The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has a lot of new gameplay additions to the game over the original. The world is mostly the same on the surface albeit for minor changes, but the deep caverns and sky islands do offer players a different landscape to traverse.
Players can also fuse weapons and build machines in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. One of the more guarded secrets has been the involvement of the Sages from the first game. They will accompany Link on his journey albeit in a strange way. Each Sage also grants Link an ability, so let’s rank these characters and abilities out in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Spoilers Ahead
5 Mineru
Mineru is the brother of Rauru and the Sage of Spirit. She lost her body during The Imprisoning War, but her spirit lives on inside a Construct. Players have to reassemble her body in the depths below Hyrule. Once restored. Link can ride around on her like a mech.
They can attach things on her back, like fans, to make her go faster. Her arms can be equipped with weapons as well. Like the other Sages, she will follow Link around if he jumps off. The Construct is strong but it is also clunky. Since players can't obtain it until late into the game, it doesn't feel as necessary to use as the others. It all depends on how much players upgrade their battery capacity.
4 Sidon
Sidon is the Sage of Water and can be found in the Zora region of the map. He was one of the fan favorites of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as fans thirsted after him hard. He’s a bit more depressing in the sequel as he has a lot on his mind from his bride-to-be to his father to the muddy waters that infect his kingdom. Eventually, he becomes his old cheery self again by the time this quest line wraps up.
When Sidon accompanies Link, he can give him a bubble shield. This bubble will absorb damage from enemies and pop from a few blocks. If players strike at enemies, the bubble shield will fly off and hit them for a water strike. It’s one of the lamer abilities in the game which is filled with cool ones too like Ultrahand which allows players to build machines in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
3 Yunobo
Yunobo’s character has improved over the first game. He returns as the Sage of Fire and can be found in the fiery shadow of Death Mountain along with his fellow Goron people. He was a bit whiny in the first game but is a much more confident warrior in the sequel. Link’s first encounter with Yunobo makes him out to be a downright bully, although it wasn’t his fault. Yunobo along with a majority of his countrymen were being controlled.
His power is very useful for combat and for exploring. He will roll into a ball and wait to be launched at enemies for a hard-hitting strike. This rolled launch can break certain rocks too which is all too important for mining materials to upgrade armor or to gain Rupees fast in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom by selling priceless ore. He can even be attached to vehicles and can be launched that way too. The one downside to his character is that his dungeon is the worst in the game.
2 Riju
Riju is the Sage of Lightning and can be found in the sandy southern region inhabited by the badass femme fatales of the Gerudo tribe. Link first finds Riju practicing in the desert and his arrows help her come up with a plan. She is having trouble keeping her kingdom in shape because she is being invaded by zombies and a relentless sandstorm that will not quit. The arrival of Link changes things as it always does.
Riju’s power allows her to create an electric field. If Link is inside of it and fires an arrow, enemies will be damaged. The lightning strikes hit hard too. There are already a lot of great items players can fuse to weapons and arrows in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom but Riju’s power is free which makes it a good bonus.
1 Tulin
Tulin is without a doubt the best Sage in the game because of his ability. He is the Sage of Wind and is part of the Rito tribe. His region is quite different from last time because it is snowed over. Tulin is on a journey to prove to his father that he can be a proud warrior too. This leads him and Link into the clouds to figure out where this winter storm is coming from.
Tulin, as the Sage of Wind, can create gusts with the flap of his wings. Once activated, this will create a horizontal tunnel ahead of wind in the commanded direction. This can be useful on the ground to push back enemies, but it is most valuable in the air. With Tulin by Link’s side, he can fly further with this wind tunnel on the Paraglider in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. After the initial tutorial involving Purah, players should march as fast as they can to Tulin to get this ability.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released on May 12, 2023 and is available on Switch.