EVERY Zelda Reference in Tears of the Kingdom / Breath of the Wild’s Location Names

[@mrsylar91]

Most lakes/ponds appear to be named after past companions. You mentioned tatl, navi and ciela. There is also Zelo Pond which is an anagram of Ezlo from Minish Cap.

[@erikwheeler831]

Very nice catch!

[@AskMia411]

I always thought midla woods were a reference to midna

[@mrsylar91]

@@AskMia411 could be. But I think it's more connected with ginner and retsam woods as a reference to beginner, middle and master.

[@americanalligator1284]

@@mrsylar91 I gave your first comment its 100th like. 😉

[@norad_74]

On the Great Plateau, the Eastern Abbey is called "Ruines du temple de l'est" in french, it can be translated as "Ruins of the Eastern Temple" which is a reference to the Eastern Palace of A Link to the Past.

[@jackreinhold3156]

Oui ! Moi aussi j’avais cru qu’il l’avait oublié ;)

[@campanita4215]

Another location missed by the english translation : Proxim Bridge is "Pont de Prokis" in french, like Link's hometown in Spirit Tracks (it should be called "Aboda Bridge"). Same in the original in japonese (Moyori). Also from Spirit Tracks near this bridge is the Whistling Hill.

[@TailsFan-ix3hx]

That's pretty cool to know. Know any others?

[@vertluc]

In French we also have Tabanta region that is a reference to Tabanta Marsh in Minish Cap know for you as Castor Wilds And Mont Hebra is from A Link to The Past/Between World, light World equivalent of Death Mountain

[@FlameShroom]

And a link between worlds

[@humulos]

I think Hebra itself is worth pointing out as well: Hebra is the name of the mountain in the Light World of the Japanese version of A Link to the Past, while the term Death Mountain is used only for the Dark World version (as opposed to the English release which called both variations Death Mountain). Great video as always!

[@davisbowe8668]

Wow, good catch. I totally forgot about that. Surprised Zeltik missed that one.

[@silverreaps6803]

thanks for the insight

[@ericpeterson6520]

There's also Hebra's Hill in FSA, which is at the foot of Death Mountain There's even a demo version of OoT for made for Spaceworld '97 that was dumped recently, and in it one of the NPCs calls Death Mountain "Mount Hebra"

[@humulos]

@@ericpeterson6520 oh wow, I didn't know about the Spaceworld Demo calling it that as well, good find!

[@lukesoup27]

Yeah I remember that. I think that's also how it was referred to in the manga

[@thebatmary5954]

In case anyone’s wondering, I tried to count… I think it’s 146 locations he just explained (with accompanying pictures and graphics) in 15 minutes and 40 seconds. Well done, good sir!

[@alfredo.zauce1892]

And only one of those was from Spirit Tracks. Tragic.

[@marcneef795]

Less than 15:40, if you subtract the intro. 😮

[@dillonhaviland5491]

I think it's interesting that both Hebra and Gerudo dessert has so few references to the past games, whilst every other region is full of them. I think it speaks to the cultural differences between the two races that live there and the rest of Hyrule. The Gorons, Zora, and Hylians had these myths and legends for centuries so, of course, they'd name places after characters from their favorite bedtime stories. Meanwhile, the Rito and Gerudo might be relatively new to the folklore (The Gerudo due to Isolation and Rito due to being new to Hyrule in general) so they wouldn't think to name any of their landmarks after these figures of the past. At least that's my theory.

[@chickenmilk120]

Also, the gerudo have had the problem of Ganon being not only from their race and a large part of their history, but also the main cause of problems for them and others. Maybe the landmarks aren't named because they would only bring back the thought of him.

[@dillonhaviland5491]

@@chickenmilk120 I had the same thought! I just didn't want to turn my comment into a thesis

[@Heyyyyitsanya]

This is a hella good observation in the adult time line didn’t they genocide the geurdo due to Ganon being from there? And since botw in thousands of yrs after the timeline this makes sense

[@christopherrumbold9178]

Another big part of it could be that, the Gerudo were only a major part of Ocarina, Majora and 4 sword adventures, and even in those games, only had 3 named characters between them all, all 3 named in Ocarina. The Rito only appeared in Wind waker, as far As I know, and all of theire main characters have a reference in place. Wheras the Koroks are Very OVERREPRESENTED, being they only ever played a part in WW, they just had alot of named Koroks to take names from.

[@nameforcomments4092]

It's also notable that the Rito have the least knowledge of their past champion and his era. It's an established thing that they aren't as steeped in history as the other cultures of Hyrule, and it's likely largely because they are also established as having the shortest lifespans of the races.

[@JeremyMotifs]

Today I learned “Spectacle Rock” refers to glasses, and not the formations just being “a spectacle to behold…”

[@lordofuzkulak8308]

@Southstreet - why not both? Maybe the inuniverse cartographer that named it had a fondness for puns. ;)

[@BomberDX97]

That's what I always assumed as well

[@GabePuratekuta]

Two things can be real.

[@chadd990]

Yes, many younger gamers may be unaware of the pun in the orginal zelda game, so it's a little funny to see how they interpret the name when they've only seen it in BotW.

[@remixtheidiot5771]

Yeah, no one really calls glasses "spectacles" anymore. I only learned recently in my life... Well, quite a few years ago by now actuallu that spectacles also refers to glasses lol.

[@uffevonlauterbach]

In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords for the GBA, there was a location called Talus Cave. We've never seen what the Talus looked like up until The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out.

[@enderborn6860]

oh the stone talus right?

[@uffevonlauterbach]

@@enderborn6860 Yup. I doubt we'll ever get a remake of Four Swords, but if they were to remake it, I'd hope to see the Talus in that game.

[@west3Dgaming]

Also really bothers me that we have a Talus Hill in Breath of the Wild... but there is no Talus there

[@lindseylindsey9200]

@@west3Dgaming Maybe the hill *is* the Talus… you’d need more people than just Link walking on it to wake it up

[@west3Dgaming]

@@uffevonlauterbach there is a really dope 2d talus in Cadence of Hyrule

[@OnlyPassingHere]

Here's one you might have missed: Proxim Bridge, who is supposed to be a reference to the starting village in Spirit Tracks. The Zelda wiki has the following to say about it: "Proxim Bridge derives its name from proximity. "Proxim" is a mistranslation of its Japanese name, which shared its name with Aboda Village. In Japanese, Aboda Village was named after a pun which means "Neighboring Village". This connection was missed by the localization team." I hope this was helpful.

[@realoctolink64]

Or what if it's a reference to the fairy named Proxi in Hyrule Warriors? (The original game)

[@Karalora]

@@realoctolink64 That's what I thought given how it's relatively close to that cluster of lakes named after fairy companions

[@realoctolink64]

@@Karalora Oh yeah, well then I think that's definitely what it's a reference to

[@campanita4215]

In French we have Pont de Prokis, like Link's hometown in Spirit Tracks, then I assume it's a nod to this game. Proxim Bridge is also close to Komolo Lake and Whistling Hill.

[@sanholo9494]

Yes in German the bridge has the exact name as the starting town from Spirit Tracks

[@AttackingTucans]

The editing on this was masterful. Thank you for such beautiful Zelda documentation.

[@greenlightning6803]

Hi tyler

[@mossytrafficcone]

Couldn't have said it better

[@maurihaara1821]

Just yesterday I was thinking that someone should make a video of every map reference in BOTW, Zeltik you never disappoint!

[@GabePuratekuta]

What now, though? Matching up the maps of past Zelda games to BotW?

[@Erifire]

Same here

[@brosephchillaxatron5440]

I was thinking this exact thing

[@matthewhughes7938]

There's also Molida Island nearby the Lineback, Zauz and Mercay islands, Molida being another island from Phantom Hourglass

[@betapi1726]

A neat thing here is that the way the names sometimes seem to shorten or jumble up reflects what often happens to place names in real life; as places are conquered or just naturally over time, places get renamed and shortened. Eorforwic gradually became became York. Σικελία (Sikelós) became Sicilia when the Romans conquered it, and later Sicily.

[@tlaloqq]

Old but it’s still Sicilia in Sicilia lol. Sicily is the English transliteration. It’s like saying zhongguo now China

[@anonymousfellow8879]

Slight correction on the Forest of Time (2:43): It’s actually a reference to Oracle of Ages where Link inadvertantly breaks the barrier to the Forest of Time where the oracle of time Nayru has barricaded herself -which, yes, Nayru herself and various other aspects of Ages and Seasons borrow heavily from ideas first introduced in OoT, like Din, Farore, and Nayru as Golden Goddesses vs Oracles; as well as Sea Zora alongside Classic 2D Zora (River Zora) and Gorons, deku scrubs, and Maku vs Deku Trees. But, that’s about where things end, and Forest of Time is an actual pre-existing location name as-is much like the Lost Woods, Death Mountain, and Lake Hylia-

[@GabePuratekuta]

Why'd you want to omit that last part?

[@thepsyshyster]

A reference lost in translation is the Tabantha Frontier. The name comes from the Japanese name for Minish Cap's Castor Wilds, タバンタ秘境, Tabanta Wilderness (similar names are used in German and French translations of Minish Cap)

[@LeviathaninWaves]

Hebra is the Japanese name for Death Mountain in A Link to the Past (Light World). Tabantha is the Japanese name for Castor Wilds in Minish Cap.

[@mattflammger4396]

I never knew the Japanese Name for the Castor Wilds. I love me some Minish Cap, thank you for this!

[@delphinebriand1554]

also in french, german and spanish as far as i'm aware

[@DarkMirria1]

@@mattflammger4396 That’s pretty cool! Could that possibly mean that BotW’s Hebra Mountain is Minish Cap’s Mount Crenel? 🤔

[@NyanCato.42]

@@DarkMirria1 Mt. Crenel is english name, other languages translation would be "Mount Gongol"

[@DarkMirria1]

@@NyanCato.42 I’m not talking about the name, I’m talking about the location.

[@LonumStraws]

One thing i noticed about the digdogg suspension bridge is that there’s one larger circle pillar and three smaller ones, like how the second digdogger you fight in Zelda NES splits into 3 smaller versions when you use the recorder, I don’t know if that’s intentional but if it is I love it.

[@CZsWorld]

This is a video I've wanted to watch ever since Breath of the Wild came out. GREAT work!

[@Karalora]

A potential one you missed is Rabia Plain (where the Crowned Beast Shrine Quest takes place). It's a bit more aslant than most of the character references, but I've always thought it was named after Ravio from ALBW.

[@revalentinemashups510]

There's a thing in Japanese translations where sometimes b's and v's are mixed up-not zelda, but an easy example is samus' varia suit being the "baria" or "barrier" suit in its initial appearance. Hence Rabia plain could have been 'Ravia', a much clearer reference.

[@Karalora]

@@revalentinemashups510 Exactly!

[@rabiahbosriali4218]

I find it hilarious that this plain has my name.

[@The_Twilight_Triforce]

I always thought that too! The names look so similar!

[@saksagan1436]

Rabia is a Turkish name

[@majora6479]

Amazing work as always but there is one possible four swords reference. The largely forested area of Faron is referred to as, “The sea of trees” by Misko in one of the armor side quests. There is a stage in four swords the goes by that exact name. I know it’s not exactly a place name but it’s still a very sneaky reference. Anyway, awesome video!

[@CrazyRiverOtter]

I was just thinking "it would have been very easy to throw a Sea of Trees reference somewhere"

[@Borgdrohne13]

02:50 I'm pretty sure, Forest of Time referred to the Forest of Time from Oracle of Ages (the first area, you visit).

[@samueljo7910]

Thank you for pointing out Mabe Village (or it's ruins). Also, in Creating a Champion, the book's description about it says "watching the town disappear in a flash of light from across Hyrule field must have made it seem like a fleeting dream," further emphasising its connection to Link's Awakening.

[@kolbecha]

This may have been Zeltiks most impressive piece of work I can't imagine how long it must have taken to make this.

[@ShadyForest]

At the end of the video, he said he used the Zelda Wiki to find all of the references. So I'm assuming he used a list from the site to form a script and then added his own commentary.

[@lonestarr1490]

@@ShadyForest But the Zelda wiki list doesn't differentiate between game references and others, as far as I can tell.

[@MichaelAarons1701]

You missed the fact that while Saria got a lake, Mido got a swamp which is to actually make reference to _Zelda II: The Adventure of Link_ in which there’s the Swamp of Midoro which is nearby the coastal town of Mido and north of the river town of Saria. In fact Saria, Ruto, Mido, Rauru, Nabooru, and Darunia were al towns in that game before being used as characters in _Ocarina of Time._

[@TRquiet]

I wasn’t expecting the music from GoldenEye 64, but it’s always nice to get a blast from the past.

[@AzurePip]

This is something I love about Breath of the Wild. With all of the references to past games and characters, it's a perfect love letter for Zelda fans. Here's hoping Breath of the Wild's sequel throws in references like these.

[@poeticdavide]

I'm hoping it does it even better :') ❤️

[@winterlogical]

Considering it uses the same map, I wouldn't be surprised if we get a multi-tiered world map. The bottom obviously would include all these ground locations already described in BotW so I would think they'd keep the references. And then all the sky islands will get their own map (most likely).

[@HyruleGamer]

Just got round to fully watching this, what a beautiful piece of work sir! Lovely editing, great pacing and all round really enjoyable video! 🙌

[@kolbecha]

What's up Hyrule Gamer

[@alder9783]

The fact that he went through the trouble to find all of them is very impressive even if they left some the amount of time this would take is amazing

[@ShadyForest]

At the end of the video, he said he used the Zelda Wiki to find all of the references. So I'm assuming he used a list from the site to form a script and then added his own commentary.

[@GabePuratekuta]

@@ShadyForest Which there's nothing wrong with doing.

[@chadd990]

@@GabePuratekuta and there's nothing wrong with pointing it out either

[@jeffreyforsberg5144]

Brynna Plain can also be seen as a reference to the Cane/Staff of Brynna from LttP. Though Labrynna could, itself, be something of a reference or derivation of that to begin with.

[@UncleButt]

That's the Cane of Byrna, not Brynna. Still a plausible theory though

[@ray_sann]

Always a great day when Zeltik uploads. Great job as always. By the way, loved the random "Runway" theme from Goldeneye for N64 around 7:20

[@marcellot7555]

That one triggerd my to look in the comments if anyone else noticed it. Made me smile.

[@Ira-ccole]

This is such a massive project that probably blew us all away. (I know it blew me away!) Thanks for all the great Zelda content over the years! Can’t wait to see what’s next!

[@Junipart]

On the great plateau, the Eastern Abbey has the same name in Japanese as the Eastern Palace from ALTTP. Also, while they were mentioned in the video, I want to add that Mido Swamp and Rauru Settlement, in addition to being named after the characters, also call back to Midoro Swamp and Rauru Village from AOL.

[@Junipart]

@@breezeshadowfire161 Adventure of Link

[@thetokutickler]

Does anyone else look at the Breath of the Wild map and think "without the monsters I totally wanna just live there"?!

[@taiyaki_emu]

yes

[@TheZebbga]

Maybe visit. I mean there is too many things I would miss from the real world.

[@GabePuratekuta]

Yeah. But, knowing me, I'd immediately wish I was in Gensokyo.

[@ortherner]

yes

[@mattmcd2803]

But you need the monsters to keep things interesting :)

[@daltonfreeman6551]

honestly, even though the places in hebra reference bird names, many of the Rito in previous zelda games also have names the reference birds, and so do many of the Hylians in Skyward Sword. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some overlap to be found there

[@arcaniade6607]

Not linked to the topic of the video but thank you sooo much for putting English subtitles, it is really helpful when you don't have English as your native language.

[@songoku9348]

After watching this, I think it would be best to agree that all 3 timelines just remerge into one linear path. At some point, the people in Hyrule heard of these places throughout time and named locations after them.

[@lordofuzkulak8308]

@Son Goku - that’s pretty much my fan headcanon currently; think it’s would make great basis for a game where Link (or Links) hop between the different timelines to save things, resulting in the branches all getting merged. Could even throw in Easter eggs to other ‘timelines’ like the 80s cartoon or the various manga with glimpses of those being timelines that also get merged in at the end, just not visited by the player in any detail.

[@GermanCricket13]

I think this is one of the reasons why Nintendo should just make Hyrule Warriors canon. The convergence of the many timelines in that game would explain all the impossible references in BOTW.

[@Zephrese]

@@GermanCricket13 People who say Hyrule Warriors should be canon clearly didn't play - or at least finish - the game. lol

[@GermanCricket13]

@@Zephrese lol you’re right about that. I didn’t finish the game

[@wilsongoodfellow8113]

this is pretty much confirmed, but I feel like we need a game that takes place before botw to show us how it happened (not AOC)

[@coopsaf]

I think a cool idea is to theorize what happened to previous Zelda items in their respective games. Like what would’ve happened to the hookshots? The Fairy bow in OoT? The Ocarina of Time after Majora’s Mask? The Gale Boomerang from Twilight Princess? It’s just an interesting thought to think about what ever happened to those items

[@KiryuuYoshiya]

minish cap is my favorite 2d zelda, so knowing it gets the love and attention it deserves makes me so happy. top tier content as always, zeltik, i didnt catch even half these references in my own playthrough

[@mossy_shell]

I love Breath of the Wild so much for all of the secrets hiding in it

[@bluemannequin]

Can we just take time to acknowledge the brilliant edition of the video, the hours it should’ve taken to research for everything and to be put together in such a smooth way. I really love your work Zeltik!

[@alimtimm7355]

0:17 the best shot of botw’s landscape I’ve ever seen

[@ToxicPea]

11:20 YO!!!! I remember visiting that place and getting attacked by a ludicrous amount of Octorocks. It all makes sense now!

[@nostalgiagamer9452]

I love this game so much you can really see how they put all their love of The series into this game

[@WinterLass]

Dude. I never realized just how many references there were. This is insane. And i love how you zoom in and out on the areas.

[@levibelvedere1452]

Really appreciated the sliding in of a track from Goldeneye. Subtle. Great video :-)

[@Ryuujin1078]

Breath of the Wild is such an amazing game that years later people are finding out what makes and breaks the game!! Make me wonder how much details/Easter eggs the sequel will have

[@AncientGamerChris]

You are one of the few creators who always get an instant like from me! Your vids are always so interesting, and you can tell how much work you put into them! Kudos!

[@GkERvNBtZL]

I always thought Carok Bridge was just a reference to Koroks. Coincidentally there are an extensive amount of Koroks that can be found around that bridge.

[@sarojandongol1482]

I never got a chance to play any of the classic zelda games so ever since I recognized tal tal mountain and mabe village ruins I wanted to see a video like this. And somehow missed a zeltik vid for over a year.

[@ShaneMurphyHendrickson]

I love the music from GoldenEye 007 that started playing at 7:20.

[@HikaruCh.]

7:20 Unexpected Runway music from GoldenEye 007 👀 This game is amazing, i can watch entire documentaries of it yet those can't give me spoilers of how to clear the game ... this is a true Legend of a game we've had; i can't say how much i love the Zelda franchise ♡ Also there's a lil' curiosity that came to my mind just now: Maybe 'Rito' is named the inverse of 'Tori' (鳥) which is bird in japanese (also i dunno if its explained already so please pardon me) Great video as always Zeltik

[@TakumiJoyconBoyz]

I was thinking the same thing for "Tori". I had to check and see if someone else mentioned it because it seems highly likely.

[@SebStrife]

I’ve thought this before, but it’s a shame that none of the locations are named after our hero Link, who has saved Hyrule so many times. I wonder what the reason is for that. No direct nod to the name Zelda either, just Hylia. Did the developers think it would be weird to find locations using the same names as the main characters? Surely they deserve the recognition though, even just a place called Hero’s Peak or something like that.

[@west3Dgaming]

Well the Kings do get named things, including Rhoam. Blame the patriarchy. Also historically the main character is fluid/ whatever you want his name to be. This is the first true "Link" that couldn't be named something else, and he is always known as "The Hero" so naming something Link wouldn't make since as an homage to the character

[@west3Dgaming]

Here's one for you. Retsam Forest, Retsam is an anagram for Master, which is what Fi calls Link in Skyward Sword. And there are other Fi references in game. Seems small, but also I doubt they unintentionally added an anagram.

[@SuperFanatic22731]

@@west3Dgaming Retsam is master backwards lol

[@Platonic69]

This is just such top tier content, beautifully edited, well researched, narrated by that smooth voice with the silly accent. I love this channel

[@bibbagamer1284]

Always makes my day when you upload

[@thejoevandotcom]

The amount of work, regardless of research- but with editing, must have taken so long! Huge props dude, you killed it 🙏

[@hikareare]

When you go east from the Great Plataeu and follow the path, the first bridge you cross is called Proxim Bridge which is Link's home town in Spirit Tracks (I'm sorry for my english)

[@freshlysqueez3d]

Love the Goldeneye music! Runway... What memories.

[@knamliss]

I had no idea there were so many references. The production value on this video is insane. I'm hooked and instantly click every vid that you come out with lmao.

[@thaumana8489]

Eagerly waited for the new and first Zeltik video of 2022! No matter if with or without the Zelda wiki, it is still quite an impressive amount of detail work and I appreciate every single minute of this video! I wonder if those name references have any deeper meaning to the interconnecting history in terms of the in-game/world lore or if we should just see them as mere meta easter egg references. The former would be probably more interesting, but it might be hard to get a logical explanation for how all the name refs from all the different timelines got gathered in one scenario. Anyway, always great to see how more and more layers are added to the world of BOTW with each new analysis... Thank you for your great contribution to the fandom!

[@eliasb22]

Love the GoldenEye music that kicks in at 7:21. Awesome video.

[@supremeoverlorde2109]

Crazy how many references there are! I knew about quite a few of them, but there are plenty I never noticed while playing the game.

[@matthewa9911]

Gotta love the goldeneye ost that randomly started playing lmao. Love it

[@ReavoEnd]

GoldenEye 007 jam starts at 7:20 Since we all know that's what we're really here for

[@TheWither129]

Another little thing i noticed about Lake Hylia, its shape has always been inconsistent but in BotW it fairly closely resembles the original Lake Hylia from the first zelda game, even having an island housing a “dungeon” you must raft (or glide or swim) to, however the other island housing the first dungeon isnt present and the bridge goes all the way across, though there are a couple small rocks down there. The Hylia River flows in down from the north as well, and there is indeed a river that flows into the lake from the north in TLoZ. It’s not one to one, but it’s pretty cool how close it is, and given the inspiration drawn from TLoZ, i dont think it’s a coincidence.

[@catriamflockentanz]

Something subtle in this video that I really appreciate is your choice of fitting background music throughout the video.

[@MisterTroglodyte]

Don’t forget the visual references on the map itself - Lake Hylia and the Hylia River are very similar to the layout of the lake and River in the original game, complete with islands. Hylia River bends in the same 90 degree way as the original, with the falls (with secret area beyond) in the original missing now at robred drop off. As someone who’s been playing since the original LoZ the map similarities were among the first references I noticed. 🙂 Edit: Hylia river as it bends east into squabble river, rather. I’d imagine the rock falls were from the dueling peaks above.

[@Withbot12]

I recently got into Zelda lore and starting watching any and every video by you I can, so glad this was the first upload I got to witness! Amazing as always!

[@1llusi0n2]

I’m very late, but I think the fact that every single game is referenced multiple times throughout breath of the wilds map further drives home the point that it’s a collection of all the games timelines merging into one

[@RMFHGaming]

I knew someone would do this and I’m so glad it was you. Very fitting for the legend himself to cover all the map references in botw. Great video Zeltik 👏

[@sambajane]

It's like a riff on the idea that the same legend or myth told by many different people would never match up; teller A would say that Lake Hylia was here, for example, but teller B would be completely certain that it was on the other end of the map. Another intriguing possibility is that, since this game apparently has all three timelines converging, it's like the worlds of each Zelda game ALSO converged and everything from every previous universe coexists in some sort of post-world.

[@zmasterrahlg]

Great editing on this video. Always quality content.

[@HDGamerofficial]

Love this video, whenever I play I like to decipher all the names I can, it’s great to see all of them and so many I never would’ve known!

[@chompythebeast]

Very well researched and, as others have pointed out, edited. High quality data, synthesized in a very consumable and pleasant fashion. Thank you for producing this, you are contributing here to a veritable body of scholarship

[@mrv1713]

If one peels back the layer of names from the Hyrule map in Breath of the Wild, hidden geographic locations from past Zelda games can be found too. It's almost like the location names in BotW are from those who resettled the lands of Hyrule after the timelines converged. If one goes to r/zelda on Reddit and searches for the post " Ocarina of Time Locations in Breath of the Wild" there's an explanation of how to find The Great Deku Tree and Kokiri Forest from OoT in BotW. It also explains how the Rito we see in BotW could have evolved from the Zora's in the Childhood Timeline. The only things I would add to that particular theory is that Whistler's Hill in BotW would have been the location of Lon Lon Ranch in OoT. Maybe the ranch was relocated to be closer to the newly built Hyrule Castle after the one in OoT was destroyed. There is a horse stable on the south side of Whistler's Hill, and it could be a nod from the game developers about the history of that location. Also, in regards to the theory I reference to, that would mean the Akkala Tower/Citadel would have been built in the same area as the Gerudo Fortress in OoT. It makes sense another defensive structure would be built where another one once stood thousands of years prior. It would prove there is something militarily advantageous about that geographic location for the Gerudo in OoT, or the Hyrule Kingdom before the events of BotW. Anyways, I'm sure there's still more fun and amazing things to discover in Breath of the Wild.

[@ARentz07]

That Reddit post was completely out of left field... I highly doubt it was true in any way.

[@mrv1713]

@@ARentz07 if you have the game you can see if it adds up or not. That's what I did. The Thundra Plateau and those giant dragon blood trees are in the same layout as the Kokiri Forest in OoT. Plus there's cavities in the BotW location that are in the same places where the Kokiri tree homes would have been. The cavities in the ground are like the footprints of the Kokiri tree houses that once stood there over 10,000 years prior. There's actually a Korok to be found in the cavity spot where Link's tree house would have stood too; which is quite the stack of coincidences if it's not true. There's an old saying for hikers "2 rocks does not make a duck." This means two stacked stones could just be a coincidence, 3 or more signals human intent. And that's what we see at the Thundra Plateau and the area nearby with the giant dragon blood trees. It makes sense too that both the Sheikah and the Zonai would pay special attention to that location (encompassed by Zonai structures and the Sheikah building a shrine there as well). I get being suspicious, but I went to the spots stated in the theory and compared them to the different game maps that's referenced too.

[@xayn_589]

This games map is so big that I didn't even notice these references

[@selif8381]

As usual, you deliver for your fans Zeltik, thank you for the great content as always. Any chance you will make another story video, like you did with Skyword Sword. I would love to see OoT, Twilight, or Link to The Past. Cheers!

[@CH4NNELZERO]

Kudos for making this. It details an immense amount of research and knowledge. Planning and editing it must have been extremely difficult.

[@goldenfalcon75]

I have no words to describe how high quality and downright amazing the editing in this video was, god damn.

[@zachken5399]

Eiji Aonuma to the Zelda games when making location references: "I love you all equally." "Except for you Four Swords."

[@kuks0453]

7:00 Omg I just noticed if you totate Eventide 90°, it sort of creates the shape of koholint, and the art style of the map makes it look as if there was a giant egg on top

[@yorgusguitar]

Been waiting for this for a long time! Thanks for all the time you take investigating this, great video!

[@circa81]

Thanks for this, I always wanted somone to do this but I never thought anyone would go to the tremendous effort needed to catalog all of these names.

[@DUC939]

I know a couple -Navi and south Navi lake -geopora path -Drona mountain (Drona is a korok) -and isn't there like a lost woods on great plateau?

[@ShadowSkyX]

Forest of spirits, yeah

[@DUC939]

Oh yeah

[@delphinebriand1554]

10:34 : near those minish cap location, there is a pound where in french its name "étang de Xelo" (so zelo pond in english), which is a reference to Exelo, Ezlo's french name. The Tabantha Frontier region is based on the Castor Wilds from Minish Cap, its japanese's, french's, german's and spanish's name is Tabanta. Like other people already mentioned, Hebra is a location in ALTTP, in the japanese version.

[@ash_tray]

YES! Thank you 😌 I’ve seriously wanted to see videos like this. Please make more reference videos. I know generally of the Zelda games but botw has my heart.

[@paulypipes1]

I'm glad I found your channel before Botw2. I bet your just as anticipated like the rest of us to make videos about the sequal. I can't wait to watch them!

[@mrsylar91]

Close to Tuft Mountain is Temto Hill - a reference to creating Totems in Triforce Heroes

[@alexpine8295]

I’m returning to the video that introduced me to your channel, love your content Zeltik! You always have the best secrets/references videos!

[@cymraegandconfused9721]

one place I think is worth pointing out is Yambi Lake. While its name (especially in Japanese) is based on the Yamabiko, a type of mountain yokai, the English name also seems to reference Queen Ambi. Yambi Lake is located on Tuft Mountain along with the true Lover's Pond, and Ambi was known for waiting patiently for her one true love... it _may_ be a coincidence, but it's neat anyway. (you also missed out Molida Island when talking about Phantom Hourglass' references. Also potentially Boné Pond; while it is just 'bone', the accent could be referencing Dampé, who tbf _does_ have a connection with bones, being a gravekeeper and all)

[@dallayg]

Gotta say the editing in this is very very good

[@liliumgalaxy]

I’m a massive Zelda nerd but istg 40% of these names my brain just didn’t make the connection until now. Great job once again 👏🏻

[@rosjivenus1355]

Wow,today's graphics and video from ingame locations is fire Plus,damn,I know by experience that by the end of the game and by playing it very often,you remember almost everytime what is where and you notice references easily,but wow,that's a lot of work to do

[@ZomCon7.62x39]

Love seeing nods to the Adventure of Link. Excellent video, thanks a bunch!✌

[@kadenstimpson3167]

My favorite reference to a past game is just outside the shrine of resurrection. A sword lies on top of a tall rock, surrounded by water, mirroring the title screen of the original game

[@budweiserfroggs]

The content on this channel always amazes me. Wow. What a journey I've had with 32 years of playing Zelda so far.

[@dnk2040]

12:03 “Lake Darman is a reference to an ancient hero who protected Hyrule years before Skyward Sword takes place”

[@zanewillett4656]

Love the videos. I found something that I haven’t seen covered yet, but in the scene where link collapses from the guardians, and you hear the master sword chime, Fi’s theme is slowly playing in the background. Never saw a video on it so I figured you could maybe see for yourself and add it in a new video or something

[@west3Dgaming]

Hemaar's Descent in Gerudo Highlands could also be a reference to Helmasaur King from A Link to the Past. It is a shortened version with some letters missing.

[@yuantheblue]

There were quite a few names I picked up on, and just as many I had not! Never would have thought to look back to Korok names, for instance.

[@Leniathan]

Been wanting a video like this - and I really appreciate you adding pics of the things being referenced!

[@orikku]

Been replaying botw in master mode recently after playing some of the other games in the series, and I noticed some of these references too, but I never realized how many there were. Thank you for this video!