The Gerudo Champion Urbosa is the embodiment of everything I love about the Gerudo race. Fierce. Beautiful. Determined. Dignified. Fearless. In fact, Urbosa also represents a quality of the Gerudo that is easy to overlook, given how Link usually sees them as enemies at worst and tolerant at best. Despite the burning deserts that surround them, the Gerudo can often come across as cold and unforgiving to outsiders and those that cross them. But in Urbosa, we see a warmer side of the Gerudo. And this warmth actually comes from the same place as that perceived coldness: the pride in their culture and in protecting their community, their closest friends, and their family.
Although Link knew Urbosa before his 100 year slumber, you never get to meet her in the flesh during the game. However, you’ll feel like you did, given how beautifully they build her character. As you explore Gerudo Town and complete all the associated quests, you hear of Urbosa’s boldness as a leader and champion from other Gerudos and Riju, you see her warmth (particularly for Princess Zelda) in Link’s memories, you read about her feelings and motivations in her diary, and you witness her calm yet unmistakable confidence for yourself when briefly speaking to her spirit in the Divine Beast Vah Naboris. As a seasoned Gerudo fan girl, I can confirm for you that I was indeed very smitten with seeing her ‘in person’ for the first time and hearing her badass vow to take care of ‘unfinished business’. But we’ll get to that later.
Constructing her character in this way is really poetic to me. It’s deliberately crafted to show just how revered she was and the impact she left behind, even 100 years later. I don’t think the full extent of this would’ve been apparent, and her character might not have been as interesting, if she were alive during the game. She would’ve still been in the process of carving history and developing relationships with others, and while it would have been beautiful to witness her character grow in real time, you know what they say: you often don’t fully appreciate something until it’s gone.
What’s particularly impactful about her history is it shows just how complex her character became, especially compared to the other champions in my opinion. She not only faced the challenges of being a champion and a leader of her race, but she also had a close kinship with Zelda’s mother, the queen of Hyrule, and eventually became something of a surrogate mother to Zelda after her mother’s passing. And to top it all off, she carried a huge sense of responsibility to defeat Ganon. As the Gerudo once birthed Ganondorf, she felt it was her duty to finally defeat him and repay this old debt, to show they would no longer stand on the side of evil.
Let’s start with one of the first memories of Urbosa you’ll likely see and that does a great job introducing her properly, as it contains so much of her character. When you find the Thunder Helm and return it to Riju, Link recalls Urbosa sitting atop her Divine Beast Vah Naboris, with Zelda sleeping peacefully against her shoulder. As he approaches, Urbosa sympathizes with the daily responsibilities and personal expectations that burden and trouble Zelda, particularly her difficulty with unlocking her ‘sealing power’ and living up to her legacy. Urbosa expresses how special Zelda is and that Link better protect her with his life.
This is such a sweet moment that shows her and Zelda’s closeness and Urbosa’s maternal side — with a dash of her characteristic lighthearted badassery of course, as she wakes up Zelda with her signature Urbosa’s Fury flash of lightning.
In the next iconic memory of Urbosa, conjured by Kass’ champion ballad, you see two incredibly admirable sides of her: the stoic and fearless leader, and the lighthearted, warm maternal side. Zelda visits Urbosa to ask her to take part in the fight against Ganon, and Urbosa accepts calmly and determinedly without hesitation. You then see her and Zelda walking together in the desert at night, as Zelda laughs about how serious Urbosa seemed earlier.
It’s also when we witness some long overdue Gerudo combat, with Urbosa knocking some Yiga scum back in their place. I’d been craving this for so long, since Majora’s Mask even, as I adore the way Gerudos fight. They look so badass yet graceful, which Urbosa revives effortlessly. Finally, we share another tender moment with the two, as Urbosa talks about how Zelda’s mother was a dear friend, and how the endearing nickname she has for Zelda — ‘little bird’ — was once what the queen called Zelda.
Urbosa appears in other memories that build on her character, but those are the main two that really show us multiple aspects of her personality and a truly empowered woman. However, it isn’t until you read her diary and speak with her spirit in the Divine Beast Vah Naboris that these developments are fully framed and you feel like you truly know her. Her personal thoughts in the diary round out the polished and passionate external persona by showing us more of her internal, vulnerable humanity.
She speaks about her adoration for Zelda and her mother, and her deep heartbreak and difficulty coping after the queen’s passing. We learn how much she cared for Zelda and how she inevitably adopted the maternal role we see in the memories, as she looked out for Zelda during her intense training. We read about Urbosa becoming the champion and how the Gerudo initially reacted with trepidation. But her commitment to what she knew was the right thing to do, and that she owed to her race to restore their honor, was unshaken.
Even a hundred years later, this drive still burns fiercely in her — when Link meets her face to face in the Divine Beast. As Urbosa thanks Link for freeing her soul and continuing the fight against Ganon, she fiercely reminds us that the Gerudo have no tolerance for unfinished business. She also leaves Link with a heartfelt message for Zelda, reinforcing her motherly attachment: “And let her know I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Once Urbosa is alone, standing atop her divine beast and looking across the vast expanse of Hyrule, we hear words of undying commitment to her sense of duty. To me, this monologue makes her one of the most interesting and likable characters in the entire game — possibly even the whole series. Her motivation runs deep and unaffected, and for long-time Zelda fans is ever so relatable. We truly get it. Ganondorf has been a stain on the Gerudo name for centuries, and Urbosa is ready to rectify it.
“It was written that Calamity Ganon once adopted the form of a Gerudo. And that…will make this victory all the more satisfying. I like that. Now I can take this personally.”
