I like a good villain. Heroes save the day, but antagonists are often the ones who push the plot forward. As Link and Zelda react to Ganon’s plans, he goes wild, unleashing things like the Calamity and the Upheaval. But having the same big bad guy gets a little stale, and Ganondorf really is the most prolific boss in all of the Zelda games, only occasionally giving ground to a secondary antagonist, like Zant.
It’s a shame, because I like a bit of variety in my villains. There’s an excellent untapped source of boss fights in there The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild And Tears of the Kingdombut they never really come into their own.
[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.]
The Yiga Clan show up for the first time Breath of the Wild, posing as ordinary travelers on the road, only to reveal themselves in assassination attempts. They appear all over the background BotW, attempting to kill Link and Zelda and using an informant in Kakariko Village. Link later infiltrates their headquarters and defeats Master Kohga, their leader, causing him to fall into a pit in a foreshadowing cutscene. Kohga isn’t exactly a worthy foe; you just interrupt his Sheikah Slate casts and bang him on his silly li’l noggin.
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon
After Kohga is dispatched, Yiga agents randomly appear in the overworld seeking revenge, but otherwise we don’t learn much about them. So when I found my first Yiga outpost in Tears of the Kingdom, I was beyond psyched. The idea of a Sheikah splinter ideology, unlike our heroes but using the same powerful tools, is fascinating. There is much to discover there.
At first it seemed that the Yiga Clan could have lived up to my sky-high expectations. I found their settlements in the depths guarded by Ultrahand machines. I found notes suggesting that somehow Kohga had survived, and I began to track him down. The Depths add a gravitas to the proceedings and I was eager to see the new Kohga shaped by his defeat and the darkness around him.
There are definitely more Yiga Clan members in this game and it’s cool to see how they built up their defenses. But when I was chasing Kohga, I finally found out… that he was working for Ganondorf all the time, and besides, he’s still a big goofy goose. There’s more of a build-up to the boss fight, but I once again use his Ultrahand tools against him, then launch him from the depths with all the grace of a Team Rocket goon.
For what it’s worth, I enjoy the Yiga content we have. I like this clan and their focus on stealth over strength. Just like inside Breath of the WildYiga assassins are constantly showing up to get revenge, and I often use their weapons and cosmetics.
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon
But I also can’t stop thinking about a hypothetical Yiga clan that could have been, one where they’re not a series of miniboss encounters and slapstick comedy bits. What were the circumstances of their original break with the Sheikah? What do they think of Hyrule’s use of this technology? What do they get out of a collaboration with Ganondorf?
Oddly enough, the side game Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity addresses this with the character of Sooga, Kohga’s right-hand man. We see that Sooga was rescued as a child, so he is very loyal to Kohga. He’s a badass in his own right and eventually even joins the roster of playable characters. But Era of disaster is non-canon, and so Sooga is just a tantalizing possibility of what could have been.
Don’t get me wrong – Ganondorf is a good bad guy and I’m not saying he should be kicked out or anything. But the Zelda franchise could use a few new antagonists to shake things up and add variety to the franchise. Hyrule has changed dramatically between Breath of the Wild And Tears of the Kingdom, and I wish the Yiga clan had changed more in turn. Maybe in the next game they will finally instill a real sense of fear in me. At the very least, I hope I don’t have to dunk on Master Kohga any time soon.