Urbosa

Urbosa
Species	Gerudo
Affiliation	Champions
Hair color	Red
Eye color	Green
Relatives	Riju (descendant) Ancient Sage of Lightning (ancestor)
Voiced by	Elizabeth Maxwell
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Urbosa is a supporting character from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as well as a playable fighter in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. She is one of the Four Champions of Hyrule, representing the Gerudo race, and she piloted the Divine Beast known as Vah Naboris. She was also the chief of the Gerudo.

Background

Urbosa was a powerful warrior who acted as the chief of the Gerudo living within Gerudo Town. She wielded the Scimatar of the Seven, a shield known as the Daybreaker and the Thunder Helm, and she also wielded powerful electrical magic known as Urbosa's Fury. A fierce fighter, Urbosa took on many enemies such as the Yiga Clan, who wanted to steal the Thunder Helm, and a monster known as the Molduking. Though she could be very stern and authoritative, she could also be very light-hearted and caring, with a strong sense of mischief. She was known to have a strong friendship with the queen of Hyrule. After the queen passed away, Urbosa looked after her young daughter, Zelda. She sometimes supervised Zelda during her failed attempts to awaken her magical powers and offered her comfort. The two built up a strong friendship, and Urbosa often referred to Zelda as a "little bird", which had been the queen's nickname for her.

Years later, Urbosa was chosen to act as one of the Four Champions of Hyrule. She would pilot the Divine Beast known as Vah Naboris as the Champion of the Gerudo people and help in the coming battle against Calamity Ganon. While her people did not approve of the chief accepting such a dangerous responsibility, Urbosa decided to accept it. She wanted to be proactive in protecting the world from Ganon, and she also bore a personal enmity towards the demon king due to his origins as a Gerudo.

Breath of the Wild

Zelda later visited Urbosa's throne room to receive her official answer, and the princess would later joke that it was the most uncharacteristically serious and formal conversation that the two ever had. Urbosa and Zelda took a casual walk around the town afterwards, which led to Urbosa reminiscing about Zelda's mother and explaining why she referred to her as a little bird. She also managed to see through the disguises of several Yiga assassins and swiftly defeated them. She claimed to only spare their lives out of respect for Princess Zelda.

Urbosa and the other Champions later attended an official ceremony in which Zelda recognized Link, the Champion wielding the Master Sword, as her appointed knight. Zelda's speech came with a very subdued delivery, which the other Champions observed. Urbosa explained to them that the tension was due to Link being a living reminder of Zelda's own failures to live up to her legacy. She noticed that both Link and Zelda had trouble expressing themselves, and she hoped that they would help each other. She even helped Link to sneak into Gerudo Town once when Zelda was trying to avoid him. At another time, she beckoned Link to join her on Vah Naboris while Zelda was asleep there. She explained some of the princess's problems to Link and then played a joke on her by summoning a snap of lightning to wake her up. Afterwards, she noticed that the two of them had finally managed to get along, and that Zelda seemed much happier. Urbosa hoped that this would help Zelda to finish her training, but she also feared that they were running out of time until Calamity Ganon's return. She prayed for Zelda's success, and she found that she was praying not to the goddesses, but to her friend, Zelda's deceased mother.

One day, the Champions waited at the foot of Mt. Lanayru while Zelda made her last attempt to awaken her power at the Spring of Wisdom atop the mountain. She returned unsuccessful, and Urbosa attempted to assure her that they would just have to find another way to awaken her power. However, it was at that point that Calamity Ganon's attack began. The Champions retreated to their Divine Beasts, only to find that Ganon had prepared for them. In Vah Naboris, Urbosa was attacked and killed by one of Ganon's phantoms, Thunderblight Ganon. She apparently put up a fight, as she later described her end as "a warrior's demise". With her defeat, Thunderblight Ganon was able to take control of Vah Naboris, but Urbosa's spirit endured and remained within the Divine Beast over the years. Urbosa was remembered fondly by her people and was survived by her family. Although her immediate family was never specified, a descendant of hers named Riju would later become chief of the Gerudo tribe. Urbosa's Thunder Helm was passed down the family line as a cherished heirloom.

One hundred years after the Great Calamity, Link went on a quest to free the Divine Beasts, freshly revived and lacking his original memories. Once Link managed to enter Vah Naboris, Urbosa's spirit telepathically contacted him and acted as his guide while he activated all of the terminals and then battled Thunderblight Ganon. Link destroyed Thunderblight Ganon, at which point Urbosa's spirit took on a visible form to thank him. She also wanted him to assure Zelda that she could not be more proud of her. Urbosa's spirit granted Link the power of Urbosa's Fury. Her spirit would appear every time Link used it, and she would contact him whenever the ability was recharged. With Urbosa's spirit back in control of Vah Naboris, she brought the Divine Beast up near Gerudo Tower and prepared to launch her strike on Calamity Ganon. She invoked the name of Nabooru, the Divine Beast's namesake, and she mentioned that she was glad about Calamity Ganon's past as a Gerudo, because it allowed her to take this personally. After Calamity Ganon's final destruction, Urbosa's spirit was seen with the spirits of the other Champions and King Rhoam. They watched over Link and Zelda proudly before disappearing.

In Other Zelda Games

Age of Calamity

In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, an alternate timeline is formed by Terrako's time travel. In this timeline, the Champions end up being gathered at an earlier point in time. They are all recruited within Chapter 2 of the game, with Urbosa's being depicted in a scenario called "Urbosa, the Gerudo Chief". In that scenario, Kohga impersonated Urbosa and tricked the Gerudo into fighting Hyrule's forces. Once Zelda and the others confronted the fake Urbosa, the real one appeared and Kohga's disguise was undone. Urbosa then helped the others in repelling the Yiga Clan from the area. She nearly captured Kohga, but Sooga intervened and saved him. Urbosa then officially agreed to act as a Champion, and the Champions were later sworn in at the end of Chapter 3. She was also shown being supportive of Zelda and helping her to raise her self-esteem. In Chapter 4, she helped to organize a strike on the Yiga Clan's hideout.

In Chapter 5, Calamity Ganon started to break free, and the Champions were trapped in the Divine Beasts with the Blight Ganons, as in the original timeline. Terrako intervened again by opening portals within each Divine Beast to pull through the Champions' successors. In the scenario called "Air and Lightning", Riju was pulled through the portal in time to save Urbosa from being killed by Thunderblight Ganon. Together, they were able to destroy the enemy. The two of them worked together to pilot Vah Naboris in Chapter 6. Ultimately, everyone is successful in destroying Calamity Ganon and restoring peace to Hyrule. At that point, Riju and the other Champions's successors were returned to their own time, and Urbosa got to say a farewell to her.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Urbosa appears as an Advanced-rank Primary Spirit which comes with a bonus boost to the power of electric attacks. When fought against in a Spirit battle, she possesses Zero Suit Samus and fights a stamina battle with a Killing Edge above an electrified floor. She is similarly represented in the Spirit battle for the Breath of the Wild version of Zelda, which features representatives of all of the Champions.

Trivia

• One of the children in Gerudo Town claims that Urbosa once saved the town from a ghost.
• In Tears of the Kingdom, she is mentioned at one point when Riju prays in her name. Additionally, the Ancient Sage of Lightning was shown to bear a resemblance to Urbosa, including the same voice actor.