Collecting Korok seeds turned Breath of the Wild into a gorgeous hike

I started chasing all 900 Korok seeds, convinced it was a silly message. I imagined the process as a Sisyphus task. All I did was thoughtlessly collect seed after seed after seed after… seed. I thought collecting them was only for the sick and die-hard fans. However, several weeks after my pursuit – which is still not over – I am now convinced that this is actually the ideal way to enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Now hear me: I’m not saying that people who don’t go after the Korok seeds aren’t “true fans”. Far from it. Collecting seeds is a very different type of gameplay than the main mission and the associated boss fights, which were challenging even as a die-hard Zelda fan who loves 3D action combat games. In contrast, collecting the seeds is a wonderful and relaxing way to revisit Breath of the Wild in 2023.

Like any good hero, Link has a few tools at his disposal to tackle this particular challenge. You definitely need Revali’s Gale if you don’t want to spend a lot of time climbing. Plus, I beat all the DLC for the game, so I had some key items like Master Cycle Zero (Link’s tricked-out motorcycle), a Korok mask that vibrates when a seed is nearby, and the Travel Medallion, which gives you a teleportation waypoint anywhere on the map you want. I also luckily had about 200 arrows in the beginning as you have to play a mini game where you shoot fast moving balloons to get a lot of the seeds. But of the tools, the main source I used was an online map that saves and tracks my progress.

A bit like playing Elder ring, you have to be ready to laugh first and get frustrated second. It’s still a bit of a bummer that you can’t climb properly when it rains. Some seeds feel like a real challenge, while others make it feel like the developers are secretly laughing at you personally, as you bend over backwards to earn a single measly Korok seed. For example, in Lurelin Village, you have to throw a rock on a roof to complete a shape and get a seed. It sounds so simple and easy, but it isn’t.

The top of the building is quite high, so an ordinary throw will not make it. I have tried several methods to get the seed there. I first cut down all the trees from certain angles hoping they would land on the roof and form a bridge (they didn’t). I then tried using Stasis and actually playing rock golf and getting one on top (the angles weren’t right). I then tried using the Stasis method except I would smash the rock onto a stump and fire from there. I tried every stump, but no combination of angles worked for me. I thought about using Squidward balloons but didn’t have any and didn’t want to go get them for a single Korok seed. (I probably should have.) Finally, I moved further away and launched from a hill and went for a long shot instead of a high shot. The stone finally landed and I cheered openly from the solitude of my desk.

Seeds that require that level of tinkering Breath of the Wild sandbox elements are fewer and farther between. That level of challenge really made me realize how chilly the vast majority of the Korok seed hunt looked in comparison. For the most part, seed hunting involved casual meandering and an appreciation of the scenery. I would go to a region with the intention of collecting specific seeds, but by the time I had a seed I would be close to the next. I was able to just chain my yacht together.

While playing through the main game’s questline, there weren’t many familiar names I remembered. I remembered some locations like Dueling Peaks for its early relevance in the game, but honestly not much beyond the main landmarks like Hyrule Castle, the Temple of Time, Death Mountain, and so on. But as I started looking for seeds, I really started to appreciate how the developers named every peak and valley, every creek and meadow. The tiniest meadows may contain shallow pools of water that reflect the light with a dazzling sheen. Collecting the Korok seeds lit up the beautiful level of detail of the Breath of the Wild landscape.

I don’t want to underestimate the enormous amount of time it takes. Even listening to audiobooks or podcasts while I play, this grind would be mind numbing and agonizing if I tried to squeeze it into a tight time frame or deadline of some sort. It’s a daunting task, but I think the developers want players to succeed. Once you find a Korok, it will be marked on the map. So if you get to the end and – Hylia forbid – you’re missing a few seeds, you can technically go back on your map and refer to the ones you’ve collected (even if that’s a little too administrative for my own taste).

It’s easy to argue that the result doesn’t seem to justify the effort. Collecting all 900 seeds will essentially reward you with a golden turd. It’s actually absurd, but that’s what I love about hunting the seeds. It’s collecting to collect. It’s for people whose brains are itching unless they get that 100 percent complete score, and who’re content to roam Hyrule’s vast and varied terrain. It turns Breath of the Wild in Nintendo’s most stunning walking simulator to date.