There are 152 Shrines in Tears of the Kingdom which means finding and solving them all is no small feat. Compartively, Breath of the Wild had 120 (and you can see what finding all of those earned you here), but the reward is surprising, bizarre, and raises some interesting questions about the larger Zelda lore. It’s worth noting that there are spoilers below for a late-game unlock.
After skipping the two cutscenes that play at the end of every Shrine for the last approximately 165 hours, the final Shrine shows some unique text and suggests the player visit the Temple of Time for a reward.
The Temple of Time is located on the island where you began your Tears of the Kingdom journey and the King Raura and Queen Sonia statues are definitely not referring the Temple of Time ruins on the plateau. I don’t know who who would make that mistake and search the ruins for arguably too long for a reward, but you definitely want to go up into the sky. You will find a new chest behind the Goddess Statue.
And in that chest is the Ancient Hero’s Aspect. The armor is unlike any in Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom in that it is one piece and not treated as three separate items. It also completely alters Link’s appearances. It is functionally like the masks of Majora’s Mask that transform Link into a Zora, Goron, or Deku. Its description reads, “This item is said to contain the spirit of a hero who once saved Hyrule. That hero’s aura will envelop the wearer.” It may be a representation of the very first incarnation of the Hero of Time.
Some characters will change their dialoge if you’re wearing armor. The average Hyrule citizen doesn’t seem impressed, but folks like Impa and Purah (and likely others) who have some knowledge of world’s history will have new things to say in response to Link’s new look.
For more on Zelda, you can read Game Informer’s Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review, our beginner tips guide, our interview with producer and director Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi, our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Amiibo guide, this feature of stupid screenshots, learn how Patricia the sand seal can help you, and finally about my journey to find the Shrines and it made me lose my mind here.
