The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, build on Gerudo history that players might not know if these are the first Zelda games they’ve played. Although each race in Zelda games has unique traits and culture, information tends to be given in subtle ways, which makes it easy to miss explanations about these fictional races and their cultures. And when it comes to Hyrule’s denizens, the Gerudo have one specific detail that’s explained as far back as Ocarina of Time.
In both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Link entering Gerudo Town is a big deal, and the reason for this is simply because he’s a man. While TOTK doesn’t make Link dress up as a woman to enter Gerudo Town like BOTW does, it’s clear that the Gerudo aren’t thrilled to have Link there, even if it’s an order from their chief to allow him access to the town. As a result, players might notice pretty quickly that there are no male Gerudo in sight.
Male Gerudo Have Specific Birth Requirements In Zelda
The Gerudo first appear in Ocarina of Time, where a little bit about their history is given, which has more or less remained unchanged in subsequent Zelda games. A male Gerudo is born every 100 years, and that man is automatically made the king of the Gerudo. However, a new male cannot be born until the previous one has died. In some parts of the Zelda timeline, this isn’t an issue since the Gerudo don’t have an extraordinarily long lifespan. For BOTW and TOTK, a male Gerudo hasn’t been born in 10,000 years.
Why A Male Gerudo Hasn’t Been Born In BOTW & TOTK
In the book Creating a Champion – about the making of Breath of the Wild – it’s explained that a male Gerudo hasn’t been born since the king who turned into Calamity Ganon. Since that king was technically considered alive while he was sealed, the conditions for another male Gerudo to be born weren’t met. For Breath of the Wild, this makes sense since even after the 100 years that Link is unconscious, Zelda has Calamity Ganon sealed again, continuing the delay in another male Gerudo being born.
However, as a direct sequel, Tears of the Kingdom‘s Ganondorf poses a few problems for the timeline and the rules for a male Gerudo being born. Since a male Gerudo can only be born every 100 years and the previous male has to die before the next one is born, then it’s unclear when Ganondorf in Tears of the Kingdom was born and if he’s somehow the same king that became Calamity Canon. With the information currently available, it doesn’t seem possible to fit both Ganondorf and Calamity Ganon into the same timeline in a way that follows the rules of the Gerudo.
Ganondorf & Calamity Ganon Conflict In BOTW And TOTK
The only male Gerudo seen in Zelda is Ganondorf, but it seems like two versions of him overlapped in the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom timeline. In one case, Ganondorf could have been born before the king who became Calamity Ganon, and the way that Rauru sealed Ganondorf could’ve put him in a state where he’s considered dead, which allowed the Gerudo who’d be Calamity Ganon to be born as the next male. This could also explain the emaciated state of Ganondorf seen when Zelda and Link find him sealed beneath Hyrule Castle. This explanation leaves a few unanswered questions about two male Gerudo living at one time, but it fits together for the most part.
The alternative order is more difficult to justify given the information available in Breath of the Wild and Creating a Champion in particular. It’s almost impossible for the king who became Calamity Ganon to have been born first because the book specifically says that no male Gerudo has been born in the 10,000 years he’s been sealed, and then the extra 100 years that Zelda holds him in stasis. While the Zelda official timeline placements aren’t perfect, there’s more pressure on a game that has a direct sequel to have a coherent series of events, and Ganondorf being in a death-like state from Rauru is the most coherent option.
How The Gerudo Survive In Zelda
Since men are practically nonexistent among the Gerudo in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the race survives by women leaving Gerudo Desert to marry men from other races. Women who leave usually don’t return to the desert. Instead, they’ll live elsewhere and send their daughters back to Gerudo Town with an escort when they reach a certain age so that they learn the culture. This is seen in Tears of the Kingdom during a Tarrey Town side quest with Hudson and Rhondson. Their daughter, Mattison, is a Gerudo, and she’s reached the age when it’s time for her to go to Gerudo Desert and learn to be a Vai.
This system allows the Gerudo race and culture to stay strong over the years, even without any men being born to them. However, this isn’t without some effects as it’s said that the Gerudo ears have become more pointed through generations due to their unions with Hylian men. Given how prevalent the Gerudo are in Zelda games, it seems unlikely that there will be effects beyond these small changes to avoid the Gerudo being assimilated into the Hylian culture. But Zelda’s timeline is messy and splits multiple times, so the Gerudo will likely continue to be a recurring race with a strong culture that shows no signs of merging completely with others.
Each race in Zelda has unique traits, and the Gerudo have the misfortune of having Ganondorf born to their people at multiple points in the timeline, which they considered as a shame on their race. However, having a male Gerudo born only after the previous male has died led to some unexpected consequences for Breath of the Wild’s timeline. Even though Ganondorf is defeated, Calamity Ganon is simply sealed away again, which means that there will seemingly continue to be an absence of male Gerudo moving forward from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
