Nintendo patents elements of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom including abilities

Nintendo has filed several patents related to abilities used in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom by its protagonist, Link, as well as other gameplay elements found throughout.

The details:

• As reported by Automaton, 32 patents were filed between July 10 and August 4, with 31 of them relating to TOTK. These include Link's in-game abilities like Ultrahand and Fuse, as well as side character abilities like Riju's lightning and the game's fast travel loading screen.
• Surprisingly, one patent covers Link's ability to ride on top of moving objects that continue to move in the same direction, while another covers the character's inability to grab objects that they are currently standing on top of. Although many games use similar systems, Nintendo appears to have been able to lock down this specific method of traversal as there is nothing between Link and the object causing the movement, with only the character and the object themselves using their own physics to make the movement occur.
• Nintendo has previously filed similar patents, most notably in 2021 when the company accidentally leaked several Link's abilities such as Recall, Ascend, and his ability to free-fall for the then-unnamed sequel to Breath of the Wild.
• According to a Patent Result study, the company's patents were cited as reasons for 180 other attempts to patent systems being rejected in 2022. Namco famously registered a patent for minigames in loading screens back in 1995, which was in place for 20 years and prevented any other developer from incorporating them into their titles.

More Nintendo news:

• According to reports, Nintendo has teamed up with Lego once more to bring Animal Crossing into Lego form. The line will be released in March 2024 and will include five different sets with custom-molded minifigures. It is currently unknown what builds will be included; however, Nook's Cranny and the player's home are expected to appear.
• Dev kits for the Switch's successor are said to be in the hands of Nintendo's "key partners," with the console expected to launch in the second half of 2024. It is expected that the lineup of games at launch will be significantly larger than that of the Switch, with more coming soon after the holiday season.