One of my favorite things about Breath of
the Wild is its ability to communicate a story
to the player throughout the world itself.
Instead of having the need to share all of
its details through cutscenes and quests,
Breath of the Wild has a lot to tell the player
just by observing the world around you - like
how abandoned battlefields can be pondered
to depict how age-old wars played out, the
locations ruined towns and settlements show
where past calamity invasions were the most
successful, and even how the ancient temples
of Hyrule give a deep dive into the rich lore
and history that connect a current story to
one of long past.
But out of all of the locations in this game
that possesses a deeper meaning beyond what's
just seen at face value, one of my favorite
ones has always been the Satori Mountain.
For those of you who don't know what makes
this place so special, about once every in
game week, the top of this mountain glows
a bright green color, at which if the player
chooses to venture into it, will discover
a serene looking spring, filled with tons
of blupees, and a spiritual creature called
the Lord of the Mountain - a reincarnated
sage whom is said to be the protector of all
animals that make their homes in the forest.
The name of this creature and the mountain
its named after, Satori, was made to be a
reference to the former Nintendo president,
Satoru Iwata, an influential leader who was
heavily involved in the production of Breath
of the Wild, along with being the head developer
of the Nintendo Switch at the time.
However, after passing away in 2015 due to
complications from a brain tumor, the development
team wanted a way to honor him in the game
he never got to see completed, so the Lord
of the Mountain is meant to symbolise his
everlasting impact on the world he has left
behind - allowing his spirit to always exist
in the heart of this game.
And as it stands, this is already a beautiful
reference in itself, but for the longest time,
most fans thought that there wasn't more to
it beyond maybe the Iwata look alike NPC that
can be found at a stable near the mountain
itself.
Until recently when replaying the game for
my...5th time now, I discovered a lot of unique
environmental details and points of interest
on this mountain that made this place really
stand out from just about any other natural
location in the world - such as these herbal
sanctuaries littered with wide varieties of
unique plants and shrubbery, the existence of
durian trees, which are elsewhere naively
exclusive to this games jungle region, along
with many other unique locations and structures
as well.
A lot of these details are very easy to miss
on a first playthrough, and considering that
the only major points of interest on this
mountain are the shrine and the spring at
the very top - it's very possible that most
people didn't even notice the smaller details
at all.
And for the low amount of people who did pick
up on these details, may not have seen any
deeper significance behind it, as that's not
commonly a question people ask themselves
when looking at what seems to be just a bunch
of plants.
But just like how the ruins of old settlements
and temples in this game can help tell a greater
story beyond what is blatantly fed to the
player through dialogue and quests, there
really is a lot about the nature and serenity
of this mountain that gives it much more significance
than just about any other place on the map.
And just by using all of the new details I
have found out about this mountain through
my own personal research, the vast lore about
this location and its inhabitants is honestly
mesmerizing, as it even helps fullen out the
connection to the former Nintendo president
even more than I would have ever initially
thought.
So with that said, let's get into the Hidden
Significance of the Satori Mountain.
So, in order to understand what the deeper
meaning behind this place is, we should start
by first looking into the few textual details
we have on this location.
And one of the most important details we can
get about this place can be acquired by scanning
the in Lord of the Mountain with the camera
rune, and its compendium entry reads as follows:
The most important takeaway from this passage
is how this creature was once a living person
who used the mountain as their home before
becoming a spiritual protector of the land.
And just by observing the various details
and points of interest around this mountain,
we can actually figure out a lot about this
sages past lifestyle and even their morals
that led them to where they are today.
Although the majority of the mountain is made
up of simply nature, we can start by looking
at the 2 areas on this mountain that contain
man made structures.
One of them being this camping area near the
base of the mountain, that contains a tent
and some various tools, and the other being
what seems to be a cooking area near the eastern
edge of the mountain, with a pot and a chest,
and that's about it.
The person who lived here didn't really seem
to have any other worldly possessions beyond
what was required for him to live and work,
as just about everything else on the mountain
is in one way or another revolved around a
more naturalistic element that he helped maintain.
One of the best examples are these herbal
sanctuaries scattered throughout, that contain
a vast selection of different herbs and plants
from all across Hyrule, that would not be
able to grow natively under natural circumstances.
One of them can be found at the far southern
end of the mountain, made up of all different
types of mushrooms, such as sunshrooms, razorshrooms,
truffles, and even various ores that surround
a massive centerpiece tree.
The other area can be found at the far eastern
end of the mountain, made up of all different
types of flowers, like nightshades, thistle,
armoranth, safflina and many more.
There is also a huge apple orchard near the
eastern edge of the mountain, that contains
dozens of fruit filled trees along with some
pitchfork tools presumably used in the picking
process.
Oh, and yeah, I’m including a detailed map
and key filled with all of the unique locations
scattered throughout this mountain in case
you guys are curious to ponder these areas
further on your own - as most of them also
act as a great way to gather lots of resources
in game.
But anyways..the intent of having all of these
plants and orchards on the mountain was likely
not for just the sages self consumption and
hobby, but rather was his way of giving back
to the world - specifically with the wildlife
that lived amongst him.
Right near the western edge of the mountain,
resides a very peaceful forest with a lake
in the center, which is a perfectly habitable
place for animals.
Given the sages strong connection to nature,
it is likely that he used his farms and the
foods he produced to give back to the animals
and shelter them amongst his mountain.
And given how dedicated he was to this lifestyle,
I think its safe to assume that he never hunted
any of them for meat, and instead relied strictly
off the varieties of plants he grew for food
- which is also backed up by the fact that
there are no signs of abandoned animal pens
or coups on the mountain, like how you would
likely find at someone else's home in Hyrule.
So, given all of these details about the sages
past life, it was very understandable why
someone like him would be reborn as a spiritual
creature to protect over the animals and this
land.
But in terms of the being, the lord of the
mountain himself, not much is known about
him except for the fact that Link has the
ability to mount it and ride it around Hyrule
if he's careful enough, but is not a very
practical means of transportation, considering
that it cannot be registered at stables and
disappears as soon as you get off.
I tried talking to NPCs around the area to
see if I can get any more information on the
creature besides what the compendium states,
but the only character that seems to give
any information on him is Botrick, the Satoru
Iwata look alike character - and even then
he doesn't really give any useful information
beyond the location of the beings home.
Until I managed to stumble across a hunter
character named Quince who resides at the
Wetland Stable - which happens to be on the
exact opposite side of the map.
To my surprise, he told a story about a very
unique experience he had on the Satori Mountain
one day while it was glowing green.
Quince was hunting there one night when he
came across an abandoned, hungry dog, whom
which he felt pity for and gave some of his
jerky to before continuing on with his hunt.
However, later in the night, the hunter got
confronted face to face with the Lord of the
Mountain, whom freightendly started the man
down so intently that he never even grew the
courage to draw out his bow in self defence.
But before the hunter knew his fate, the dog
he saved earlier that night jumped into the
scene in rescue to speak with the Lord, whom
eventually backed off and left the two alone,
before fleeing the mountain together.
Ever since then, Quince and his dog have been
inseparable companions that live on to tell
that story to this day.
And quite frankly, we can learn a lot more
about the role and purpose of the lord of
the mountain just by breaking this story down.
For one, the lord does a lot more than just
watch over and protect the animals around
him, as he is actually given the unique ability
to communicate with them as well.
Although it was unclear what the lords intentions
were with the hunter while staring him down,
he saw nobleness in the hunters past desire
to help the dog to let him go, and trusted
that he would be morally changed by the frightening
experience.
It was more important for the lord to teach
the hunter a moral lesson rather than a punishment
- which really shows a lot to what kind of
person the lord was before turning spiritual.
But by far the most interesting detail about
this story is possibly the most overlooked
one there is.
When the hunter was first explaining it, he
talked about how he went to the Satori mountain
to hunt to take advantage of the “mass animal
migration” that took place on the nights
where it glew green...which definitely raised
an eyebrow for me.
Although it did make sense for more animals
to appear around the mountain while the lord
of the mountain is present to pay respects
to it, I had serious doubts whether this detail
would actually reflected in the gameplay itself.
But sure enough, I went there on one of the
sacred nights, and to my surprise, I was greeted
by memorizing quantities of different animals
scattered about, and honestly it felt quite
magical to say the least.
The forest never looked so alive, as it was
littered with more life and energy than just
about any other area in the game.
And sure enough, most of these animals were
habbitated right around the lake where I initially
thought the animals would gather in stories
past, which helped prove its geographical
significance even more.
I honestly find it incredible that the developers
would go through so much effort to bring a
story like this to life through the gameplay,
but what's even better is that the story doesn't
even end there.
Usually on nights when the lord isn't present,
the mountain is often littered with wide varieties
of skeleton based enemies, like stal moblins,
stal lizarfos, and even a stalnox, that all
simply just fail to reanimate on the nights
when the lord is present.
So not only does his presence cleanse all
evil from the land, it brings light to it
like no other place in the world.
Which leads us all the way back to the main
significance of this mountain in the first
place, and how well its entire story ties
in with the qualities of the former Nintendo
President, Satoru Iwata.
In an interview with The New Yorker post Breath
of the Wilds release, game director Hidemaro
Fujibayashi spoke about Iwatas presence and
impact on the game:
The beauty behind it is that the sages story
is really Iwatas.
He was a dedicated man who devoted his entire
late life to the ideas he believed in, while
supporting everyone he was surrounded around.
He’s the reason why consoles like the wii
and the ds became as revolutionary as we know
them as today, because he truly was dedicated
in pioneering ideas that he believed in.
And even when later consoles like the Wii
U caused the company a fiscal loss, he voluntarily
cut his salary in half out of respect, as
he didn't think it was right to flourish while
his company suffered.
He was one with the company and his principals,
just like the sage was to his land and the
ones he protects.
The fruits of his labor, much like the fruits
that were produced on the mountain, were used
to provide the ones that he was close to with
nourishment and growth, and not just his own.
And even when the sages physical form passed
on, he still lived on in spirit atop the the
very mountain he watches over.
The beacon of light he produces on the nights
his legacy shines on is a symbol of hope and
gathering for the ones he was close to, symbolising
how the games developers would often use Iwatas
past wisdom and impact as inspiration for
making this game the best that it can be.
His legacy brings together the ones he impacted
the most, which really speaks volumes to how
influential he truly was.
He wasn't just a great leader, he was also
a great person to both the ones he was close
to, and the audiences he frequently communicated
with.
But the reference goes far beyond just this
mountain as well, as the blupee creatures
that we see around the Lord of the Mountain,
whom all strongly resemble him, can often
be found in the various forests scattered
throughout the furthest reaches of Hyrule,
proving that his impact really does outstand
the boundaries of what he directly oversaw.
Because of this, it truly is unquestionable
why a reference of this much extravagance
and honor was put into the game in the first
place.
Out of all the secret character cameos I could
find in games both inside and out the Zelda
series, this has truly got to be one of the
most artistic ones I have ever got to experience.
It wasn't told through a blatant character
backstory or quest, but rather a players desire
to dig deeper into the world itself to understand
its meaning, which truly made this reference
all the more mesmerizing when understood to
its fullest.
So next time you explore Hyrule and discover
upon the glowing green lights atop the mountain,
think not just about the man behind the story,
but the legacy that inspired the developers
to make the masterpiece that we know this
game as today.
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