Link has another open-world to explore inThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.Somehow, this game is even more breathtaking than its predecessor. It’s bigger, too, with even more world to explore and loot. We play as Link, though, so we tend to think of our activities as the noble pursuits of a brave hero. Is that really true?
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Here, we’re going to outline a few occasions when Link wasn’t exactly on the right side. There’s always an opportunity for mayhem in an open-world; you may go around breaking the local vases looking for bugs and jump on everyone’s bed, but no one really cares. Instead of focusing on those hijinks (amusing as they are to imagine realistically), this article will examine particular side quests where Link wasn’t his best self.
4Who Goes There? & A Deal With The Statue
An early quest you might encounter in Tears of the Kingdom is ‘Who Goes There?’ Youget it from Jerrin in the Emergency Shelter at Lookout Landing; she tells you about a strange voice she’s started hearing from a hole in the wall. The first red flag: she tells youshe’s so anxious that she swept hard enough to create a hole in a rock wall,andstarted hearing voices, and Link has no follow-up questions about how he can help with her mental health.
Anyway, after a little investigating, you can discover the Royal Hidden Passage past the hole that Jerrin swept. Once you’re inside, you’ll need to dig through a couple of boulders but you’ll eventually come across the eerie voice Jerrin described. It’s coming out of astrange little statuethat looks like the depictions of Hylia, but with wings and demon horns. Itoffers to make an unusual (sinister) deal with you:trade health for stamina and vice versa.
We’re not sure what the little demon statue is getting out of this deal, exactly, butwe’re pretty sure it can’t be good.Plus, you shouldn’t be putting your trust in something that was scaring your friend with spooky noises. Wait until Hylia hears about this!
3Ousting The Giants
Youget the quest ‘Ousting The Giants’by talking to an NPC named Kampo at the Lakeside Stable in Faron. He describes how three Hinox brothersare living in caves nearby, and why he’s anxious thatthey will scare away his customers.Link is tasked with defeating the Hinox brothers, of course.
When you’re playing this, you don’t really think twice about the fact that you’ve been asked to kill these creatures. After all, they’re framed asmonsters! They’re dangerous!
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…Are they? Are they dangerous? These Hinox brotherstook up residence in abandoned caves, not local villages.You don’t have any reason to think they’re a threat, except for Kampo’s out-of-control anxieties about his business. And don’t get us started on the whole “monsters” thing. Who are we to judge?
So, despite the fact thatthese Hinoxes are living quite peacefully in caves,only becoming aggressive when you march into their home unannounced, and there’s no real proof that they actuallyarescaring away customers, you decide it’s better for everyone if they’re dead. Real progressive.
2The Hunt for Bubbul Gems!
When youmeet poor, defenseless Koltin in Tears of the Kingdom, heinsists that eating Bubbul Gems will turn him into a Bubbulfrog.His logic is really pretty thin.Bubbulfrogs are amphibious blue creatures that live in caves.When you kill them, they turn into Blupees and run away, leaving a Bubbul Gem behind.
Let’s assume that attacking these Bubbulfrogs is okay. They might have really low health and don’t do anything except blow bubbles at you before you mercilessly slaughter them, but they do turn into a Blupee, so we can argue that we’re returning them to their original form. So that’s okay.
Our problem is this:why does Link decide to feed into this addiction?!Koltin’s going to end up in a rehab one day, and it will be your fault. Sure, he might reward you with exclusive armor, but how often do you even wear it? Was it worth poor Koltin’s mental and physical health? We say no.
1Infiltrating the Yiga Clan & The Yiga Clan Exam
For this one, we mean “Link was the bad guy"literally.The Yiga Clan are the bad guys.Link joins the Yiga Clan.
It’s not just a mistake or a goofy misunderstanding, either! To complete these quests, you have to deliberately seek out the Yiga Clan Hideout. Then, the guard at the door tells you to collect the entireYiga ArmorSet before they’ll allow you entry. So, off you go to track down the other, smaller Yiga pods in Hyrule. Sure, you usually fight Yiga to get the armor, but does it really count when the whole point is to never have to fight them again?
Once you have all the armor, you can enter the hideout at your leisure. There are merchants inside to talk to, if you want to fund the enemy with your hard-earned rupees. Then, if you wear the armor on the road, NPCs who would usually try to trick you before attacking will leave you alone. Sure, that’s theoretically useful, but we should really be taking out those Yiga-in-disguise before they go on to hurt others.Link’s willful ignorance disgusts us.
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