Listen, maybe I’m late to the party and everyone else knows this, but did you know there’s a very likely explanation for all of Breath of the Wild’s weird shrine names?
This whole time, I’ve been thinking that there must be some explanation for the really weird shrine names, like Bareeda Naag and Daka Tuss Shrine, which both sound like a Sim ordering a curry. Eventually, though, I gave up on trying to figure it out — only to have the answer dropped on me like a bombshell, five years after finishing the game.
They’re anagrams of the developers’ names!
Here are some examples, courtesy of the Zelda Wiki (bolded = anagrammed part):
| Shrine Name | Developer Name | Developer Role |
|---|---|---|
| Goma Asaagh | Timetoshi Ogawa | System Tool Developer |
| Zuna Kai | Eto Nakamura | Sound Designer |
| Zalta Wa | Satoru Takizawa | Art Director |
| Oman Au | Eiji Aonuma | Producer |
| Kaam Ya’tak | Takashi Yamamoto | Gameplay Animator |
| Ja Baij | Hidemaro Fujibayashi | Director |
Of course, it’s more obvious in Japanese, which is a more syllabic language than English, but still — it’s very cool to untangle a puzzle, finally.
Did you know this? Did everyone know this? I need to go lie down.
