The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY!) (Last Update: September 6)

[Mega64]

Click here to open the update!

Grass obscures Link well. Great for sneaking up on wild life!

We’re currently on route to find this rumored giant horse. Along the way, we reach this camp with two men, one having a side quest for us.

We’re doing an ecological study on the wild animals in the area. We’d heard that there was a giant horse living in this region. Apparently it can’t be found anywhere else…

This seems particularly relevant to our interests! Let’s here more on this giant horse!

The really big horse in this region is likely part of a rare, local species. However, with all the monsters roaming around, we simply can’t go any farther. To be so close to discovery…

I approached it, thinking at first that it was the giant horse we’ve been looking for, but… Oh, it was terrible… Just from looking at you, I’d guess that you’re an adventurer, right? You certainly look strong.

That was the plan to begin with, so sure.

Ah, you’re a lifesaver!

Do you think you could catch it and bring it back here? Don’t stress out over the request, though!

So our current objective is also our current objective for the side quest. Gotta love it when things work out like that!

Considering we just only recently got a horse, not very confident.

Hm… I don’t like the sound of that. The monsters out this way are strong critters.

I’m curious what this drill is.

Ever heard of horseback archery? They invented it way out east somewhere. It takes a lot of coordination to shoot targets with a bow and arrow from the back of a galloping horse. I expect you’ll run into mounted varmints now and again, so this’ll be a good way to get some practice in.

Eh, not right now. I think we’ll be fine.

We’re near a fire, so let’s show something busted. Cook something that gives you extra hearts…

…and the meal not only boosts your hearts, it also restores your health to maximum! It’s…pretty busted, honestly.

Might as well mix up a weak-yet-long-lasting attack elixir as well. Never know when we’ll need it!

Right, our objective. The area between us and Taobab Grassland is mountainous, so to make it on horseback we’ll have to go southwest and then north. And apparently there’s a lot of fearsome foes along the way.

But how bad could it really be?

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u10/033.mp4

…Oh.

If you look closely, you can see at least five other mounted Bokoblins in the background of that previous video. So new plan. We’ll go parallel to the path from the safety of the mountains. There’s no enemies up here.

However, it’s too mountainous for Spockle to navigate effectively, so we leave them here. It’ll teleport back anyway once we go to the stable, and it’s not like we can take both Spockle and the giant horse with us.

This journey takes awhile, as the path is very lengthy on foot.

That must be that horse monster the man was talking about.

We won’t be fighting it today, just keep it in the back of your mind for the future.

There’s a second one further along the path as well.

I come across a regular Chuchu. They’re not threatening, and drop ordinary Chuchu Jelly when defeated. This stuff does nothing on its own but can change based on elemental exposure. Something to keep in mind.

These things are hard to find and catch, so lucky me finding one in the open like this!

I then realize I haven’t really looked around on my journey up these mountains for odd things.

Then I find an odd thing.

As I said, this takes awhile. This game’s map is huge, after all!

And, eventually, paydirt. The giant horse hangs around a group of smaller horses.

Time to swoop in for our prize.

I spot this on my way in.

Horses run away from Link when approached. Stealth is key.

Stealth also helps me grab this bug.

So we just have to sneak up until the right moment, and then…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u10/058.mp4

…Uhhhh. So this may not be that easy.

When trying to mount a wild horse, usually you’ll have to try to soothe it before it will submit. To do this, Link expends stamina to hang on while soothing the mount. If you succeed, the horse relents and you can ride it as your mount. Fail, and Link gets knocked off and has to try again.

Tougher mounts such as the giant horse requires more stamina, stamina we don’t have. We’d probably have to do at least seven more shrines to get the stamina we need.

There’s always another way.

This is not the way, but it’s kinda interesting anyway so why not.

Yeah, I’m not having luck this way.

Electricity resistance can be handy. Then again, so can pretty much every other effect.

I left a trail of apples. Then I scare it off, wasting said apples.

I have another idea, though. First, we’ll need a cooking pot.

…First, we’ll need a lit cooking pot.

Much better.

I stack up the two stamina-boosting items I have…

The extra stamina isn’t much, but it may give us the edge.

This is also the closest we can teleport back to the giant horse at this time.

It’s still a bit of a journey to get back, of course, but it’s otherwise uneventful.

Eventually we make it back where we were, with a better plan in hand.

Alright, time to try again!

…Nope.

So, fun fact.

You can eat while riding a horse. I do have some stamina recovery food handy.

The small stamina gain isn’t enough though.

We’re not defeated yet, though. Remember the Hearty Truffle from before? How the meal it made also gave us full health recovery?

The stamina-boosting food works the same way.

I eat it right as I’m getting knocked off, so too late to take advantage of it this time. But now I feel we can finally conquer this beast once and for all.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u10/088.mp4

…OK, this time we can finally conquer this beast once and for all.

Ride…

Eat…

Love!

We finally did it. We’ve tamed the giant horse. The steed is now ours.

Now we’ve got a long journey ahead of us, full of dangerous foes.

The giant horse, like most other horses, does not start out obedient. It will sometimes slow down on its own or move in a different direction.

The trick is to soothe it so it’ll go back to obeying you. At least until it acts out again.

I somehow manage to evade the enemies we face.

I take a shortcut to avoid most of the mounted Bokoblins.

Then ride past the couple I do encounter.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u10/100.mp4

…but not the Keese.

Blue for drowning, yellow for electrocution!

This time, I finally make it back in one piece, giant horse in tow.

Now to wake up the guy to finish our quest.

That horse… It’s huge… I’ve never seen one that big! That is definitely an endemic species!

Might as well!

Thanks, I’ll be right back.

Ah, hmm. Quite interesting.

It’s definitely different, seeing something with your own eyes rather than just reading about it. Thank you! This is to thank you for helping with our investigation!

Our reward’s a nice silver rupee. Not too shabby!

And also the giant horse, of course (of course).

And we’re done with both our detours! Next time, back to the direction we were heading toward. Or maybe somewhere else, you tell me!

Also name our giant horse. Nine letters

[ReturnofFable]

Name the horse Ganonlite.

[heyboots]

Name the horse Ganonlite.

Heck yeah!

[Mega64]

Screw it, made a poll for the top answers. I’ll end it and play either tonight or tomorrow morning.

[Mega64]

Wow, that’s a lot of votes. Looks like the winner, barely, is Ganonhoof!

I’ll get some gameplay and hopefully an update up later today.

[Mega64]

Click here to open the update!

Keep in mind your stuff will eventually burn away, though a wooden weapon on fire will deal extra damage.

Last time, we got ourselves a giant horse!

It has no stamina so can’t be spurred to dash like Spockle can. However, our new horse is really great at trampling wild animals to death, so in the end it’s kind of a wash.

Plus, how can’t you love a face like that?

After a close vote, we ended up going with Ganonhoof. Works for me!

Despite abandoning Spockle in the wilderness, since we can obviously only have one horse out at a time Spockle teleports back to the stable. Less for us to do!

Horse bond builds slowly, but there is a handy trick to raising it.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u11/011.mp4

Each apple fed to a horse raises its bond by ten. Horses like being fed, go figure.

If you like, I can change out its gear or maybe…

I’m sorry, but I don’t think I have any gear that’d fit such a large horse, and I bet it wouldn’t like its mane handled… I’m so sorry about that.

No fancy new flowery mane for Ganonhoof, sadly.

That takes care of our side stuff! Now back to our original goal, traveling to where the sword told us to go.

For now, we’ll take the road north and then to the east until we hit unknown territory. We’ll figure out what to do from there.

Another one bites the dust.

Right after hitting the fork, something pops out in the distance.

Always down for another shrine!

…except these. I don’t like the combat trials. They’re pretty much all the same thing.

There’s an empty room, usually with pillars, sometimes without.

Music: Shrine Battle

Then a Guardian Scout appears, one more souped up than the ones you usually face in the puzzle shrines.

They all play very similar. They’ll fire projectiles until you get close range.

Then they’ll attack with whatever weapons they have. Some will have a sword, spear, and axe. Some, like this one, has a shield to block attacks.

The goal is to wallop it until it falls. Guardian weapons work well on them.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u11/033.mp4

There’s three phases for them. In the first, they’ll occasionally spin right at you. The best way to evade it is hiding behind a pillar, making the scout hit the pillar and stop long enough to get beat up.

After taking damage, this attack changes to one where the scout spins a laser in an increasingly large radius.

This conveniently creates an updraft that lets you evade it and shoot arrows at it. An arrow in the eye deals solid damage and can stun it.

Of course, if you get hit by the laser you may get stunlocked until the scout stops the attack. Luckily it won’t do more damage, just knock you back a good distance.

Once it’s low on health, the scout stops attacking completely and stays in place to charge up its laser. At this point, you’ll want to finish it off quickly.

Else it’ll shoot off several powerful bursts that will likely kill you. If you somehow survive, it’ll just start charging again until defeated.

I get KOed that round, so I drink my Attack Elixir and go to town.

These are a lot more difficult your first time through, but once you’ve learned the battle system they’re pretty simple even at the very beginning. Having some good weapons help, of course.

The sword and shield are handy. Definitely not bad loot for the fight!

There’s always a treasure chest at the end. This one is…not so great considering we already have metal boomerangs three times as powerful. But if you’re looking for that classic Zelda boomerang design, there you go.

The combat trials also have different text when you complete them. Other than that, you still get a spirit orb as usual.

Right outside is another thing that boosts max hearts. Handy to have!

Back from the way we came are travelers. You’ll see them a lot on the roads.

But when I wandered into Faron Woods without a map and got lost… I tell ya - I just about lost my mind. But enough about me…

Some will sell certain items. Nothing too interesting right now for us.

A new type of mushroom in the forest. Plenty of these around.

Pass some enemies on the way…

And then we see a suspicious-looking flower to the side.

Gotta take care of the enemies here. The Bokoblins go down with no effort.

This statue doesn’t do anything, but it’s still pretty interesting, don’t you think?

Lizalfos are also little threat. Took out two with one boomerang!

Anyway, when we hit this flower…

…a new one pops up elsewhere. Your only clue is an audio queue in the direction it pops up. Hope you have surround!

There’s five flowers that pop up. The last one is blue, and hitting it gets us…

…you already know, don’t you.

I’m swimming in these damn seeds by now.

More travelers.

You know, there are ancient ruins hidden away in Faron Woods. I would never go, but overgrown ruins sound so…romantic!

A traveler who got lost in Faron Woods said he saw a dragon-shaped river, which made me really curious…

Music: Musician (Kass’ Song)

And up ahead…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u11/081.mp4

I really love this song, and I really love this character.

Th-that there…on your hip!

Wait…a bird person?

Ah, Rito. The Rito show up in Wind Waker as one of the major races. They’re said to have evolved from the Zoras, though in this game both races exist which…sure, why not.

This is Kass. We’ll be seeing a lot of him through our adventures.

We’ve got amnesia and don’t remember a thing, so tell us about them.

Ancient songs - song that sing the praises of a hero who beat back the Calamity in an age past. I know a song about this place.

Sure!

Excellent! Without further ado…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u11/092.mp4

Where the forest dragon splays its jaws, A shrine sleeps with noble cause.

Though I suppose the forest from the song could be the Damel Forest, north of here. There’s definitely a secret lying in wait - it’s just a matter of tracking it down.

We’ve got our first shrine quest! These quests, oddly enough, unlock shrines.

It sounds like the forest is to the north. As for where the dragon splays its jaws…

…that traveler from before said the river looks like a dragon. Doesn’t Dracozu Lake look like a pair of maws to you?

Oh, another puzzle.

But first, a chest.

So, this seems simple. Two metal rocks on pedestals, a third empty pedestal, and a third rock in the water.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u11/105.mp4

…It’s not that simple. These two rocks are chained together, so even activating one will move the other, making it very difficult to land both at the same time. If only we could lock one in place…

Oh, we can!

I spent far too much time fooling around on this before I figured it out. You can probably tell since it’s night in this screenshot.

And there we go!

Next time, we’ll investigate the forest for that shrine and then enter new territory. What awaits us there?

[Mega64]

Click here to open the update!

Electric attacks are great because they stun enemies and make them drop their weapons.

Today we’re going to head north to investigate this mysterious shrine the bird man told us about.

The area around here is heavily forested, with ancient ruins scattered around. We’re going to gloss over most of those so we can sneak to our destination without much combat.

That doesn’t mean no combat, of course. This guy is a Wizzrobe, a Zelda staple that stems way back to the first Zelda. In BotW, there are three different types based on their elements (fire/ice/lightning) and two tiers of each. This guy’s an Electric Wizzrobe, so caution is recommended.

I make my approach with a flurry of arrows.

Wizzrobes are a pain to fight melee. They float in the air, and can turn invisible to move elsewhere (though their footsteps make them easy enough to track).

They always wield a corresponding elemental rod.

A rod we can get. They’re bad for melee attacks, but you can shoot ranged elemental attacks with them. Lightning is great for crowd control for weapon-wielding enemies. Also fantastic for water battles, as you may expect.

Another food that boosts max hearts.

Lizalfos swimming in the water almost take me out, but I’m really good at running away at this point.

The Hero of Courage!

The further we go in, the more this forest seems like a jungle. Well, I guess it can be both.

The haze does make it difficult to see farther away, unfortunately.

I need to cross this river to make progress, but I also want this fish. The sacrifices I make…

Lizalfos can camouflage themselves to match their environments. I don’t take the bait.

Still got a bit to go, but we’re making good progress in this miserable place.

Eventually I get to this odd ruin that has three large rocks on three corners…

…and a rock stuck on a pillar.

The key, of course, is stasis and throwing a weapon at it. Arrows are too weak to do anything.

Pushing it to the corner is a very difficult task, as these rocks are big and may not roll well.

So I tried statis and ended up overshooting it. Welp! It’d be way too much of a hassle to get it back up there, so…

I’ll come back to it. Maybe. Possibly.

In the meantime, more things.

A nearby pillar gives us a great view of…uh…

Screw it let’s jump in.

Guarding the entrance is a Moblin. These guys also made their start in the original Legend of Zelda, though they’re much taller and lankier than their other iterations. They’re certainly a step up from Bokoblins.

I believe this one is a Black Moblin, though it could possibly be Blue. Lighting makes it a bit difficult to tell.

The Lightning Rod comes in handy here. My inventory’s full so I decide to break a weapon on him first.

Perfect.

Then I use his own weapon against him to soundly defeat him.

Moblins have the same body parts as Bokoblins, just in Moblin form.

We nab a really nice find. Up to 650 rupees already!

Turns out we’ve reached the maws of the river dragon, and that led us straight to the Spring of Courage.

Series veterans will recognize Courage as being one of the three pieces of the Triforce, usually being the piece to represent Link (with Wisdom for Zelda, and Power for Ganon). I get the feeling this is where we’re supposed to be.

I, Goddess Hylia, will guide you.

…Seems just finding the place is not that easy. To unlock the shrine, we’ll need Farosh’s Scale, whatever that is.

At any rate, it’s certainly not here, and I’m sure we’ll find it during our travels.

So let’s go back to Ganonhoof and resume our current path to follow the path of the sword.

This time, I notice a stump with a rock attached and do the obvious.

So we didn’t access the shrine, but we got some sweet new weapons and some cash, so it worked out alright. I’m sure we’ll be back someday, though.

For now, onward!

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u12/061.mp4

Oh yeah and lest you think Ganonhoof only tramples birds to death, he has no issue trampling over freaking bulls.

Good horse.

And this bridge leads us into uncharted territory!

Well, it will after I loot this chest.

Also dragon person from before somehow made it all the way over here. Weren’t you traveling this same direction last time we saw you?

It’s probably safe to assume this is the tower of this region. Sincle we’ll probably want to know precisely where we’re going from here, our current priority will be to scale this tower.

It’s a bit steep, though. If only Link could climb mountains…

…Oh, right. This is Breath of the Wild. Link can do that!

However, at Link’s current stamina the cliff would be too steep to scale by itself. So let’s climb as high as we can on this side and then glide over to a good spot on the other side that lets us reach the tower.

There’s some really nice forage in this area.

So, first thing is to climb one of these really tall trees. The game’s nice enough to make the leaves mostly transparent when you scale the top of these trees.

This little section looks like a good place to reach as any. If we can scale the cliff above, we’ll reach the tower.

As a bonus, Luminous Stones to mine!

It’s a long climb but we’re barely able to make it. Good thing we chose that stamina upgrade!

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u12/077.mp4

This is an Octorok. It, too, debuted in the original Zelda game and appears in almost every game since. Their gimmick is shooting rocks at you, and BotW’s iterations are no different.

There’s several types, this one being a Water Octorok.

They’re pretty fragile, so the easiest way to deal with them is to take them out with an arrow. It’s good to do so because they are relentless and have better aim than you’d expect.

The Octo Balloons are fun to play with. They don’t have much practical effects, but you can do some really fun and inventive things with them. Sadly, they pop after a short time and you can only have a few attached to an item at a time.

I try killing them with bombs to conserve arrows, but it didn’t take.

Second try, we reach the tower proper. Another Electric Wizzrobe is guarding it.

While fighting it, a swarm of Keese swoop around me. It’s just a large number of Keese, kill enough and they’ll flee the area.

Nothing too scary.

Surrounding the tower are these giant stone slabs, most of them covering things up.

Statis does a good job getting rid of them.

Some loot…

…and a couple holes blowing up wind. Which we need since the tower doesn’t have footholds until over halfway up. The updrafts let us go up to the next cliff and then glide to the tower from there.

And now we’re set!

We’ve come a long way so far.

New warp point…

…and a map of the area!

This is what we’ve revealed so far (still a tiny portion of the entire map, of course).

And these are the various area names.

The marker ends up being in the ocean, right off Cape Cresia.

At this point, we’ve got enough new areas to explore, so I’m going to open things up again.

Where should we go next!? Again, I’ll take the first bunch of answers I get and then hold a poll (again allowing multiple options to be voted) to ultimately decide.

Next time, I don’t know what we’re going to do yet!

[ReturnofFable]

My vote is for the two hardest things to do at this stage in the game. Lets scale Tuft mountain or head to Koholit Rock.

[Handel]

I’m a sucker for references. Koholit Rock!

[Mega64]

Poll is up. Probably won’t have an update up until Friday, will try to get gameplay in on Wednesday.

[Mega64]

Got our winner! I’ll start recording later today and will have the next update up tomorrow or Friday.

[Mega64]

And it looks like our new destination will be…

…alright, then.

[ReturnofFable]

Hahaha yes!

[Mega64]

Click here to open the update!

Night is more dangerous in general since it attracts Keese and skeletal monsters, but many other monster types sleep during the night. Plus there are other benefits to the night we may see later in the game.

So last time, we’ve figure out how we’re going to decide where to go next. We ended up voting on having Link run in a circle until he gets tired, then go where he faces. The result?

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u13/003.mp4

Turns out…it’s pretty much the same way we’ve been going. Our end point for now will be this distant island.

I figure the best way to do this is to take the road there. We can always backtrack and visit other areas later if we wish. And if not, you could always buy the game and explore yourself. There’s a ton out there, after all! Can’t give everything away.

First, some scenic views of Link making his way back to Ganonhoof.

Along the way, we encounter some Bokoblins. Nothing out of the ordinary, except…

…they’ve knocked some travellers out.

Travellers can’t die, and they’ll recover as soon as we defeat the enemies that knocked them out.

Still, for hearty truffles, I’d put up with worse!

This is Crazy Truffle Lady. Her name is Nat but Crazy Truffle Lady is much more accurate.

She’s a lady crazy about truffles, you see. Danger is of no concern to her, only truffles.

I blame my sister, really. She’s the one who refuses to go home until we find some hearty truffles.

This is Crazy Truffle Lady’s unfortunate sister, Meghyn. She gets roped into the crazy truffle adventures, usually to her detriment.

Music: Omen of the Bloody Moon

While walking on the road, little red and black specks rise in the air.

Also, it’s hard to see from here, but the moon is blood red.

The surroundings get redder, the music more ominous…

Then the game stops and fades to black…

https://youtu.be/-pX9hHFtr_A

Music: The Blood Moon

Link… Be on your guard.

Link…please be careful.

Then…we’re back where we were, with things going back to normal.

The Blood Moon is a soft reset, basically. All enemies that were killed come back to life, and pretty much everything that can be reset, is. It’s theorized that the blood moon is a way the game “fixes” itself if something weird happens, or to delete game world changes so the game doesn’t get bogged down by all the different things in the overworld like other open-world games. Considering how surprisingly bug-free this game is relative to its size, it works for me!

Blood Moons are unpredictable, but killing stuff and changing the world is more likely to trigger them. They mostly occur at midnight, but sometimes they can happen at other times, even several times in a row, if you somehow really messed something up.

Other than that, the Blood Moon doesn’t really do much else. It can buff cooking a bit, which I’ll go into later, and there’s one thing in particular that requires a Blood Moon which can drive some batty, but otherwise it’s not that big a deal.

But what is a big deal, to us at least, is this stable up ahead.

Music: Stables

This is the Lakeside Stable.

Sure do!

So on this map of yours, do you see Dueling Peaks to the north of here? Well, apparently that used to be just one mountain a really long time ago. The legends say a dragon god split the mountain in half to forge a way through, and that’s how it went from one to two.

I wonder if any of that is true…

A dragon around Lake Floria, huh? Might be worth investigating at some point.

At various areas are these magazines, and they’re usually worth a good read.

Traysi here, bringing you the latest news and gossip from morning to night!

Glowing Blue Bunny

A loooong time ago, there was a skilled hunter. On the way back from a hunt, he saw a light moving in the darkness. Without hesitation, he fired an arrow toward it, and where it had been he found a bunch of rupees.

From that day forward, whenever he saw a similar light, he would fire an arrow at it. He always found rupees where his target had been, and he grew quite rich.

Or so the story goes… I bet you think this is just a myth, right? Then what do you say about all the people who claim to have seen a glowing blue bunny in the forest lately? You probably say, “Oh, Traysi, thank you for writing volume 6!” Sound about right? You should say that, because the blue bunny is the light the hunter saw! Finding it means finding lots and lots of rupees! I can’t endorse this bit of gossip enough!

Wait, I don’t know how to use a bow and arrow… That really puts a damper on things.

Another thing to be aware of, it seems.

Beedle’s here with a slightly new inventory. Nothing we need right now, though.

We’ll have to wait until day to talk to the other stablehands, since Link isn’t rude.

Also, a recipe for a delicious apple pie, it seems.

And more new items.

Anyway, where there’s a stable, there’s a shrine.

This one is hidden behind some bombable rocks.

Music: Shrine Theme

This one is also pretty simple…for the most part.

These things are giant see-saws that shift weight, of course.

So we’ve got to halt the tilt using the power of Stasis.

The next one has two routes. One’s just a chest to a Traveler’s Sword, though. The other leads further.

The last obstacle is kind of a weird one. At first, it seems simple enough. Stasis this platform and walk to the monk.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u13/073.mp4

Except the other platform also tilts.

That said, if you go full-force, there’s a good chance you can climb up anyway and reach the monk. Shrine complete, right?

Not quite. I want that chest. Especially since the last time I did this shrine it completely eluded me. We can’t really reach it from here, though.

This one took me awhile to figure out, and even then I’m not sure if it’s the “actual” solution.

I thought using stasis and bombs would work, but they ended up doing nothing.

The chest up top is not magnetic, but this one from earlier is.

It seems the way you’re supposed to reach the monk is use the chest to weigh down the platform (the chest is heavier than Link, and unlike the other tilt platforms this one has a border on the edge to stop the chest from falling off) and then stasis the flat platform.

Good to know, but it doesn’t help us reach that chest.

So let’s think. We have a see-saw and a heavy object we can lift above us. Hmmm…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u13/082.mp4

See-saw physics are the best physics. Granted it took awhile to actually get the height to reach this chest, but hey, we figured it out. That’s what matters, right?

Our reward is an Ancient Core. Actually not that bad a get, though we can’t really use it right now (unless we want to sell it of course).

With the treasure looted, we get our third Spirit Orb.

Coming outside, it is now day and everyone is awake.

Including this stablehand that has a quest for us.

Sure thing.

You will?! Really? I’m so happy! I’m counting on you.

This one is really easy. We just have to figure out why the stable gets struck by lightning, then fix the problem.

Hmmm…

Climbing the stable itself is kinda tricky but definitely doable.

Then we find the source, a random axe jutting out of the horse’s skull.

We could take it as a weapon, but Magnesis works just as well.

Simple as that!

Aha! Yeah, that’s as good as a lightning rod, isn’t it? I wonder if someone put it up there on purpose. How strange…

Our reward is actually pretty nice. This is our first helmet, which gives Link another slot for defense. As a bonus, it resists electric attacks.

Quest complete!

The Rubber Helm looks goofy as hell, so I’m going to wear it the next couple updates (which are already recorded by the way so I can’t take it off). The defense boost is nice, at any rate.

Each one is unique and absolutely worth a look.

This area looks really cool, and hopefully we’ll get a better view next update. Lots of waterfalls and sheer cliffs, which of course makes it difficult to navigate the area.

For now…

Last person is here.

There’s something strange at the top of that waterfall, though… Climb the ladder on the watchtower and take a peek. You’ll probably need a telescope or something for a good look.

Yep, definitely looks odd. I mark it and will maybe come back to it later, if you guys want.

For now, it looks like this road will eventually lead us to Lurelin Village. It’s on the way, so let’s stop by there as we make our way to the island.

Next time, Lurelin Village! Also maybe we talk to this guy!

[Mega64]

Click here to open the update!

Somehow I’ve never run across this guy in my first playthrough.

Did you know… Way out west in the Taobab Grasslands, along the Faron Highroad, there’s tell of a giant horse?

I…may have heard about that, yes.

The Spinches certainly aren’t observant, it seems.

To cross the lake, we’re going to take this bridge supported by several trees in the lake.

It’s a bit hazy but we’ve still got some nice views of the various waterfalls around here.

Here’s another Korok challenge. Seems simple, hit the stationary balloons, right?

We can’t shoot that far, sadly. We’ll have to put this on the backburner for now.

Further on, it starts raining. A couple of fellow travelers take shelter under a nearby canopy. A pretty nice touch.

Chumin has more stuff to sell, nothing terribly interesting though.

Anyway, this isn’t mere rain, but a thunderstorm. The difference?

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u14/015.mp4

That.

Metal weapons and shields make you into a lightning rod. Thus you’ll want to switch to wood or no weapons at all.

And no, our helmet can’t stop the lightning. It can only resist so much damage, and lightning is crazy powerful. Getting hit by it hurts.

There’s a place out there called Highland Stable. But be careful - there’s a bunch of monsters on the way.

Got some new dialogue after reloading the save, but nothing terribly exciting.

We’ll be skipping the mountain in favor of taking the northern road to its end point.

Another person in distress.

Nothing special.

Most travellers will actually give you simple meals for saving their hides. You know, travellers not obsessed with truffles.

I ran away from Lurelin Village just up the road. The whole place stinks of cut-up bait and fish guts. Well, that’s no life for me! I’m gonna make my living as a scavenger, fishing around Hyrule’s rubble for neat stuff!

Yeah, good luck with all that scavenging. You know, with all the Bokoblins and Moblins and such about.

One dead ram later…

…Spinch again?

If you want to take down monsters while riding on horseback, you’ve got to really practice your archery skills!

Spinch is an incredibly helpful character.

The rest of the ride is uneventful. So eventually we make our way to…

Music: Lurelin Village (Night)

Welcome to Lurelin Village, the first of several villages we’ll encounter in this game.

This is probably the least-interesting of the villages, but still has quite a bit to it.

Not much right now, though. This place isn’t that lively at night.

Plenty of crabs to cook, though.

Each village has a Goddess Statue that we can trade Spirits Orbs to, same as the one in the Temple of Time.

We’ll get our fourth soon enough.

There’s also a shopkeeper here.

For village shopkeeps, you walk up to the item to buy it.

Every village has a general store, and every village has an armor store except two…including this one. Such a shame.

Just because it’s night doesn’t mean we can’t find stuff to do! There’s underwater chests all over the area.

My haul: 50 rupees, two Amber, Fire Arrows, and…

…a shield that rusted in the salt water, surprisingly enough. Pass.

Otherwise, the only other thing really worth doing right now is that shrine up there.

Music: Shrine Theme

Yet another short and simple puzzle shrine. The more interesting ones are going to be away from points of civilization.

Intro puzzle is obvious enough, so enjoy this shot of Link’s ass.

I try to get fancy and kill this scout with the metal block.

I fail.

So tried and true it is!

There’s a chest behind this cage. Magnesis!

This actually holds a really nice weapon upgrade for once.

Then we use the chest to press the switch to let us advance.

The last room has two separate sets of scales. On the left, a chest with an Opal inside. The right leads to the monk.

Chest is simple. You can climb the middle of the scale to reach the chest with the help of climbing the metal block. Then simply return to the scale, weigh down the other scale, then fly over and weigh the first scale. Or you know, mess around until stuff works. Hell, throw in the chest if you want.

At any rate, we’ve got four orbs now. I’ll let you guys vote our upgrades at the end of the update.

Music: Lurelin Village (Day)

It’s rainy, but at least it’s day now. We can start chatting people up.

A couple have quests for us, including this guy.

I’m Rozel. I’m the head of this village.

The ocean option is the one that has a quest for us, so I’ll save it for last.

Village

Lurelin Village is a fishing village. When I was younger, I used to be a fisherman myself. But you can’t go out fishing on a rainy day like this. It’s just too dangerous.

I’m intrigued.

That’s right. Cloyne runs a shop where you can test your luck in his treasure-chest game. It’s fun to try every once in a while, but definitely don’t go crazy with your savings.

We’ll visit that in a bit.

Eventide Island

The large island in the sea to the east of the village…is called Eventide Island. There are some legends about that island, so the village fisherman tend to avoid it whenever possible. When you’re on the island, you start hearing voices… I don’t know if it’s real or just a dream, though.

Looks like the island we’re heading to is named Eventide Island and has a bit of mystery to it. Makes it all the more exciting to check it out!

Ruins

If you walk east from the village and keep going for a bit, you’ll end up at Palmorae Beach. There are some old ruins there. One of the youths from the village, Garini, goes there often to poke around. Garini visits the ruins often, even when it rains. If you’re interested, you should definitely go check them out.

Always another detour. We’ll visit it later.

Ocean

There are tales passed down of sunken treasure in the ocean around here… I would look for it myself if I were a bit younger, but I’ve grown old…

Buried treasure? Sign me up!

I couldn’t be happier to hear it. Now, according to the old tales… “The treasure sleeps in the center of the golden triangle.” Oh, by the by, do you happen to have a boat? If not, I can lend you my raft. It’s tied up at the wharf. Help yourself. On rainy days like today, it’s best to stay away from large bodies of water. It can be lonely out there. Don’t do anything reckless.

We’ll investigate in a future update, probably the next one.

Yeah. Cloyne runs a treasure-chest game. It’s really fun, especially if you win! The ol’ war chest has seen better days… See, I’ve gotten really into gambling lately, but the gambling hasn’t gotten really into me, if you get my meaning.

Probably not a wise idea to further support someone’s gambling tendencies.

But what the hell!

Link’s pretty well-off at this point. Plus if we do get our money back ten times over, we can gain the powers of the horse god!

Let’s go for it.

Ah, thanks. I’m most grateful. I’m gonna go use this to make us some money. Don’t you worry. Come back after tomorrow to hear how it went.

Can’t wait.

Time to check out the rest of the village.

This is Lurelin Village. We’re a small fishing town and proud of it! My husband is a fisherman, and I have two sons who will probably grow up to be fishermen too. What should I cook for tonight’s dinner?

Time for another quest!

Monsters have taken over the best fishing spots. You used to be able to pull in a good haul at Aris Beach, but these days you’d be lucky to leave there with your life.

Sure. Killing monsters is our specialty.

Good stuff. Remember, it’s called Aris Beach. The monsters have set up shop there. Stay sharp.

Another quest that will wait for the next update.

At this point, the rain has stopped and we see someone who looks quite out-of-place here.

Mmm, the weather here is nice and warm. It’s not at all like that blazing heat in the desert!

I’m more interested in this desert.

The isle far off the shore to the east is called Eventide Island. It was tales of that island that brought me all the way out here. However, it’s actually hard to get there by sea. It feels like you’d need to grow wings to go there…

We’ve met our first Gerudo, a race that’s almost entirely women. For being one of the most known races in the Zelda series, it’s kinda surprising to note they only really appear in Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask (and Four Sword Adventures). They usually stick to the desert and are more seen as a warrior race, though Gerudo in Breath of the Wild have a large mix of jobs. Ganondorf in fact is the lone Gerudo male in the series.

Anyway, it might seem like Eventide Island may be more difficult to get to than anticipated, though I still feel good about going for it.

Inns let you recover health and pass time. There’s usually a more-expensive option that will give you bonus hearts, though it’s usually only one or two. In my experience there’s never a reason to spend money on inns when you can cook food instead.

Finally, the treasure game we’ve heard so much about.

How’d you like to be rich…without having to work for it?

Hey, hey, simmer down. I’m not talking about anything illegal here.

The idea is you pick any chest you want and open it. Simple, right? The best part is whatever chest you open, you get all the money inside. Course, only one chest is worth opening, heh heh. Don’t come crying to me if you pick wrong. Before you go opening any boxes, you’ll have to show me what it’s worth to you. What’s a bet, after all, if you don’t stand to lose a bundle on it? That’s the part that really gets a man’s heart racing! It’s up to you how much you want to throw in. But the more you bet, the more you stand to win. A man like you must have expenses. Couldn’t hurt to make some quick cash - right here, right now - am I right?

I’ll do it if you stop yapping already.

Attaboy…

I’ll take the middle route and bet a respectable 50 rupees.

Now we’re talkin’! Looks like someone’s ready to make some REAL money! I’ll go get set up. No peeking while I’m fiddling with the chests, got it?

Take all the time you need to choose a chest to open. Look, listen, smell…taste 'em if you think it’ll help.

I beat the system!

Nah I’m good.

I hear you. Hey, if that’s what you want… Fair enough. Every good gambler knows there’s a time to walk away. I’m always here in case you ever feel like trying your luck again.

Save scumming this could get you easy money, but there’s much faster ways to go that route.

More objects. Now let’s finish up things by talking to one more NPC.

I went there with Garini before, and it was so exciting!

You bet we are!

Zuta’s not that quick, and it’s a long trek. It’s uneventful, though, so eventually…

See ya!

So let’s check out these ruins, then.

Two pedestals, but no clues around us. At least none I can find. I’ll be honest, this was one of the few I didn’t find my first playthrough and I have no idea how to open it. Suggestions (but not solutions) are welcome!

In the meantime, I explore the beach area some. More stuff to mine.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u14/194.mp4

We also encounter a new enemy, the Treasure Octorok. It’s sort of a mimic, except when caught it panics and tries to run away. You can tell it’s a fake since you can’t use Magnesis on the chest. Sadly, there’s no extra loot besides the usual Octorok drops.

I spot a shrine off in the distance, surrounded by water. Cryosis would make getting there relatively simple, though I’m gonna hold off for now.

Got another gem type.

Let’s close this thing out by doubling back to an area that caught my interest earlier. It’s an enclosed area within these mountains.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u14/202.mp4

Music: Talus Battle

This is the first of the various types of overworld mini-bosses we can encounter, the Stone Talus. It’s a massive version of those Pebblits we’ve seen earlier.

The weak spot is this black outcropping, though we can’t always reach it from the ground.

The trick is to either have the Talus throw both its arms, thus knocking it out while it regenerates, or simply climb up and start whacking at the thing.

As you hit the black spot, random gems will fly out.

When defeated, the Stone Talus explodes into a bevy of gems. It’s probably my favorite of the overworld fights since they’re usually somewhat tricky but not too difficult, and very rewarding.

Next time, we’ll finish up some quests and other loose ends, then begin our journey to Eventide Island.

Also vote for our Spirit Orb upgrade. It’ll probably only run a couple or so hours this time since I want to get some gameplay going today.

[Mega64]

Time to record more gameplay!

[Mega64]

No update today. To tide you over…

[Mega64]

Click here to open the update!

Hey, here’s another thing to look forward to someday.

So, this quest I was stuck on earlier? Turns out we can’t do it yet. It requires the last rune we do not have, one gotten from progressing the main quest.

We’ll revisit this eventually. Maybe.

For now, let’s get to kicking skulls.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u14/004.mp4

And…whatever this is.

First, had another vote for spirit orbs, and another vote resulting in more stamina. I’m not complaining (yet).

Let’s do those couple of side quests we got last time. First, the side quest about treasure within a triangle? South of the Lurelin Village is this…triangle. As good a place to check as any!

For this, we’re going to borrow the raft the village elder offered us. We could Cryosis it, but…it wouldn’t be pleasant.

We could just hope for the best with the wind, or take matters in our own hands. Always have a Korok Leaf handy!

There’s a bit to fight through to get to our destination, of course.

Good time to break out the Shock Arrows! Rain makes them hit a much larger radius (and the targets being in the ocean helps, too).

Then some Ice Arrows to conserve my Shock ones for later.

Also bombs.

Looks like we found our trove! The results:

A sapphire, two topaz, and…

…this beauty. This sword will hit the enemy with electricity, which is as wonderful as it sounds. As you may expect, similar versions exist for fire and ice elements.

Then the guy asks for more money. Think we’ll pass this time.

You know, there might be some treasure that yet sleeps in this ocean. A diligent boy like you could get rich finding it… May all your delving end in gold!

Our reward, other than the treasure itself, is the hint that there may be more chests hidden underwater. So keep that in mind, I guess. Even though I’m already way ahead on that front.

Our next quest is going to take us back on the road north from Lurelin Village.

Er, sorry… Here, I’ll share some nice info I came across as my form of apology. The fish in Lurelin Village are pretty fatty. As a result, I hear they’re incredibly delicious when you grill them!

We make our way back to the fork, this time heading south. Way to the south is our destination, Aris Beach. All we have to do there is wipe out the enemies.

Our targets.

But first, burning.

We probably shouldn’t have burned this crate first.

Ah, here we go. Mighty Bananas are a nice way to boost attack. They also have another wonderful use we’ll see later on.

The issue here is there’s no way to reach that platform as is.

The solution?

As always, whenever water is involved, “Cryosis.”

Now time for the ol’ Sneak and Smack.

Ouch. This guy’s better at the Sneak and Smack than me, it seems.

Let’s try this again.

Much better.

Link’s not the only one who can use the elemental arrows. This Bokoblin is raining fire arrows upon us, which understandably is rather bad.

Good thing we’re a better shot, then.

I clear the first tower of enemies. One more tower to go.

Link gets a nasty hit here, but he’s still standing!

Almost got it!

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u15/064.mp4

…or that could happen.

Yes, Moblins will attack you by picking up and throwing nearby Bokoblins.

OK, now we’re done here.

The enemy chest nets us a new weapon. Considering how many I’ve gone through here, it’s quite welcome!

You know, while we’re nearby, we might as well check out the mountain.

Another plus to exploration: This game can be gorgeous.

Ganonhoof can climb no further at the end of the road, but luckily we’re near the top.

This place has a lot of hearty radishes here.

…Ah. I see now.

Are you… Could you be the voe I am destined to meet? No… No, I don’t think so. But then… This IS the pond of legend, is it not? The one where a person finds true love? Yet all I see right now is that strange voe on the other side of the pond. Could I be at the wrong one?

Who’s ready for a rather simple and somewhat entertaining quest?

Sure, why not.

…Phew. I’m so glad! Oh, by the way, my name is Wabbin! To be honest, I lost my way earlier.

At first I thought I was dreaming…or that she was a ghost or something. I mean, it’s not every day you run into a gorgeous woman in the middle of nowhere… But figment of my imagination or not, it was love at first sight. And so I’ve decided to gather my courage and go confess my feelings to her!

If I had a blue nightshade, I’d head straight over to that woman… I mean, imagine her and a blue nightshade… That’d make a beautiful scene. Don’t you think?

Blue nightshade’s not that difficult to find, and in fact we already have some with us!

I want to talk to her, but I don’t have anything worthy of being a gift. If only I had blue nightshade… Ahh, the smell of it… I can almost imagine it right now. It’s so clear, almost like…it’s… Wait, do you have some blue nightshade on you right now?

Sure, it’s not like we can’t get a hundred more.

Ah… I just… Ugh. When I look at her, my legs freeze up. My throat goes dry. I…I can’t do it.

…uh ok

I’ll give you back this blue nightshade. Oh! And don’t forget to mention it’s a present from ME!

This guy is hopeless.

Now we have to walk allll the way to the other side of the heart pond.

I see… So…you’re delivering these flowers for that voe over there?

I don’t sense any deceit from you…

This fades into a conversation between the two. For clarity, Wabbin will be the blue Sheikah Symbol, and Perda the red.

Could…could it be that you don’t like blue nightshade?
Why would you stay that? This is my favorite kind of flower! How did you know that anyway? Are you a Yiga spy?!
N-no… Th-that’s not it!

Your true love… So this is what they call destiny…

What do you mean?
No, that’s not right at all! I’m talking about what a voe says to a vai!
What do you mean?

Wh…

This is the first time anyone has ever said they like me, and for it to come from the woman of my dreams… This is such an amazing feeling…

There’s no way I can truly thank you, but please take this as a token of my thanks.

So our reward for helping this guy talk to the love of his life is twenty rupees?

That’s all you’re willing to offer him for everything he’s done for you?!

Hey, you! I guess I owe you too… I hope you have as much luck finding someone as I did… thanks to you!

All’s well that ends well!

…Huh? Oh! You’re still here! I really owe you for helping out my voe. It’s true that he’s more than a bit on the shy, nervous side… That’s nothing a little push in the right direction can’t solve, though! I hope you get to meet your true love soon, like I did!

Hee…

Also inside this heart pool is a chest with a spear. Shot through the heart, but who’s to blame?

Top of the mountain has a Korok.

Next lake over has fire arrows.

We’re done here. Back to Lurelin to report our progress.

First, though, let’s start another side quest.

That settles it! I’ll make some seafood paella.
Yaaaaay!

I’m so busy with housework that I don’t have time to go shopping for ingredients.

Eh, why not.

Really? I’m happy to hear that. I’ll be waiting!

This one is very simple, but also something we’ll have to hold off on until we can find those things.

OK, now let’s report our results on Aris Beach.

Thanks, mate. I suppose I should give you this to show my appreciation.

Come back whenever you’d like! I’ll share the day’s haul with you.

Another job successfully done!

Check this out: if you see a bunch of fish gathered around a reef, sometimes you can find treasure hidden there…

Oh and I missed a guy earlier.

Sure have!

Huh, never would have guessed that just from looking at ya. Just remember…going out to sea isn’t something you should take lightly! The wind can quickly strand you out there!

Anyway, we’ve done pretty much everything there is to do right now (probably). Only one thing left to do now.

First, let’s walk all the way to the end of the cape.

With a couple of diversions along the way, as always.

Some chests are embedded in the ground. Magnesis takes care of them.

This one had a red rupee. The other chest is an Octorok, so I leave it alone.

Next time…Eventide Island.

How bad can it be?

[heyboots]

Man I didn’t even find that village in my playthrough. At all. There’s so much shit in this damn map.

[ReturnofFable]

I never picked up on the throwing spear inside the heart pool. That’s a nice touch. Eventide Island is one that I didn’t even visit during my first playthrough so I’m curious to see what’s on it.