The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was announced at E3 2019 - at that point referred to as Breath of the Wild's upcoming sequel. Nintendo kept most details about its anticipated project under wraps for years, but the last few months have finally given fans a taste of what to expect upon release next month. Between Eiji Aonuma's gameplay demonstration that introduced abilities like Fuse on March 28 and Tears of the Kingdom's final pre-launch trailer on April 13, it's clear the game won't just be Breath of the Wild 2, and in fact Link and Zelda will have plenty of help on their quest to defeat a revived Ganondorf.
One of the most interesting insights coming off the game's final trailer is how Tears of the Kingdom appears to handle the Champion's descendants from Breath of the Wild: Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, and Teba. These characters were a pivotal part of Link's quest to vanquish Calamity Ganon and even appeared in the spin-off Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, so it's good to know (some of them) will return. Tears of the Kingdom also seems to be making the smart choice of letting them act as traveling companions, rather than keeping them contained to sequences in their home environments.
The Role of Breath of the Wild's Champions So Far
During the war with Calamity Ganon 100 years prior to Breath of the Wild, Link and Zelda fight alongside four Champions who command the Divine Beasts for their respective tribes: Mipha the Zora, Daruk the Goron, Urbosa the Gerudo, and Revali the Rito. All four are killed by the Blight Ganons, their spirits left in perpetual unrest until Link travels to the four corners of Hyrule in his quest to free the ancient machines. Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, and Teba fill their predecessors' positions and help Link access the Divine Beast terrorizing their peoples through mini-games like Sand Seal surfing or Bomb Arrow target practice.
After Link helps in Breath of the Wild, they return that favor in the arguably noncanonical Age of Calamity. This hack-and-slash title developed by Koei Tecmo presents a sort of alternate history in which Link and company defeat Calamity Ganon 100 years ago with the help of a miniature Guardian named Terrako. The robot is able to open a portal through space and time that brings Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, and Teba into the past, where they save their predecessors before joining the ultimate fight. These characters return to their timeline at the end of the game, but it's unclear whether Tears of the Kingdom treats this as canon.
Tears of the Kingdom Could Give the Champion's Descendants Huge Roles
What is clear based on the final trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is that these descendants will play a role in the adventure. Riju is shown using some equivalent of Urbosa's Fury, summoning a circle of lightning while wielding two swords. Later, Sidon is shown battling a Construct alongside Link atop one of Tears of the Kingdom's new sky islands. Both of them also assist in what the trailer suggests to be a battle with a Malice-corrupted Gleeok, though they're working alongside a different Rito warrior who could be Teba's son, Tulin.
The stand-out part of these sequences is they show the Champion's descendants in different parts of Hyrule. Their companion status was temporary in Breath of the Wild, restricted to plot events around storming the Divine Beasts. However, Sidon's presence in this Tears of the Kingdom trailer points to them serving as companions akin to a Bethesda game, letting Link take a battle partner anywhere. This would certainly be a step up from ideas like Yunobo playing red light, green light around Death Mountain, but fans will have to wait and see how their roles pan out in the final release.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases May 12, 2023, for Nintendo Switch.