If you are looking to buy yourself a ticket aboard the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Realm hype train and preorder the game before its launch on May 12, you can also get some cool extra bonuses. Some retailers offer free preorder incentives like a wooden plaque or an art print, which is a nice bonus that doesn’t cost anything extra. Or, super-fans who want to make some extra cash can get the fancy Collector’s Edition with lots of accouterments (if it ever becomes available again, sadly).
So which way to preorder will give you the most benefits? There’s already a way that lets you save $20 on the game, but that’s only on the digital version and exclusive to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Here, we’ll cover a small handful of preorder bonuses for the physical edition of Tears of the Kingdom so you can make your buying decision in one place, easy-peasy.
Preordering The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Realm with free bonuses
These are the best incentives when it comes to preordering Tears of the Kingdom for its regular $69.99 price and getting a little something-something thrown away.
Best Buy included a free art print with the physical cartridge version of the game. This is the basic art for the game that we all see often, which looks great, but note that there is no indication of its size.
Arguably the more interesting preorder incentive is GameStop’s offer of a free wooden plaque that looks pretty cool. But the trade-off to this exclusive preorder gift is GameStop you have to claim it at the store. I can’t believe GameStop expected me to show up on the day I was supposed to within playing non-stop.
Walmart’s incentive is a free Master Sword wall scroll. Unfortunately, after Walmart quickly sold a golden wall scroll limited to 5,000 units, it came back with a black wall scroll that sold out, came back, and sold out again. The black scroll is also “limited”, but there’s no mention of having a set number, so maybe it could crop up again.
Ordering a special edition Zelda Nintendo Switch OLED
We now have a little explanation of where you can get the Nintendo Switch OLED The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Realm Edition, which is now easy to order. It’s a beautiful console, with gold Joy-Cons and a white dock decked out in Zelda graphical adornment. If you want one for its $359.99 asking price (which no include the game), you can get one now from Amazon, Best Buy, Targeto Nintendo.
Preordering the Tears of the Kingdom Comes with a Nintendo Switch case
If you buy a special Zelda-themed Switch OLED, you can also complete the look and preorder the Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch Carrying Case Edition for $24.99 at Best Buy and GameStop. It’s adorned with matching markings on the special edition console, comes with a screen protector, and is set to launch on May 12 with the game. Unlike the Zelda-themed Switch Pro Controller, this one didn’t sell out during the preorder window.
Preordering The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Realm Collector’s Edition
Finally, let’s finally talk about the elusive white whale of Zelda preorders. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Realm The Collector’s Edition is the requisite expensive bundle of the game that comes with a bunch of fancy swag. Inside, the standard cartridge version of the game is accompanied by a metal steelbook case to look better on your shelf, along with a poster, collector pin, and a small art book all for $129.99.
Preorders at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, GameStopand Target sold out very quickly and periodically cropped up again for short periods, but it is still not available at present. this is can it can come back with more usability like Metroid Dread Made by Special Edition, but definitely not guaranteed to happen before or even after May 12th.