Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Player Builds Flying Armed Mech With Zonai Cannons
A Tears of the Kingdom player built an ingenious flying Zonai mech with twin cannons and stable lift.
A The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom player known on Reddit as Ultrababouin has turned Hyrule’s Zonai technology into a flying, weaponized mech, a build that remains one of the community’s clearest examples of sandbox engineering nearly three years after the game’s 2023 launch. The clip shows the player steering a bipedal machine armed with two Zonai cannons. It bears a striking resemblance to an Armored Core unit, can fly backward without tipping over, and gives Link a mobile platform for clearing smaller enemies. What separates a clever contraption from a genuinely useful war machine? In this case, the answer is lift, balance, propulsion, and pilot protection.

The build is notable because it does more than hover. Five Zonai fans generate enough lift to get the machine off the ground, while two railings attached to a wooden wheel help produce propulsion. The legs and other structural parts act as counterweights, solving the balance problems that have plagued many fan-made mechs. The result is a machine that can move backward without losing stability, a detail that makes the vehicle feel less like a fragile experiment and more like a controllable weapons platform.
🛠️ Build Breakdown
| Component | Role |
|---|---|
| Five Zonai fans | Provide lift for sustained flight |
| Two Zonai cannons | Deliver ranged fire against enemies |
| Two railings on a wooden wheel | Generate propulsion and movement |
| Legs and structural parts | Improve counterweight and create a bipedal silhouette |
The design also reflects how far players have pushed Tears of the Kingdom’s Ultrahand system. Compared with Breath of the Wild, the sequel offers a deeper building toolkit that encourages elaborate vehicles rather than simple traversal aids. Players have constructed unicycles, farming machines, fireworks, basic cars, planes, helicopters, and even hot-air balloons. Zonai devices have become the backbone of many prototypes, allowing engineers to improve lift, speed, and firepower without abandoning the game’s physics-driven charm.
💬 Community Reaction
The response from Zelda fans has been enthusiastic. Many praised Ultrababouin for the effort invested in the machine, while some joked that it resembles a reaper leviathan. Others singled out the wheel on its feet, which allows the mech to strafe and gives it a more tactical feel. Is it any surprise that a community known for turning simple parts into absurd machines would celebrate a flying mech with cannons? The clip quickly became another example of how Tears of the Kingdom players entertain themselves by testing the limits of the game’s construction rules.
The armed mech also stands apart from earlier fan-made mechs. Some players had already built bipedal machines, but many of those designs struggled with balance and could not fly reliably. Most also offered little protection to their drivers. Ultrababouin’s device addresses both problems: it shields Link from nearby threats and vanquishes a legion of smaller enemies. That combination of mobility, defense, and offense makes it a practical invention rather than a novelty.
🌍 Why It Matters in 2026
In 2026, Tears of the Kingdom remains a showcase for emergent engineering. The game is still available on Switch, and its building community continues to revisit old projects with new ideas. The flying mech is a reminder that sandbox games can produce genuinely surprising creations long after launch. It also highlights why players keep returning to Hyrule: the tools are simple, but the possibilities are not.
For players who want to dominate the landscape, the lesson is clear. A vehicle does not need to be beautiful to be effective, but it does need balance, lift, and a way to protect its pilot. Ultrababouin’s mech delivers all three, and it does so with the kind of playful ambition that has made Tears of the Kingdom one of the most inventive games of its generation.