I recently realized that I went through all of 2020 without playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I was determined not to let that happen again in 2021, so I’ve played the game several times throughout January and February.
After some aimless wandering initially, I decided to return to the previous shrines that still had treasure chests waiting to be found. So I teleported around, knocking out about half a dozen such shrines. In almost all cases, the treasure was a weapon or a gem, neither of which I had a particular need for.
In Kakariko Village, I spotted a woman running in the evening. I followed her home, where she (her name is Lasli) was talking about bugs. She wanted to see some fireflies, but she was afraid to go out at night. This opened up a new side quest! I released some fireflies into the room, and that completed the quest!
That was my 74th side quest completed. What makes some of these quests so difficult isn’t the tasks themselves, it’s being in the right place at the right time to trigger the quests in the first place. I still have three more side quests to go, somewhere out there in the world…
Once I tracked down all of my remaining shrine treasure chests, I began a more thorough search of villages, ranches, and areas around towers. As I glided down from Hebra Tower, I actually discovered two new named areas I hadn’t visited before: Tabantha Village Ruins and Pondo’s Lodge! It’s amazing to me that I’m still finding areas I haven’t been before, despite spending hundreds of hours in this world.
At Pondo’s Lodge, I played a few rounds of snowball bowling (or snowling). It took me several tries before I got a strike. And when I did, the only prize was a disappointing blizzard rod.
A bit later, I ran onto the Tabantha Bridge, followed by a fox and a wolf. The fox did some weird, glitchy-looking movement and it almost fell off. And then the wolf did fall off. Surprisingly, it was unharmed by the drop.
Just outside of Gerudo Town, I ran into Bozai again. Even though I may not have mentioned it in the blog before (long ago), I previously got the sand boots from him. But now he had another side quest for me, for snow boots. He needed to see a(nother) picture of the eighth heroine’s sword. So I headed up to the Gerudo Highlands and (eventually) found the large sword (again). When I showed him the pic, he finally gave me the snow boots…completing my 75th side quest.
The One I’ve Been Waiting For
For a long time now, there is a shrine that I’ve known about but haven’t been able to access. I never specifically mentioned it in the blog, because I didn’t want anyone to comment and spoil it for me. 😛 It’s the 2nd one near Kakariko Village. Up on the hill, the altar is clearly visible, and I’ve long figured that I needed the orb in Impa’s house. But Impa’s granddaughter Paya was always guarding it, and I could never find a way to take it.
But that changed when I dropped into Impa’s house the other night. Seemingly out of nowhere, Paya had a red exclamation mark next to her name, indicating a new quest!
I didn’t realize at the time, but apparently the firefly quest above was a prerequisite for unlocking this quest. Anyway, she told me that the Sheikah heirloom (the orb) had been stolen! My task was to investigate by asking about rumors and questioning a couple of local villagers.
Both of the villagers in question denied knowing anything about it. But as I walked around at night, I spotted a guy with a very suspicious speech bubble that said “I wonder if anyone knows.” So I sneakily followed him, and he went up to the altar!
I won’t completely spoil the exchange that I witnessed, but I ultimately won a fight that gave me access to the orb. So I was finally able to enter the shrine I’ve been wondering about for years. It was one of those shrines where it says you’ve already proven your worth, so there’s no real task inside. Just walk up and complete it. I have now completed all 42 shrine quests!
Of course, one shrine still remains. And since there’s apparently not a quest associated with it, it sounds like I may not get much (if any) help in finding the thing. It could be anywhere, and it will probably take some luck (and lots of exploring) just to track it down.
Here’s an updated look at my stats as of February 2021:
- Completion percentage: 55.88%
- Shrines: 119/120
- Korok Seeds: 369/900
- Shrine quests: 42/42
- Side quests: 75/77
- Hyrule Compendium: 362/385
Almost four years in, and I’m still enjoying Breath of the Wild. Amazing game.
How strange, I too started paying Zelda BOTW again last week as I had not played it since 2018!
I was teleported back to the world and instantly was in love with the beauty of it again. So immersive! I think I too will be looking for all of these side quests when I get round to it.