The Legend of Zelda franchise isn't the easiest series to understand when it comes to lore and overarching story. For decades, fans weren't even sure that any of the Zelda games were truly connected to one another. However, with the release of the 2011 book "The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia," fans finally had confirmation that every Zelda game is indeed connected through a mix of three different timelines. Thankfully, when taken one game at a time, each Zelda game is much easier to understand, often acting as a self-contained adventure, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom certainly falls into that category.
But while The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom does follow its one singular narrative, with a start, middle and end, it does have some connections to the wider Zelda universe, including some ties to the other timelines. And while fans really don't need to know all the ins and outs of the wider Zelda universe to enjoy Tears of the Kingdom, it is interesting to see the parallels between its own story and characters, and those in previous Zelda entries, with Rauru being a particularly intriguing figure.
Every Incarnation of Rauru In the Zelda Franchise
Players are first introduced to Rauru in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom during its opening sequence. After stumbling upon the horrifying corpse-like body of a mysterious new threat, Hyrule Castle begins to crumble around Link and Zelda, with the princess falling into a chasm in the ground. Before Link can fall into the same chasm, a glowing green arm grabs him and takes him high into the sky. Link soon finds out that the arm belonged to a Zonai king named Rauru who lived hundreds of years ago.
Mentioned in Zelda: Breath of the Wild but only first seen in Tears of the Kingdom, the Zonai are an ancient race that lived in the sky many years ago. Allegedly possessing god-like powers, the Zonai eventually came down to the ground, and established Hyrule. In this age, Rauru reigned as king. But soon, a dangerous threat would emerge. In an attempt to defeat this rising threat, Rauru formed a group known as the Sages, he himself taking on the role of the Sage of Light. Though this threat would ultimately defeat the Sages and lead to the ruin of the Zonai, Rauru lived on in the arm that's now attached to Link's body, granting him some of the ancient Zonai's powers.
While Rauru the Zonai king is an original character for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, this isn't the only character with that name in the Zelda franchise, and that character also happens to bear some marked similarities with the one in Tears of the Kingdom. First seen in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, this character named Rauru is responsible for building the Temple of Time in an attempt to keep the Triforce locked away during the Interloper War. Rauru spent many years keeping watch over the Temple of Time, only occasionally leaving in his owl form, known as Kaepora Gaebora.
Throughout Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Rauru is seen giving Link advice on his journey, and eventually reveals himself to be the Sage of Light when Ganondorf claims the Triforce of Power. With the assistance of the other Sages, Rauru and Link seal Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm. Rauru makes another appearance in Zelda: Wind Waker, albeit only in a mural on a stained glass window in Hyrule Castle. While Tears of the Kingdom's Rauru and Ocarina of Time's Rauru are two separate characters, they do share some major similarities, and it seems safe to assume that they're both different incarnations of the same figure, which is a common thread in the Zelda universe.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Switch.