I began chasing down all 900 Korok seeds, satisfied that it was a idiot’s errand. I imagined the method as a Sisyphean process. All I might do was mindlessly acquire seed after seed after seed after… seed. I assumed amassing them was for sickos and die-hard followers solely. Nonetheless, a number of weeks into my chase — which nonetheless isn’t over — I’m now satisfied it’s truly the best technique to get pleasure from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Now hear me out: I’m not saying that individuals who don’t go after the Korok seeds aren’t “actual followers.” Removed from it. Accumulating seeds is a totally completely different sort of gameplay from the mainline quest and the boss fights that got here with it, which have been difficult at the same time as a seasoned Zelda fan who loves 3D action-combat video games. In distinction to that, amassing the seeds has been a pleasant and leisurely technique to revisit Breath of the Wild in 2023.
Like every good hero, Hyperlink has a couple of instruments at his disposal to tackle this explicit problem. You’ll undoubtedly want Revali’s Gale in the event you don’t wish to spend copious quantities of time climbing. Moreover, I beat all of the DLC for the sport, so I had some necessary gadgets like Grasp Cycle Zero (Hyperlink’s tricked-out motorbike), a Korok masks that shakes when a seed is close by, and the Journey Medallion, which lets you place a teleportation waypoint anyplace on the map you’d like. I additionally, happily, had roughly 200 arrows beginning out, since you must play a minigame the place you shoot fast-moving balloons to get lots of the seeds. However among the many instruments, an important useful resource I used was a web based map that saves and tracks my progress.
Type of like with taking part in Elden Ring, you want to be able to snort first and get pissed off second. It nonetheless sort of sucks you can’t climb nicely when it’s raining. Some seeds really feel like a real problem, whereas others make it really feel just like the builders are secretly laughing at you personally, as you bend over backward to earn a single measly Korok seed. For instance, in Lurelin Village you want to throw a rock on a roof so as to full a form and get a seed. It sounds so plainly easy and straightforward, however it’s not.
The highest of the constructing is fairly excessive, so an everyday toss gained’t reduce it. I attempted a number of completely different strategies to get the seed up there. I first reduce all of the bushes down from sure angles within the hopes they’d land on the roof and type a bridge (they didn’t). I then tried to make use of Stasis and principally play rock golf and get one up high (the angles weren’t proper). I then tried to make use of the Stasis methodology besides I might tee up the rock on a stump and hearth it from there. I attempted each stump however no mixture of angles labored for me. I considered utilizing Octo Balloons however didn’t have any and didn’t wish to go get them for a single Korok seed. (I in all probability ought to have, although.) Lastly, I walked additional away and launched from a hill and went for an extended shot somewhat than a excessive one. The rock lastly landed and I overtly cheered from the solitude of my desk.
Seeds that require that degree of tinkering with Breath of the Wild’s sandbox components are fewer and additional between. That degree of problem actually made me admire how chill the overwhelming majority of Korok seed looking seemed, by comparability. For probably the most half, a variety of seed looking concerned informal meandering and appreciation of the surroundings. I might go right into a area intending to gather particular seeds, however by the point I received one seed, I’d be near the subsequent one. I used to be capable of simply type of chain my hunt collectively.
Whereas taking part in by means of the primary recreation questline, there weren’t many landmark names that I remembered. I recalled some areas like Dueling Peaks due to its early relevance within the recreation, however actually not a lot exterior the primary landmarks like Hyrule Fort, the Temple of Time, Demise Mountain, and so forth. However as I chased down seeds, I began to actually admire that the builders named each peak and valley, each creek and meadow. The smallest of meadows may comprise shallow puddles of water that replicate the sunshine with a blinding shimmer. Accumulating the Korok seeds illuminated the beautiful degree of element of the Breath of the Wild’s surroundings.
I don’t wish to underestimate the sheer period of time it takes. Even after I take heed to audiobooks or podcasts as I play, this grind can be brain-numbing and agonizing if I attempted to squeeze it into a decent timeframe, or on some type of deadline. It’s a frightening process, however it’s one which I feel the builders need gamers to achieve. When you discover a Korok, it’s marked it on the map. So in the event you get to the top and — Hylia forbid — you’re lacking a couple of seeds, you possibly can technically return by means of in your map and cross reference those you’ve collected (even when that’s a little bit too administrative for my very own style).
It’s straightforward to argue that the outcome doesn’t appear to warrant the trouble. Should you acquire all 900 seeds you’re rewarded with a golden turd, basically. It’s truly absurd, but in addition, that’s what I feel is gorgeous about chasing the seeds. It’s amassing for amassing’s sake. It’s for folks whose brains itch except they hit that 100-percent full mark, and people content material to meander by means of the huge and various terrain of Hyrule. It turns Breath of the Wild into Nintendo’s most gorgeous strolling simulator but.