Nintendo's Hylian hero Link is most recognizable in a green tunic and matching pointy hat. It's the outfit he dons upon starting up The Legend of Zelda on NES, and future titles including The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess spend time showing their respective heroes receiving the iconic look. Skyward Sword, which acts as a sort of origin story, had Link receive the green tunic upon graduating from Skyloft's Knight Academy. However, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild shook things up with the blue Champion's Tunic.
Breath of the Wild was a huge departure from prior Zelda games, placing an emphasis on open-world exploration and the freedom to approach combat as desired rather than a predictable gauntlet of dungeons. Thus, it made sense for Link to have a new look coinciding with his more unique backstory as part of a larger team. A traditional green tunic does appear via the Armor of the Wild, but this optional late-game item has a questionable canonicity that Breath of the Wild 2 should address.
Outfit Changes Across Zelda History
Though Link may be best-known for wearing green, even with crossovers such as Soulcalibur 2, there are costume changes in just about every Zelda game. The original NES title let players upgrade Link to blue and red tunics by collecting damage-reducing rings. That green, blue, and red color motif has become defining for the franchise via items like the Pendants of Virtue in A Link to the Past, or the three Golden Goddesses - Farore, Nayru, and Din - further defined in Ocarina of Time.
Ocarina of Time also provided Link access to the red Goron and blue Zora tunics, which allow him to survive the volcanic heat of Death Mountain and breath underwater, respectively. Subsequent games like Twilight Princess carried on the trend through outfits like the Zora Armor and (one could argue) the Magic Armor. The Wind Waker introduced Magic Armor as a spell coating that turned Link invincible, but Twilight Princess turned it into literal golden armor with red highlights. The Hero of Twilight would also be invincible while wearing Magic Armor so long as he was holding Rupees; otherwise it weighed him down.
It's hard to discuss outfit changes in Zelda games without looking at the multiplayer-focused Tri Force Heroes, released on 3DS in 2015. The game's main gimmick let three friends complete objective-based levels in the same engine as A Link Between Worlds, but Tri Force Heroes' theming was based around fashion. Players bring rare materials to Madame Couture in exchange for a variety of costumes, ranging from practical pieces like a parka that removed ice physics to silly gear like a cheerleader outfit that boosts the team's energy gauge. Plenty of references were also snuck into this game, from a Hammer Bro to a blocky Minecraft-inspired look.
Breath of the Wild's Armor System
In terms of cosmetics, Breath of the Wild is closer to Tri Force Heroes than just about any other game in the franchise. Link wakes up from his 100-year hibernation in the Shrine of Resurrection with nothing but underwear, and it's up to players to gather resources or overcome challenges that unlock outfits across Hyrule. Just about every outfit offers a different benefit, from the Snowquill set that protects from cold weather to the Climbing Gear that reduces stamina consumption. Really dedicated players can find sets like the Barbarian Armor by completing Shrines, and almost every set can be dyed in Hateno Village.
The Champion's Tunic is only a chest piece, obtained from Impa after recovering some of Link's memories. It has a high maximum defense and allows players to see how much health their opponents have, though its real value is in lore-building. This blue tunic bears the crest of Hyrule's royal family, and the same fabric is worn in different configurations by Princess Zelda and the four Champions of Hyrule. These characters only appear in flashbacks throughout Breath of the Wild, but have more prominent roles in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
Where the Armor of the Wild Fits In
Because Breath of the Wild achieved such blockbuster status, the Champion's Tunic has also appeared in numerous crossovers - from first-party Nintendo games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and Capcom's Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. Yet the big reward Breath of the Wild players can work toward is the Armor of the Wild, which emulates muted key art from the NES Zelda game and can be dyed a variety of colors.
The Armor of the Wild is the closest thing to a completion reward in Breath of the Wild, unlocked by going to the giant Goddess Statue in the Forgotten Temple after beating all 120 Shrines. Upgrading this set at Great Fairy Fountains will unlock the "Master Sword Beam Up" trait. It's clearly intended to be the true companion for the Master Sword, with in-game text referencing its use by other heroes of antiquity, and Armor of the Wild appears as an alternate costume in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
That being said, fans are left wondering whether the armor set will play a role in Breath of the Wild 2. One could argue it's unlikely Armor of the Wild is considered a "canon" acquisition for Link given Breath of the Wild's open-ended nature let players go straight to Hyrule Castle. However, marketing for this upcoming sequel shows Link wielding the Master Sword, which was also technically optional. Multiple pieces of gear like Link's Hylian Shield are also in flux given the original game's dubious canon elements, but this armor is a particularly interesting case.
Breath of the Wild 2's E3 2019 trailer shows Link traveling with Zelda in his blue Champion's Tunic. Just about all future footage shows him running around Hyrule in a new, lighter outfit with his right arm exposed. It appears Link is going back to a more traditional color scheme given green clothe covers his left shoulder, so Nintendo may reveal a connection to the Armor of the Wild. Perhaps Link cobbled his new outfit together using the classic hero's garb after his Champion's Tunic was affected by the malicious energy beneath Hyrule Castle. Fans will just have to wait and see.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 releases spring 2023 for Nintendo Switch.