Summary
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom features the mysterious character Misko, who is known for hiding rare fashion items around Hyrule.
- Players can embark on treasure-hunting quests to find Misko's hidden treasure, which can reward them with useful gear like armor pieces.
- There are hints that Misko may be more than just a fashionista, as they possess armor sets referencing other games in the Zelda franchise, suggesting a possible meta-awareness of the series.
The Legend of Zelda series is no stranger to enigmatic characters that players will encounter as they guide Link on his journey, but The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is home to one of the series' most mysterious. As players travel around Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, they will likely come across NPCs who talk about the treasure of the legendary Misko, a great bandit who's said to have hidden rare fashion items all around the land. However, players never get to meet Misko themselves, leaving their true identity and nature up to player speculation.
Originally introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Misko plays a role in both it and Tears of the Kingdom as the character responsible for a series of quests where players hunt for their hidden treasure. At a glance, it might appear that Misko is simply a fun way of sending the player on treasure-hunting quests where they can gain unique armor pieces as a reward. Given the Zelda series' history of hiding deeper lore about characters within seemingly mundane activities and some of the items Misko seems to have possessed, it's clear there is more to this character than the games have revealed.
Tears of the Kingdom's Misko May Be More Than Meets the Eye
In Tears of the Kingdom, players can hear about Misko and the tales of their iconic fashion sense from travelers around Hyrule. These travelers also help the player by pointing to locations where Misko is rumored to have buried treasure, typically being found deep within Hyrule's caves. Exploring these locations and discovering Misko's treasure can reward players with useful pieces of gear like the Barbarian Armor chest piece, the Climbing Gear chest piece, and the Rubber Armor chest piece.
While these pieces of gear being part of Misko's treasure make this character seem like a simple adventure-minded fashionista, there are a few other armor sets whose whereabouts Misko has left hints to which are more intriguing than the basic pieces of gear players can find. Among these additional armor sets are the Awakening Armor set, the Tingle Armor set, and the Fierce Deity armor set. All of these pieces of gear are references to other games in the Zelda franchise, which could imply that Misko has some kind of meta-awareness of the franchise as a whole.
Misko Could Be Related to Another Infamous Zelda Character
The implications of Misko having obtained pieces of gear that allude to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask could point to them being another character previously established by the franchise as an enigmatic being with near god-like powers. The Happy Mask Salesman is a similarly mysterious character who appears in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask as a traveling purveyor of masks. From his appearance in Majora's Mask, it's clear the Happy Mask Salesman has otherworldly powers that could allow him to exist outside of the confines of Zelda's in-game universe.
It's possible that Misko is the Happy Mask Salesman, as both are known as mysterious travelers who seem to have unusual foresight. One of the biggest clues to support this theory is the fact that Misko has access to the Fierce Deity Sword, which was only obtainable via the Fierce Deity Mask given to players in Majora's Mask if they collected all optional masks in the game. For someone to have access to this sword and associated armor set, they would have to have access to all of those same masks, which is something that Misko could accomplish if they were the Happy Mask Salesman.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 95 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- May 12, 2023
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Cross-Platform Play
- N/A
- Cross Save
- N/A
WHERE TO PLAY
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
- How Long To Beat
- 59 Hours
- Metascore
- 96
