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Nintendo brought back the old Gleeok boss from the original Zelda game for Tears of the Kingdom, and while it seems like a fitting nod to the series’ past, you can actually thank the savage Lynels for Gleeok’s return. Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma and director Hidemaro Fujibayashi spoke with Nintendo Dream about designing Tears of the Kingdom’s monsters and explained why some of the other newcomers came to be as well (thanks, Eurogamer and Nintendo Everything).
Aonuma and Fujibayashi said that they wanted a monster that instilled even more fear and unease in players than Breath of the Wild’s Lynel enemies, and they thought the Gleeok fit the bill. They weren’t wrong, either. The Gleeok has a moveset that’s even more unpredictable than the Lynel’s, and its weaknesses aren’t readily apparent either. That’s just the Gleeok type you find on the surface. The Sky Islands are home to three additional, even more intimidating, versions of the monster.
Fuse creations inspired Horriblins, the unsettling cave-dwellers who shriek at Link and toss boulders. Aonuma said he wanted a way to put Fused weapons with extra length to good use. Then there’s the Boss Bokoblin, a big guy who has a bunch of lil’ guys following in tow. The idea here was creating an enemy to counter Link’s companions, since Link would have an unfair advantage when he recruits the Champions.
I can see the idea there, but I hate to tell Aonuma that taking out Boss Bokoblins solo is not an overwhelming challenge.
As for what’s next in the Zelda universe, Nintendo is working on a live-action Zelda movie, though the cast and plot are still a mystery.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF