You wake up in a dark, watery cave with no clothes and a voice in your head. That's how The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild starts, and honestly, it’s kind of a mess for Link. He’s got total amnesia. Most games would just give you a thirty-minute cutscene to explain why the world is on fire, but Nintendo decided to make you work for it. You have to hunt down zelda breath of the wild all memories if you want to understand why Link failed a century ago.
It's a weird way to tell a story.
Basically, you’re looking for twelve specific spots on a map based on old photos left on the Sheikah Slate. If you don't find them, you're just a guy in a tunic fighting a giant pig ghost for no reason. The memories aren't just "flavor text." They are the actual plot. Without them, Zelda is just a voice in the wind instead of a person who was struggling with her own identity and a father who—let’s be real—was pretty hard on her.
The struggle of finding Zelda Breath of the Wild all memories
The game doesn't hold your hand. At all. Pikango, the traveling artist, is basically your only lifeline. You’ll find him at various stables, and he’ll squint at your photos and say something like, "Oh, that looks like the forest near the volcano." Thanks, Pikango. Real helpful.
Most people stumble upon their first memory near the Sacred Ground Ruins, right in front of Hyrule Castle. It’s the one where Zelda is "knighting" Link, and the other Champions are watching. It feels awkward. It’s supposed to. Revali is acting like a jerk, Mipha looks like she’s about to cry, and Zelda sounds like she’s reading a grocery list.
That’s the beauty of the zelda breath of the wild all memories system. It’s nonlinear. You might find memory number nine before you find memory number one. This piece-meal storytelling means your perspective on the characters shifts depending on the order you find them in. If you find the memory at Kara Kara Bazaar early on, you see Zelda’s frustration with Link. She yells at him for following her. She’s stressed because her powers won't wake up, and Link is a walking reminder of her "failure" because he’s already mastered the Master Sword.
Why the order doesn't really matter (but kinda does)
There are 12 main memories from the Sheikah Slate photos, one for the Master Sword, and a final "secret" 13th memory.
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If you're trying to hunt them down, you've probably realized that some are tucked away in the most annoying places possible. The one in the Eldin Canyon requires you to scale a mountain that’s constantly trying to set you on fire. Then there’s the one in the Hyrule Castle interior. Why is a memory in the most dangerous place in the game? Because that’s where Zelda spent her time.
The memories paint a picture of a girl who wanted to be a scholar but was forced to be a goddess. In the memory at the Ancient Columns, she’s observing a shrine. She’s happy. She’s smart. Then her dad, King Rhoam, shows up and ruins the vibe by telling her to stop "playing at being a scholar" and go pray in the freezing water. It’s heavy stuff for a Zelda game.
The technicality of the 13th memory
Once you find the initial twelve, you have to go back to Impa. She’s been waiting 100 years to show you a painting on her wall. This leads you to the 13th memory in Ash Swamp.
This is the big one. It’s the "death" of Link.
Seeing the Guardian graveyard in the rain is haunting. You finally see how Link actually died—well, almost died—protecting Zelda. It’s the moment her power finally triggers. Not through prayer, but through the need to save someone she cares about. It’s the emotional payoff that makes the previous 40 hours of climbing mountains feel worth it.
The impact of the Champions' memories
If you have the DLC, The Champions' Ballad, you get even more. These aren't part of the base twelve, but they add layers to Revali, Daruk, Mipha, and Urbosa.
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Take Revali. Everyone hates him because he’s arrogant. But his extra memory shows him practicing his "Gale" move until his wings bleed. He wasn't just born better than everyone; he worked himself to exhaustion because he felt he had to prove he was better than a Hylian knight. It doesn't make him less of a jerk, but it makes him a real jerk with motivations.
And Mipha? Her memory on top of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta is just heartbreaking. She’s trying to tell Link she loves him without actually saying it. The silence in these scenes is louder than the dialogue. Nintendo’s writers leaned heavily into the Japanese concept of "Ma"—the space between things. It’s what isn't said that makes zelda breath of the wild all memories so effective.
Dealing with the King Rhoam problem
King Rhoam is a controversial figure in the Zelda community. Some see him as a villainous parent. Others see a desperate leader trying to save his kingdom from an impending apocalypse.
In the memories, he’s cold. He’s harsh. But if you read his diary (which you can find in the library of Hyrule Castle), you realize he hated being that way. He was terrified. He knew Ganon was coming, and he knew his daughter was the only one who could stop it. He died before he could ever tell her he was proud of her. That’s a layer of tragedy you only get if you’re willing to explore the ruins and piece the memories together with the environment.
Where to find the trickiest memories
You’ll likely get stuck on Memory #11, the one at Lanayru Promenade. It’s a weirdly specific spot. It’s the gateway to Mount Lanayru. This is where the group comes back from the Spring of Wisdom, and Zelda has officially failed to unlock her power. It’s the moment Ganon wakes up. The world literally ends right after this cutscene.
Then there’s the "Spring of Power" memory in Akkala. It’s beautiful, serene, and incredibly sad. Zelda is submerged in water, praying until she’s shivering, and nothing happens. The frustration in her voice is a far cry from the "perfect princess" trope we see in older games.
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- Sacred Ground Ruins: Right in front of the castle.
- Lake Kolomo: North of the Great Plateau.
- Ancient Columns: Near Rayne Highlands.
- Kara Kara Bazaar: In the Gerudo Desert.
- Eldin Canyon: High up, overlooking the forest.
- Irch Plain: Between Hyrule Castle and Korok Forest.
- West Necluda: Near the Dueling Peaks.
- Hyrule Castle: In the Zelda's Study area.
- Spring of Power: In the Akkala region.
- Sanidin Park Ruins: In the Safula Hill area.
- Lanayru Promenade: At the base of the mountain.
- Blatchery Plain: The final stand near Ash Swamp.
The true ending is the real reward
Most people think beating Ganon is the end. It's not. If you don't get zelda breath of the wild all memories, you get a very abrupt ending. You save Zelda, she asks if you remember her, and the credits roll. It’s fine, but it’s a bit of a letdown.
However, if you've found all the memories, you get an extra scene.
You see Link and Zelda in the field of silent princesses. She talks about the future. She talks about rebuilding. It’s the first time in 100 years she looks at peace. The Master Sword glows, and she mentions that the voice inside the sword (presumably Fi from Skyward Sword) has grown quiet. It ties the whole franchise together in a way that feels earned because you, the player, had to go find those lost moments yourself.
Actionable steps for your memory hunt
If you're still missing a few, stop wandering aimlessly.
First, go find Pikango at the stables. He moves around. If you show him a picture, he will give you a specific landmark to look for. Second, look for the "Silent Princess" flowers. Often, a memory spot will have one of these flowers nearby. It’s a subtle visual cue from the developers.
Don't rush it. The whole point of Breath of the Wild is the journey, not the destination. If you just follow a map and teleport to every spot, the emotional impact is lost. Ride your horse. Look at the landscape. Try to see the world through the eyes of the photos. When you finally stand in the exact spot where Zelda stood a century ago, the game feels different. It stops being a playground and starts being a memorial.
Check your adventure log. The memories are numbered there, and you can rewatch them at any time. Sometimes watching them back-to-back in chronological order (instead of the order you found them) helps the story click. You see the progression of Zelda’s despair into her eventual resolve. It turns a "save the princess" story into a "two people trying their best against impossible odds" story. That’s why we’re still talking about this game years later.