It goes without saying that Tears of the Kingdom was one of the most-successful games for the Zelda franchise. As a sequel to Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) had high expectations to fill. While met with high praise for bringing back Ganondorf, including some quality-of-life improvements and Link's new Abilities (particularly the Ultrahand), it couldn't please everyone.

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Unlike Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom pushes its players to go to Rito Village in the Hebra Region once they've spoken to Purah at Lookout Landing. The Rito were first introduced in Wind Waker, but the Rito from BotW/TotK have very little in common with their original counterparts. As the first "arc" of TotK, it's not the most difficult part of the "Regional Phenomena" main quest, but a lot of players noticed a few missing characters and areas where the Rito Arc could have been improved.

6 Easier Access to Cold-Resistant Gear

Affordable Snowquill Armor

Like in BotW, weather can affect Link if he's not equipped with the right gear in TotK. The solution is to eat a meal or drink an elixir with heat/cold-resistance, or to wear weather-resistant armor or weapons. If players decide to start "Tulin of Rito Village" as their first "Regional Phenomena" quest, they will need warm armor. The closer they get to the Wind Temple, the colder it'll get. Tulin will even caution Link that he'll need something to keep himself warm if they're to continue. This calls for level 2 cold resistance. The good news is that players have access to the entire cold-resistant Snowquill Set in Rito Village. The bad news is that each piece of armor doesn't come cheap. To make matters worse, Rupees and ore are difficult to come by in TotK.

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The cheapest of the Snowquill Set is the Snowquill Tunic at 500 Rupees. While it's possible to sell enough items or meals to get enough money for the tunic, having cheaper armor would have been useful. Alternatively, TotK could have placed a Snowquill Armor piece tucked into a chest at a monster camp. This would save players from having to save up or backtrack to buy proper gear. Wearing the Snowquill Tunic + the Archaic War Greaves (obtained on the Great Sky Island) stacks enough cold-resistance for Link to walk around the Wind Temple without taking damage. However, unless players have enough Rupees or wares to sell, they're going to have to find another way to stay warm as they climb higher and higher into the Hebra skies.

5 References to Previous Rito Characters

Wind Waker's Medli or Prince Komali

If one takes time to read the slabs around Zora's Domain, they'll discover that Prince Sidon is a descendant of Ruto. This is the same Ruto who was the Sage of Water in Ocarina of Time, and one of the many callbacks to previous Zelda games. While easter eggs and references can be spotted throughout Hyrule, this one is different, as it confirms the existence of Ruto in the TotK timeline. There was a similar case with Urbosa mentioning Nabooru in Breath of the Wild.

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD

Franchise

The Legend of Zelda

Platform(s)

Nintendo Wii U

Released

September 20, 2013

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence

While the chances are slim, it would have been interesting to see a reference to an important Rito character from a previous Zelda game. Vah Medoh is a direct reference to Medli, the Sage of Earth in Wind Waker, and a friend of WW's Link. However, that shouldn't stop from referencing other Ritos such as Prince Komali or even Quill. Komali seems to be the same type of bird (or Rito) as Teba and Tulin, albeit with more humanlike features. Although, this could be said for all the Rito on Dragon Roost Island, who sport white and gray feathers.

Even if Komali wasn't an ancestor to Teba and Tulin, a reference to him is something Wind Waker fans would most likely appreciate. Especially since Rito Village's theme is a slowed-down version of Dragon Roost Island.

4 The Rito Sage

Teba & Tulin's Ancestor

One criticism that Tears of the Kingdom was met with was the lack of development for the nameless Sages during the Imprisoning War. They're only shown in flashbacks when Link clears a temple, and they call out to the present-day Sage via telepathy. To make matters worse, the cutscenes where the present-day Sages learn of the Imprisoning War are recycled with a few sentences changed to accommodate the appropriate characters.

Tulin's, and by extension, Teba's, ancestor looks similar to Teba in appearance, but other than being of the same bloodline, there's nothing else to him. Considering how Teba was a special case in BotW, as he was not a direct descendent or related to the original Champions, exploring the Wind Sage through flashbacks would have made his character less flat. Instead, players are only offered a glimpse of what he was: A powerful warrior chosen by Rauru to stand against Ganondorf with the other Sages. There's a lot of mystery surrounding the Sages, and without a DLC, nothing else will likely be revealed about the original Sage of Wind.

3 Champion Revali

Pilot of Divine Beast Vah Medoh

Mipha, Urbosa, Revali, and Daruk were the four Champions who piloted the Divine Beasts in Breath of the Wild. They're renowned by their respective homes for their prowess even though they've been dead for 100 years at the time BotW starts. With Tears of the Kingdom moving on from the Calamity, it's only natural that the Champions would fade out over time. However, while Mipha, Urbosa, and Daruk are name-dropped by various NPCs, one Champion does not get any mention whatsoever.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Franchise

The Legend of Zelda

Platform(s)

Nintendo Wii U , Switch

Released

March 3, 2017

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Metascore

97

Revali's arguably the most prickly of the Champions, as he was a proud warrior and had the least amount of faith in Link's skills. While that did him little favors both in and out of universe, one can't deny that Revali was a hard worker and has earned his share of bragging rights (for the most part). The Champions' Ballad DLC shows a cutscene where he was trying to master what would be known as Revali's Gale.

Revali's ability to create an updraft, which was deemed impossible, went down in Rito history. Many Rito aspired to be like him - including Teba. However, despite his legacy in Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity, there's no mention of him by the other villagers. Even Teba, who once admired Revali and even gave Tulin the Great Eagle Bow (Revali's weapon), doesn't speak of Revali. The only reference to him is Revali's Landing.

2 Kass

The Champions' Ballad

Speaking of characters with little to no mention, TotK players were disappointed to see that Kass was nowhere to be seen. Kass was a traveling minstrel who would carry his accordion with him everywhere. He gives hints for unlocking certain Shrines in BotW, and he even had a bigger role in the Champions' Ballad DLC. His theme song even got a rendition for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Instead of Kass, players will find Penn instead, a worker for the Lucky Clover Gazette. Oddly enough, Penn, who was not present in Breath of the Wild, even mentions Kass once players have completed all the Lucky Clover Gazette side adventures. Despite this, Kass makes no return to Tears of the Kingdom. Not even saving Rito Village from an unending blizzard is enough to bring him back to Hyrule. Without a DLC, it just raises the question of what exactly happened to Kass in between BotW and TotK.

1 Teba

Rito Village Elder & Rito Warrior

Teba was an important character in Breath of the Wild, as he assists Link in getting aboard Vah Medoh. Unfortunately, compared to the other present-day "Champions" (i.e: Sidon, Riju, Yunobo), Teba doesn't get as much screen time. This was remedied a bit in the Age of Calamity spinoff game, in which Teba travels to the past to assist Revali and the others. Some fans will even say he's one of the most broken characters in AoC. Because of this, it was only natural to assume Teba would still be around for Tears of the Kingdom.

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This was not the case, as one of the TotK trailers instead revealed his son, Tulin, charging into battle with Link and the other Sages. Tulin even got key artwork that was shared alongside Sidon's and Riju's before the worldwide release of TotK. Fans worried that something bad had happened to Teba, which is why his son was called to the front instead. It turned out that Teba wasn't axed off after all. Instead, he took up the mantle of Rito Elder. While this isn't a bad direction for his character, Teba has no voiced lines in Tears of the Kingdom, and his screen time is greatly diminished to make room for Tulin.

For the remainder of the game, he stays in Rito Village and offers to make Link a Great Eagle Bow. Seeing Teba go from a major character to a background NPC was disappointing, and many players wished that he had more of a role in the Rito Arc of TotK. Some would go on to say they'd prefer Teba was the Sage of Wind instead of Tulin.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for Nintendo Switch.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Franchise

The Legend of Zelda

Platform(s)

Switch

Released

May 12, 2023

Developer(s)

Nintendo

ESRB

Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes