The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was exactly what the series needed to be when it was released. Prior entries such as Skyward Sword and Phantom Hourglass continued the same repetitive Zelda formula without any real substantial changes other than controls and art style. Breath of the Wild instead ditched the traditional linear structure and opted for a giant open world. It was a revolutionary title that challenged what a Zelda game could be, but it still makes clever references to its roots. It might not be instantly apparent, but Breath of the Wild has some subtle references to A Link to the Past.

One of the Zelda traditions that Breath of the Wild didn't kick to the curb was the inclusion of the Master Sword. It's a legendary blade used for destroying darkness that was introduced in A Link to the Past. In that original game, Link finds the blade within a pedestal, but its location varies from game to game. It turns out that Breath of the Wild's Master Sword is actually in the same location resting within a pedestal in the forest.

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Fans have since made the connection that these two Master Sword locations seem rather similar to each other. A Reddit user by the name of SmolSourCat posted an image comparing the two locations to each other side by side. After looking at them like this, it seems like the Breath of the Wild developers were directly referencing the Master Sword's location from A Link to the Past. Both pedestals are surrounded by three flowers, which are located in the same spots relative to the pedestal itself. They're even the same color which likely means this is a reference to A Link to the Past.

Link standing next to his horse

While this is certainly one of the more interesting references to the Super Nintendo classic in Breath of the Wild, it's not the only one. Diehard Zelda fans might remember the strange formation of stones known as Spectacle Rock in A Link to the Past. It makes an appearance in Breath of the Wild's overworld, so it's most likely another reference to A Link to the Past. Link's Tunic of the Wild can be obtained after completing all of the game's shrines. It's reminiscent of Link's outfit in A Link to the Past and the other classic Zelda titles. Additionally, Lynels only appear in A Link to the Past's timeline so their appearance in Breath of the Wild could be a subtle reference to either one.

The aforementioned references appear within multiple Zelda titles in the Fallen Hero timeline, so it is possible that they're just references to classic Zelda as a whole. Breath of the Wild's focus was bringing the series back to the original's explorative roots, so it would make sense that the developers would reference those titles as well. However, the Master Sword's location clearly references A Link to the Past and it adds some interesting lore to the original game. Those flowers surrounding the pedestal in Breath of the Wild are known as Silent Princesses so this implies that they could have been growing there since A Link to the Past. This might not actually be the case, but it's still fun to see the developers make a visual callback to a classic in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

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