Breath of the Wild: The Importance of Names

I know, it's been a while. To be honest, I just got tired of blogging. It was lasting a lot longer than I expected (keep in mind we'd be at around part 50 by now if I had kept at it, and I'm not even halfway through the game) and each entry was taking me a lot longer to write than the ones for previous games, about 2-3 hours each. I also felt like the farther I got into the game, the less I had to say.

But the other day, a friend of mine reached out to see if everything was ok because I wasn't posting anymore, and since today is his birthday, I decided I'd make a post just for him. This was a post I was planning to make anyway once I finished the game, but I think I have enough content for it right now to make a worthy post on its own. Be on the lookout for a sequel or two at some point, but for right now, let's get this party started.

Place names are a very important part of Breath of the Wild. Obviously other games in the series have had names for places, but not to the degree this game does. In other games, it's more like each region has a name, but in this one, the region will have a name AND every feature in that region has a name too. And I've touched on this a little bit in previous post, but it bears repeating: a good number of the names come from characters and locations in previous Zelda games.

I really, really like this because never before has a Zelda game had such a sense of history and feel so lived in. Of course Hylians would name rivers and stuff after important people from the past! That's what people do! So this post will go through and tell where these names come from. It'll start with names that are 100% accurate, definitely named after something else, and then it'll get into names that probably come from somewhere else, but are changed a little bit.

Owlan, Horwell, and Eagus Bridges

These are a trio of bridges that cross the Hylian River in the Dueling Peaks region. They're named after Owlan, Horwell, and Eagus, three teachers at the Knight Academy in Skyward Sword.

Bonooru's Stand and Pierre Plateau

These mountainous areas in the Dueling Peaks region are named after Bonooru and Pierre, two scarecrows in Ocarina of Time. Or are the location and the scarecrows both named after real people we haven't met yet? Hmm...

Linebeck Island

This island is named for Linebeck, who drives you from island to island in his ship, the SS Linebeck, in Phantom Hourglass.

Mount Nabooru

This mountain, found in the Gerudo region, is named for Nabooru, the Gerudo Sage of Spirit in Ocarina of Time. Full disclosure, she herself is named after the Town of Nabooru in The Adventure of Link.

Rauru Hillside and Rauru Settlement Ruins

This one, like Nabooru, is a twofer. Rauru was the Hylian Sage of Light (which makes sense given its proximity to Hyrule Castle), but Rauru is named after the Town of Rauru in The Adventure of Link (which is also close to the North Castle in that game).

Lake Saria

Lake Saria appears in the Great Hyrule Forest, so it's no surprise she was the Kokiri Sage of Forest in Ocarina of Time. (Like the other Ocarina sages, she is also named after a town in The Adventure of Link.)

Mekar Island and Lake Mekar

These two areas are also in the Great Hyrule Forest, which makes sense because Makar was the Korok Sage of Wind in Wind Waker. Both Saria and Makar were close with the Deku Tree, who lives at the middle of the forest. These locations also prove that the spelling doesn't have to match exactly to still be named after a character.

Mido Swamp 

This one is actually a threefer, if you can believe it. It's named after Mido, a Kokiri in Ocarina of Time. Mido was named after the Town of Mido in The Adventure of Link (despite not being a sage). And The Adventure of Link also had a Midoro Swamp, which I don't think is a coincidence.

Minshi Woods and Pico Pond

These areas near the Great Hyrule Forest are named after the Minish/Picori, elf-like creatures from The Minish Cap. "Minish" is what the Hylians call their race and "Picori" is what they call themselves.

Trilby Plain

If that wasn't convincing enough, Minshi Woods and Pico Pond are right next to Trilby Plain, and there is a Trilby Highlands in The Minish Cap.

Crenel Hills and Crenel Peak

Two other locations nearish to the Minshi Woods and Pico Pond, these are named after Mt. Crenel from The Minish Cap.

Hebra Peak

This is a really interesting one because even someone who's played all the games might not realize it's a reference. In the Japanese version of A Link to the Past, the name of the mountain range at the top of the map was Mt. Hebra. It was only in the Dark World that it was called Death Mountain. But in the English version, it was called Death Mountain in both the Light and Dark Worlds.

Koholit Rock and Toronbo Beach

These locations on Eventide Island are named for Koholint Island from Link's Awakening, and Toronbo Shores, your starter location on that island.

Digdogg Suspension Bridge

This bridge connects the Gerudo region to the evil infested Hyrule Field, so it's very fitting that it's named after Digdogger, a dungeon boss in The Legend of Zelda.

Helmhead Bridge

This is another bridge that leads to Hyrule Field, and it's named after Helmethead, a temple boss in The Adventure of Link.

Sahasra Slope 

This area in the Dueling Peaks region is probably named after the Sahasrahla family, characters in A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds with ties to the Sages.

Batrea Lake

This lake in the Dueling Peaks region, especially given its proximity to the trio of bridges, is almost certainly named after Batreaux from Skyward Sword, a demon who wants to become a human.

Nabi Lake and Lake Siela

Each of these on their own would be suspicious, but thanks to their proximity to each other, I'm pretty positive they're named after Navi and Ciela, the helper fairies in Ocarina of Time and Phantom Hourglass, respectively.

Pillars of Levia 

I'm less sure of this one, but it stands to reason that these steppes in the Dueling Peaks region are named after Levias, the air spirit from Skyward Sword.

Rutala River

Given that it runs through the region where the Zora live, this river is probably named after Rutela, the Zora Queen in Twilight Princess.

Midla Woods

This is the one where we really start getting into iffy territory, but it's possible, especially since it's near Lake Nabi and Lake Siela, that Midla Woods is named after Midna, Link's companion in Twilight Princess.

Rabia Plain

This area may be named after Ravio, Link's Lorule counterpart in A Link Between Worlds.

Mount Taran

The name of his mountain in the Necluda region may come from Tarin, a character in Link's Awakening. But I have no idea if it really does.

Mable Ridge and Mapla Point

Either one of these, or neither of them, might be named after Maple, the witch's assistant who appears in the Oracle games and A Link Between Worlds.

If I had to guess, I would say Mable Ridge is named after Maple and something else is going on with Mapla. See, there are a lot of places seemingly named after trees. In addition to Mapla Point, there's...

 - Hickaly Woods
 - Popla Foothills
 - Firly Pond
 - Lake Sumac

...to name just a few. At first I just thought that's all it was - they were named after trees. But then I remembered that most Koroks are ALSO named after trees, but changed up in similar ways. Some examples of Korok names include Elma, Irch, Oaken, Olivio, Hollo, and Rown. So I believe all these areas are named after important Koroks that we just haven't met, and that Mapla Point is one of those as well.

So that's all for now. But in looking for these maps, I discovered that I definitely have enough names waiting for me to warrant another post, so be on the lookout for that in probably another month. And I might make other posts here and there about recurring symbols and things like that. In the mean time, happy birthday, Spencer! I hope this was worth the wait.