The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)

with Taryn Rollins (Host), Patrick Dolan, Alex Hurezaneau and Chelsea Russell

Broadcast date: September 12, 2023

Writer: Taryn Rollins

Producer: Patrick Dolan

In Nintendo’s 2017 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the player controls an amnesia-inflicted Link in an expansive and beautifully designed open-world conceptualization of Hyrule. The Zelda universe’s narrative power resides in its world-design and exploration-driven story. As with other Zelda games, Breath of the Wild utilises flashbacks to tell the story of the past. However, unlike the other games, in Breath of the Wild the player unlocks flashbacks in a non-chronological order, and must piece together the story in a non-linear fashion.

All audio clips in the podcast quoted from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Sources and Resources:

• Bean, Anthony M., editor. The Psychology of Zelda: Linking Our World to the Legend of Zelda Series. Ben Bella Books, 2019.
• Burch, Alec, and Ross Thorn. “Cartographers Play Video Games: A Review of the Map in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” Stamen, 5 August 2023.
• Consalvo, Mia. Atari to Zelda: Japan’s Videogames in Global Contexts. The MIT Press, 2022.
• Cuddy, Luke, editor. The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am. Popular Culture and Philosophy volume 36. Open Court Publishing-Carus Publishing, 2008.
• Frank, Allegra. “Breath of the Wild’s Brilliant Game Design, Explained.” Polygon, 3 October 2017.
• Gee, James Paul. “Video Games and Embodiment.” Games and Culture, vol. 3, no. 3–4, July 2008, pp. 253–63. SAGE Journals, https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412008317309.
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• “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” Wikipedia.
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• Themancalledscott. Review of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Wizard Dojo, 5 April 2017.
• Webster, Andrew. Review of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Verge, 2 March 2017.
• Webster, Andrew. “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Map is Based on Kyoto.” The Verge, 6 March 2017.