*＊✿❀ Why Is the Yiga Zelda Different from the Phantom Zelda? ❀✿＊* ❀ Episode 5, Season 1 ❀ Phoenix's Zelda Theories *＊✿❀❀✿＊* *＊✿❀❀✿＊* *＊✿❀❀✿＊* This is more of an explanation than a theory *＊✿❀❀✿＊* *＊✿❀❀✿＊* *＊✿❀❀✿＊* ❀ In Tears of the Kingdom, one of the most important story features is that Zelda has been sucked back through time. After the opening cutscenes of the game, she falls deep into the earth, and, before Link can catch her, dissolves into golden light. This effectively sets in motion the plot of the game, with Link’s main goal being to find the princess and return her to the present. However, in the overworld, you often come across…Zelda. Standing conspicuously by the side of the road or trapped in a metal cage, these are Yiga assassins in disguise, waiting for Link to fall into their trap. It’s pretty easy to avoid these, but one detail about them intrigued me to the point where I decided to write a theory about them. If you notice the visions of Zelda you receive from the Dragon’s Tears, she’s wearing a specific Zonai outfit. The Phantom Zelda that you encounter during every dungeon quest and eventually duel in the Sanctum, also wears this outfit. However, the Yigas’ fakes all wear the same blue adventuring outfit that Zelda is shown wearing in the beginning of the game. Why do their outfits differ? Both the Yiga and Ganondorf have the same purpose, with the former serving him. Both fakes are intended to lure Link into traps and attempt to kill him. But if they are so closely interconnected, why do they look so different? The answer is actually quite simple. In the ancient past, during the memory “A Show of Fealty”, Ganondorf and Zelda meet for the first time. The latter is wearing this iconic white dress, and throughout all the rest of their interactions, she wears the same thing. Therefore, the only outfit that Ganondorf has seen and knows how to replicate is this dress - he has never seen the blue tunic that she wears in the present. On the other hand, the Yiga do not know that Zelda went back in time, nor what dress she was wearing. Therefore, their fakes simply dress in the outfit they recognize and know of. Each of the two fakes wears a different outfit, depending on what they know Zelda to look like, and each believes their fake will trick Link. Most likely due to the suspicious nature of the Yiga Zeldas, and coupled with the fact that the memories show Zelda wearing that dress, it’s no surprise that the phantom is the one that tricks Link the most throughout the main narrative. And that wraps up this theory! This is the last of my pre-written theories, so I'm going to take a little longer to make new ones. TYSM for reading this, and leave a comment if you enjoyed this explanation!
