Can You Fight the Final Boss in Tears of the Kingdom Right Away?

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild featured several radical departures from the series, most notably from how it handled game progression. Unlike most previous Zelda games, which were in some aspects linear affairs, you could explore anywhere you wanted once you completed the tutorial, including running straight to the final boss to challenge it. So the question now stands: Can you still fight the final boss right away after completing the tutorial in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?

When You Can Fight the Final Boss in Tears of the Kingdom

The answer is yes, but it’s not as obvious as it was previously. When Breath of the Wild begins, you’re told once you conclude the Great Plateau that the goal of the game is to defeat Calamity Ganon and save Zelda, both of whom can be found in Hyrule Castle in the center of the map. And there are players who ran straight for Ganon and the ending right after they completed the tutorial.

Tears of the Kingdom does not make this so explicit. In fact, if you go to Hyrule Castle right away, there won’t be a gigantic final boss waiting for you. One of the earliest story missions you could do tasks you with going to Hyrule Castle and seeing what the situation is over there. When I approached the palace, there were no Guardians or high-level enemies. In fact, there were no enemies at all. It’s just abandoned. So if that’s the case, where is the final boss? The game doesn’t tell you, so you’re going to have to search for it and discover the final boss on your own. There are some hints given to you based on the prologue, but nothing that is immediately apparent. Much like how the very first Zelda game hides its final boss from you, you need to discover it on your own in Tears of the Kingdom.

Once you have learned where the final boss is, then on future playthroughs you can technically go and challenge it whenever you want. Like before, nothing will stop you from actually fighting it once you know where it is. However, it’s going to be a monumentally difficult task if you go in with just the base-level stats, especially given that there will be way more boss fights, tougher enemies, and the ever-prescient Gloom that you’ll have to contend with.

I tried to approach the final boss location in Tears of the Kingdom with six hearts, some decent weapons, and two stamina wheels, and I was completely eradicated just trying to get to it. It’s certainly possible to topple the final boss right away, but it’s going to take a lot of determination, and patience, to take them down.

So yes, you can go straight to the final boss in Tears of the Kingdom right away, once you know where to look, and I have included some screenshots of where it is on the map at different zoom distances below.

Related: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – How to Get to Rito Village on Gamepur