Revali

Revali, the Rito Champion, is one of the most memorable and complex supporting characters in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. He is the Rito warrior chosen by Princess Zelda to pilot the Divine Beast Vah Medoh and contribute to the effort to defeat Calamity Ganon. His appearance is striking, characterized by his beautiful blue plumage, which features lighter blue feathers at the tips of his wings and a crown of white feathers atop his head. His eyes are a bright, piercing green. As a Champion, he wears a distinct blue scarf over his red breastplate armor, marking his prestigious status among the heroes of Hyrule. He is rarely seen without his custom-made weapon, the Great Eagle Bow, a powerful bow said to be too heavy for any other Rito to wield with his incredible speed and accuracy.

Revali's most defining trait is his overwhelming pride and arrogance. He possesses an undeniable talent for archery and flight, mastering these skills to a degree that is unparalleled within the Rito tribe. This extraordinary skill, combined with the adoration and praise he received from his people, fostered a profound sense of superiority. He is often boastful, condescending, and dramatically flamboyant in his speeches, particularly when addressing his fellow Champions.

His most complex relationships were with Link and Princess Zelda. Revali harbored a deep and clear resentment and jealousy toward Link, the chosen Hero. He believed that his own prodigious skills and hard-won abilities—especially his signature technique, Revali's Gale—made him far more qualified to be the main force against Ganon than a "silent little swordsman" whose primary qualification was wielding the Master Sword. This bitterness is evident in their interactions, where Revali makes constant, barbed attempts to belittle Link and assert his own dominance as a warrior.

However, the expansion content, The Champion's Ballad, added crucial depth and a much-needed layer of insecurity to Revali's character. His arrogance is revealed to be a powerful facade, a mask to conceal deep-seated self-doubt and the fear of failure. His diary entries and flashbacks reveal that he pushed himself to extreme, painful lengths to perfect Revali's Gale, his unique ability to generate a powerful, localized updraft that can launch him to great heights. He desperately wanted to be the main hero to prove his worth, not only to Hyrule but, more importantly, to himself. This intense pressure and the need for external validation were key motivators for his abrasive attitude towards Link, whose natural, humble heroism seemed to achieve what Revali fought so hard for with little apparent effort.

Despite his sharp edges, Revali was devoted to his people and driven by a strong, if boastfully expressed, sense of duty to protect Hyrule. His request for the Flight Range in Dronoc's Pass was motivated by a desire to strengthen the next generation of Rito warriors. His eventual fate—being sealed as a spirit within his Divine Beast Vah Medoh after being slain by Windblight Ganon—was a tragedy born of his rapid deployment and perhaps his overconfidence. After Link defeats the Blight Ganon a century later, Revali's spirit finally acknowledges Link’s strength, albeit with a characteristically sarcastic and grudging concession that Link was "just lucky," before graciously bestowing upon him the use of Revali's Gale. This incredible ability, which allows Link to create a powerful updraft to launch himself skyward, is arguably the most useful of all the Champion abilities for exploration and traversal in the game.

Ultimately, Revali's story is one of a gifted individual whose talent became both his greatest strength and his most debilitating flaw. He is a deeply complex character—the prideful perfectionist who desperately needed to prove that his accomplishments were earned and who struggled with the idea of playing a supporting role to a hero he secretly envied. His vibrant personality and memorable, often cutting dialogue, make him a fan-favorite, despite (or perhaps because of) his undeniable status as the most arrogant of the Champions`