The Legend of Tenna
Don't be blown away by the graphics, kids!
Tenna, Chapter 3
TV Time: The Legend of Tenna is a video game minigame that serves as the main component of TV Time. It was created by Tenna and is based on the Original Game.
Completing most of the boards in this segment applies to the Evaluation at the end of a TV Time Round. Depending on the performance, this grants access to certain areas in the Green Room. After Round 3, segments of this gameplay appear throughout TV World as puzzles. For puzzle segments, characters can be swapped by using the MENU button.
The game's general style and minimalism is in homage to The Legend of Zelda series.
While playing, it is not possible to run or access the inventory, equipment, stats, or Config menus.
POINTs can be earned during the game.
In The Legend of Tenna, the party controls pixelated versions of themselves that are named after their weapons. The player exchanges control of these characters at different points in the story, depending on which port Kris's controller is connected to. Typically, Kris controls HERO_SWORD, Susie controls HERO_AXE, and Ralsei controls HERO_SCARF.
Similar to Deltarune gameplay, HERO_SWORD can move to other rooms, which causes the in-game camera to shift. HERO_SWORD can also purchase items, interact with Darkners and objects, and begin encounters.
Once HERO_SWORD acquires the camera from the second board, they can earn POINTs or stun enemies by taking pictures with the CONFIRM button and moving the directional buttons. 10 is the base POINTs for taking pictures on the second board, though there are rare conditions that can earn or lose POINTs. Taking a picture can be cancelled with the CANCEL button.
For the Original Game, HERO_SWORD can acquire a sword.
Susie moves HERO_AXE on her own accord, and may collect POINTs on the overworld. She can also use the Power Croissant to throw pots and rafts in the room, or pull weeds to earn POINTs in certain rooms. HERO_AXE occasionally takes a nap while idling.
HERO_AXE pulling weeds is 5 POINTs each. On the second board, pulling the blue flowers gives 20 POINTs. These flowers can only be pulled by using Susie's controller, as she does not pull them herself. When HERO_SWORD reenters a room where weeds were, the weeds respawn. Due to this, it is possible to accrue more POINTs in areas with weeds and instantly earn a T-rank in POINTs for the first board.
Ralsei, controlling HERO_SCARF, opts to primarily follow Kris, just as he does outside of the game. HERO_SCARF resembles Ralsei's original appearance in Chapter 1. HERO_SCARF can also transform into a block or a surfboard depending on the board during certain puzzles. Post Board 3, HERO_SCARF can only transform into a block.
Post-game, Susie and Ralsei's special stats in the POWER Stats menu lists "Plucked" and "Carried" tallies respectively.
This character is controlled by Lancer during TV Time. He is only playable after Round 3 for TV World's puzzle segments, but a LancerCon is required for him to be playable and switched to. Similar to his board gameplay, Lancer can dig, though only from the left side. Lancer is also not animated when he moves across the map.
Obtaining multiple LancerCons also causes Lancer to be swapped in per controller.
When an encounter occurs, the party loses control of the pixelated heroes and instead enters a traditional battle. In these encounters, Kris's Pocket Items can be used, Darkners can be recruited, and Dark Dollars are earned at the end. However, battles are partially altered for this segment. Rank performances have specific criteria based on battle results:
- TURNS: Less turns causes higher ranks.
- HURT: How many times the SOUL gets hit during the enemy's turn, if at all. Consumables cannot be used to mitigate this tally.
- TP: The meter must surpass the star indicator on the bar for high rank results. TP can be gained sooner by a mix of DEFENDing, grazing bullets, and/or equipping armor such as TensionBow prior to starting the game. Due to command order, DEFENDing immediately earns TP upon selecting that option.
Quizzes occur when a quiz vortex runs into the party. POINTs are based on selected correct and incorrect answers. 300 POINTs are rewarded if all questions were answered correctly by all contestants. Otherwise, if six or more correct answers were given (including Susie's and Ralsei's answers), then 25 POINTs are awarded for each correct answer. If five correct answers were given, 25 POINTs are awarded, and if four correct answers were given, there is no reward.[1]
If three or fewer correct answers were given, then anyone who has no correct answers will have their game board health reduced by 2, down to a minimum of 1. This is equivalent to a sixth of the answerer's max health.[2][3] In the third round of the TV Time show, wrong answers result in taking a random amount of damage between 30 and 38.[4]
Selecting an answer quickly almost always causes Susie and Ralsei to also choose the same answer. Taking too long to select an answer usually causes Susie and Ralsei to pick an incorrect answer, decreasing POINTs gained. If the CONFIRM button was not pressed, it is also considered an incorrect option.
During two of the quizzes, Tenna asks a personal question for Kris. If the SOUL idles on an answer on either side of the correct one, Kris visibly coughs and moves the SOUL to the correct option.
If the party loses in any of the battles, instead of a Game Over screen, Tenna selects a different type of punishment and returns the party back to where they were.[5] If the party was defeated during an encounter, that encounter ends. If it was a boss battle (i.e. Lanino and Elnina or Shuttah), the battle can be re-attempted.
| Condition | Punishment | Dialogue |
|---|---|---|
| 200 or more POINTs | Tenna takes a third of the party's POINTs, rounded down. If the party has fewer than 3 POINTs, he takes 1 POINT. | I WILL be taking some of your POINTs! |
| Between 2 and 20 POINTs, with a TV Dinner | ||
| Between 21 and 199 POINTs | Tenna takes all of the party's POINTs. | I WILL be taking ALL of your POINTs! |
| 1 POINT, with a TV Dinner | ||
| 0 POINTs, with a TV Dinner; 0 POINTs, with a full inventory | Tenna becomes sad. | Punishment for ME to have to watch you TANK THESE RATINGS losing at 0 POINTs!!! |
| 20 or fewer POINTs, without a TV Dinner | Tenna gives the party two TV Dinners. |
|
The Desert Board is the first board, where Kris has to collect at least three keys and a Mooncloud Stone to enter the pyramid. Lancer also appears, who can help the party progress. The two Secret Bonuses for this board are finding two extra Keys. However, the fifth key is unobtainable in an initial playthrough, only being accessible once there is a Completion FILE for Chapter 3.
Desert Board has three encounters. Two are versus Shadowguys, and one versus Lanino and Elnina.
There are a total of three quizzes, two of which are in the quiz area, and one in the cacti room, with the latter being southwest in the map. Answering all three quizzes perfectly rewards a total of 900 POINTs.
After Susie obtains the Power Croissant, it is possible to accrue multiple POINTs by respawning weeds.
After completing the Desert Board, the Cooking Show begins. Ranks for this board and Cooking Show accumulate for Round 1 of TV Time, and the party can access the Green Room for the first time.
The Island Board is the second board, where Kris has to reunite Lanino with Elnina at Lover's Peak to reach Atlantis Stadium. Rouxls Kaard also appears to assist the party. The two Secret Bonuses for this board are taking a fourth hidden photo and consuming the moss.
Island Board has three encounters. Two are versus Pippins, and one versus Shuttah.
After Kris obtains the camera, it is possible to earn multiple POINTs by taking pictures of the Shadowguy that attacks from the palm trees.
There are weeds and blue flowers on this board, though Susie does not automatically pull them.
When Tenna temporarily leaves, Susie shuffles controller plugs during this segment. This leads to Kris temporarily controlling Susie in-game, and Susie and Ralsei briefly controlling Kris in-game.
After completing the Island Board, Rock Video begins. Ranks for this board and Rock Video accumulate for Round 2 of TV Time. Afterwards, the party returns to the Green Room.
The "ORIGINAL game" is an optional secret minigame that features three maps and must be completed in its entirety for the Sword Route. The Original Game was the basis for The Legend of Tenna.[6][7]
In contrast to The Legend of Tenna, the Original Game has altered gameplay. HERO_SWORD can use the sword to attack in front of them, similarly to Link in The Legend of Zelda. This allows HERO_SWORD to attack the enemies that appear on each Board, which are variants of the Desert Board, Island Board, and the unused City Board.
Segments of this game can only be played at the end of Round 1 and Round 2 if T-rank, S-rank, or Z-rank was earned, and after Tenna's first encounter.
Toby Fox had long wanted to recreate the feeling of playing a video game with friends within a video game, and stated that he would be happy if he could give players that feeling with The Legend of Tenna. A scrapped feature based on this idea was originally planned for Undertale, where the protagonist would play arcade games with Monster Kid in Hotland, with the latter providing various comments throughout the game.[8]
The Legend of Tenna's title screen
Concept layouts for the The Legend of Tenna's boards
- TV Time: The Legend of Tenna is an homage to several games in The Legend of Zelda series, particularly the original The Legend of Zelda, Link's Awakening, and Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. This is reflected in its art style, animations, screen transitions, and sound effects, among other more specific references. Toby Fox acknowledged this similarity in the Winter 2025 newsletter.[9]
- The Power Croissant references the Power Bracelet, whose sprite in the original The Legend of Zelda resembles a croissant. Both items allow their wearer to pick up and throw pots.
- The raft is an item in the original The Legend of Zelda.
- The entrance to the Secret Mailroom is similar to a puzzle in the first dungeon of the original The Legend of Zelda.
- The line "HEY, KRIS, WANT TO PLAY MONEY MAKING GAME?" is a reference to a quote from the Old Man character in the original The Legend of Zelda, "LET'S PLAY MONEY MAKING GAME".
- When Susie picks up one of the keys, the Tenna shopkeeper shouts "THIEF!!". In Link's Awakening, Link can run out of the main shop in Mabe Village with an item without paying, which permanently changes his name to "THIEF" for the rest of the game.
- The brief track that plays when Lancer is digging is titled "Dig! Dig! To The Center of the Earth!", referencing a quote uttered by Marin in Link's Awakening. Marin says "Great! Dig it! Dig it! Dig to the center of the earth!" if Link uses the shovel with her as a follower.
- The repetitive, empty screens when sailing the ocean are similar in nature to the seas in Oracle of Ages.
- Tenna commenting "See, it just loops!" to dissuade Kris from continuing north may be a reference to looping areas like the Lost Woods and Lost Hills in The Legend of Zelda games. The Ice Palace also includes a similar looping puzzle to these areas.
- During the unused City Board, Tenna calls the TV Tower a "dungeon", referencing dungeons in the The Legend of Zelda franchise.
- The falling rocks are similar to the Ganchan enemy's sprite from Super Mario Land.
- The gameplay of TV Time: The Legend of Tenna may also be a homage to Goof Troop (SNES), a top-down multiplayer game where you progress by solving puzzles involving pushing around blocks and throwing objects.
- The first level of Goof Troop takes place in a beach area somewhat similar in appearance to the Island Board.
- The plank item in Goof Troop is similar in purpose to the movable bridge pieces in the Island Board.
- Battles in The Legend of Tenna have individual time requirements that were presumably going to be used for ranks, but ultimately went unused.
- In the non-canon[10] Fangamer commercial for the HERO_SWORD, HERO_AXE, and HERO_SCARF figurines, Tenna implies that Ramb was responsible for modifying the Original Game into The Legend of Tenna.[11]
- ↑ gml_Object_obj_quizsequence_Draw_0 script, Chapter 3
- ↑ gml_GlobalScript_scr_board_battlehealth script, Chapter 3
- ↑ gml_Object_obj_mainchara_board_Create_0 script, Chapter 3
- ↑ gml_Object_obj_quizsequence_Other_13 script, Chapter 3
- ↑ gml_Object_obj_gameover_board_Step_0 script, Chapter 3
- ↑
Y'see, that game you been playin'? It's not, EXACTLY, the original.
— Ramb, Chapter 3
Ol' Tenna's done a little somethin' here, a little somethin' there...
And made the whole adventure some big ol' blasted line from A to B. - ↑
OH, WHY DID I BASE
— Tenna, Original Game, Chapter 3
IT OFF THIS STUPID
OLD THING!! - ↑ 前からずっと、「友だちといっしょにゲームをしているあの感じを、ゲームの中で再現したい」と思っていました。みんな口々に冗談を言ったり、画面の中で起きたことにちゃちゃを入れたり、みんなに見せたいがために、わざとバカなことをしたり…。そういうのを、ずっと前からやりたくて。
本当は『UNDERTALE』で、「ホットランド」にゲームセンターを作りたかったんです。モンスターの子といっしょにゲームができて、プレイヤーがゲームをしているあいだ、モンスターの子がいろいろコメントする、っていう…。「THE LEGEND OF TENNA」のシーンで、本当に友だちとゲームをしているように感じてもらえたら、うれしいです。 ("For a long time now, I've been thinking, "I want to recreate that feeling of playing games with friends, right inside the game itself." Everyone cracking jokes, chiming in about what's happening on screen, deliberately doing silly things just to show everyone… I've wanted to do that for ages.
Actually, in UNDERTALE, I wanted to add an arcade to Hotland. You could play games with Monster Kid, and while the player was gaming, Monster Kid would comment on all sorts of things… If the scene in THE LEGEND OF TENNA makes you feel like you're really playing with friends, I'd be thrilled.") — Toby Fox, Nintendo DREAM Vol. 376 (September 2025 issue), page 41. - ↑
Board 1 [Z*lda style]
— CHAPTER 3 and 4 LOOK BACK! (Fox, Toby, December 18, 2025.) toby.fangamer.com. - ↑
(Also, it goes without saying, but commercials are non-canon.)
— @tobyfox.undertale.com on Bluesky, November 25, 2025. - ↑ And now a word from Mr. "Ant" Tenna… (00:32) on YouTube