Hyrule is basically a giant graveyard. When you first wake up in the Shrine of Resurrection, you're greeted by a world that has already lost. Most open-world games populate their maps with thousands of generic NPCs who exist just to tell you where the nearest shop is, but characters in Breath of the Wild are different. They carry the weight of a century-old trauma.
It’s heavy.
Nintendo took a massive gamble here. Instead of a linear story where you meet people in a specific order, they scattered the narrative like broken glass across a massive landscape. You might meet a descendant of a hero before you even know who that hero was. Honestly, it shouldn't work, but the way these characters are written—with their specific regrets and tiny, daily routines—makes the world feel lived-in despite the literal apocalypse that happened 100 years prior.
The Tragedy of the Champions
The four Champions—Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa—are the heart of the game's emotional stakes. You never actually meet them alive. That's the kicker. You only interact with their spirits or see them through Link’s fractured memories. This distance makes their personalities pop even more because you’re piecing together their lives through the eyes of a man who forgot them.
Take Revali. Most players think he’s just a jerk. He’s arrogant, condescending, and constantly needles Link about his inability to fly. But if you dig into the "Champion’s Ballad" DLC or read his diary in the Rito Village, you realize he’s incredibly insecure. He wasn’t born with some divine power; he worked himself to the bone to master the Gale. His resentment toward Link stems from the fact that Link was "chosen" by a sword, while Revali had to earn every ounce of his skill. It’s a very human bit of jealousy.
Then you have Mipha. Her story is the one that usually gets people. She was the Zora Princess who was clearly in love with Link, and she even made the Zora Armor for him—a traditional marriage proposal in her culture. The tragedy isn't just that she died; it's that her father, King Dorephan, and her brother, Sidon, have had to live with that loss for a century. When you finally free her spirit from Divine Beast Vah Ruta, her first thought isn't about her own death, but whether her father is doing okay. It’s gut-wrenching stuff.
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Why Princess Zelda Is the Most Complex Character in the Series
For decades, Zelda was often just the person you needed to save. In Breath of the Wild, she is arguably the protagonist of the story that happened before the game started. Link is just the guy cleaning up the mess.
Zelda in this game is a scholar. She’s a scientist. She loves Sheikah technology and wants to study the Guardians. But her father, King Rhoam, constantly berates her for failing to unlock her sealing power. You see her frustration in the memory at Lanayru Promenade. She’s trying. She’s praying. She’s doing everything right, and the gods just aren't answering.
This version of Zelda deals with impostor syndrome.
She feels like a failure while everyone around her—the Champions and Link—seems to be excelling at their roles. Her relationship with Link starts out cold and even hostile because he represents her own perceived inadequacy. He's the perfect knight, and she's the "broken" princess. Watching that relationship thaw through the 12 captured memories is the real "plot" of the game, more than hitting Ganon with an arrow.
The Quirky NPCs That Make Hyrule Feel Alive
It's not just about the big heroes. The characters in Breath of the Wild that populate the stables and villages are what keep you from feeling totally lonely.
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Beedle is a legend. He’s been in multiple Zelda games, but here he’s a tireless merchant wandering the roads with a pack that looks like it weighs 300 pounds. He has a weird obsession with beetles. He’ll try to bribe you for them. If you refuse, he mutters about hiring someone to rob you. It's a tiny detail, but it gives him an edge that most "shopkeeper" NPCs lack.
Then there's Bolson and Karson. The construction duo. They’re colorful, they have a specific dance, and they’re responsible for one of the best side quests in gaming history: From the Ground Up. This quest shows how characters from different races—Goron, Gerudo, Rito, and Zora—can come together to build something new (Tarrey Town) in a world that’s been stagnant for 100 years.
- Paya: Impa’s granddaughter who is painfully shy. Her diary reveals she’s named after a birthmark that... well, you find out it’s in a very specific spot.
- Kass: The accordion-playing Rito who travels the world. He's actually the one who guides you through the game's lore, finishing the songs his teacher never got to complete.
- Flowerblight Ganon (Magda): Not an actual boss, but the woman guarding the shrine surrounded by flowers. If you step on them too many times, she goes into a literal berserker rage. It’s a meme for a reason.
The Villains Aren't Just Monsters
Calamity Ganon is more of a force of nature—a purple cloud of malice. But the Yiga Clan adds a layer of human villainy. Master Kohga is a buffoon, honestly. He’s the comic relief villain who loves bananas and has a belly that’s far too big for his ninja outfit.
But the Yiga themselves are tragic. They are a splinter group of the Sheikah who felt betrayed by the Royal Family of Hyrule 10,000 years ago when their technology was banned. They aren't just "evil"; they are a group defined by ancient spite. When you meet a "traveler" on the road who suddenly transforms into a Yiga footsoldier, it keeps you on your toes. It makes the world feel dangerous in a way that mindless Bokoblins don't.
Exploring the King’s Regret
King Rhoam is often seen as the "bad guy" of the backstory. He was hard on Zelda. He stopped her from pursuing her passions. But when you find his diary in the hidden room in Hyrule Castle, you see a father who was terrified.
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He knew the prophecy. He knew Ganon was coming. He didn't pressure Zelda because he was a jerk; he did it because he thought it was the only way to save the world. His ghost on the Great Plateau is the first person you meet, and his transition from the "Old Man" to the King is the moment the game truly begins. He admits his mistakes. He tells Link to "save my daughter." It’s a plea for redemption from a man who died with nothing but regret.
Master Kohga and the Yiga Dynamic
It is worth noting that the Yiga Clan represents the only "civilized" threat you face. Every other enemy is a monster or a machine. The Yiga are people. They use weapons you can use. They eat the same food you eat.
When you infiltrate their hideout in the Karusa Valley, you see how they live. They have hoards of bananas. They have a weirdly structured hierarchy. It's a stark contrast to the rest of the game's lonely atmosphere. It reminds you that even in the apocalypse, people will find a way to organize, even if it's for the wrong reasons.
Realism in Dialogue and Interaction
The writing team at Nintendo did something subtle with the dialogue. NPCs react to what you're wearing. If you walk into a shop in your underwear, they get uncomfortable. If you stand on a table, they tell you to get down. If you save an NPC from a monster on the road, they give you a meal or some ore.
These aren't static quest-givers. They feel like people who are just trying to survive a Tuesday in a world where a giant mechanical lizard is crawling on a nearby volcano.
Actionable Steps for Deep Character Interaction
To truly experience the depth of these characters, don't just rush the main quest. You'll miss the soul of the game.
- Read the Diaries: Almost every major character has a diary hidden in their house. This includes the King, Zelda, all four Champions (in the DLC), and even Paya. These contain the internal monologues that the cutscenes don't show.
- Talk to Everyone Twice: NPCs often have different dialogue based on the time of day, the weather, or your current equipment.
- Complete "From the Ground Up": This is the definitive NPC quest. Go to Hateno Village, buy the house, and talk to Hudson. It links the entire world together through its characters.
- Find All 12 Memories: Don't skip these. Without the memories, Zelda is just a voice in your head. With them, she’s a person you actually want to save.
Understanding the characters in Breath of the Wild requires looking past the ruins. The world is empty, sure, but the people left in it are fighting tooth and nail to keep their culture and families alive. Whether it’s Prince Sidon’s unwavering (and slightly blinding) optimism or the quiet sadness of Impa watching the years slip away, the characters are why we’re still talking about this game nearly a decade later. They aren't just icons on a map; they’re the reason Hyrule is worth saving in the first place.