Korgu Chideh Shrine (Jim Norman, screenwriter)
I’ll admit, the official name for this shrine isn’t the most appealing, but the quest itself is super memorable. This is because this is the real name of the challenge that we all simply refer to as ‘Eventide Island’.
This was one of the many, many moments in my first playthrough of BOTW where I thought, “Well done Nintendo, you’ve done it again”. The challenge itself is simple: find the three orbs scattered around the island and return them to their natural bases to unlock the Sanctuary. Easy job, right?
wrong! Upon arriving at the island, all of your equipment is confiscated, which (if you challenged the Shrine Quest at the same time as I did) was a pretty significant amount of progress to lose. Suddenly you’re back to the core mission of BOTW: survive; that’s brilliant.
You must carefully consider your every move, plan your every attack, rest wherever you can and please, for the love of Hylia, collect every single apple that you come across. It’s a real challenge, sure, but the reward of knowing you’ve actually mastered BOTW’s series-changing mechanics is enough to make it one of the best games around, in my book.
From the ground up (Ollie Reynolds, staff writer)
Yeah, just call me ‘Captain Obvious’. The Tarrey City quest – officially called ‘From the Ground Up’ – is such a satisfying experience from start to finish, especially since it’s one of the few quests that actually has a tangible impact on the land of Hyrule.
At its core, From the Ground Up is really just a bunch of fetch quests strung together; you must find yourself a tailor, a priest, a merchant, and someone endowed with considerable strength. Not to mention the almost countless bundles of wood needed to build Tarrey Town. But knowing you’re contributing to something real makes this so memorable. It’s a dizzying city – you built it city!
Part of me wonders if side quests like this helped inspire a more creative approach with Tears of the Kingdom; you know, how you can basically fuse weapons and glue items together. Breath of the Wild also had plenty of creativity, of course, but that overwhelming sense of satisfaction after finishing From the Ground Up must have informed Nintendo about the direction of the sequel. It’s a wonderful thing.
The Thunder Helm (Felix Sanchez, video producer)
So my favorite area in the entire game is the Gerudo Dessert, and in turn, that area has some of my favorite missions. Some of these include the quest ‘The Eighth Heroine’ and ‘The Forgotten Sword’ (which is how you get the sand/snow boots), but if I had to pick my absolute favorite quest of all, I’d have to pick ‘The Thunder Helm’. It might not be a choice you’ll see someone else make, but I chose this since you have to complete 5 (brilliant) quests in Gerudo City to get the golden helm.
Also included here is ‘Isterious Contaminant’, where you have to follow the melon rinds to find the contaminant that is keeping the little girl from having a garden. ‘Tools of the Trade’ where you help a Gerudo woman open a jewelery shop. And ‘The Secret Club’s Secret’, where you have to eavesdrop on a conversation in a bar to get the password to enter a secret shop where you can buy exclusive clothes. And that wasn’t even all of them!
I just find it really rewarding to help out the whole town, and as a cool bonus, you can borrow a holy thunder helmet that makes you immune to lightning strikes. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it?
Recital in the Cricket’s Nest (Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor)
Despite all the bombastic things you can do in Breath of the Wild, it’s always the quieter moments that keep me going, the calm after the storm. I’ve always loved Recital at Warbler’s Nest, a Shrine Quest where you must gather the five Rito sisters to practice a recital. You have to fetch Rita, feed the hungry Rita and calm the nervous Rita. Along the way, you’ll discover some strong sisterly bonds, as well as further understand the importance of music in the Rito community (think Kass, after all). Once you have all five sisters, you will find them singing in the Cricket’s Nest. You then have to mimic their song with a giant Korok leaf and then the shrine will emerge from the ground.
This makes it sound simple – I definitely didn’t know you had to stand on the pedestal the first time – but the quest had me exploring the village of Rito and meeting the characters there. The children from Rita are adorable, and the musical moment is touching and nostalgic. It sheds light on the minor characters in the game that I hope Tears of the Kingdom expands on.
The Gift of Nightshades (Gavin Lane, Editor)
I have to be honest, I did all the quests in BOTW five years ago and spent the time since wandering around cleaning other pieces, so my memory of quests is limited to rewards, really. The one with the big horse was cool, but I don’t remember any details about it other than the cool big horse.
One of the few that sticks out in my mind as having to do with the geography of Hyrule – it’s the one where you help two people meet at a heart-shaped lake. A quick google informs me that it’s called A Gift of Nightshade and the heart-shaped lake is called Lover’s Pond, found on Tuft Mountain.
It’s a sweet little story about a timid Wabbin working up the courage to talk to Perd, and what I remember most is the feeling of stumbling into the wilderness, the shape of the lake prompting me to explore. Two lonely people in a lonely place finding love thanks to me was a sweet, simple little idea that worked wonderfully; a small but significant stitch in the rich tapestry of the game.
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