One of the coolest new mechanics that have been added to Tears Of The Kingdom is the concept of Companion Powers (or Sage Powers). These are very similar in execution to the Hero Powers from Breath Of The Wild, but they’ve been heavily tweaked in many ways to make them a bit more interesting.
That being said, they most certainly are not equal. There are clear winners in the pool, and frankly, one giant dud that can go in the bin. This list is going to go through all five of these powers, rank them, and give you a definitive reason as to why Yunbo is by far the worst of the bunch. Spoiler for this list.
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5. Yunbo
Yunbo sucks. Not only is he a major player in the corrupted rock/drug problem that has ravaged Death Mountain and the local Gorons, but his power is awful. When you first unlock it (pre-sage form) Yunbo does nothing but get in the way. You better believe he will destroy half of your machines as activating a Steering Stick also, inexplicably, caused Yunbo to prep his power, launching him straight into your contraption and knocking it off the nearest cliff.
In terms of pure functionality, Yunbo does destroy rocks. But do you know what else destroys rocks? Rocks attached to sticks. Both of these things are staggeringly common so Yunbo once again falls flat. Sure, Yunbo is an interesting player in the story, and he technically explodes on impact, but we turned him off the moment we could and never activated him again.
4. Sidon
Sidon may have a winning smile, but his power is pretty darn average. Not as infuriating as Yunbo (we don’t have the desire to launch him into Death Mountain), but incredibly situational. His power has two parts. Firstly, you create a shield. This shield can absorb a single hit and that’s it. Handy if you are in a pinch, but not required once you have a grip on Tears Of The Kingdom’s combat.
The secondary effect is to break your own shield and apply a buff to your weapon. This allows you to send out a penetrating projectile with your next attack. This is fine, but sadly nothing more than that. Leagues better than Yunbo, but nowhere near as good as the others on this list.
3. Riju
We almost placed Riju higher because her ability to buff your combat efficacy is just that good. However, in the end, we settled for third. Just because she isn’t in the top two, however, doesn’t mean she is bad. In fact, Riju is excellent and should be a staple for anyone looking to increase their DPS.
Riju loves bows, and what she does is make it so your next arrow causes a lightning bolt to strike from the heavens for massive damage. This will kill most low-health enemies in a large AOE, and deal massive damage to everything else. Sure, it requires a bow to use, but when you can even use this indoors, underground, in the Depths, and whilst exploring the Sky Islands (above the clouds…), it’s a minor tradeoff.
2. Tulin
Tulin would be number one had there not been a secret fifth Sage to contend with. Tulin is simply an excellent companion who has an amazing power. All he does is launch you horizontally when you are gliding. This drastically increases your ability to explore and navigate Hyrule. Not only that, it’s on a very short cooldown so you can fly to your heart’s content.
The only downside here is that Tears Of The Kingdom has so many ways to navigate the world that Tulin isn’t used all that much since you can fly pretty darn easily without the use of your Glider. That being said, Tulin was by far our most used companion when playing Tears Of The Kingdom, and that is why he lands the number two slot.
1. Mineru
If you have played Tears Of The Kingdom and unlocked Mineru you know exactly why she is here. She spawns a mech that you can ride and equip with different attachments. Not only is this a fantastic way to travel, but it also helps in combat once you start slapping on homing cannons and lasers.
That’s all we have to say on the matter really. Big mechs win every time.
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