Jeff's Gaming Blog

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.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But I figured it was time for another play session (and blog entry). This first section actually took place back in May, believe it or not.

May Play

While near Hyrule Castle, I explored around the docks area. Lighting a torch there opened up the Saas Ko’sah shrine. I completed the combat test inside to wrap up my 117th shrine.

I continued looking around and gained entrance to the library. There, I found a fruitcake recipe. Once I found a cooking pot, I made the fruitcake. I needed it for a side quest back in Riverside Stable. I gave it to a stable worker named Gotter, and he gave me 100 rupees.

At this point, I caught up on some “maintenance.” I exchanged Korok seeds for shield/bow slots, I enhanced some clothing items at the Great Fairy Fountain, I exchanged four spirit orbs for another heart container, and I stocked up on arrows. And that wrapped up my playing time in May.

December Days

Seven months later, I finally picked up the game again. I climbed up Death Mountain and looked at the map for suspicious places to investigate. I found some new Korok seeds, and I thought I was about to find something better at the abandoned North Mine. This tiny island had a red rock that looked like it could be blown up. I thought maybe there was a shrine underneath.

I made my way around to the appropriate cannon and blew up the rock. To my dismay, the only thing underneath was an air vent. All my hopes went up in a puff of hot air.

I eventually moved on to the Faron area, where I ran into Kass. He told me of a shrine at the site of a forest dragon’s jaws. But…he then told me I already solved it.

So I didn’t get a new shrine, but it did mark a shrine quest off my to-do list. My shrine quest count was at 40/42, but I still have not found anyone to tell me about the remaining two…at least until last night.

While exploring Mount Granajh, I found a destroyed house and an opened book. It was called the Mountain Peak Log.

I read it, and it told me of a nearby shrine and the clues that the author couldn’t figure out. This began a shrine quest, and this one did not automatically complete itself. That meant it was an active, open shrine quest! I was kind of excited to find one of these again!

It didn’t take me long to figure out what I needed to do. However, I had to wait for a certain time of day. It was so satisfying to see a new orange shrine again. 😛

The inside was one of those “you’ve already proven your worth just by getting here” things, so I quickly grabbed the treasure and completed the shrine.

While looking at the map, I noticed something else that most of you probably knew years ago. Next to the name of each shrine, there will be a treasure chest icon if you’ve collected all the treasure inside that shrine. Very helpful! So I spent some time teleporting to various shrines to collect treasures I missed the first time. Unfortunately, the treasures generally aren’t anything that’s super helpful.

Shortly after that, I wrapped up my Breath of the Wild playing for 2019. Here are my current stats…and yes, my overall completion percentage is finally over 50%. 😂

• Completion percentage: 52.44%
• Shrines: 118/120
• Korok seeds: 335/900
• Shrine quests: 41/42
• Side quests: 73/77
• Hyrule Compendium: 360/385

Only two more shrines to go! I’ll see you next time, but I have no idea when that will be. 😛 Have a happy new year, and a great 2020!