Where's Kass?! Missing Characters in Tears of the Kingdom

When I first booted up Tears of the Kingdom back in 2023, I was buzzing with excitement to revisit Hyrule and all the familiar faces from Breath of the Wild. But after a few hours of soaring across the sky islands and plunging into the Depths, a creeping suspicion started to nag at me: Where is everyone? Not the main crew—Zelda, Purah, and the Sages are all here—but some of Hyrule's most beloved side characters have simply… vanished. And as a professional game explorer (and self-proclaimed champion of minor NPC lore), I just can't let that slide! So today, let's dive into the three living characters missing from Tears of the Kingdom (and why I'm still losing sleep over one particular feathered friend).

Who Didn't Make the Cut?

Let's get the list out of the way first. After scouring every stable, village, and crumbling ruin, only three living characters from Breath of the Wild are conspicuously absent in Tears of the Kingdom:

Now, I won't spend time on Vilia—she was basically a one-scene wonder who slipped Link a cross-dressing outfit and then dipped. The devs probably figured we'd moved past that fashion crisis by Tears of the Kingdom. But Kass and Maz Koshia? Their disappearances sting. Especially Kass. 😢

Why Is Kass Missing? The Rito Minstrel Mystery

Let's start with the big one. Kass, the accordion-wielding Rito bard, was basically the soundtrack of my Breath of the Wild adventure. Every time I stumbled upon his jaunty tunes near a stable or shrine, it felt like Hyrule had a pulse. He had a whole family back in Rito Village—his wife Amali and their five daughters (yes, five little featherheads)—and by the end of BotW, he'd reunited with them after completing his epic ballad about Calamity Ganon. So when I sprinted to Rito Village in Tears of the Kingdom, expecting to see him playing for his kids, imagine my shock to find everyone but Kass there. Amali is tending the home, the chicks are flapping around, but dad is nowhere to be seen.

Yet the game doesn't forget him entirely. If you undertake the "Potential Princess Sightings" quest with Penn (the intrepid Pelican reporter), you'll visit stables across Hyrule. At some point, Penn casually mentions a "famous bard" who used to roam these parts. That's got to be Kass! So he's clearly still a legend, even if he's off camera. But why isn't he physically here? Let's dig into the clues from the DLC.

The Champions' Ballad Promise

In The Champions' Ballad DLC, Kass plays a pivotal role. Spoiler-light zone: He fulfills an old promise to the Sheikah Court Poet, a task that involved traveling to the lands of each Champion and composing verses in their honor. After completing this spiritual successor to the hero's journey, Kass seems to find peace—but not necessarily retirement. Remember, he's a minstrel at heart, always chasing the next story. To me, the most logical explanation is that Kass took his accordion and set out to explore the world beyond Hyrule (or at least beyond the regions we can access). His whole arc in BotW was about fulfilling his teacher's dream; now that it's done, maybe he's carving out his own legend.

Did Kass Die?!

You've probably seen the darker fan theory circulating online—that Kass has passed away. But let me stop you right there. 🤔 If Kass had died, would his wife and five kids show absolutely zero signs of grief? Amali doesn't mention a funeral, the daughters don't talk about missing dad; they're just living their lives. In Nintendo's world of crying Zora and stoic Gorons, a death like that would definitely leave emotional breadcrumbs. Plus, Penn speaks of the "famous bard" in the present tense. So no, I don't buy the death theory. Kass is alive and strumming somewhere—perhaps the devs have a post-game DLC up their sleeves (fingers crossed for 2026!).

Monk Maz Koshia: The Sheikah Hermit

Now, Maz Koshia's absence is less shocking but still worth a nod. Who's Maz Koshia? If you skipped the DLC, you might not even know this ancient Sheikah monk who appears as the final boss of The Champions' Ballad. Defeating him rewarded us with the Master Cycle Zero, and he also popped up in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. In a game where Sheikah tech has almost completely vanished (the Purah Pad replaces the Sheikah Slate, Shrine of Ressurection is gone, etc.), it makes sense that a guardian monk tied to that technology would fade away too.

Maz Koshia was basically a sentinel of the Sheikah Slate trials. With those trials no longer active in Tears of the Kingdom, his purpose is fulfilled. I like to think he's meditating in some hidden chamber, transcending time, waiting for the next era of tech. Or maybe he uploaded his consciousness into the Purah Pad—who knows? The point is, his story feels complete. It's Kass's open-ended finale that keeps me up at night.

What About the Four Champions?

Ah, the elephant in the Divine Beast. If you're playing Tears of the Kingdom and wondering why Mipha, Revali, Daruk, and Urbosa aren't around, let's revisit the ending of Breath of the Wild. The Champions died a century before the events of BotW. Their spirits were trapped inside the Divine Beasts, and after Link freed them and they helped blast Calamity Ganon, their souls passed on to the afterlife. They're not alive in Tears of the Kingdom. So while we see their descendants and legacies (Sidon, Teba, Yunobo, Riju), the original four are resting peacefully. This isn't a "missing" case—it's a "they are literally no longer among the living." Still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up a little when I found Revali's empty perch. 😢

So, Will We Ever See Kass Again?

Now it's 2026, and we're still waiting for word on Tears of the Kingdom DLC (come on, Nintendo, you know we'll throw rupees at you!). Many players, myself included, hold out hope that a future expansion will reveal where Kass went. Maybe he's the key to a new musical mechanic, or he's been stranded on a sky island, composing a ballad about Zonai heroes. Penn's offhand remark feels too deliberate to be a throwaway—it's a breadcrumb. If I had to bet, Kass will return in a Director's Cut or even a third installment, and I'll be there, accordion in hand (metaphorically), ready to sob.

In the end, these absences don't ruin Tears of the Kingdom—the game is a masterpiece of exploration—but they leave us with that bittersweet ache of reconnecting with a world that has moved on without some of our favorite faces. Have you stumbled upon any other hidden mentions of Kass I missed? Or do you think Maz Koshia is secretly chilling in the Depths? Drop your theories in the comments (or, you know, in your own playthroughs), and let's keep the search alive!

Stay cucco-curious, Hyrule wanderers! 🐓🎵