Since the 2017 action-adventure The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a non-linear open-world exploration game, there are many hidden messages and easter eggs scattered across the map that can easily be missed. Even if a player has completed the game multiple times, they may have still missed some secrets, which proves how enormous and detailed the game is.
Because of this, many fans are finding secrets years later that even players who have been enjoying the game since 2017 have never seen before. As Link explores the kingdom of Hyrule, players will still be amazed by what they can find.
Cooking Oils at the Gerudo Canyon Stable
At the Gerudo Canyon Stable, Link can meet a man named Sesami who has recently lost his friends. After a group of monsters attacked them, Sesami immediately ran away and left his friends behind, and they have been missing ever since. Link can accept the side quest "Missing in Action" to rescue the rest of the group.
Interestingly, the other friends are named Oliff, Flaxel, Canolo, and Palme. Along with Sesami, these names are all referencing different oils: Sesame Oil, Olive Oil, Flax Oil, Canola Oil, and Palm Oil.
Sagessa's Hidden Dialogue
At the Dueling Peaks Stable, Link will encounter an NPC named Sagessa who will ask Link if he knows about Elixirs. If Link doesn't know about Elixers, then she will explain how to make them and what they are used for, and then she will give him a Hasty Elixir.
But, if Link tells her that he already knows about Elixirs, she has two possible dialogue responses depending on the time of day. During the night when she is near the Ha Dahamar Shrine, she will be surprised and decide to keep admiring the shrine. If it is a clear day, she will remark that she is a little terrified by how many twins live at this particular stable.
Olkin's Secret Dialogue and Actions
Olkin is a Sheikah pumpkin farmer who lives in Kakariko Village and has a couple of secrets of his own. While all NPCs tend to react in some way to Link carrying a remote bomb, Olkin has his own unique reaction at night where he will look surprised and say "A blue pumpkin?!".
Also, during certain dialogues, Olkin will reveal that he has a rivalry with another farmer named Steen who specializes in carrots. At night, Olkin can be seen running over the carrots on Steen's farmland to try to ruin his crops.
Hateno Villagers and a Blue Flame
Located in East Necluda, Hateno Village is one of the only permanent settlements to survive the Great Calamity. Besides being Link's hometown, the village has plenty of significant places and people to keep the player returning.
One interesting secret that many players may miss about this town is that the villagers will react differently if Link is carrying a blue flame. Along with new dialogues and some extra rewards, the player can also be surrounded by children in the village who are fascinated by the pretty light.
Gerudo Town Secrets
As the main settlement of the Gerudo people, Gerudo is filled with intriguing secrets for players to discover. For example, one of the Gerudo soldiers, Reeza, has a scarecrow with a drawn face on it that she uses to practice pick-up lines. Also, the Gerudo chief, Riju, has a Sand Seal named Patricia that can give hints and unique dialogues if Link feeds Patricia some fruit.
Since only women are allowed in Gerudo Town, Link must disguise himself as a woman to get inside. But, if he goes through the side quest "The Search for Barta" and has shown himself without the disguise to her before, she will recognize him and tell him that she will keep his secret.
Satty's Namesake
Located at the Wetland Stable, Satty is Quince's dog and one of the best video game animal sidekicks. When Quince and Satty were seemingly attacked shortly after they first met, Satty immediately defended Quince by jumping in front of him and barking at the other creature.
During certain dialogues, Quince reveals to Link that Satty was named after the mountain where he first met the dog. This mountain, Satori Mountain, is named after the Lord of the Mountain, who is a spirit. The spirit, mountain, and dog are all a tribute to Satoru Iwata, the revolutionary Nintendo CEO who passed away in 2015.
Fighting Phantom Ganons Multiple Times Is Worth It
Within The Champions' Ballad DLC, Link will gain a new quest called "EX The Champions' Ballad." To complete it, Link will need to do a quest for each of the Champions: "EX Champion Urbosa's Song," "EX Champion Revali's Song," "EX Champion Mipha's Song," and "EX Champion Daruk's Song." The Urbosa's Song mission includes hidden secrets of its own.
For each of these quests, Link will need to defeat the Phantom Ganon that exists within the Divine Beast. Although the player only needs to beat the corresponding Phantom Ganon once, the player can keep beating the boss to get new dialogue from the Champions, which is important for some side-quests.
Skipping The Runes Is Impossible
Throughout the game, Link gains multiple different runes such as Remote Bomb or Cryonis, which give him various unique powers. These runes, which contain some hidden secrets, are obtained from Ancient Shrines, and the player must solve the puzzles within the shrine to get the rune and a spirit orb.
With Link's wide array of abilities and the flexibility of the gameplay, players can find ways to get to the end of these shrines without having to solve the puzzles and get the rune. But, once Link reaches the Monk at the end, a piece of text will appear that says, "Extract the Rune from the Guidance Stone, and then return," which forces the player to get the rune to complete the shrine.
Hidden Zelda, Impa, and Prince Sidon Dialogue
With how non-linear the gameplay is, it is no surprise that the developers would need to create different lines of dialogue and cutscenes if the player decided to play the story out of order. Early in the game, the player is instructed to visit the elder of Kakariko Village, Impa, in order to gain some more background lore about the Divine Beasts and what happened in Hyrule 100 years ago. But, the player can skip this quest and instead visit a Divine Beast on their own, which will lead to Zelda using her powers to tell Link those details herself. If the player visits Impa later, she will comment on Link ignoring her.
The player can also get an alternate cutscene if they manage to reach Zora's Domain without going through Inogo Bridge. This means that instead of meeting Prince Sidon at the bridge, Link meets him for the first time at the throne room
The Meanings of Hylian Runes
Throughout the game, the player can find Hylian Runes written almost everywhere. This language can be found on signs, in books, engraved on walls, on shrines, and much more. But, these runes are not just artistic decoration, they make up an actual language, which means every place with Hylian Runes can be translated even if the game itself doesn't give a translation.
For example, the sign in front of Shuteye Inn can be translated as "rest your bones," and the sign in front of Rollin' Inn simply says "ZZZ." One reoccurring prop in the game is an open book with Hylian Runes that is just an April Fools joke when translated. Along with some lines that translate into famous memes, like the Sheikah Slate pins saying "It's dangerous to go alone," there are also some lines that are hilarious because they are typos - like the sign in front of The Slippery Falcon saying "Shoppign."