I don’t think I’m alone in the sentiment that the cinematic cutscenes from Breath of the Wild are a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, they do succeed at stitching together a cohesive narrative for this fundamentally nonlinear game, and the performances are sufficiently polished to avoid breaking the immersion – a pretty impressive feat for the Zelda series’ first foray into voiced dialogue. But on the other hand, they appear very infrequently, with most of them being fragmented memories scattered across the vast kingdom of Hyrule that can be collected in any order. This has led many players (myself included) to regard them more as awkward gimmicks than effective vehicles for storytelling, and in my opinion, the Champions are the ones who suffer the most for this.
They, along with Princess Zelda, are supposed to be the emotional driving force behind the plot, but since they don’t appear as NPCs in the overworld, these sparse cutscenes are the only instances where we can directly interact with them. They’re not terrible by any means, but they don’t allow enough time or space to capture the subtler nuances of the Champions’ personalities, making it more difficult to form meaningful bonds with them. Their diaries and the testimonies of their surviving brethren do a much better job of fleshing them out, but if you ask me, the best way to emotionally connect with the Champions is the same way we’ve bonded with so many beloved Zelda characters in the past: through music.
It wasn’t until I started listening in earnest to the tracks composed for the Champions that they began to truly resonate with me as full-fledged characters. Their theme songs, while short, are rich and intriguing, reflecting the hidden complexities of their respective personalities – Daruk’s unconventional wisdom and unexpected vulnerabilities, Urbosa’s solitary battle against grief, Revali’s lonely struggle to reconcile his youthful ambition with his role as a supporting player, and Mipha’s startling strength of character in the face of both danger and heartache. But I still didn’t quite comprehend the depth of the tragedy that befell them until just recently, when I ventured to their final resting places and heard the chilling messages echoing through the chambers of the Divine Beasts.
Have you ever listened to a piece of music through headphones and been jolted by the sensation of the music “traveling” from the left to the right? This is due to “panning”, a technique used to distribute sounds across a stereo sound field, creating the impression of a three-dimensional listening environment. I bring this up because if you’ve ever taken the time to listen to the Divine Beast themes on their own, without all the ambient clutter, you may have noticed that each one contains a strange beeping motif. To the average listener, these beeps are completely random and chaotic because the tracks are panned directly down the center, distributing the sounds equally to the left and right ear. But if you split these stereo tracks into two separate channels and pan one completely to the left and one completely to the right, you’ll discover something incredibly fascinating: those seemingly random beeps are, in fact, two distinct Morse code messages overlapping each other.
On one side, there’s a sequence of three short marks, three long marks, then three more short marks, spelling out the letters SOS in Morse code. Most of you probably already know that SOS is a universal distress signal used to denote an emergency situation in need of immediate attention. Many assume that SOS is an acronym for “save our ship” or “save our souls”, but the letters don’t actually have any inherent meaning; they’re just used because the sequence is simple enough to remember in high-stress situations.
On the other side, you can hear three short marks, a short mark followed by a long mark, then one long mark followed by two short marks, which spells out SAD. From what I can tell, this isn’t a sequence recognized in International Morse Code, so the meaning is rather unclear. I thought that perhaps it needed to be translated into Wabun code (Japanese text in Morse code) in order to be understood, but this just results in the word raiho, or “visit”. Some fans have suggested that the code is meant to stand for “search and destroy”, an aggressive military strategy employed during the Vietnam War where the goal was to ferret out and eliminate as many enemy combatants as humanly possible. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to assume that this theory is on the right track.
The messages can only be heard prior to activating the first terminal in each Divine Beast, but the beeping motif persists as you delve into the depths of the mechanical behemoths. Therefore, I think that the purpose of these audio Easter eggs is not to assert that Morse code messages are literally being transmitted via Sheikah technology, but to establish that there are two different “voices” speaking through the music: the Champions (SOS) and their respective Blight Ganons (SAD).
Why is this significant? Well, the conclusion I’ve reached is that the Divine Beast themes are offering us a rare, gut-wrenching glimpse into the final battles that took the lives of the four warriors. They may not explicitly tell us what happened, but by listening closely to the beeps in each track, we can start to paint a picture of each Champion’s state of mind as they fought for control of the corrupted contraptions.
Vah Rudania’s track begins with Morse code messages on both sides, indicating that Daruk and Fireblight Ganon immediately became aware of each other’s presence when the Goron Champion set foot in the infected machine. Since Fireblight isn’t exactly the quickest beast in the bunch, Daruk likely had time to prepare himself before launching into battle.
From the moment the main theme kicks off after activating Terminal 1, a steady beeping pulse can be heard on both sides, blending in with and grooving along to the rhythm of the music. Even though the track itself gradually intensifies, with heavier instrumentation and a quicker tempo after activating Terminal 5 (5:16), the beeping never wavers in the slightest. With his immense strength and unique ability to counter the blows from Fireblight’s blade, Daruk likely proved himself to be a stalwart opponent who wouldn’t topple without considerable effort. Unfortunately, Fireblight was fueled by an infinite supply of Malice, so all it had to do was gradually wear the Goron warrior down and wait for him to let his guard down before delivering the fatal blow. But it comforts me to think that Daruk maintained his optimistic spirit the entire way through, never doubting that his allies would weather the storm and ultimately emerge victorious.
A cacophonous piano chord serves as our introduction to Vah Naboris, followed by strong SAD signals and relatively weak SOS codes. Given that Thunderblight Ganon is the fastest and most aggressive of the four bosses, it probably ambushed Urbosa the second she entered the Divine Beast, striking her with lightning before she even had a chance to react. The badly injured Gerudo warrior started out with the odds stacked against her, but her tenacious, indomitable spirit wasn’t about to give this hideous scourge the pleasure of winning so easily.
After Urbosa summons all the strength left in her body, the battle commences in much the same way Daruk’s did: with strong beeps that match the rhythm of the music. It really speaks to Urbosa’s incredible fortitude that she was able to put up such an impressive fight after sustaining so much damage early on. But eventually, these injuries do catch up with her. While Thunderblight’s pulse remains strong throughout the entire track, Urbosa’s gradually fades into the background as more terminals are activated, especially when the chanting begins around 4:05. The music is sorrowful and soul-crushing, but also beautiful and elegant at the same time. Even when Urbosa’s physical body dies, the memory of the kind, dignified leader will live on in the hearts of the Gerudo forevermore.
With the Vah Medoh theme, we don’t hear the Morse code signals until 16 seconds in. Since Windblight Ganon is fought atop Vah Medoh rather than inside, Revali probably used an updraft to fly over the Divine Beast and survey the arena where Windblight was waiting; therefore, the two had sufficient time to size each other up as the Rito Champion honed in on his opponent.
This track stands out from the rest because, for the first portion of the battle, no beeping signals can be heard on Revali’s side. The haughty young warrior always resented being a sidekick to a pathetic Hylian swinging around a sword, so he likely saw this as his opportunity to prove his superiority, recklessly diving headfirst into the brawl without fully taking stock of the situation. This aligns with the statement Revali makes when Link confronts Windblight 100 years later: “It defeated me…but only because I was winging it.”
Meanwhile, a nigh-imperceptible beeping sound can be detected on Windblight’s side if you listen very closely, almost as if the beast is intentionally holding back its true strength. Then, after Terminal 3 is activated (3:40), Revali begins sending out a frantic signal. It seems that the gravity of the situation finally sunk in at this point, and the Rito warrior started to fear for his life in earnest. On the other side, you can hear Windblight softly parroting these signals, taunting the foolish lad who so brazenly challenged it. Revali continued to fight as fiercely as ever, but with his confidence shaken, it was only a matter of time before a misstep left him vulnerable to a deadly attack.
Of all the Divine Beast themes, none so effectively evoke the horror of the Great Calamity as that of Vah Ruta. As we learned from the “Mipha’s Touch” memory, the Zora princess was doubtful about what the Champions would be able to accomplish if Calamity Ganon returned, since the extent of his powers was unknown to them at the time. So when she found out that her Divine Beast had been infected by Malice, she probably understood better than anyone else that their lives were in terrible danger. The SOS codes at the beginning indicate a cautious approach as if Mipha is sneaking around corners, trying to stay out of Waterblight Ganon’s line of sight until she can figure out what she’s up against.
The signals that course through this eerie track are tense and frenetic, but Waterblight’s come across as confident and powerful, while Mipha’s sound utterly terrified. As she dodged the long-range thrusts of Waterblight’s spear, she was probably fueled by thoughts of her family and friends, and whether they would be able to survive the catastrophe unfolding before her eyes. The mere thought of Link fighting on his own, without her there to heal him, would have been enough to keep her going strong for a while. But a loud organ begins to slowly drown out the signals on both sides after Terminal 3 is activated (3:03), and by the time the thudding footsteps kick in around 4:45, Mipha’s pulse is almost impossible to hear. Since the organ is usually symbolic of Ganondorf in this series, I think this is meant to convey that our gentle, courageous Zora Champion has succumbed to her injuries. Calamity Ganon is now completely in control of the mechanical pachyderm Vah Ruta, providing an utterly cruel ending for a young woman who had so much love left to give.
I’ve heard some people say that they hope the Champions make an appearance in Tears of the Kingdom, but personally, I don’t think they should – and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Without uttering a single word, these masterfully composed Divine Beast tracks tell the haunting tale of four brave individuals who, despite coming from different backgrounds and approaching the world in vastly different ways, were united by their love for the beautiful land they called home. After all they’ve endured, it’s time for the Champions to finally lay down their weapons and move on from this world of mortals. Their heroic legacies will live on in their successors, who have already proven themselves worthy of fighting side-by-side with the warrior of legend. Daruk, Urbosa, Revali, and Mipha have done their part. Let us leave them to their well-earned eternal rest.
To celebrate the upcoming launch of Tears of the Kingdom, we are dedicating two weeks of columns articles to its groundbreaking predecessor, Breath of the Wild! Check out our Countdown to TOTK page.
