The Legend of Zelda fans are once again hoping that Zelda might be playable in Tears of the Kingdom thanks to a new post on the game's official Twitter account that makes a point of her having the Sheikah Slate.Yesterday, Nintendo shared a new trailer for Tears of the Kingdom at its first Direct of the year, giving us a better look at the game and its new rail-grinding and car-driving action. One thing that the trailer didn't show was something that fans have been wanting from the series for a long time - playable Zelda.Zelda makes appearances throughout the trailer and is heard talking to Link about Ganondorf's forces, but we sadly didn't get any hints that she's playable this time around. That might seem like it's time to take our ball and go home, but a post from the official Zelda Twitter account has restoked the flames and got everyone hoping again.
Following the Direct, the official Japanese Zelda Twitter account shared a render of Zelda with the caption, "You seem to have something unfamiliar in your left hand". The caption is clearly referring to the Sheikah Slate that Zelda is holding, and it's this that's got fans hoping that she's playable this time around.
Knowing how much Zelda fans want the titular character to be playable for the first time in the mainline series, it seems like a very purposeful move on Nintendo's part to draw attention to the fact that she's holding the Sheikah Slate. It's also worth pointing out that the slate itself has seen a redesign that makes it more in line with the Switch than the Gamepad, which would support the idea of it being used in-game. Either that, or she's got her own Sheikah Slate this time around.
The cynic in me needs to point out that it's equally possible that Zelda having the Sheikah Slate will simply be a part of the story and that's why Nintendo is pointing it out to everyone but, until we get confirmation that she's not playable, we're all going to keep on hoping and take any evidence we can that she is.