History TearJerker / TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild

** At least Link does have at least one song to honor his story and memory though, which is very important to Kass's quests. Despite being the Rito's Champion, the people who are most associated with music as a storytelling art form, no songs with Revali ever come up even among Kass's children unlike how Urbosa is seen to have multiple children keeping her memory alive.

** You can also find her father's journal, the last entry of which was written around the same time. [[spoiler:He regrets treating Zelda as harshly as he has, and resolves to treat her kindly regardless of what happens after her last attempt at awakening her powers. [[ForgoneConclusion He never got a chance to]].]]

* The Master Sword, lying alone in the woods, covered in rust, full of gouges. [[FridgeHorror Poor]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Fi]].
* Link's situation, as he was asleep for 100 years. And the fact he's mostly alone, likely clueless of what happened, in this Hyrule that's in ruins, can bring a tear to one's eyes. In fact, he doesn't seem to know even how he got there.

*** Alternatively, Link could have maybe made himself a willing test subject of Purah's [[spoiler:[[FountainOfYouth reverse-aging rune tests]]... ''If'' she discovered them a lot earlier than when she actually used it on herself in the game itself. It would make him and Mipha having a relationship rather awkward for a decade or two as a result of course, assuming the massive amounts of de-aging it does in a rapid timeframe didn't kill him since he's a Hylian instead of a longer lived Sheikah.]]

** Now that the context of the moment has been revealed, it's even more heartbreaking: [[spoiler:Zelda is weeping because, despite all their preparations, everything has gone wrong -- leading to the deaths of her father, the champions, and the destruction of most of the kingdom. The kicker? She's supposed to be the one who can seal Calamity Ganon away, but she utterly failed in unlocking her hidden power. As far as Zelda's aware, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the cataclysm and death of nearly everyone she ever knew is due to her own incompetence.]]]]

* Poor [[spoiler:Zelda]] is such a [[TheWoobie woobie]] in this game. [[spoiler:She's more of an academic than a leader, and yet she's expected to be able to seal away Ganon when the moment arrives, despite having no guidance on how to unlock her power (since the queen died before training began). The future of the entire kingdom rests on her shoulders; Link and the other champions can wound Ganon over and over, but only Zelda can lock him away. Yet, no matter how hard she studies and prays, she can't figure it out.]]
** [[spoiler:This self-loathing is personified in one of her diary entries. Throughout the memories, we witness Zelda being pretty cold towards Link; part of this is because she resents that, contrary to her, Link is a born leader and hero. But it's also because she fears that Link is silently judging her because of her inability to access her Triforce powers -- she thinks Link actually hates her.]]

* If you get into a tough fight while on horseback, your horse can be killed -- and won't come back -- if you're not careful. Unlike enemies and other animals, [[NoBodyLeftBehind who turn into a puff of smoke when killed]], its body just stays where it died. Even worse, when other people are attacked by enemies, they get knocked down, but get up after the danger has passed. So when the player witnesses a horse die for the first time, it might take a while to realize that [[PleaseWakeUp he is not getting back up]].

* Link is '''alone'''. Let that sink in. He's got no companion to accompany him during this dangerous quest. Previous ''Zelda'' games showcased Link's companion along with him in their respective trailers. This means that those Links had a friend to support him, to share in his burdens even if they themselves couldn't physically fight (ala King of Red Lions). This Link? Completely and utterly alone. No one to travel with him, no one to support him. It's just him against an ungodly EldritchAbomination. Even WordOfGod stated that their intent was to make you feel isolated, like you're the only living human being/Hylian within miles.

** You start to become attached to the Old Man in the opening plateau, he's always where you seem to be heading. Gives you tips on hunting, cooking, resting, shrines, exploring, and so on. [[spoiler:Then he reveals who he really is, shares his sad story, before entrusting you to shut down Ganon for good, [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence then passes on]]. And when he's gone... you feel like you lost a dear friend. As you wander around the plateau area... you couldn't feel ''more alone''.]]

*** The meaning behind one particular line becomes clearer once you've recalled these later memories; after explaining to Link the process of fast-travelling using the Sheikah Slate, the Old Man turns away and mutters quietly to himself that he's been ''told'' that's how it works, but he doesn't actually know for sure...In hindsight, it's clear that this was something [[spoiler:Zelda]] tried explaining to him [[spoiler:when he was alive, likely to no avail. The king has been musing all this time over how foolish it was of him to have dismissed his daughter's enthusiasm for ancient technology as irrelevant to her role, and how differently things might have been if he hadn't. Because of his own shortsightedness, his limited knowledge of this technology is the only resource Link has available at a time when he most needs to understand it - it's all the old man is good for now, and he hates himself for it.]]
** He's also seen riding with Zelda at certain points.... but this is merely a memory.
** There's an in-game explanation for why Link never speaks: [[spoiler:he explained to Zelda that the pressure and responsibility weigh so heavily upon him that the only way he can cope and prevent from cracking is to remain silent and stoic. So even before the kingdom fell, Link felt very alone.]]

** [[spoiler:The scene is even more intense in the Japanese text and other languages that stuck closer to it: Zelda doesn't tell Link "he's going to be fine". ''She literally begs him not to die.'']]
** [[spoiler:Link's near-death is heartbreaking in multiple ways, but players of ''Skyward Sword'' are bound to recognize the musical chime the Master Sword emits to get Zelda's attention -- and if you listen closely, a familiar leitmotif connected to that chime plays. Doubles as a HeartwarmingMoment too.]]
* In some twisted manner, one could view Ganon's state of being by now as this. Born out of Demise's Curse, he was still a man, and once wanted his home, the Gerudo Desert, to prosper as Hyrule did... but the curse did not allow it, and he was doomed to always fight against Link and Zelda. Now, he's a primal monster, without any shred of the original thief king left beyond [[spoiler:possibly his own rotting skull]]. Barely anybody that knows of the Calamity Ganon remembers he had, at one point, been a man, and refer to the Calamity Ganon as an ''it''.

** And worse still, [[spoiler:the current Gerudo see him as an affront to their people, saying ''it'' disguised ''itself'' as one of them. Time and/or the Gerudos themselves have disowned Ganon of his birth heritage, meaning that just like Zelda, his struggles were, in a way, all for nothing, as he failed completely to achieve his goals.]]

* In Gerudo Town, there is an NPC named Deltan who is at the Noble Canteen, a place that sells drinks that "only adults can drink". You find her there on a table with her head down, sobbing over ''multiple'' failed relationships with guys she liked. Note that there's 3 bottles next to her. Yup. This is a woman who is drinking her sorrows away in a Nintendo game. Hits even harder for anyone who ever went though a similar situation.

** The other lamentations aren't much better, mostly for how much of a JerkAss it establishes her never-were boyfriends as being: one rejected her for having long hair... ''after'' she grew it out for him in the first place, one rejected her for ''learning to cook for him'', and the last one rejected her ''because of her height''. It makes you wish both that you could give her a hug and that you could find these jerks and give them a slap.
* A piece of Heartwarming that is also simultaneously Tearjerker. Whenever you're at a bridge and get on the edge of it while a friendly NPC is there, they'll immediately try to talk you off of it as if you're about to commit suicide... but let's look at why [=NPCs=] would say such a thing. It's clear that Hyrule ''really'' hit the fan when Calamity Ganon showed up, and for the century afterwards, they've have been plagued by monsters who respawn every few nights underneath a [[BadMoonRising blood red moon]] making them have ResurrectiveImmortality, a Clan of Shiekah known as the Yiga who signed up with Ganon and decided to [[KillEmAll kill all Hylians who crossed their paths]] for a MistreatmentInducedBetrayal they suffered in the past, and absolute loads of monsters who could kill anyone with a single blast from their EyeBeam. The generally depressed state of Hyrule makes it sorrowfully clear that it'd be very hard not to fall off the DespairEventHorizon for those who are most affected by these events. Add the factor that many [=NPCs=] have the same reaction, and it's clear that many people have been DrivenToSuicide.

** You can also find her father's journal, the last entry of which was written around the same time. [[spoiler:He regrets treating Zelda as harshly as he has, and resolves to treat her kindly regardless of what happens after her last attempt at awakening her powers. He never gets a chance to.]]

** Once you find out Dorian's backstory, you'll want to do more than the above rampage -- you'll abuse Stasis like [[TimeStop Dio]] [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Brando]] and actively [[KillEmAll slaughter the Yiga to the last man]] (or if you want to be [[CruelAndUnusualDeath cruel]], [[DisintegratorRay use Ancient Arrows]]). [[spoiler:Dorian was a former member of the Yiga clan, but his wife was the reason why he defected. Unfortunately, the clan caught wind of this and murdered her, leaving Koko and Cottla without a mother. Upon his grief, he gave away information about Kakariko village and Link in exchange for their lives, but they decided [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness]]]]. Had Link not intervened, they could have succeeded.

** Revali does at least still have people remember him enough to aspire to be like him, like Urbosa does, so it may not be as bad as it first seems. Now, ''Link'', on the other hand? He lacks a statue, a landmark or really anything besides some older Hylians vaguely remembering that a Hylian Champion once existed and died. Other than the Sheikah and the resentful older generation of Zora, it doesn't seem like they even remember his ''name'' and unlike the other champions his WeaponOfChoice doesn't help since the Master Sword is legendary in its own right instead of being unique to him as a person.

* Collectively the memories themselves tend to be heartbreaking, especially when you get them out of order. Each memory gained tends to go from bittersweet to outright heartbreaking, and it ultimately serves as a reminder that Link is the only one left of his true companions.

* The Great Fairies' interaction with Link ranges from, shall we say, "enthusiastic", to "borderline sexual assault". But think about this. Link is the first to visit them in a century. They've been all alone for that time, with no one around but the minor fairies that hang out around their springs. The enthusiasm is ''joy'' at having someone see them again.

* The fact you can't find items in pots or by cutting long grass anymore. Why is this a TearJerker? In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'', it's revealed that Picori put out the items there, because they love humans. So either a race of [[AllLovingHero lovable mouse elves]] went extinct, or something happened that soured their views on humanity. Or maybe the world is just so bad that they don't have the resources to do it anymore.
** If you look hard enough, you can find rupees under some rocks. This arguably makes things worse, since they're still trying to help humans with no guarantee of success.

[[caption-width-right:350:Everything I've done up until now... it was all for nothing...]]

* If you get into a tough fight while on horseback, your horse can be killed -- and won't come back -- if you're not careful.
** Unlike enemies and other animals, [[NoBodyLeftBehind who turn into a puff of smoke when killed]], its body just stays where it died. Even worse, when other people are attacked by enemies, they get knocked down, but get up after the danger has passed. So when the player witnesses a horse die for the first time, it might take a while to realize that [[PleaseWakeUp he is not getting back up]].
*** [[spoiler:Good thing the Horse Fairy exists, huh?]]
*** But that's even worse. You are wrenching a beloved friend from the afterlife just so that you can have the horse with the best stamina and speed in the game. Now, Link looks like the villain in his own cruel game...

*** Alternatively, Link could have made himself a willing test subject of Purah's [[spoiler:[[FountainOfYouth reverse-aging rune tests...]]]]

** Revali does at least still have people remember him enough to aspire to be like him, like Urbosa does, so it's not as bad as it first seem. Now, ''Link'', on the other hand? He lacks a statue, a landmark or really anything besides some older Hylians vaguely remembering that a Hylian Champion once existed and died. Other than the Sheikah and the resentful older generation of Zora, it doesn't seem like they even remember his ''name'' and unlike the other champions his WeaponOfChoice doesn't help since the Master Sword is legendary in its own right instead of being unique to him as a person.
** At least Link does have at least one song to honor his story and memory though, which is very important to Kass's quests. Despite being the Rito's Champion, the people who are most associated with music as a storytelling art form, no songs with Revali ever come up even among Kass's children despite Urbosa being seen to have multiple children keeping her memory alive.

** Revali might lack any special commemoration simply because the Rito Village isn't as prosperous as the other three homes of the other races. They probably just don't have the resources to build a statue of him, or even the expertise to build such a structure. Also, like Urbosa, he does have people aspire to be like him, so it's not as bad as it first seems. Now, ''Link'', on the other hand? He lacks a statue, a landmark or really anything besides some older Hylians vaguely remembering that a Hylian Champion once existed and died. Other than the Sheikah and the resentful older generation of Zora, it doesn't seem like they even remember his ''name''.

*** [[spoiler: Or maybe not; the Japanese version states that Ganon's final transformation is only one of his further attempts to reincarnate, not him giving up on it like in the English version.]]

* Another meta example, at least for UsefulNotes/WiiU fans; the fact that the Wii U version is the last Nintendo publushed game on that system, after it had already been discontinued. Sure, the day was coming, especially after the announcement of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, but it can still be sad knowing that the day finally came.

* Another meta example, at least for UsefulNotes/WiiU fans; thr fact that the Wii U version is the last Nintendo publushed game on that system, after it had already been discontinued. Sure, the day was coming, especially after the announcement of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, but it can still be sad knowing that the day finally came.

** Once you find out Dorian's backstory, you'll want to do more than the above rampage -- you'll abuse Stasis like [[TimeStop Dio]] [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Brando]] and actively [[KillEmAll slaughter the Yiga to the last man]] (or if you want to be [[CruelAndUnusualDeath cruel]], [[CessationOfExistence use Ancient Arrows]]). [[spoiler:Dorian was a former member of the Yiga clan, but his wife was the reason why he defected. Unfortunately, the clan caught wind of this and murdered her, leaving Koko and Cottla without a mother. Upon his grief, he gave away information about Kakariko village and Link in exchange for their lives, but they decided [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness]]]]. Had Link not intervened, they could have succeeded.

* Prince Sidon is cheerful, encouraging, and never gives up at all. Despite all that, there are a few things that bring him down quite a lot. [[spoiler:Mipha was his older sister, who was killed by the Waterblight Ganon. While he never shows it unless you sneak up on him. he's still in mourning over his sister and wishes she was still alive so that she could guide him. If you catch him like this, he weakly apologizes for displaying a moment of weakness. He also has a bit of self-loathing since he feels like he was being very intrusive and pushy on Link when he asked for his help. When Ruta is calmed by Link, Dorephan praises Sidon and Link for their efforts, but Sidon feels like he doesn't deserve any credit because he didn't do anything besides help Link get inside Ruta. Despite being strong for his people and doing what he can to help them, Sidon feels like he won't always be able to live up to everyone's expectations. Poor guy needs a hug.]]

*** The meaning behind one particular line becomes clearer once you've recalled these later memories; after explaining to Link the process of fast-travelling using the Sheikah Slate, the Old Man turns away and mutters quietly to himself that he's been ''told'' that's how it works, but he doesn't actually know for sure...In hindsight, it's clear that this was something [[spoiler: Zelda]] tried explaining to him [[spoiler: when he was alive, likely to no avail. The king has been musing all this time over how foolish it was of him to have dismissed his daughter's enthusiasm for ancient technology as irrelevant to her role, and how differently things might have been if he hadn't. Because of his own shortsightedness, his limited knowledge of this technology is the only resource Link has available at a time when he most needs to understand it - it's all the old man is good for now, and he hates himself for it.]]

*** The meaning behind one particular line becomes clearer once you've recalled these later memories; after explaining to Link the process of fast-travelling using the Sheikah Slate, the Old Man turns away and mutters quietly to himself that he's been ''told'' that's how it works, but he doesn't actually know for sure...In hindsight, it's clear that this was something [[spoiler: Zelda]] tried explaining to him [[spoiler: when he was alive, likely to no avail. The king has been musing all this time over how foolish it was of him to have dismissed his daughter's enthusiasm for ancient technology as irrelevant to her role, and how differently things might have been if he hadn't.]]

*** It's even worse when you find out more about his relationship with Zelda: [[spoiler:Needless to say, it wasn't the best. He constantly belittled her interests and put an enormous amount of pressure on her to tap into her divine power, which likely directly contributed to her inability to do so. It's clear that he greatly regrets how he treated her, as well as the fact that it ultimately contributed to the downfall of his kingdom, and everything he does for Link, he's doing as a last-ditch attempt to make up for all his past failures. Finally, he ends up passing on before Zelda is rescued, meaning he never gets a chance to see her again.]]

** The first thing the King asks you to do after revealing the truth of what happened in the Calamity: save his daughter. it becomes especially tearjerking when you find out how strained their relationship was before he died, how they never had the chance to fix things between them, and how much guilt he must ave felt for the pressure he put on her. ''"Heir to a Throne of Nothing"'', indeed.

** More on Mipha...In one of Link's memories of the time he spent with her, she reminisces about how she always used to heal his injuries when they were young, no matter what it was that had befallen him, and promises him that despite the unknowns the return of Ganon might bring, she will always be ready and willing to heal him, whenever he may need her. [[spoiler:As we later find out, Link came ''dangerously'' close to dying due to Ganon corrupting the Gaurdians and the Divine Beasts, and Mipha couldn't be there to heal him like she promised, because she was trapped inside Vah Ruta. [[FridgeHorror Just picture the thoughts that had to be going through her head in the 100 years since then, when no one came to rescue her, and she had no knowledge of what almost had happened.]]]]

*** [[spoiler: If you return to the Plateau after he departs, you can still find baked apples--his favorite snack--at spots he liked to hang out. But the fires he kept kindled are all cold.]]