You wake up. You have no clothes, no weapons, and absolutely no idea who you are. That is the opening of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and it’s honestly one of the balliest moves Nintendo has ever made with its flagship franchise. Instead of hitting you with a thirty-minute cutscene explaining the politics of Hyrule, the game just lets you wander into the woods. If you want the story, you have to go find it yourself.
This is where the breath of the wild memories come in. They aren't just collectibles. They are the entire narrative backbone of a game that otherwise feels like a lonely survival simulator. You find a patch of grass that looks familiar, Link has a sudden headache, and suddenly you're watching a world that died a century ago. It’s haunting. It’s weirdly personal. And if you skip them, you’re basically playing a completely different game.
The Frustration of a Scattered Plot
Most games treat story like a railroad. You go from Point A to Point B, and the story happens to you. Breath of the Wild treats story like archaeology. You’re digging up bones.
There are 12 main "Captured Memories" tied to Zelda’s Sheikah Slate photos, plus the ones you get from the Divine Beasts and the Master Sword. Finding them is a massive pain if you don't know the map. You’re squinting at a tiny 2D image of a pond and trying to find that exact pond in a massive 3D world. It’s tedious.
But there’s a reason for the friction.
By making you hunt for these moments, Nintendo forces you to pay attention to the landscape. You start noticing the ruins. You realize that the pile of rocks you’ve been climbing was actually a guard station where Zelda once had a breakdown. The geography becomes a character. Without the breath of the wild memories, the world is just a big playground; with them, it’s a graveyard.
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Zelda Isn't the Person You Think She Is
In almost every other Zelda game, the titular princess is a symbol. She’s a goal. She’s a wise ruler or a maiden in distress. In these memories, she is—honestly—kind of a mess. And that makes her the best version of the character ever written.
We see her failing. We see her screaming at Link because he represents everything she can’t achieve. He’s the chosen hero with the sword, and she’s just a scholar who can’t get her powers to wake up. There’s a specific memory, "Silent Princess," where she’s poking at a flower and talking about its struggle to survive in the wild. It’s not subtle, but it’s effective. She’s talking about herself.
If you find the memories out of order, which most people do, her character arc feels like a puzzle. You might see her being cruel to Link in one memory, and then see her weeping in his arms in the next. You have to mentally arrange the timeline. You realize her "coldness" was just massive, crushing insecurity. She was a teenager who knew the world was going to end and felt like it was her fault because she couldn't pray hard enough. That’s heavy for a Nintendo game.
The "True" Ending is Locked Behind a Camera Lens
A lot of players beat Calamity Ganon, see the credits, and feel... underwhelmed. That’s usually because they didn't finish the memory quest. To get the "true" ending—the extra scene that gives the story a sense of closure—you have to find all 13 memories (the 12 photos plus the final one Impa reveals).
The final memory, located in the Ash Swamp among a graveyard of dead Guardians, is the emotional payoff. It’s the moment the Master Sword finally speaks to her. It’s the moment she saves Link, instead of the other way around.
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Without this context, the final fight with Ganon feels hollow. Why are we fighting this big purple cloud? Because the game told us to? No. Once you’ve seen the breath of the wild memories, you’re fighting because you want to finish the job Zelda started. You’re fighting for a girl who spent 100 years holding back a monster in a castle because she finally found her worth.
Why Link is Silent (For Real This Time)
People always joke about Link being a "silent protagonist" because it’s a gaming trope. But Breath of the Wild actually gives a lore reason for it in Zelda’s research notes and the memories. Link is quiet because the weight of being the "Chosen One" is so immense that he feels he has to bear it in silence. He’s stoic because he’s terrified of failing.
The memories show a dynamic that is almost never explored in games: the resentment of the sidekick. Zelda initially hates Link. He’s a constant reminder of her own perceived inadequacy. Watching that relationship shift from resentment to genuine love (or at least deep, sacrificial companionship) through 12-second clips is an incredible feat of minimalist writing.
How to Actually Find Them Without Losing Your Mind
If you're trying to track these down in 2026, you probably don't want to spend forty hours staring at a mountain range. There are ways to make this easier without totally spoiling the hunt.
- Talk to Pikango. This guy is the real MVP. He’s the traveling artist found at various stables. If you show him a photo on your Slate, he will give you a general direction. He won't give you coordinates, but he’ll say things like "Oh, that’s near the Bridge of Hylia."
- Look for the glow. When you get close to a memory location, you’ll see a faint, shimmering golden light on the ground. It only appears when you're relatively close, so keep your eyes on the terrain, not just the mini-map.
- Use the DLC. If you have the Champions' Ballad DLC, you get even more memories focused on the four Champions (Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa). These are arguably even better than the main ones because they flesh out the pilots of the Divine Beasts.
The Impact of Order
Does it matter what order you find them in? Technically, no. The game's journal will automatically sort them chronologically (Memory 1 through Memory 18, including the Champion ones).
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However, finding the "Blunder" memory (where Zelda fails at the Spring of Power) before finding "To Mount Lanayru" makes the narrative flow much better. If you find them randomly, you might see the climax of their relationship before you see the beginning. It’s like watching a movie on shuffle. Some people love the "Memento" style of storytelling, but if you want the emotional gut-punch, try to follow the numbering in the quest log as best as you can.
The Legacy of Fragmented Storytelling
When Tears of the Kingdom came out, it used a similar system with the Dragon’s Tears. But there’s something about the breath of the wild memories that feels more grounded. They aren't magical visions of the distant past; they are Link's actual brain re-wiring itself.
The game is about trauma. It’s about a guy who lost everything and is literally trying to remember why he should care about the world. Every time you find a memory, Link becomes more of a person and less of a blank avatar.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
If you’re currently staring at an empty Sheikah Slate, here is how to handle the memory hunt efficiently:
- Prioritize the "Subdued Ceremony" memory. It’s located in the Sacred Ground Ruins, right in front of Hyrule Castle. It’s usually the first one people find and it sets the tone for the entire relationship between Link and Zelda.
- Don't ignore the stables. Pikango doesn't just hang out at stables for the vibe; he’s there specifically to guide you to the memories in that region. If you find a new stable, look for the guy with the easel.
- Read the Diaries. This is the "pro tip" for lore nerds. Zelda’s diary in her study and King Rhoam’s diary in his hidden room provide the context that the memories don't show. They explain why Zelda was at those locations in the photos.
- Finish the Divine Beasts first. The memories you get after defeating the Blight Ganons provide the baseline of the world's tragedy. Once you see what happened to the Champions, hunting for Zelda’s memories feels much more urgent.
The story of Breath of the Wild isn't what's happening in the present. The present is just the cleanup crew. The real story happened a century ago, and it's hidden in the dirt. Go find it.