them, but they have a major impact on the world map that’s virtually impossible to ignore. The Bargainer Statues are often massive and seemingly very powerful, but their origins and perhaps even their true intentions remain murky. If the Zonai can step into the spotlight inBotW’s sequel, thenthe Bargainer Statuesmay be poised to do the same in aTotKsequel.
Nothing is guaranteed about the future of the Bargainer Statues, of course. It could be years before Nintendo even hints at anotherZeldagame, let alone confirms aTotKsequel. Still, the Bargainer Statues seem like one of the most compelling avenues for a newZeldagame if Nintendo wants to stick with the Calamity continuity. VisitingZelda’s canonical afterlife would be a prime opportunity to study the franchise’s mythos in greater detail, and it could flesh out recent characters despite their untimely deaths. If Nintendo feels particularly bold, it could even be a chance for amassiveZeldacrossover gamewhere Link and Zelda collaborate with their past selves. Hopefully the Bargainer Statues get to cash in on all that potential.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available now for Nintendo Switch.
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