The world of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is quite sparse, in terms of population. While the kingdom of Hyrule is vast, there are only a few settlements that dot the map. Because of this, you will become familiar with pretty much everyone. One of these characters that you will get to know is Purah.
Purah appears pretty early on in the story as a cute young woman who seems to be an esteemed researcher. So, who is she? Here, we are going to look at all you need to know about Purah. This will include who she is in Tears of the Kingdom, as well as her role in other games.
Updated November 14, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: Purah is a bit of a fan favorite in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. As such, we updated this article with a bit more information; you can now learn a bit more about Paya and Robbie in relation to Purah.
Purah In Tears Of The Kingdom
Shortly after meeting Purah, you will unlock her character profile, where she is described as the Head of Lookout Landing. Here, we learn that Purah is the “highest authority on ancient technology,” and that she serves Princess Zelda. Prior to Zelda’s disappearance, the two worked together to research the Zonai.
To answer the question, “Who is she?”, the answer is simple. Purah is a researcher who works with the royal family to learn about any disturbances that happen in Hyrule. Due to Zelda’s disappearance, Purah’s goal is to learn about the Upheaval and find the princess.
Purah In Breath Of The Wild
In addition to being in Tears of the Kingdom, she also appeared in Breath of the Wild. In this game, she looked a bit different. Purah was the director of the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab, where she conducted research on ancient technology. Here, Purah could also upgrade your Sheikah Slate for you.
In this game, Purah is small. By small, we mean that she was basically a little child who looked six years old. This is due to her past research into an anti-aging Rune, which essentially caused her to age backward.
Purah will be alone in the lab rather than alongside Robbie, who is her partner. This is on purpose though, as the two decided to part ways after the Great Calamity. If something bad were to happen to either one of them, the other would still be able to help Link (when he woke up).
The Royal Family And The Sheikah
Above, we mentioned that Purah serves Princess Zelda. Why does she though? The answer is quite simple as well.
Throughout the entire franchise, Sheikah are the guardians of the goddess Hylia, including her mortal incarnation, which is Zelda. As a Sheikah, Purah is bound to protect and serve Zelda.
How Old Is Purah?
If Purah aged backward, how old is she? In the book The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion, Purah is described to be around 124 years old.
To learn her age in Tears of the Kingdom, we just need to know the period of time between the two titles. It’s believed that Tears of the Kingdom occurs roughly six years after Breath of the Wild.
This is not directly confirmed, but many NPCs who started off as children in the first game appear to be around six years older.
Due to Purah’s age experimentation, she continues to not look her age in Tears of the Kingdom, where she is thought to be around 130 years old.
Breath of the Wild takes place after a 100-year gap; Link is in the Shrine of Resurrection during this time. Prior Based on this, it’s safe to say that Purah was a young adult (around 24 years old) when the Great Calamity occurred.
Purah And Robbie
What role does Robbie play in Purah’s story? Robbie is a Sheikah researcher, who Purah says is her subordinate. According to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion, we learn that Robbie is around 120 years old, making him slightly younger than Purah.
This could mean that there we equals in research, but as Purah was a bit older, she felt ‘superior’. Of course, she was also the only one to successfully reverse her age, so maybe this inflated her ego a bit.
In Breath of the Wild, Purah notes that only she, Impa, and Robbie remain after the great Calamity (100 years prior). Overall, Robbie seems to be just a researcher who continued the position after all the other elder Sheikah left
Purah’s Family
Even though Purah is quite old, she still has some surviving family!
Impa
Purah is the older sister of Impa, who has not conducted any experiments with her age.
As such, Impa looks like a tiny old lady. In the Creating a Champion book we mentioned above, it’s noted that Impa is around 120 years old, making her four years younger than her sister. Overall, Purah and Impa are two of the oldest Sheikah alive.
The true oldest Sheikah alive is Monk Maz Koshia, who appears in the DLC for Breath of the Wild as well as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
Paya
Paya is Purah’s grandniece and Impa’s granddaughter. This would make Paya’s mom Impa’s daughter, but who was this mysterious woman? She doesn’t appear in Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, and unfortunately, we don’t learn who she is.
It’s safe to say that Paya’s mom (Purah’s niece) grew up in the village, following the same route as Paya. Since Paya and young Impa look pretty much identical, it’s also safe to say that she probably looked just like the two.
Purah In Other Games
Purah also has an appearance in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Here, Purah is around 24 years old, as the game takes place during the Great Calamity. It’s important to note that this game takes place on an alternate timeline, so the events aren’t canon to Tears of the Kingdom.
In Age of Calamity, Purah looks pretty similar to how she does in Tears of the Kingdom, with a few varying fashion choices. Additionally, she is often with Robbie, who is her partner in research.