The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a hugely satisfying game with terrific mechanics,
but what really makes the game something special
is the amount of craft and care that went into the small details.
Here are 28 of the best.
Number 1:
It's very, very subtle, but each Sage in the four shrines on the Great Plateau
hold their hands in the formation of different pieces of the Triforce.
Number 2:
As most players have discovered the hard way,
holding metal weapons or shields during a storm is a good way to get struck by lightning.
There's a risky alternative to unequipping, however.
If your weapon is about to light up, you can toss it into a group of enemies just before the bolt hits.
Number 3:
If you happen to cross a lifeless Guardian on your travels,
you can usually pick up an extra Ancient Screw or two.
But should that Guardian corpse be sitting on top of some water,
you might be able to use an ice block Rune to tip it over,
revealing some bonus screws underneath.
Oh, and if there's no water around, you can trying getting creative with nearby metal objects.
Number 4:
Merchants will give you a better deal in bad weather than in good weather.
Supply and demand.
Number 5:
BotW flat out encourages you to run around Hyrule half naked.
Just look at Link's shirtless idle animation!
But characters in the world will take notice of your fashion choices,
especially characters like Paya, whose crush on Link goes into overdrive.
Then there's Hestu, the forest spirit who is beyond thrilled to find a fellow near-nudist.
Unfortunately, not everyone is so entertained.
Number 6:
NPCs throughout the game get annoyed, ticked off, and sometimes even depressed
when you talk to them while standing on a table.
Number 7:
Guardian amiibos summon big metal goodie-filled crates that materialize out of thin air,
but if you're feeling creative enough, you can use them for MURDER.
Number 8:
The Barbarian Armor is one of the most sought-after sets in the game because of its awesome attack boost.
Even better, if you go to the Dye Shop in Hateno Village,
color selections paint different patterns.
All in all, you could customize your headgear with 1 of 15 different designs.
But I mean, come on, it's gotta be the black and white one, right?
Number 9:
If you run into Bokoblins on horseback,
you know how much of a pain it can be to nail those suckers.
But once you've upgraded your Statis Rune,
all you have to do is point and shoot your mounted enemy and suddenly the game turns into a Looney Tunes episode.
That's what we call "practical trolling".
Number 10:
Eventide is one of the coolest challenges in the game,
stripping away all of your gear and forcing you to make do with what you can scavenge on the island.
But if you don't feel like parting with your gear,
you could leave your stuff on a raft just off the island and go back and grab it after the challenge starts.
Just be aware that the game will vanish your contraband gear at the end of the challenge,
so maybe don't bring your best stuff.
Number 11:
Brigo, a kind man who hangs out on Proxim Bridge,
will call out and plead to you not to waste your life if you jump up on the edge of the bridge.
Once you heed his call and step back from the ledge,
Brigo continues to engage with the player.
If Brigo's whole deal seems familiar,
it's possible that he was fashioned after a guy named Kevin Briggs,
who famously prevented hundreds of bridge-jumping suicides.
Number 12:
Without proper stealth gear or a high vantage point,
it can be tough to clamber onto a Hinox to snag its swords,
but if you walk into its open hand, all you have to do is wait until it scratches itself
and you've got a free ride up to tummy mountain.
Number 13:
In addition to registering horses, the Stables allow Link to rest,
cook, and destroy private property for personal gain.
Though the layout is more or less the same wherever you go,
the interior walls hold a secret recipe unique to each Stable.
Number 14:
We can all agree that rusty weapons suck,
but if you throw your rusty weapon at an Octorok in Death Mountain,
you just might find a weapon with the rust sucked clean off spat back at you in return.
Number 15:
No weather-appropriate clothing handy?
Equipping a flaming weapon will raise Link's overall temperature,
while holding an ice weapon in a hot climate will cool Link off.
Number 16:
Bone weapons are kinda useless as they break so fast,
but Lizalfos Arms have a bonus utility:
you can throw them and they come right back like a boomerang.
Number 17:
You can pick up Stone Pebblits.
If you haven't tried this already, maybe hold off.
The little guys don't like it too much.
Number 18:
The only foe greater than Calamity Ganon is the rain,
since it makes it every climbing surface extra slippery,
but there are some nice little effects that you may not have noticed.
When a storm picks up, rainwater will pool naturally
and that will later evaporate when the sun comes out.
And NPCs run for cover when it starts to rain.
They even hold up their little hands over their heads to keep them from getting wet.
Lastly, the Fire Keese will lose their trademark flames when hit with rain
and they'll eventually die from exposure.
Sorry, little guy!
Number 19:
If you take a selfie in the cold,
Link's teeth will chatter as he poses.
Ain't that precious?
Number 20:
This unique land mass in the Akkala Region looks like
it could only exist in a video game,
but it was probably inspired by Spiral Jetty, an actual land sculpture in Utah.
Number 21:
Pressure plates in shrines activate with any weight.
So, if you're stuck, just drop down whatever you have and the switch will eventually trigger.
Number 22:
Guardians instinctively walk away from Link.
So, if you happen to land on top of one,
you can steer it by moving around.
Number 23:
You can boil en egg in hot water.
Huh.
Neat.
Number 24:
You might've had a Moblin throw one of his buddies at you by now,
but if you time it right, you can actually parry the flailing body before it hits you.
Number 25:
It's not hard to tell where an invisible Wizzrobe is going
because you can see their footsteps,
but look closely, and you can also see they cast a prancing shadow.
Number 26:
The Lost Woods can be a pain to get through,
but is somewhat easier on a horse.
Looks like the mist isn't fast enough to catch you while you're mounted.
Number 27:
This one's easy to overlook since it's at the site of the final battle,
but if you look up in Hyrule Castle, you'll see a piece of decoration that oughta look familiar.
Those music notes around the Triforce, they're Zelda's Lullaby from Ocarine of Time.
And number 28 is a touching tribute to the late Satoru Iwata.
When Nintendo president Satoru Iwata passed away in 2015,
he left a big hole.
Iwata is more than deserving of being immortalized in a stellar game.
And that's exactly what BotW has done.
As found by YouTuber Seaniccus, a friendly NPC named Botrick can be spotted strolling around the Outskirts Stable.
Botrick mentions the Lord of the Mountain, a mythical being that is said to live on Satori Mountain.
As we saw with Brigo, the bridge hero, and Kevin Briggs,
Nintendo seems fond of swapping out one or two letters to keep references clear, but also legally distinct.
If you pursue this pleasant peak, you're greeted with a serene, picturesque pond next to a cherry tree.
There isn't any other place like this in the whole game.
This alone would be a fine tribute, but we're not done yet.
Remember how not-Iwata mentioned the Lord of the Mountain?
Well, if you creep up to the pond at night,
there's a chance that the mystical creature will be there,
glowing in ethereal light.
And yes, you can ride it.
Your first guess is probably along the lines of: "Is that thing supposed to be Iwata's spirit?"
And that's not actually so far off.
If you snap a picture of the Lord itself, you can read the corresponding entry in the Hyrule Compendium:
If you can hold back the tears just a little longer, the first sentence of the description is especially significant.
In a recent New Yorker interview, BotW director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, mentioned that
the Zelda team had the sense that Iwata was watching over their work.
That's exactly what the Lord of the Mountain does for the animals of the forest.
Such care and detail has been put into this Hyrule that
it feels as though each part of the world has a special meaning.