science

Urbosa

Urbosa is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Urbosa rather than just read about it. In short: Urbosa (Japanese: ウルボザ, Hepburn: Uruboza) is a fictional character from Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. She first appeared as one of the major characters in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where she is the leader of the Gerudo and one of the four Champions who helped Princess Zelda and Link protect Hyrule from Calamity Ganon, losing her life in the process.

Key takeaways

Urbosa belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Urbosa to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Urbosa from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Urbosa (Japanese: ウルボザ, Hepburn: Uruboza) is a fictional character from Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. She first appeared as one of the major characters in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where she is the leader of the Gerudo and one of the four Champions who helped Princess Zelda and Link protect Hyrule from Calamity Ganon, losing her life in the process. She also appears in the hack-and-slash video game Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity as a playable character. Within the game, Urbosa is the pilot of Divine Beast Vah Naboris, one of the four Divine Beasts that the Champions used to protect Hyrule from Calamity Ganon. Like the other Champions, Urbosa has a unique skill that is used in gameplay, which is the ability to control the power of lightning. She has been positively received by both fans and critics due to her heroic, wise, and charismatic character. She was identified as both a fan favorite and a standout character in the cast, with multiple critics expressing a desire to see her in more games, such as the Super Smash Bros. series and her own game.

Concept and creation

Urbosa was created for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. She was designed to have a "more feminine, motherly appearance" than other Gerudos, and was also "slightly less muscular" than other Gerudos, "possessing both the strength of a warrior and a mother". Cinematic designer Naoki Mori designed a scene where Urbosa saves Princess Zelda from the Yiga and serves as her "spiritual mother", going on to describe her as kind, relaxed, and sassy. She was also written as wanting to take responsibility for Ganondorf's rise to power in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which Mori did as part of expanding the "expansive nature" and "rich history" of the series. Lead NPC artist Hirohito Shinoda designed her outfit with the idea of "a person an ordinary Gerudo would look up to". Urbosa's name was the first to be finalized during the development of Breath of the Wild. Urbosa is the Chief of the Gerudo and a fierce leader, as well as the pilot of the Divine Beast of lightning, Vah Naboris. She has the ability to control the power of lightning. Urbosa is related to Riju, the current Gerudo Chief and her direct descendant, who appears in Breath of the Wild. Like the other Champions, Urbosa has a unique skill that the player uses during gameplay in Breath of the Wild. As a member of the Gerudo race, Urbosa was designed with common traits of her people. She has dark skin, red hair, green eyes, and blue lips. She wears a multicolored golden breastplate with shoulder guards and a gold belt with a blue skirt, symbolizing that she is one of the Champions of Hyrule. She also wears green high-heels and several gold jewels. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity depicts Urbosa at a point in the storyline when she serves as Gerudo Chief before being named Gerudo Champion. She wears the Chief's crown, which is identical to the one Riju wears as Chief, and a black skirt with the Gerudo symbol on it. She keeps her signature weapon, the Scimitar of the Seven, and her Daybreaker shield holstered to the back of her body. Urbosa has been noted for her tall stature and muscular build, which are common traits of the Gerudo. In both Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Urbosa is voiced in Japanese by Rei Shimoda and in English by Elizabeth Maxwell.

Appearances

Breath of the Wild Urbosa appears in Breath of the Wild as one of four Champions, alongside Mipha, Revali, and Daruk, who are tasked with aiding Princess Zelda and Link in protecting Hyrule from Calamity Ganon. In the game's backstory, she commands Vah Naboris, one of the four Divine Beasts, but Calamity Ganon manages to take control of the Divine Beasts, resulting in her death and the death of the other Champions as Link is put in a 100-year slumber. After Link awakens, he can go to Vah Naboris to try to tame it, and there he meets the spirit of Urbosa, who helps guide him in the innards of the Divine Beast. Urbosa plays a major role in the backstory of Breath of the Wild, which is revealed to the player through cutscenes and Urbosa's diary entries. Urbosa is shown to have had a special connection with Zelda's mother, the Queen of Hyrule; this friendship is reflected in the support that she offers to Zelda. Urbosa is shown to be a strong supporter of the relationship between Link and Zelda and plays an active role in bringing them closer together. Urbosa's supportive role continues after her death, as her spirit appears to encourage Link to destroy Calamity Ganon.

Age of Calamity Urbosa appears in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity as a playable character. The game is a prequel set 100 years before Breath of the Wild in an alternate timeline created after Terrako, a small Guardian that Zelda built in her childhood, time travels into the past to prevent Hyrule's fate in the Breath of the Wild timeline. Urbosa arrives home to Gerudo Town just as Master Kohga, leader of the Yiga Clan, is about to strike down Zelda while disguised as Urbosa, only to be electrocuted. Urbosa, due to her close friendship with Zelda, agrees to pilot Vah Naboris against the Calamity. After Zelda and Link gather the other Champions, they travel to Korok Forest to recover the Master Sword. After recovering the Master Sword, Zelda voices her concern about Link changing after getting the sword, but Urbosa assures her that Link is still himself. Urbosa is then dubbed Gerudo Champion and returns to pilot Vah Naboris and battles both the Yiga and the Calamity. After Calamity Ganon awakens, Urbosa is cut off from the other Champions and Hyrule Castle when Ganon shuts down the Sheikah Towers' teleportation ability, and soon finds herself fighting a stronger Thunderblight Ganon sent to take over Vah Naboris. Before she can be killed by the Blight Ganon like in the original timeline, she is saved by Riju and Patricia, who were summoned from the future by Terrako to protect her, until Link arrives to help them destroy Thunderblight Ganon. Joined by the other Champions and their Divine Beasts after they are saved by the future Champions, they save the Hyrulean Army from Calamity Ganon, and then defend the Great Plateau. After Purah summons the Gerudo warrior women to bolster the Hyrulean Army with the Rito, Gorons, and Zoras, they reclaim Hyrule Castle from the Calamity, ultimately victorious.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Urbosa

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Urbosa claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Urbosa before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Urbosa ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Urbosa

In research: Urbosa appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Urbosa in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Urbosa is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Female characters in video games, Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities, Fictional female tribal chiefs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Urbosa outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Urbosa in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Urbosa means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Urbosa out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Urbosa in simple terms?

Why does Urbosa matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Urbosa?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Urbosa.