I wish the Yiga Clan weren’t such silly geese in Tears of the Kingdom

I love a good villain. Heroes save the day, but often the antagonists drive the plot forward. While Link and Zelda are reacting to Ganon’s machinations, he goes wild unleashing calamity and turmoil. But that same big evil gets a little stale, and Ganondorf is truly the most prolific boss in all of the Zelda games, only occasionally giving up the field to secondary antagonists like Zant.

Which is a shame, because I like a little variety in my villains. is an excellent, untapped source of boss fights The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild And tears of the kingdomBut they never really shine.

[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.]

Yiga clan appeared for the first time breath of the wild, posing as ordinary passers-by on the street, only to reveal themselves in assassination attempts. They appear in the background the whole time BotW, attempting to assassinate Link and Zelda and taking advantage of an informant in Kakariko Village. Link later infiltrates their headquarters and kills their leader Master Kohga, causing him to fall into a pit in a foreshadowing-filled cutscene. Kohga isn’t exactly an iconic enemy; You just interrupt his Sheikah slate casts and scold him over his silly little noggin.

- Advertisement -

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Play Gamez

After dispatching Kohga, Yiga agents will appear randomly in the overworld to try to exact some revenge, but otherwise we don’t learn much about them. so when i got my first yiga chowki tears of the kingdom, I was beyond stunned. The idea of ​​a different ideology from Sheikah, who is the opposite of our heroes but uses the same powerful tools, is fascinating. There is a lot to explore there.

At first, it looked like Yiga Clan might be able to live up to my skyrocketing expectations. I found their settlements in the depths, guarded by ultrahand machines. I found notes that suggested Kohga had somehow survived, and I started looking for him. The depths add seriousness to the proceedings, and I looked forward to watching the new Kohaga take shape from his necklace and the darkness that surrounds him.

There are definitely more Yiga clan members in this game, and it’s cool to see how they’ve built up their defenses. But in pursuing Kohga, I finally find out… he’s been working for Ganondorf the whole time, and besides, he’s still a bigot. There’s more to the boss fight, but I once again use his ultrahand tool against him and then take him out of the depths with all the grace of a Team Rocket hooligan.

For what it’s worth, I do enjoy the Yiga content we have. I like this clan, and their focus is on evasion rather than strength. just like inside breath of the wildYiga assassins constantly appear in pursuit of revenge, and I often use their weapons and cosmetics.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Play Gamez

But I can’t stop thinking about what a fictional Yiga clan could have been, where they aren’t a series of miniboss encounters and slapstick comedy bits. What were the circumstances of his original split with the Sheikha? How do they feel about Hyrule’s use of this technology? What does he get from his partnership with Ganondorf?

funny side game Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity This is addressed with the character of Souga, Kouga’s right-hand man. We see that Suga was rescued in his childhood, so he is deeply loyal to Kohuga. He’s a badass in his own right, and he eventually joins the list of playable characters as well. But era of trouble is non-canon, and therefore just an intriguing possibility of what Suga could have been.

Don’t get me wrong – Ganondorf is a good villain, and I’m not saying he needs to be taken out or anything. But the Zelda franchise could use some new antagonists to shake things up and add diversity to the franchise. Hyrule has changed dramatically among breath of the wild And tears of the kingdom, And I wish the Yiga clan had changed more in return. Maybe in the next game, they’ll finally instill a real sense of dread in me. I hope, at least, I don’t have to take the plunge on Master Kohga anytime soon.