Unmarked spoilers below.
"Terrako..."
- The opening has Zelda saying she has to protect everyone as tears fall down her face. It's only a sad reminder that she failed in the original timeline.
- Even moreso when you consider the context that we see her in. She has her arm up and is bathed in a bright yellow glow. Now, when in Breath of the Wild did we see her in that same circumstance? Yep, when she and Link are the last survivors of the original bunch and Link is just about to die. He's literally the only person she could protect.
- After the initial reveal trailer, fans tried to figure out where maps in this game correspond to in Breath of the Wild. One of the areas that consistently gave people trouble are the new parts of Hyrule Castle Town, being nowhere to be found in BotW. Not only did the Calamity leave a lot of Hyrule in ruins, some parts of civilization straight-up don't exist by the time Link wakes up 100 years in the future.
- The heroes discovering that the date Calamity Ganon will return is none other than Zelda's 17th birthday. Though this gives Hyrule a chance to evacuate the civilians from central Hyrule, King Rhoam resigns to the fact that time has run out (as Zelda's birthday happens to be tomorrow) and Zelda is given even more burden than she needs. She is tasked to go to the Spring of Courage to awaken her sealing powers that night... and she fails. On her birthday, as she is preparing to travel to the Spring of Wisdom in a last-ditch attempt to unlock her powers, Calamity Ganon returns and she is forced to witness the castle fall and her father seemingly killed by the corrupt Guardians.
- After discovering that Astor plans to use the Yiga clan to hasten the creation of the Blight Ganons, Kohga and Sooga are forced to fight for their lives against the very forces they had devoted their lives to. The next time you see the Yiga clan, Kohga, under the guise of a Hylian knight, has led Zelda and Impa to a secluded area... but is completely alone. Sooga gave his life to ensure Kohga's escape, and the loss of him and multiple clan members, down to their very souls, has driven him into a silent despair. He kneels before Zelda so deeply that his forehead is practically touching the ground, wordlessly begging her to help them.
- This gets worse with the extra mission "Retreat of the Yiga Clan", which puts players in the role of enacting Kohga's flight from Astor's forces. You start the mission accompanied by a handful of Yiga Champions and Blademasters, as well as Sooga, and unless you're really good at the game, they'll slowly be killed off as you race for safety. The first casualty is (seemingly) mandatory, in a Blademaster who can die holding the line behind a closed gate so the rest of his clan can escape. Eventually Sooga picks up a limp, forcing Kohga to physically drag him to safety. Sooga then remembers how he met Kohga as a starving child who'd stumbled into a Yiga camp looking for food, only for Kohga to order the soldiers about to kill him to instead spare him and offering a banana to the child. Sooga uses the last of his strength to paralyze the Blight Ganons with a force-field and orders Kohga to escape. Kohga hesitates, trying to think of any kind of alternative, but in the end, all he can do is run, audibly sobbing as his loyal companion stays behind and dies for him.
- Slightly mitigated by the fact that, if you complete the bonus objective to keep all the Yiga alive, you unlock Sooga after the mission, implying that Sooga was rescued by the surviving Yiga before he could be killed by the Blights.
- This gets worse with the extra mission "Retreat of the Yiga Clan", which puts players in the role of enacting Kohga's flight from Astor's forces. You start the mission accompanied by a handful of Yiga Champions and Blademasters, as well as Sooga, and unless you're really good at the game, they'll slowly be killed off as you race for safety. The first casualty is (seemingly) mandatory, in a Blademaster who can die holding the line behind a closed gate so the rest of his clan can escape. Eventually Sooga picks up a limp, forcing Kohga to physically drag him to safety. Sooga then remembers how he met Kohga as a starving child who'd stumbled into a Yiga camp looking for food, only for Kohga to order the soldiers about to kill him to instead spare him and offering a banana to the child. Sooga uses the last of his strength to paralyze the Blight Ganons with a force-field and orders Kohga to escape. Kohga hesitates, trying to think of any kind of alternative, but in the end, all he can do is run, audibly sobbing as his loyal companion stays behind and dies for him.
- In the end, the New Champions return to their Breath of the Wild timeline after completing their task of saving the original Champions. Most of the New Champions are simply happy they could help and got to meet their role models (aside from Teba with Revali). With Sidon, however, it's different: The Zora Champion isn't some distant ancestor or historical figure, she's his older sister. What more, Mipha is unaware of her ultimate fate in the original timeline, making her words of encouragement to Sidon far more painful than she realizes. Sidon is clearly saddened to be separated from his sister again, yet he puts on a brave face for her sake, and at least he goes back knowing that she's alive and well in another timeline.Riju: (to Urbosa) I could not be prouder. It was an honor to be of service.
Urbosa: (chuckling) I know you'll lead our people well, Riju.
(Yunobo and Daruk Fist Bump each other)
Daruk: Thanks for everything, Yunobo. We didn't get much time together, but I'll always cherish it.
Yunobo: I will too! It was so much fun. You're the best, Daruk!
Teba: (to Revali, formally) This has been enlightening. I even got to see the face behind the Champion.
Revali: Hmm.
Mipha: I know... that we'll meet again, dear brother.
Sidon: (clearly pained but puts up a brave face) Yes. You're my beloved sister... and our hearts will never be apart. - Teba meeting Revali, is a tearjerker in itself, not because of any emotional connection that they had, but rather what this meeting meant for Teba. Imagine your entire village and yourself, idolising a Rito warrior from the past cause of his great skill, but not knowing what kind of individual said warrior was or what he was like to others, only exploits and his feats. Teba learnt the hard way, why sometimes, you shouldn't meet your hero. Teba may respect Revali as a warrior and how he can inspire other Rito warriors, but Teba ends up being disappointed with Revali as an individual, especially with how poorly he treats Link, who Teba actually holds a lot of respect for. Even in their final moments, while the other Champions say their heartfelt goodbyes and parting words of encouragement, all Teba does is remark on the kind of individual Revali was, and that the warrior he admired was nowhere near what he expected. Although he doesn't show it, this revelation probably hurts Teba a lot more than he lets on. There's even a scene where he observes Revali before controlling Vah Medoh, and his facial expressions says a lot.
- If you remove the new Champions intervention, we see the moments leading up to each of the former Champions demise.
- Mipha pulls a Face Death with Dignity and quietly acknowledges that this is how she dies. Daruk remains determined till the end, but it makes no difference. Urbosa solemnly realises she's outmatched. Revali plays off his injuries as "just a scratch" but its clear he's waning.
- The fight against Terrako is kind of heartbreaking. Your quirky little companion, who has followed you everywhere, is turned against Link and Zelda. Its frantic movement and agitated beeps as it is corrupted by Ganon remind the player that it is just another Guardian, not a true living being. The cutscene after its defeat doesn't help - its scrapped husk slides unceremoniously off of a rock, showing that there is no reverence for the bodies of artificial beings such as Terrako. Zelda's tears fall upon its eye and almost rejuvenate it again, but to no avail, as it desperately attempts to comfort her with Zelda's Lullaby one last time. Fortunately, Terrako later gets a Big Damn Heroes moment that makes its demise a bit less tragic and a lot more heroic. But even then, it is still absent from missions, absent from the map... it's just gone.Note
- Zelda's memory after Terrako was defeated didn't really help matters. She remembered building Terrako when she was a kid, and was overjoyed once it worked. The first thing she did after that was to show it to her mother, who unfortunately died shortly after, as we saw in the next cutscene. Terrako then sung Zelda's lullaby to comfort her. But then we saw her father tell young Zelda that she must focus on her training and take away Terrako from her as she cried and begged him not to do so. It's also clear that King Rhoam didn't want to do this either. Sure, Zelda might have reconciled with her father before she recalled this piece of memory, but it's heartbreaking to see how strained their relationship was back then. This would resonate much more if the player had a similar experience before.Young Zelda: [tugs her father's back] Father, no! Please don't take it away!King Rhoam: The return of the Calamity has been foretold. As the princess of Hyrule, your sole focus must be on your training. A toy such as this is merely a distraction.Young Zelda: [keeps crying] Please! Please!King Rhoam: [looks back with a sad expression, before turning back] I'm sorry.
- Zelda's memory after Terrako was defeated didn't really help matters. She remembered building Terrako when she was a kid, and was overjoyed once it worked. The first thing she did after that was to show it to her mother, who unfortunately died shortly after, as we saw in the next cutscene. Terrako then sung Zelda's lullaby to comfort her. But then we saw her father tell young Zelda that she must focus on her training and take away Terrako from her as she cried and begged him not to do so. It's also clear that King Rhoam didn't want to do this either. Sure, Zelda might have reconciled with her father before she recalled this piece of memory, but it's heartbreaking to see how strained their relationship was back then. This would resonate much more if the player had a similar experience before.
- Terrako is just gone from the main timeline. The one of this timeline seems to have been destroyed after Calamity Ganon was destroyed, while the one of the main timeline now resides here. Imagine if the main timeline's Zelda remembers her favorite toy and wonders where it ever went.
- Terrako activates in the main timeline inside a box in Zelda's study. Rhoam's diary in Breath of the Wild reveals that if Zelda had failed to awaken her powers he would have lightened up on her and let her pursue her passion for technology in case that happens to help her powers awaken, suggesting that he was going to give Terrako back to her as a gift had the Calamity not happened.
- "Battle of Goponga Village" ends on a somewhat bittersweet note. After the battle is won, Sidon praises his child counterpart's bravery, but seems to trail off when he assures him he will one day be strong enough to protect his Mipha. The loss of his own sister clearly still pains him, even as he takes comfort in knowing that at least one version of himself will get to grow up with his sister at his side.Sidon: And you'll only get stronger! Strong enough to... To protect your dear sister!
- Sidon's rescue of Mipha is awesome, but his cry of "NO! I will not allow you to take her again! will cause Manly Tears in the toughest of viewers.
