Zelda Dungeon Presents: Our Favorite Tears of the Kingdom Side Quests

Warning: This article contains some spoilers for Tears of the Kingdom.

Like every great Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom provides players with not only a thrilling main quest to conquer, but a diverse assortment of optional side quests to complete as those players explore the game’s expansive world. There are quests that yield better gear, there are quests that tell a gripping story, there are quests that reveal Shrines or new areas, there are hunts for collectibles, and there are mini-games that offer a distraction from Hyrule’s plight.

But not every great Zelda game can boast a world as big as Tears of the Kingdom‘s. With so much real estate to work with, this adventure is packed to the brim with optional content with which players can choose to engage. There is just so much to do, see, and experience! With so many side quests out there amongst Hyrule, the Sky, and the Depths, it seems only natural that each and every player would have their own unique favorite amongst the bunch.

Zelda Dungeon’s staff is a testament to that fact. Each member of our team seemed to favor one Tears of the Kingdom side quest over the rest, with very little overlap between them. So, with such a diversity in opinion, we’ve decided to share our favorite pieces of side content from the game with all of you!

Now, Tears of the Kingdom divides its side quests into multiple different categories: Side Quests, Shrine Quests, Side Adventures, collectibles, etc. For the purposes of this article, we allowed our staffers to write about any piece of optional content in the game, regardless of its official delineation. If it’s not part of the game’s critical path, it’s up for grabs!

So, without further delay, we present to you Zelda Dungeon’s favorite Tears of the Kingdom side quests!

 

Ruffian-Infested Village (Judy Calder, Managing Editor)

Lurelin Village, with its idyllic setting and chill vibes, is one of my favorite locations in Hyrule. In fact, it’s so perfect that I wondered how Nintendo could possibly make it more interesting in Tears of the Kingdom. The answer is a Side Adventure: “Ruffian-Infested Village.”

Captured by pirates, the beautiful seaside haven that is Lurelin Village has been turned on its axis. Most of Lurelin’s residents fled in the wake of its destruction, leaving their homes and businesses behind; so naturally, it’s up to Link to drive out the baddies himself. I couldn’t have been more pleased at this turn of events, because it meant I would get to sneak around and hunt down the Monster Forces that plagued the area one-by-one!

Crouching low and creeping up on so many unsuspecting Bokoblins was a lot of fun. Even better was donning the Bokoblin Mask, trapping its namesake in a tight space, and swinging my weapon around and around until it could take no more. Monster Forces would hear the commotion and come to investigate, so I’d lure them in for the same punishment! Even hunting down that last elusive underground Blin was thrilling (albeit frustrating until I found him). Using the village’s broken buildings to hide and climbing aboard the pirates’ ship to attack from hidden heights really hit that sweet RPG-spot that is slightly lacking in Zelda games, so I definitely came away from this Side Adventure feeling pretty pleased with the whole thing.

 

Teach Me a Lesson I and II (Leslie Jacobson, Associate Editor)

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Teach me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll learn.”
-Benjamin Franklin

Hateno Village was one of the first places I went to after visiting Lookout Landing. In the early morning when I got there, I saw some of the kids go by with dialog bubbles saying things like, “We got to get to school!” and “I don’t want to be late!” I followed the children as I yelled, “There’s a school?!” I’m a teacher, so the fact that there’s now a school in my favorite version of Hyrule made me so excited to see it. I had a little gasp of glee at the adorable schoolhouse. When I found out that Zelda arranged its construction because she believed in the importance of educating children, I felt a connection with her. And just like Zelda, I have received lots of artwork from students over the years that I display in my classroom, including a couple of portraits students have drawn of me! The children got to their seats and waited patiently, considering the instructor Symin takes forever to finally begin his lessons.  

The lessons, however, do not go well at first. The children more or less pull a “pics or it didn’t happen” on Symin as he explains the Calamity. He needs a visual aid, and I was happy to make my way to Kakariko Village to take a picture of the screen depicting the event. The visual aid helps the students to understand the Calamity, and Symin can move on to his next lesson. Symin’s second lesson starts off similarly to the first. It didn’t matter how many times he explained that you could use Monster Parts in cooking, the children were not getting it. As I gathered the ingredients for Monster Curry, it pushed a lot of my initial exploration in the game. Seeing the “aha!” moments on the students’ faces when they learned you could use Monster Parts in cooking felt familiar to me because of what I know about getting students involved in their learning. The true delight was seeing the children’s drawing of Link once you complete both “Teach Me a Lesson” quests. It was so much fun to see how these quests reflected what I know from real life, and perhaps that is why they are two of my favorite side quests in the game.

 

Helping Addison (Nick Miller, Associate Editor)

Thanks to Hyrule’s rebuilding efforts, business is booming for Hudson Construction. As such, Hudson has tasked his employee, Addison, with placing advertisements all around Hyrule. The only problem with that is that holding the sign and fastening it in place is a two-man job. Further yet, out of respect (or fear) for his boss, Addison refuses to let the signs featuring Hudson’s face touch the ground. Quite the predicament he’s gotten himself into, isn’t it? 

So along comes Link, questing and adventuring and doing what he does best when he notices Addison’s plight. He decides to lend a helping Ultrahand to build supports for the sign so that Addison can secure it in place. For his help, Link is given Rupees, food, and Sleepover Tickets — a fitting reward for all of that hard work.

There are two things I really like about this quest. First, each sign can be secured in a minute or two and the rewards make it worth the short stop. You’ll see Addison everywhere (81 locations in total) and interrupting your journey to help him is never a major inconvenience. Second, this is an incredible tutorial on how to use Ultrahand. The best tutorials in gaming are those where you don’t even know you’re being taught, and this is one of them. Addison has different types of signs with misaligned panels or brackets, and he sometimes needs to place them on uneven terrain; so each one provides a unique challenge in how you use the resources in your immediate vicinity to keep the sign from toppling over. In doing so, you learn hands-on how the physics engine works and how to creatively use Ultrahand to overcome other obstacles you may encounter in the game.

 

The Flute Player’s Plan (Rod Lloyd, Editor-in-chief)

It has been said that, as one grows older, one no longer weeps in the face of sadness, but in the face of kindness. For example, famed film critic Roger Ebert often admitted that he “never [cried] during sad moments in the movies, only during moments about goodness.”

I think I’ve finally grown old enough to understand this phenomenon.

In “The Flute Player’s Plan,” Link encounters a mischievous flautist named Pyper hiding in a tree near the Highland Stable. Pyper fills our hero in on a project he’s working on involving his young friend Haite, who’s been searching for a way to see a “glowing tree” that she read about in a book. So, rather than set fire to the tree he’s hiding in (again), the flute player recruits Link to gather up some Sunset Fireflies so that he can make good on a promise and fulfill Haite’s dream.

Mechanically, there’s nothing special about this side quest; you just collect ten fireflies. But what is special is the cutscene that plays at the conclusion of the quest and the emotions that it conjures. Just as Haite approaches the tree at night, Pyper plays a little tune on his flute and releases the fireflies amongst the leaves. Haite finally gets to see her glowing tree — just as she pictured it “in [her] dreams” — and it makes her “really happy.” That’s your reward: you made someone happy.

“The Flute Player’s Plan” made me cry, not because it was sad, but because it was kind.

 

Master Kohga of the Yiga Clan (Sean Gadus, Senior Editor)

“Master Kohga of the Yiga Clan” is one of the biggest highlights in Tears of the Kingdom, and it is by far my favorite side quest in the game. Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have massive worlds, but only a few quests actually require the player to travel extensively from region to region to complete a questline (Tarrey Town in the former and Master Kohga in the latter, among them). For me, the quests that require the player to traverse the world and provide unique experiences are my favorites. The quest to defeat Master Kohga in Tears of the Kingdom gives players a lot of compelling reasons to explore the vast darkness of the Depths, and it gives the player great rewards (both intrinsic and extrinsic) for their efforts.

In addition to the thrill of exploring the Depths, “Master Kohga of the Yiga Clan” features four distinct boss fights which highlight the villain’s humor and charm. These four boss fights, which include a rousing final battle against a Yiga Clan Mech, would not work for any one other character in the game; only Master Kohga can pull off the mix of excitement, madness, and zaniness that is built into these fun boss battles. When it was all over, I was a little heartbroken to see Master Kohga rocketing out of the Depths on his own failed doomsday weapon, if only because I had so much fun chasing him across Hyrule.

 

Potential Princess Sightings! (Heather Beard, Art Director)

There were a lot of new characters introduced in Tears of the Kingdom, but there was one new character that stuck out more than others to me: a Rito named Penn. I first met Penn while traversing through Hyrule during the first few story quests, and he directed me towards the Lucky Clover Gazette. I did eventually make it over towards what was formerly known as Rito Stable and became employed as a journalist to help track down the whereabouts of Princess Zelda. 

The quest takes you across all of the stables of Hyrule, and with the help of Penn you’re able to crack the case on multiple smaller quests and learn more about where Princess Zelda might be. A golden horse, a missing goat, eerie voices, missing farm tools, and more! I loved that this little adventure took you across the map to all the stables, and sometimes to little forks in the road that you might never have ventured to organically. Penn was such a fun character to interact with and nearly filled the Kass-sized hole in my heart. Penn’s catch phrase, “Soar long!” made him feel like more than a co-worker; he felt like a partner as you learn more about the Hylians’ experience with their missing princess. 

This was a fun way to group a bunch of side quests together because it never felt like busy work; it felt like I was connecting everything to a much larger story that needed to be told. Another benefit to this quest was that completing it resulted in me netting the new Froggy Armor set which made traversing mountains in the rain much easier.

 

A Call from the Depths (Josh Wittmershaus, Junior Editor)

Side Quests and Side Adventures vary in size and outcome in Tears of the Kingdom, with some having a larger payout than others, and in more ways than one. This is why one of my favorite Side Adventures in this game is a lengthy collection quest that takes us back to the all-too-familiar Great Plateau: “A Call from the Depths.”

Like many quests in Tears of the Kingdom, there are several ways to start this project. If we go visit the Goddess Statue that sits in the Temple of Time, it says something… peculiar:

…I am trapped…under the water…behind the stone gate…of the Great Plateau…

If you’re not confused, then I’m confused as to why you’re not confused. After all, you’re talking to the statue that stands before you, clearly not underwater… right? If you go and clear the wreckage around the portcullis of the stone gate, you’ll approach a Bargainer Statue that will redirect you back to the Goddess Statue. The statue reveals that it is nothing more than a vessel for someone else’s voice — emanating from the Depths. It is only now that the Side Adventure’s name is revealed to you, which I found a nice way to build anticipation for what this was all leading to.

The anticipation doesn’t stop there, as the voice shows you four chasms on your map, saying that its four eyes are located nearby. It then asks you to drop the eyes into the Depths and bring them to the area directly below the Temple of Time, returning them to the origin of this voice. As you complete the task, you discover that the location is within the Great Abandoned Central Mine, where you probably have already fought Master Kohga for the Autobuild ability. The structure is massive with multiple floors, so it wouldn’t be a shock if you hadn’t yet ventured to the location we are heading to with these eyes. Getting each eye requires a decent amount of traversing – you may even call it a schlep – to get it from the hole, to the Depths, to the Bargainer Statue in the mine.

The four eyes are not in random places on the Great Plateau; they are all very near the places you earned the four Runes in Breath of the Wild. To greater confirm the intention of this, each eye requires a technique to procure them that mimics the ability found in that area.

Once the four eyes have been returned, the statue informs you that these were, “the vessels of my spirit,” stolen and hidden for eons, now finally returned. The reward: a choice between a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel, which is pretty nice, considering this probably took you over an hour to complete — longer than it may have taken you to complete some of the actual dungeons. I can’t help but wonder where this statue was during Breath of the Wild and why we couldn’t hear it from the Goddess Statue then. Nonetheless, I found myself very satisfied with the task completed and its spirit restored. This really felt like a classic Zelda quest to me, and it stands out as one of the more memorable adventures in Tears of the Kingdom.

 

Messages from an Ancient Era (Connor Butler, Junior Editor)

As an avid explorer, Tears of the Kingdom‘s massive world was a giant playground for me — brand-new areas to explore, brand-new things to find, and some old places to trigger some Breath of the Wild nostalgia. In addition to this, the new lore that comes with the Zonai and the Era of Legends is incredibly interesting to me. I love finding out about the lives of the Zonai, and I love hearing more about who they were and what they did. 

An excellent side quest that puts these two things together perfectly is the “Messages from an Ancient Era” Side Adventure. This task has you running throughout Hyrule to find ancient stone tablets that have messages inscribed on them that you then bring back to Kakariko Village’s chief stone tablet expert, Wortsworth. When you bring a picture of one of the tablets to him, he’ll translate the text on them for you and describe the stories told by them. Each one has an account of something that occurred in the day-to-day for King Rauru, Queen Sonia, and Princess Zelda in the ancient past. It’s an interesting deep dive into the history of Hyrule, and it gives us some more insight into the characters of this game.

The stone tablets are usually found on small floating islands in the shape of flowers, each with a unique way of getting to it. One of my favorite parts of this adventure was the puzzle of getting to these islands. If the pure excitement of finding the islands wasn’t enough for you, for every picture you get of a stone tablet, Wortsworth will give you 100 Rupees. Not too shabby!

 

Infiltrating the Yiga Clan (Chakell Herbert, Associate Editor)

The Yiga Clan Hideout quest in Breath of the Wild that involved recovering the Thunder Helm by stealth was always one of my favorite parts of that game. So, naturally, when I got to Gerudo Desert in Tears of the Kingdom, checking on that part of Karusa Valley was one of the top items on my to-do list in the area. When I first approached, I was quite surprised to find that the cultish clan had installed a new door to lock out intruders, and that’s when I realized that the Yiga Tights I had found earlier in the game were part of a whole armor set I needed to complete! 

So, after helping the poor captured tailors in each of the three locations that held pieces of the armor set, I made my way back to the hideout, and I was pleasantly surprised that the Yiga Blademaster let me in. Masquerading as a Yiga was so hilarious to me. In the hideout, we get to see some snippets of the members’ wacky personalities, what they do in their spare time, and a few who humorously grumble about their mundane jobs. But it was really the little details that made me smile. From the hilarious mocking drawings of Link on their walls, to the one guard telling Link that he looks a lot like Link with his blond ponytail, it was all comedy gold. 

The best part for me was seeing snippets of Link’s personality in how he answers the clan members’ questions. Our favorite guy is the Yiga Clan’s ultimate troll. He can respond with “Who’s Link?” to a Yiga Footsoldier who explains how much he hates the Princess’ knight, and he can make all sorts of snide remarks toward the clan members. I laughed out loud a few times! 

The fact that you can also become a Blademaster and learn the Earthquake technique was also awesome! This whole quest was massive and the payoff was excellent. However, ultimately, there is nothing funnier to me than Link becoming such a highly skilled and respected member of the clan, when he’s literally the one person in the world they would all love to destroy. I loved every bit of this quest and any others dealing with these quirky red ninjas!

 

Misko’s Treasure: The Fierce Deity (Alexis Anderson, Senior Editor)

I had the best time searching Hyrule for pieces to add to Link’s wardrobe, so all of the Misko side quests were a real treat; and the Fierce Deity treasure hunt was my favorite! First of all, Prissen and Domidak are a hilarious pair. All they want is to find the treasure for themselves and keep their clues close to the vest, but they both utterly fail at every possible chance. The clue from them about the Cephla Lake Cave chest was a delight because it told me to BEFRIEND A DOG! That was the first dog I gave a Golden Apple to, and the good boy delivered. The clues got me fired up, and I was off to find the Akkala bedchamber, skull’s left eye, and an old stump.

I knew where the stump was, so I quickly grabbed the boots. I then scanned the map for skulls (originally thinking it would be a stone skull enemy camp, but quickly noticing Skull Lake on the map). I wasn’t expecting a fight down in that eyeball, so it got the adrenaline pumping; and the victory was oh-so-sweet: the very mask itself! I did the bedchamber last, and this one I was totally wrong about. I hadn’t done the Fire Temple yet, but I thought the volcano peak looked like a red-crown. I scaled the whole thing just to find I couldn’t get in that way, so I tried to get up as close to the peak as possible from the Depths. Then my significant other was like, “I can tell you that’s not it,” because he had done the Goron Sage bits already and Death Mountain is simply not in Akkala — whoops. 

He said to focus on “citadel” instead. Then, sure enough, a scan of the Akkala region got me where I needed to go. After grabbing the armor, I headed back to the cave for the cherry on top: the Fierce Deity Sword. I didn’t expect that in a million years. This is the coolest outfit, and I have Link wear it all the time. I never had the amiibo to get this set in Breath of the Wild, so I was thrilled every step of completing this side quest.

 

Pictures for the Stables (John Furby, Junior Editor)

In a game about traversing the countryside fighting evil and banishing a Demon King, fulfilling requests for wall art for busy stable owners should be the last thing most players think about. At first it felt like that, just a simple task of snapping a picture of their requested vista when you wander by and let them paint it on their wall. But it became more than that.

The first stable where I interacted with the empty frame was the Outskirt Stable, and Link’s photography assignment was a picture of a cherry blossom tree (the trees with the pink leaves where the Satori appear). When I hiked up the nearby Satori Mountain, a familiar location from Breath of the Wild, and set up to take a photo, I realized this didn’t have to be blow-off art class for an easy A. I could take my time and flex my photography skills in-universe and give those stable-goers something to gawk at after a long day’s travels. I set up the perfect angle, waited for the perfect lighting, and snapped a picture worthy of a coffee table book of Hyrule’s most famous places.

There are 14 stables and 15 picture frames (the Closed Gerudo Canyon Stable has two frames) to complete, each one a slightly different challenge. Even though most of them are easy to figure out from the stable owner’s request (besides the photo involving Spectacle Rock being downright perplexing), the real fun for me comes from striving to take the best possible picture I can take with the technology available to me in-game — a picture I would be proud to hang on my own wall of my own stable, if I had one.

At the end of the quest, once you’ve done all the work for the stable owners who never leave their posts day or night, you’re presented with a Diamond. Not the most extravagant reward, but a reward was never at the forefront of my mind for this little adventure. Taking the time away from having the entire weight of the fate of Hyrule on your shoulders and stopping to see the sights along the way was the real prize. At the end of the day, what’s more important: stopping Ganondorf, who has been waiting for millennia, or snapping the perfect shot of Hyrule’s finest sunrise over Lurelin Village and the Necluda Sea? I know my answer.

 

Finding All The Bubbul Gems (Kat Vadam, Social Media Manager)

Sky. Surface. Depths. So much attention paid to the three levels of this familiar-yet-different map, but there is so much more than meets the eye. We have wells now. We have caves. Caves! Entire systems of twisting and turning paths hidden somewhere beneath the ground. Each path holds at least one secret: a frog, glowing blue and croaking bubbles of self-defense as they protect their strange gifts.

And one man seeks to collect every gift — the Bubbulfrogs’ many gems — to consume and become one with spirits of the mountain: Koltin.

I have to hand it to Koltin, really. He is a character somehow more eccentric than his brother Kilton, whom I already loved. But once I had completed this collection quest and acquired every ware he had to offer, I absolutely jumped on the opportunity to find each remaining Bubbul Gem for the man.

Did I do it because I am a completionist? I mean, yeah, sure.

Did I do it because I love the cave systems and think they’re a great addition to the game? Heck yes, I did. I loved discovering what lay at the many mouths of land and sky.

Yet, I really did it all — found every additional gem to complete this quest — for one main reason. I wanted Koltin to realize his dream. I wanted to see him become a Satori.

After all, everyone has dreams that seem a little strange and out of reach, but with a little time, a little effort, and a lot of love from our friends, nothing is impossible.

 

A New Champion’s Tunic (Alexandria Weber, Copy Editor)

To this day, I have no idea how close Link actually lands to Lookout Landing in the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom. Although it is the main hub of the game, and a place that the player is supposedly pushed toward, I didn’t feel a single eddy of the current. Upon landing, I was enthused to use my knowledge of landmarks in Breath of the Wild to reorient myself in this version of Hyrule. Once I figured out where I was, it was a thrilling experience checking in on Kakariko Village to the east, and of course, Hateno Village to the south.

Before I even knew that the Paraglider was in the game, I was in Hateno combing through for crumbs about Zelda and Link’s relationship after Breath of the Wild. Nintendo made the decision to keep the specific nature of the relationship left open to the player’s interpretation, as mentioned in multiple interviews, but I still had to look. I was absolutely thrilled to discover that Zelda had not only resided in the house Link bought in Breath of the Wild, but had built a life there, becoming a schoolteacher for the newly-built school. Although it can be argued that Link just gave her the house and went on his merry way, I can’t help but daydream that they lived there together in peaceful, domestic bliss before people started succumbing to Gloom sickness near the castle.

In addition, there was a well behind the house that seemed to be the former princess’ sanctuary and workspace. In it was not only Link’s hair tie (which I could argue infers even further that their relationship is far more intimate than duty dictates), but also a journal that talks of a surprise for Link hidden in the castle. It ends up being the Champion Leathers, but the implication that Link would find the surprise if she left it in her house or in her workspace tells its own marvelous story for those who choose to see Link and Zelda’s relationship as one that is romantic. Discovering this little hidden gem thus makes this one of my favorite side quests in Tears of the Kingdom.

 

The Labyrinth Prophecies (Gean Sadus, Zonai Surveyor)

One of the biggest selling points in Tears of the Kingdom was the player’s ability to move seamlessly between the Surface, the Sky, and the Depths. While the game’s three zones are impressive individually, there was real potential for quests that make use of all three together. The Lomei Labyrinths represent some of the quests that successfully utilize all three zones in an engaging way.  

Each Lomei Labyrinth starts on the Surface, where players are required to follow a trail of items to the center of the Labyrinth and activate a terminal. From there, the player must make their way to the Sky to the floating Labyrinth there. Depending on what Skyview Towers the player has unlocked, reaching the Sky Labyrinths can require some creative thinking and clever crafting. Using the Paraglider, the player must use a series of updrafts in order to navigate the maze and activate four terminals. After completing the second stage, the player gets to skydive through a newly opened hole to the the Depths within the Surface Labyrinth, going straight from the Sky to the Depths. In the Depths, the player must defeat a Flux Construct III to finish the Labyrinth. While it is a shame that the in-game reward for completing each Labyrinth is so meager (only one piece of armor), the Lomei Labyrinths deserve a lot of credit for integrating the Surface, the Sky, and the Depths in an engaging way and building on a design concept originated in Breath of the Wild.

 

The Beast and the Princess (Kora Burton, Senior Editor)

As a member of the ZD writing team, side quests issued by Penn of the Lucky Clover Gazette have been some of my favorite to complete. Once I discovered that some of these “Princess Sighting” quests revolve around the real Zelda and others around Ganondorf’s puppet, it got even more exciting to track down clues to see which version of the princess each quest deals with.

In beginning “The Beast and the Princess” and taking in the initial rumors, I was sure I would be dealing with a puppet Zelda terrorizing southeast Hyrule with some Gloom-born creature that needed defeating. Trekking on horseback from Highland Stable to Lakeside Stable (which I hadn’t yet visited in Tears of the Kingdom), I kept scanning for signs of deadly horned creatures, yet all I found was the odd Bokoblin or boar, their horns emerging from the dense Faron foliage. Thinking I must have missed the terrifying duo somewhere along the way as my horse strode into the yard of Lakeside Stable, I noticed a wayward fire beyond the haze of the road. As I visited with the curious stable worker tending the blaze, I discovered the herd of horned creatures across the mouth of the Floria River.

To my surprise, I had found the great beasts – Dondons! I was delighted to discover this was a “real Zelda” quest after all. I have always loved stories about misunderstood creatures, and hearing about Zelda’s care for the rare breed of docile horned animals warmed my heart. Plus, the discovery of the Dondons holds an extra glowing surprise. I really appreciated how naturally all these elements of the quest came together as I casually attempted to track down the rumored beast. The twist of stumbling across the gentle creatures Zelda had cared for before her disappearance in their little place of sanctuary after expecting to have to battle an unholy beast was a welcome one.

   

Mattison’s Independence (Kristen G. Rosario, Junior Editor)

This all started four years ago when my beautiful niece was born. She was the tiniest thing you’ve ever seen. And here I am, singing her the Super Mario Bros. theme as I was so mesmerized by her adorableness when I first got to hold her. Since then, I’ve obtained a fondness for stories involving parents and their young children. I understand now how important life is for those who haven’t yet seen everything the world has to offer.

Maybe that’s why this side quest from Tears of the Kingdom hit me harder than I thought it would. The quest revolves around Mattison, the precocious little scamp who is the daughter of Tarrey Town’s favorite couple: Hudson and Rhondson. In this mission, you find out that Hudson and Rhondson are arguing about Mattison having to leave soon in order to fulfill her obligations as a member of the Gerudo Tribe.

Once a Gerudo becomes of age, they must leave their family behind and go on an excursion to learn all the Gerudo ways. This means though that they will not be able to see their fathers again until they reach a certain age. This is the reason for Hudson and Rhondson’s argument. You eventually meet their daughter Mattison, who is more than determined to prove her Gerudo knowledge, so that her mother doesn’t feel lonely when she leaves. Eventually, Mattison and Link find out that Hudson has been building a hot-air balloon in order to have a proper send off for her excursion.

In order to make Hudson feel happy, Mattison helps her father paint the balloon, with them both singing the Hudson Construction jingle as they do it. The family takes the balloon up to the sky, watching the sunrise. Rhondson calls it a blessing for Mattison’s journey and even claims that, no matter where they are, they will always be under the same sun. The quest ends with Rhondson, Hudson, and Link seeing Mattison off as her Gerudo escort arrives. Before she leaves though, Mattison tells her parents thank you, and she vows to become a beautiful woman like her mother and meet a nice man like her father. Once they’re gone, the couple promise to each other to start a new phase of their lives.

Two things make this quest work. First, Link gets barely involved in this quest. He only comes in when needed, and ultimately helps the couple accept the departure of Mattison. Second, Mattison just wants to make sure her parents are happy when she’s gone. All a parent wants is for their child to be happy, and the quest showed how vital it was to Mattison to make sure her parents weren’t sad when she’s gone. For such a young child, she showed so much intelligence in knowing how her parents were going to feel with her departure.

This quest showed that, no matter where you go in life, your parents (or the ones that raised you) will always love you and that family will always be with you wherever you go. I hope that soon my niece will truly understand that message as well.

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There you have it: our favorite Tears of the Kingdom side quests!

Honestly, it’s truly amazing for me to see the diversity of side quests that struck the fancy of our team. Unlike previous staff features of this type, there was no deliberating or quarreling over who got to cover what topic; everyone organically gravitated toward their own unique quest. That fact, to me, demonstrates the sheer scale and scope of Tears of the Kingdom.

And we’re not even done yet! The Zelda Dungeon YouTube crew recently shared their own favorite Tears of the Kingdom side quests too! You can check out their video on the Zelda Dungeon YouTube channel right here!

There was no possible way for us to cover every great side quest in this game, so we need you to tell us what we missed. What was your favorite side quest in Tears of the Kingdom? What about that quest strikes your fancy? Let us know in the comments below!