BOTW #20 – Riding Animals

I continued exploring in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and I soon arrived at the Mirro Shaz Shrine. The task here involves using stasis on some orbs, and then hitting them with a sledgehammer to launch them over a gap and into their altars.

After a lot of trial and error, I completed the main objective, which unlocked the exit. However, there was a 2nd hidden/bonus part that was even tougher. I ended up breaking my sledgehammers, so I’ll have to return here again someday. It’s so annoying that even a sledgehammer can break after a few minutes of use in this game.

Back outside, I spotted a couple of deer. I’ve been wanting to try to mount some animals other than horses, so I followed one of them. It ran away from me at first, but I hid behind a tree when it started to turn back around. When the time was right, I jumped out, mounted it, and tamed it! I was near the Woodland Stable, so I tried to register it…but of course, the guy wouldn’t let me. 😛

Once I dismounted, the deer ran off.

As I entered Hyrule Forest Park, I began fighting a guardian stalker. But during the battle, a very large enemy known as a Stalnox also appeared. I tried to get them to fight each other, but I had no such luck.

So I finished off the guardian before focusing on the Stalnox. But right when I had the Stalnox down to just a sliver of health remaining, he dug a hole underground and escaped! What a coward.

The next day, I continued exploring and I found the Spring of Courage. However, I need to offer Farosh’s scale to the statue before I can do anything else here.

In the Hickaly Woods, I spotted a bear. I wanted to try riding it too, so I carefully closed in on it. When the time was right, I pounced! I hopped on and pressed the L button several times to soothe the bear until he was tamed. Then I could ride him around! I also made him pose for a picture. 😛

Unfortunately, you can’t make the bear attack anyone (or anything). But it is pretty cool to just ride around on. As I continued through the forest, I soon saw another bear! I wondered if it would attack me, or run, or what…

But it just walked in circles at first. As I got closer, the bear just seemed to walk around aimlessly. And after a little bit, it simply vanished into mid-air! But I stayed on my bear for a while, taking it down to the beach where there were some Bokoblins.

One of them attacked me with a flaming spear, and it damaged me a bit. The bear didn’t seem to mind that, but it did mind when another Bokoblin threw a rock and hit the bear. I was forcibly dismounted, and the bear ran off. The bear may not be a grisly killer like I may have hoped, but it’s still pretty awesome that you can do things like this.

Anyway, I found a shrine nearby, so I went inside. It was one of those shrines that use motion controls, which generally aren’t my favorites. But this one wasn’t too bad; it just took me five minutes to complete.

Near Breman Peak, I found a Korok under a rock…and then noticed a beautiful sunrise. This has got to be one of my favorite screenshots yet.

Near Camphor Pond, you could find me mountin’ a mountain buck. Believe it or not, he was harder to tame than the bear was! Unfortunately, I accidentally dismounted the buck after just a few seconds. So I didn’t get much bang for the buck.

I made my way back to Hateno Village, and I hired Bolson and Karson for some upgrades to my house. They added a bed, lighting, a door, a sign with my name, some trees, and some flowers. The only options still remaining are gear displays, which can show off weapons, bows, or shields. Those don’t really feel very useful to me, so I didn’t purchase them yet.

Later on, I spotted a strange area on the map just west of the Eldin Mountains. I decided to investigate, and I found a strange area that reminded me of a mini-Lost Woods! The “Shrouded Shrine” shrine quest began.

The area is a dark maze, where you need to use your torch to see. You can use the fire to light the statues you come across. Not only will that give you a bit more light, but they’ll serve as markers so you know where you’ve been already.

This area is really cool. I don’t even know why I like the dark areas like this (and the inside of Vah Rudania) so much, but I do. 😛 It just seems to be such a different atmosphere. Maybe I’m just a night owl.

I found some fire rods here, and I know I needed one of those for a side quest. But they’re helpful in another way: If your torch goes out, just use the fire rod (or any fire-based weapon) to ignite some grass. Then dip your torch into the flames.

After finding the right way to go, I defeated a Hinox, and then unlocked and completed the shrine. Quite an enjoyable shrine quest.

I spotted a curious-looking valley on the map, so I headed there next. That’s where I found the Forgotten Temple. There were a number of guardians in here, but I also found a goddess statue and a shrine.

I exchanged four spirit orbs for a stamina vessel, and then I completed the shrine.

Juannelle, at the nearby Snowfield Stable, wanted to see a picture of a Stalhorse. So I set off into the snow. Not only did I get the picture I needed, but I also mounted the Stalhorse and took it for a ride!

Unfortunately, I kind of fell down the side of the mountain a bit…so I couldn’t get him back up. I had to leave my undead horse for dead as I returned to Snowfield Stable. Juannelle gave me 100 rupees for showing her the picture.

I then returned to the valley and followed it southwest. Inside a shrine I found along the way (Dunba Taag), a giant ball kept getting stuck in a place where I couldn’t do anything with it! I had to exit and re-enter the shrine a couple times to reset it.

After completing the shrine, I continued following the valley. Nearby, I found a giant golf course! Well, it’s just one hole, but it’s called the Tanagar Canyon Course. It’s a mini-game, and I gave it a try. I just didn’t do very well at it.

Back in Hateno Village, I showed my fire rod to a kid for a side quest. After that, I wrapped up my game for the time being. My current completion percentage is 30.19%, and I’ve completed 88 shrines and found 138 Korok seeds. See you next time!