One of The Wind Waker’s biggest charms is Tetra’s pirate crew. While Tetra herself is quite intimidating and acts like a true pirate, her crew lacks a lot of her competence and ends up being a great source of comedic relief. There is Gonzo, the giant teddy bear of a first mate whose intense loyalty to Tetra causes him to cry in her absence. Mako is the brains of the group, often acting as the straight man with the pirates’ antics. And then there is Senza, who seems far too eager to catapult Link into the Forsaken Fortress.
However, there is only one other pirate in this comedic crew whose notability rivals even that of Tetra herself. That pirate is Niko.
Niko is the lowest-ranking pirate on Tetra’s ship, and as such gets forced into doing odd jobs around the ship, including washing the other pirate’s dirty underwear and watching the boat while the other pirates go on thrilling adventures. He can easily be taken advantage of, as seen when he bets away important pieces of cargo from the ship during his minigames with Link. He is cowardly in the face of danger and often goes ignored by the other members of the crew.
You may think that compared to the greatness of his crew, Niko is nothing special. He appears to have no redeeming qualities. This is an understandable assumption just based on the context clues from Niko’s dialogue. He is pushed around by the other pirates and he is constantly making mistakes, yet Tetra keeps him around for some reason. What could such a useless pirate contribute to such a mighty crew?
The answer here lies in his figurine.
In the description on the Niko figurine obtained from Carlov, Niko is described as “quite childish and rarely thinks of the consequences of his actions. Even so, he shows signs of having what it takes to move up the pirate ladder.” This figurine hints at Niko’s potential for greatness. Yes, he may be at the bottom of the pile now, but that does not mean he will never improve. If he were not destined for greatness, he would not have made his way into Tetra’s pirate crew.
Niko’s potential is hinted at further in the stained-glass window in the underwater Hyrule Castle. The previous Princess Zelda stands surrounded by attendants that resemble the members of Tetra’s pirate crew. Knowing that Tetra is the descendant of this Princess Zelda, it is a fair assumption that these attendants are the ancestors of the pirate crew. If Niko’s ancestor was worthy enough to stand by his Princess Zelda, then Niko is just as worthy to stand by Tetra. He is destined for greatness whether anyone can see that or not.
And Niko is not entirely useless to the crew. As shown in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, Niko appears to be a decent storyteller, when he is not telling tales to a certain sleepy hero. He even serves as a storyteller to the next incarnation of Link, making him one of the few characters to witness multiple incarnations of the hero.
But most importantly, Niko is a really good friend. Despite his excitement at being able to boss around a new recruit the way he has been bossed around, he shows genuine kindness to Link. He teaches Link how to swing on ropes and is really saddened when Link is not around. Niko and Link seemed to have been pretty great friends after the events of The Wind Waker and its sequel, as shown by how Niko owned the shield that Link wielded on his journey across the Great Sea.
Niko is a character whose greatness is not immediately apparent and not yet found. Perhaps if there were to be a spin-off series focusing on Niko’s adventures, his heroic skills would reveal themselves. His story in The Wind Waker is just the beginning of Niko’s grand adventure. And just like everyone else, he has the potential to be the hero of his own story if you just give him a little time and a little company.
