The Zelda series is not new to tribes being added out of the blue for one off games, incorperating new things to the lore, even if in the grand scheme none of it really matters. That's what we've gotten with the proper introduction of the Zonai in Tears of the Kingdom, but somehow this time around this feels very different than with past instances.
If we look back on a game like Twilight Princess, where the Twili get introduced as a sort of mirrored kingdom to Hyrule existing in a different realm, it's a similar situation where we have this new group that didn't exist before adding new layers to the lore we had before. However, I feel very differently on the Twili than I do about the Zonai. The Twili feel like a nice addition to the lore because they don't majorly disrupt anything; in fact they actually add to the lore with them being a banished tribe that invaded the Sacred Realm to obtain the Triforce.
Maybe the Oocca are a better example, coincidentally also introduced in Twilight Princess. They add more lore elements that are different than what we might have expected. Things like the character Shad saying there are theories that the Oocca actually built Hyrule simultanously with the Hylians. It's not a piece of lore that was ever hinted at before Twilight Princess, but even with it being established it still didn't change much. There were still core things like: the goddesses created the world, they left behind the Triforce, and the Triforce is the most powerful relic to exist and remains a staple in iconography and legend. Nothing about the Oocca challenges any of that.
With the Zonai things are challenged. Rauru and Mineru are the only two we get to see, limiting our interaction with the tribe. We are told the Zonai descended from the sky with secret stones gifted from the gods, and the stones amplify the abilities of those who wield them. So now we have new relics, which is fine but the Triforce has disappeared without explanation and doesn't exist on much iconography either.
Rauru's era is supposedly the founding of Hyrule, so you'd think the Triforce would get mentioned (if you believe it isn't a refounding of Hyrule after a collapse). Creating a Champion did state that Zonai ruins are supposed to depict the Triforce from an ancient perspective, resembling boars (power), owls (wisdom), and dragons (courage). But It would seem that during Rauru's time the peak of Zonai civilization in Hyrule has already diminished.
So it points to the Zonai existing outside the confines of anything established in the original lore, which is disappointing compared to the way other tribes have been introduced in the series. Like, we don't know a huge amount about the Twili, but we know a lot more about them and how they fit into history laid out in previous games than we do with the Zonai.
Overall, I feel the potential of the Zonai is greatly wasted. I feel like there could've been a way to use them to tie a lot of lore together that people are already trying to do. Things like Hylia being a Zonai and bringing their involvement with the goddesses and Triforce closer. Or having the Zonai's third eye inspiring the Sheikah tribe's eye design on their foreheads.
What do you all think? Do the Zonai add to the lore, or do they just confuse things more than it needs to be?
If we look back on a game like Twilight Princess, where the Twili get introduced as a sort of mirrored kingdom to Hyrule existing in a different realm, it's a similar situation where we have this new group that didn't exist before adding new layers to the lore we had before. However, I feel very differently on the Twili than I do about the Zonai. The Twili feel like a nice addition to the lore because they don't majorly disrupt anything; in fact they actually add to the lore with them being a banished tribe that invaded the Sacred Realm to obtain the Triforce.
Maybe the Oocca are a better example, coincidentally also introduced in Twilight Princess. They add more lore elements that are different than what we might have expected. Things like the character Shad saying there are theories that the Oocca actually built Hyrule simultanously with the Hylians. It's not a piece of lore that was ever hinted at before Twilight Princess, but even with it being established it still didn't change much. There were still core things like: the goddesses created the world, they left behind the Triforce, and the Triforce is the most powerful relic to exist and remains a staple in iconography and legend. Nothing about the Oocca challenges any of that.
With the Zonai things are challenged. Rauru and Mineru are the only two we get to see, limiting our interaction with the tribe. We are told the Zonai descended from the sky with secret stones gifted from the gods, and the stones amplify the abilities of those who wield them. So now we have new relics, which is fine but the Triforce has disappeared without explanation and doesn't exist on much iconography either.
Rauru's era is supposedly the founding of Hyrule, so you'd think the Triforce would get mentioned (if you believe it isn't a refounding of Hyrule after a collapse). Creating a Champion did state that Zonai ruins are supposed to depict the Triforce from an ancient perspective, resembling boars (power), owls (wisdom), and dragons (courage). But It would seem that during Rauru's time the peak of Zonai civilization in Hyrule has already diminished.
So it points to the Zonai existing outside the confines of anything established in the original lore, which is disappointing compared to the way other tribes have been introduced in the series. Like, we don't know a huge amount about the Twili, but we know a lot more about them and how they fit into history laid out in previous games than we do with the Zonai.
Overall, I feel the potential of the Zonai is greatly wasted. I feel like there could've been a way to use them to tie a lot of lore together that people are already trying to do. Things like Hylia being a Zonai and bringing their involvement with the goddesses and Triforce closer. Or having the Zonai's third eye inspiring the Sheikah tribe's eye design on their foreheads.
What do you all think? Do the Zonai add to the lore, or do they just confuse things more than it needs to be?