Tears of the Kingdom’s new trailer just revealed a bunch of new characters

By James On Apr 13, 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom received its final trailer on Thursday morning. While some footage showed more of what Link can build in the upcoming sequel, the second half focused more on the story. This time, Link will enlist the help of a very large cast of both old and new characters to help him save the world.

There are several new faces – including a new race of creatures – as well as returning friends from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Here’s everyone we’ve seen in the trailer today (excluding Link and Zelda, of course), starting with the newcomers. We’ll update this article as we get more details about the characters.

An elfin princess

Image: Nintendo/YouTube

We’ve only had a glimpse of this new character, but I’m already looking forward to meeting them. They look like a princess with long flowing locks of hair and pointy ears – all we see of them is a short fragment of them harnessing a golden magical power. Also, in some of her scenes, they seem to be wearing the same jewelry as Zelda – so maybe there’s a connection there.

The debut of a new race of creatures in Hyrule

An image of a new character from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It has a goat-like face and fur all over. It has gold accents that also decorate its face.

Among the new character designs, this one really stood out. It is a dark and gloomy character with a very goat-like design with small horns and apparently hairy ears. It’s a race of creatures we haven’t seen before, and I’m especially excited to learn more.

Is this a Zonai king of Hyrule?

A still from a trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It shows a tall person putting their hand on Zelda's shoulder, but we can't see their face.

In this clip, all we hear is a deep voice saying to Zelda, “Zelda, we trust in your knight and that legendary sword he carries. Our last line of defense will be Link. After which we see a tall man in a robe put their hand on Zelda’s shoulder. We don’t even get a look at the face, but it’s clear they have a close relationship with Zelda. Perhaps they are a monarch of Hyrule or connected to the Zonai in some form, as the decorations of their clothing resemble Zonai technology.

A young Rito friend

An image of Link and a young Rito diving into stormy clouds together in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Throughout the trailer we hear and see a young Rito. They appear to be a friend of Link’s and we can see them diving into a thundercloud together. I’m just excited to see Link has a little buddy.

Ganon comes back as a human

An image of Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. His head glows gold with power and he is surrounded by red miasma.

The trailer showed the return of the Ganon we all know and love, without all the dripping goo. I know he’s the bad guy, but honestly he looks like he’s doing great these days. Perhaps it’s his unquenchable hunger for the power to save Hyrule? Whatever his new routine, it really works for him.

Prince Sidon

All I have to say about this one is: Let’s fucking gooooo! Prince Sidon is the dashing young prince of the Zora in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. He’s an absolute charmer and fan favorite, and it’s great to see him fight side-by-side with Link.

Lady Riju returns

An image of Lady Riju in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. She wields the Thunder Helm and two swords.

Lady Makeela Riju is the chief of the Geurdo in Breath of the Wild. When we meet her in that game, she is young and still figuring out how to lead her people. This time it seems that she will help us as a full-fledged warrior.