Zelda fans, rejoice! We’re finally a week away from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hitting the shelves and a few months ago, the trailer dropped to hint at what’s to come. In fact, the trailer looked so promising that Tears of the Kingdom is already eyeing a Game of the Year award. Despite reassuring gameplay footage, fans will always find something to pick a quarrel about, but for the most part, the hype surrounding the project is akin to that of a new Pokémon game. This Nintendo Switch exclusive is certain to be a huge hit in the U.S. and Europe, so naturally, audiences might be curious to learn more about the English voice cast.
With several new characters joining the ranks and some familiar faces returning, Tears of the Kingdom will feature several more voice actors compared to Breath of the Wild, meaning that some introductions are in order.
Princess Zelda
Obviously, a franchise’s namesake should always go first. Princess Zelda made her debut in The Legend of Zelda (1987) as an elf-human hybrid and Hylian princess of the kingdom of Hyrule. Since her name is included in the title of every Zelda game and either herself or her alter-ego is always present within — barring the exception of Link’s Awakening, Majora’s Mask, and Tri Force Heroes. Princess Zelda will be voiced by Patricia Summersett, who will be reprising her role from Breath of the Wild for the English dub. Summersett has worked on countless other games, including several Assassin’s Creed installments, Far Cry: Primal, For Honor and Guardian Tales. She also voiced Zelda in 2020’s Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
Link
Although Link — the main character of the series — doesn’t speak, one would be surprised to learn that he does have a voice actor. He’s voiced by Kengo Takanashi, a Japanese actor, but although Takanashi is providing the English dub, it doesn’t require much effort to grunt and groan in a recording studio. We learned our lesson from Dead By Daylight‘s Leon S. Kennedy, however, since certain moans of pain can often sound… suggestive. Aside from the video game world, anime lovers will recognize Takanashi as Kaval in the That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime series or Kaito Shinonome in Digimon Survive. His past appearances as Link include Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, alongside Summersett, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Whenever Link makes some sort of sound, you can thank Takanashi for that.
Ganondorf
Arguably one of the most famous names tied to the Zelda series, Ganondorf will be voiced by Matthew Mercer, who’s actually been a long-time fan of Zelda and even cosplayed the character in the past, so needless to say, he was over the moon. Ganondorf is the antagonist of Tears of the Kingdom, acting as the Thanos of Hyrule, the kingdom he seeks to eliminate in order to “birth his new world.” In the official trailer for the game, we hear Ganondorf give a threatening speech about how he’s going to wipe out Hyrule, solidifying him as a force to be reckoned with. Once Mercer had gotten the go-ahead from Nintendo to reveal himself as Ganondorf’s voice, he tweeted his excitement, showing off the low-budget cosplay from years ago. Mercer will be most known as the voice of Levi Ackerman in Attack on Titan, but he’s done endless work in the anime field, including One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Persona 5 and more. Did we mention he’s also Cole Cassidy in Overwatch?
Sidon
Ever since Breath of the Wild, Sidon has been a beloved fan-favorite, so it comes as no surprise to see him return for Tears of the Kingdom. Sidon is the prince of Zora and Link’s associate, often gifting him weapons and elixirs to aid his adventures. In the English version of the game, he’s voiced by Jamie Mortellaro, a jack-of-all-trades actor, writer, and director. Mortellaro has worked in both the dubbing and directing departments, helping to bring franchises like Genshin Impact, Pokémon Evolutions and Hitman to life. Additionally, he voiced Kingsglaive in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.
Riju
Riju is another of Link’s companions, helping him on his quest to rescue Princess Zelda. As we’ve seen in the trailer for the game, Riju, the young Chief of the Gerudo Tribe, will be returning once more. She is the descendant of the Gerudo Champion Urbosa who fought alongside Link during the Calamity 100 years prior. When we see her in Breath of the Wild, Riju is but a child, but she’s all grown up in Tears of the Kingdom. Speaking of Breath of the Wild, Riju was voiced by Elizabeth Maxwell, whom we’re assuming will be reprising the role. Not only is Maxwell the voice of Riju, she also provides the voice of Urbosa, Gerudo’s Champion. She’s an established actress in the video game sphere, working on Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin Impact, Persona 5 and many, many more.
Tulin
Reprising her role as Tulin from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the anthropomorphic bird will be voiced by Cristina Vee, an insanely popular name in both the video game and anime world. Many fans will immediately know her as Marinette in Miraculous Ladybug, Bennett and Xingqiu in Genshin Impact, Marjolaine in Little Witch Academia, Sheila in Beastars, Green in Pokémon Evolutions and endless others. Vee is a mainstay on the animation front, often providing the English dub for many Japanese projects. Tulin is primarily humanoid with bird-like traits, hailing from the Rito Village, which is inhabited by people who possess avian features. We see Tulin in Breath of the Wild and he’ll be back for more in Tears of the Kingdom.