What is the Purah Pad in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom?

The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is finally out for Nintendo Switch. The much-awaited open-world adventure from Nintendo is easily one of 2023's most anticipated games. As a successor to 2017's acclaimed The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, this is a bolder and grander journey. Developer Nintendo has chosen to build upon the greatness of the game's predecessor with many new mechanics and elements. This helps enhance exploration and traversal in unprecedented ways.

However, there are plenty of tried-and-true mechanics to tinker around with. One of these is the Purah Pad obtained by protagonist Link early on.

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What does the Purah Pad do in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom?

In simple terms, the Purah Pad replaces the Sheikah Slate from the previous game to an extent, at least. It is a handheld device given to Link by one of the friendly constructs encountered early on, just before obtaining the first main objective, "Find Princess Zelda." It is reminiscent of the Nintendo Switch console itself. This is not surprising since the Sheikah Slate also looks like the Wii U Gamepad, as Breath of the Wild was built for the ill-fated Nintendo home console first.

That said, the Purah Pad embodies many of the same functions as the Sheikah Slate. For one, its primary use will be as a map. It can depict the topography of the world of Hyrule. This includes both the surface as well as as the Sky Islands. The latter is a series of floating islands that appeared in Hyrule's Skies after the evil Ganondorf was revived.

One of the new inclusions for the map is a three-axis coordinate system. Since the gameplay occurs across different levels of verticality, this is a must. Regardless of which area players will explore, knowing what lies ahead and where to go is paramount to exploration. Besides this, players can also find an Album section to view their saved photographs.

As per the story progression, at the start, the first three slots will be occupied by the mural images Princess Zelda takes while in Hyrule Castle with Link. There is also an Adventure Log that tracks all objectives and missions received thus far.

However, there are more features players will eventually unlock, which include a character bio that features a list and details of various NPCs encountered throughout the narrative. These range from brand new NPCs to the matured and new Champions. Lore and background information sheds new light on these denizens of Hyrule. Furthermore, players can even use the Purah Pad as a telescope.

Returning from The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, this feature allows scouting landmarks in the distance. Players can ping and mark objects in the open world, which can be handy during extensive outdoor treks. All of these elements help supplement the seamless sandbox journey.

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The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is out right now exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Developed and published by Nintendo, it was released on May 12, 2023.