The Sheikah tribe are a secretive type, clinging to the shadows and never more than a lunge away from the Goddess Hylia’s chosen few. Servants to the goddess and her mortal incarnations, the Sheikah are seldom seen by other Hylians and prefer a life of devout obscurity. In a number of titles, we are introduced to Zelda’s many handmaidens (all incarnations of Impa), however in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom alike, we are lucky to meet a great many of the Hylians’ red-eyed cousins. In this husk of Hyrule, the Sheikah embody the spirit of the times, being a driving force behind the unification of the people of Hyrule once again.
The open gates of Kakariko Village are what made it impossible to give up the vice I was caught in due to other adventure RPGs I was playing at the time. Like many avid Elder Scrolls players, I was a sucker for the ‘stealth archer’ build and one store had exactly what I needed: Enchanted’s Claree Collection. Armor of the very same make as the iconic Sheik’s, this variety sold by Claree might very well be considered some sort of guild violation among Sheikah craftsmen. Eighteen hundred rupees worth of form-fitting, noise muffling, ninja gear had me running back and forth from the Great Fairy’s Fountain to Ta’loh Naeg Shrine to farm Blupees. I did it shamelessly, as if no one could see me; and soon, they wouldn’t.
For a majority of this playthrough, there was seldom a time when you would find my Link not wearing at least the Stealth Mask (obviously not named the Sheikah Mask to avoid legal troubles for Claree). I enjoyed scouting out enemy encampments, finding exploitable items and blind spots; every time I cleared a fight with a well-timed bullet time arrow, I was ecstatic. After all, Breath of the Wild offers the player a very early option to burn out enemies who have taken refuge in a canyon downwind of a large patch of dry grass (sometimes they have even left a convenient campfire). You can’t expect some players to explore every option if you include things like that.
There were, of course, times when donning the Sheikah armor was less than ideal. Ninjas are not known for their ability to withstand lava, lightning strikes, or lion-headed centaurs five times their size. Though in the last case, such adversaries would first need to be able to land a hit on me. The major weakness in the Sheikah armor provided me with the very incentive to master the game; you can stand behind a shield all day and watch Boko Clubs bounce off harmlessly, or you can take initiative. Fighting many enemies at once is terrifying, but a whistle can draw one or two of them far enough away to make quick work with a well-timed backflip or a patch of burning grass and a paraglider. To be fair, the archery aspect falls off in Breath of the Wild when bows stop keeping up with the health of enemies, but that makes it even more satisfying and necessary to build up a collection of Windcleavers, Demon Carvers, and Eightfold Blades to complete the look.
Above all this are some of my favorite uses of stealth in Breath of the Wild. In Hateno Village, there is a small and unnecessary part of the quest to restore the Sheikah Slate where Link comes across two people at the well, gossiping about the director of the Ancient Tech Lab. While we as players have a quest marker that can take us right there, we always have the option of trying to listen in. If Link lingers too long by the well and attempts to overtly eavesdrop, the two will tell him to go about his business and leave them to theirs. Should Link hunker down in the shadows behind the well, however, he’ll hear a rumor about a child-like figure seen around the lab. This is the first piece in the puzzle of Purah’s transmogrification, but also a favorite of mine when it comes to small pieces of world-building. It is not the only place where eavesdropping is used in this game — there is another instance in Gerudo Town where we can overhear the password for the Gerudo Secret Club. It’s worth keeping in mind that one could easily finish the entire game without noticing these little conversations, but these moments are a special experience for players who stop to notice them.
