GAME · 2017 · USA
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Developer
- Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development, Monolith Soft Inc.
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Platforms
- Wii U
- Original title
- Zeruda no Densetsu Buresu obu za Wairudo
24 archived facts 5 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Nov 2026
24 Interesting Facts About The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Interesting Facts (2)
- #001
- #002
Contains a major spoiler — show
Two packages of downloadable content were made available after the game's release, containing several side quests and a main quest called The Champions' Ballad. In this quest, Link is challenged to redo the trials that each Champion had to overcome 100 years ago, as well as a Final Trial where he needs to defeat a Sheikah master. Successful completion of all these trials provides four new memories of the Champions, a Sheikah motor cycle, an upgrade of Link's Champion powers, and a picture of Link and the four Champions taken at the inauguration ceremony a century before.
Production Story (11)
- #003
An early build of the game shown at the 2014 Game Awards featured a magic meter (or possibly a non-functional early version of the stamina meter), which is absent in the final version. The same demonstration also showed that the Wii U GamePad would have been functional for the game map and inventory management, but in the final version the Wii U GamePad is not used beyond controls and the ability to play the game itself on the pad. Eiji Aonuma felt the GamePad disrupted the gameplay experience. The build also featured a different HUD design and Link using a sailcloth to glide.
- #004
Some early concepts pitched for the game included a much heavier sci-fi story about Hyrule being invaded by space aliens. Working titles included "Hyrule Wars: From the Legend of Zelda" and "The Legend of Zelda: Invasion". Early concept art also shows Link riding a motorcycle and playing an electric guitar. The motorcycle concept was actually included in the additional downloadable content as an unlockable bonus.
- #005
As for the placement of this installment in the Legend of Zelda chronology, the makers have remained vague, initially stating that it definitely takes place after the events of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998), but not specifying in which of the three timelines (Child, Adult or Downfall timelines). They also mentioned that it takes place thousands of years in the series' future, where the events of all the previous games have become legends that may not have been accurately remembered. In 2018, they admitted that their chronology was meant as a fluid way to connect the games, often somewhat arbitrarily. They didn't develop Breath of the Wild with a particular placement in mind, so they put it at the end of the timeline, not directly continuing any previous game. Fans have since hypothesized that the game is a distant sequel to all three timelines, which have somehow converged again after their split in Ocarina of Time (similar to timelines reconnecting in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)), a theory that the makers have all but confirmed. This would explain why Breath of the Wild contains so many references to games from all three timelines, e.g. the Zora and Arbiter's Ground from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006) (Child timeline); the Koroks and Rito from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002) (Adult timeline), and the Lynels from The Legend of Zelda (1986) and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991) (Downfall timeline).
- #006
- #007
This is the first game in the Zelda series to feature full voice acting segments. However, as per the series' tradition, Link remains silent. According to the makers, Link is the literal 'link' between the gamer and the game, and his side of every conversation is left out as much as possible so that the gamer can project his own thoughts and responses onto Link. The Japanese version actually had Link write diary entries in the Quest Log as he progresses through the story, but these were edited and changed to quest updates for the English version.
- #008
This is the first Zelda game where the main storyline doesn't involve a fixed linear sequence until the end. The only mandatory quests are 'Follow the Sheikah Slate', 'The Isolated Plateau' and 'Destroy Ganon', the other 12 main quests are entirely optional. After doing the former two quests in the beginning, the player could theoretically proceed with the last one and finish the game, and although that is extremely hard, there are several videos on youtube of players who pulled it off.
- #009
- #010
Contains a major spoiler — show
The ending differs between the Japanese and English versions of the game. In the English version, before the final battle with Ganon, Zelda says that "[Ganon] has given up on reincarnation and assumed his pure, enraged form". This implies that after defeating this form of Ganon, he no longer has the power to be reborn and is thus gone forever. However, the Japanese voice-over says that "[Dark Beast Ganon] was born from his obsessive refusal to give up revival". This suggests the opposite: that this is yet another of Ganon's forms in an endless cycle of rebirth, and he will inevitably return.
- #011
Because Nintendo had never built an open-world game on the scale of Breath of the Wild, the team studied The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Shadow of the Colossus, the latter sharing climbing mechanics with Breath of the Wild and having a creator, Fumito Ueda, who was friends with Aonuma.
- #012
- #013
Ideas such as flying and underground dungeons were left out of Breath of the Wild because of the Wii U's limitations and were instead used in the sequel. The Switch version outperforms the Wii U release when docked to a television, though both run at the same resolution when undocked, and the Switch version also has higher-quality environmental sounds.
Behind the Scenes (1)
Easter Eggs & References (9)
- #015
- #016
Some of the game's musical motifs are easily recognizable from earlier Zelda games. For example, the main Legend of Zelda theme from The Legend of Zelda (1986) and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991) can be heard briefly while riding on horseback in fields during the night and while moving around the outside of Hyrule Castle. The music at Zora's Domain is the same as the Zora theme in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) (OoT), as well as the Fairy's Fountain theme. Epona's Song from OoT can be heard at the Fountain of the Horse Goddess. The music at Rito Village is the same as the theme of Dragon Roost Island in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002) (which also featured Ritos). Other music is re-used in more subtle and less overt ways: the score playing near the ruins of the Temple of Time is a very slowed-down version of the Song of Time from OoT. A slowed version of Zelda's Lullaby from that game can be heard while riding a horse in the field during the day and in the interior of Hyrule Castle.
- #017
There is a character called Dayto near the Foothill Stable who closely resembles comedian Robin Williams. Williams was a long-time fan of the Zelda series, even naming his daughter Zelda and appearing with her in a commercial for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011). Some people have also noted a resemblance between Williams and the character Robbie from the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab, and see these characters as Nintendo's way of honoring the late comedian.
- #018
- #019
Each of the Divine Beasts' names is a slightly modified version of a character from elsewhere in the franchise: Vah Ruta from Ruto, the Zora princess and Sage of Water; Vah Rudania from Darunia, the Goron Chief and Sage of Fire; Vah Naboris from Nabooru, the Gerudo leader and Sage of Spirit, all three from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998); and Vah Medoh from Medli, the Rito priestess and Sage of Earth in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002).
- #020
In West Hyrule, around Outskirt Stable, there is a character called Botrick who is modeled after former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Iwata produced several games in the series but died two years before the release of Breath of the Wild, making this the last game he was involved with. Botrick directs the player to the nearby Satori Mountain, where a spectral animal called The Lord of the Mountains (or Satori) is said to roam. If the player takes a picture of this creature, the Hyrule Compendium adds that "the Lord of the Mountains watches over all animals that make their homes in the forest. Legends say this holy creature is a reincarnation of a sage that died on the lands it now protects". Many interpret this as a second homage to Iwata, who has been described by the game developers as the person with whom they would discuss their ideas and who continues to be a presence after his death that motivates them.
- #021
Waypoint markers can be placed on the map for easier navigation. These appear in the overworld as brightly colored shafts of light with strange symbols on them. These symbols are actually Sheikah characters, and each corresponds to a letter in the English alphabet. The symbols spell out "Its dangerous to go alone", referencing the famous text from The Legend of Zelda (1986) when Link retrieves the sword.
- #022
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the final memory of Link sacrificing his life for Zelda's, Zelda calls out in desperation, and Link's Master Sword starts to make sounds in response. The sounds made by the sword are the same ones made by Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011) when she communicated with Link.
- #023
Deeper Meaning (1)
Sources & editorial notes
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Wikipedia
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