Summary
In the diverse world ofThe Legend of Zelda, theSheikahis one of the most prominent human-like races, and as such, they have a couple ofdistinct features that differentiate them from Hylians and regular humans. After all, this is a very secretive tribe that is all about stealth, mystery and, oddly enough, world-changing technological innovation.
The Sheikah are of extreme importance to the overall lore and plot of theZeldafranchise, with many key figures and iconic characters being part of this mysterious race. This can be especially seen in the last few mainline titles:Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom. Even though almost every Sheikah is relevant in one way or another, the following are the absolute best characters of their tribe.
Because of her adorable design and endearing, bashful personality, the young woman known asPayaquickly became one of the most memorable characters in the enormous cast ofBreath of the Wild. She was one of the most interesting Sheikah in said game, even though she didn’t present the common attributes that players would expect from a member of her race.
But players who completed every side quest associated with Payaultimately found out that, underneath her shy appearance, she’s actually quite brave and wise. That’s why it is no surprise that she was promoted to Chief of Kakariko Village in the sequel,Tears of the Kingdomafter her grandmother Impa retired. Paya can now be seen doing her best efforts to lead the Sheikah many times throughout the game,with the help of other characters like Tauroor her assistant, Dorian. This was a shocking, but deserving, character development for her.
The world ofBreath of the Wildis filled to the brim with quirky characters that will have a major impact on the players, and one of them is the expert engineer and owner of Akkala Ancient Tech Lab,Robbie, who is also a member of the Sheikah tribe. He plays quite an important role, seeing as he’s solely responsible for creating ancient weapons and armor for Link,which is some of the most powerful gear in the game.
Robbie has a really fun personality because he talks and acts like a young and energetic rock star, despite being an old man himself. Fortunately, Robbie returned inTears of the Kingdom, where he joined the team at Lookout Landing and played a key role in developing the Purah Pad alongside his fellow Sheikah. Furthermore, fans of his were delighted to find out that a young version of Robbie from 100 years in the past is heavily featured in the spin-off,Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and he’s as fun and dynamic as everyone expected him to be.
3Master Kohga
A Villainous Sheikah Who Is Also Hilarious
The Sheikah are usually aligned to the Kingdom of Hyrule and its Royal Family, but, in a clever example of solid world-building, some members of this race have their own agendas. This is what led to the creation of theYiga Clan,a group of Sheikah assassins who oppose the rest of their tribe and are loyal to Ganondorf. And their leader (or their “Top Banana”) is none other than the bizarre yet entertaining villain,Master Kohga.
Unlike Ganondorf himself, Master Kohga is more of a comedic antagonist, who is clumsy and overconfident every time. His initial appearance inBreath of the Wildwhen Link infiltrated his hideout was quite memorable, but he made a much bigger impact inTears of the Kingdom. Kohga and his Yiga Clan take over most of the underground in the sequel and even manage to seize various Zonai devices to create some useful vehicles and weapons. Despite their brilliant new strategy, Link manages to defeat Master Kohga once again, and it’s as fun and satisfying as ever. It wouldn’t be surprising if futureLegend of Zeldainstallments feature more antagonistic Sheikah, and it’s most likely that Kohga is entirely responsible for that.
Among all the new Sheikah introduced in bothBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom, there’s arguably no one more important thanPurah. In the first installment, she’s responsible for maintaining and updating Link’s Sheikah Slate,which is the main gameplay mechanic of the entire game. Aside from her crucial gameplay role, Purah also stands out because of her quirky and childish design, since she managed to age herself down after experimenting with a special rune. This unique appearance is perfectly complemented by her energetic personality, although she’s nowhere near as eccentric as her colleague, Robbie.
But if Purah wasn’t already prominent enough, she became even more important inTears of the Kingdom, where she takes leadership of Lookout Landing and assists both Link and the Sages at multiple points throughout their quest to defeat Ganondorf. This time around, she perfected her aging rune, and she actually looks like an adult, although she managed to remain more youthful than Robbie or Impa. Purah’s impeccable new design looks so good thatshe immediately became a new fan favorite, cementing her as one of the best and most popular Sheikah characters in theZeldafranchise.
When fans think about iconicLegend of Zeldacharactersthat appear in different games across different timelines(thanks to their various incarnations), they usually mention the Triforce Trio: Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. However, there’s one additional character that has made almost as many appearances as them, and she happens to be the most recognizable member of the Sheikah tribe:Impa.
Unlike every other Sheikah mentioned previously, Impa is not only featured in the timeline of the two most recent releases, but she has been a key part ofLegend of Zeldalore for years. This character existed way beforeOcarina of Time,but that game introduced the concept of the Sheikah and Impa was pretty much the only member of that race, which accidentally turned her into the quintessential Sheikah character for a long while. She worked as Zelda’s bodyguard and even used elements of her secretive ninja-like culture to help her hide asSheikafter Ganondorf took over Hyrule Castle.
After her iconic first appearance as a Sheikah inOcarina of Time, Impa was featured in numerous subsequent games, where she kept her role as the wise, stealthy, and level-headed bodyguard of the Royal Family, and it didn’t matter whether she was presented as a young warrior or as an old woman.This can be seen in titles likeSkyward Sword, Hyrule Warriors, Breath of the Wild,andTears of the Kingdom:If Link and Zelda are going on a dangerous adventure to defeat an evil entity - like Demise or Ganondorf - Impa is always going to be there to assist them with her talents because she embodies everything that makes the Sheikah tribe so great.
