‘Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ Captured Memories Guide – Help Link Remember

Samantha Loveridge
Games Nintendo
Games Nintendo

One of the main storyline missions in the new Zelda is the Breath of the Wild Captured Memories quest. Impa in the Kakariko Village gives you 12 photographs Zelda took with your Sheikah Slate and believes that revisiting those locations will unlock memories for Link.

These locations are scattered all over Hyrule and the memories they reveal are crucial to you understanding the overarching storyline of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. When you’re looking to unlock those memories, travel to the area you think it’s in, and then look out for the glowing golden markers that indicate you’ve reached the right patch. They look like this:

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories
It's all about these glowing portals for finding these Captured Memory points

How to find all the Breath of the Wild Captured Memories

We won’t spoil the story fragments they reveal, but here is a handy guide to the Breath of the Wild Captured Memories locations across Hyrule. Obviously, though, this article comes with a MILD SPOILER WARNING for some of the locations and characters within Breath of the Wild.

Memory One – Sacred Ground Ruins

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 1 - Sacred Ground Ruins
The first Captured Memory given to you by Impah
Breath of the Wild Captured Memories – Memory 1 - Sacred Ground Ruins
The location of memory one – Sacred Ground Ruins

To access the first memory in your photo album, it’s actually right in front of Hyrule Castle. Teleport to the Central Tower and fly towards the semi-circular markings on the map and the point is glowing in the centre.

Memory Two – Lake Kolomo

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 2
The second memory is actually one of the easiest to find
Location - Memory 2 - Lake Kolomo
If you can ignore Zelda's awful fake British accent, you'll love these memories

The second memory is one of the easiest to discover in Breath of the Wild as it’s positioned near to the Great Plateau where you start your game. If you head to the west of Lake Kolomo, there’s a small path that leads towards the lake. Head to the end of it and then turn to your left. Look for a small ridge that juts up and the memory is right behind it.

Memory Three – Ancient Columns

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 3
The third memory trigger given to you by Impa is this ruin shot
Location - Memory 3 - Tena Ko'sah Shrine
Time to explore the Shrine with Zelda and Link

Captured Memory number three is actually right near the Tena Ko’sah Shrine to the west of the Tabantha Bridge and Tabantha Stable. You’ll need to do a little climbing to get to it if you want to avoid the wandering beam of the ancient ones, but it’s worth it.

Memory Four – Kara Kara Bazaar

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 4 - Kara Kara Bazaar
The fourth memory given to you by Impa is a bit more tropical
Location - Memory 4 - Kara Kara Bazaar
This one's hard to miss if you follow the path into the desert

We actually stumbled across this one naturally on our journey to Calamity Ganon. It’s on the approach to the Kara Kara Bazaar as you move towards Gerudo Town to free Divine Beast Vah Naboris. It’s right down in the bottom left-hand corner of the map in that vast expanse of desert. It’s hard to miss if you follow the path to the Bazaar.

Memory Five – Eldin Canyon

Breath of the Wild - Captured Memory - Memory 5
The fifth memory given to you by Impa requires special armour to access
Location - Memory 5 - Eldin Canyon
It's easy to find once you scale this little rocky outcrop

In the shadow of Death Mountain is another of the Breath of the Wild Captured Memories, but it’s a very misleading clue. The actual location of the memory doesn’t actually give you a view of what you can see in the photograph above. Instead, look for an outcrop that you can see on the map above and you’ll see the glowing portal. Tricksy little Impa.

Memory Six – Irch Plain

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 6
Look out for the big tree on its own just south-east of the shrine
Location - Memory 6 - Irch Plain
We're particularly fond of this memory, so go find that tree

To find this Captured Memory, teleport to the Monya Toma Shrine north of the Ridgeland Tower. After that, head slightly south-east to the pool of water shaped like a kidney. Keep your eyes peeled for a large tree standing alone like the one above and the portal will appear when you near the tree.

Memory Seven – West Nucluda

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 7
There are two little goddess statues nestled in here beneath the weeping willow
Location - Memory 7 - West Necluda
There's an inherent sadness in this memory and lots of questions too

It’s easiest to access this seventh memory by heading to the Ja Baij Shrine on the Great Plateau, climbing the walls to the east and then gliding your way down to the strange bird-shaped Deya Lake. If you head to the west of the fattest part and climb the slopes a little, you’ll see this big tree just waiting for you.

Memory Eight – Hyrule Castle

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 8
A hidden door and a hidden memory to boot here
Location - Memory 12 - Hyrule Castle
Trying to access this memory while Ganon is still about is tricky at best

This is one of the harder memories to access as it’s actually deep with Hyrule Castle. If you’re heading here to defeat Ganon, look out for the tall tower to the right of the main castle. Reach here and you’ll be able to run along the small walkway to reach the Captured Memory spot. However, actually getting here will be a treacherous road.

Memory Nine – Spring of Power

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 9
This memory's a little tearful, so be warned
Location - Memory 9 - Shrine of Power
This Captured Memory is a sad little memory with Zelda

Up in the top right-hand corner of the map is the location of memory nine. Before the two paths join up again, there’s an almost brain-like watery patch on the map. It’s actually a worshipping area recessed into the land. You’ll find memory nine’s portal here before the goddess statue.

Memory Ten – Sanidin Park Ruins

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 10
Where on earth is this horsey fellow hiding?
Location - Memory 10 - Sanidin Park Ruins
This memory has a distinct equine theme

Although it might look like a chess piece or an homage to Link’s faithful steed Epona, this memory is all about Zelda and her strength. In order to find out exactly what’s going on, you’ll need to travel east from the Mogg Latan Shrine to the horseshoe-shaped grey outline on the map near the Regencia River. You’ll spot the horse statue from a distance away.

Memory Eleven – Lanayru Road – East Gate

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 11
This regal structure is hiding a painful memory for Zelda
Location - Memory 11 - Lanayru Road
The story really starts coming together with this memory

On the very right-hand side of the triangular lake east of Kakariko Village is a series of stone archways. If you head to the furthest one and make your way towards the lake, the memory trigger is right before the second archway.

Memory Twelve – Hyrule Field

Breath of the Wild Captured Memories - Memory 12
This secluded spot hides a Captured Memory trigger
Location - Memory 12 - Hyrule Field
Another of the Breath of the Wild Captured Memories lies deep in the forest

If you head north from the Hila Rao Shrine and the crazy flower lady, you can follow the river on the left hand-side to a little woodland area. Head inland, following the path through the trees and you’ll notice a rocky outcrop. Near here on the path is the memory trigger, although we found it a little tricky to discover at first.

Impa and the Secret Captured Memories

Impa Breath of the Wild Captured Memories
Impa's final photo is a complete mystery until you've found the other 12 locations

If you return to Impa after you’ve unlocked all 12 memories, she’ll actually give you a clue to find the secret 13th memory. Finding this one will give you a secret scene during the game’s finale, so it’s worth finding.

Here’s where it’s located:

Secret Memory 13

Final Breath of the Wild Captured Memories photo
The final piece in Link's memory loss comes from this image
Recall - Memory 13 - Breath of the Wild Captured Memories
The actual location looks like this, in case the photo isn't clear enough
Location - Memory 13
The key to finding the final Captured Memory is looking for the Stalker remains near the pools

As Impa mentions when she shows you the final photo, it’s not actually that far from Kakariko Village. It’s directly due south from there, right near the Duelling Peaks Stable. Keep your eyes peeled for a lot of Guardian Stalker corpses around the bottom two patches of water on Blatchery Plain. The Captured Memory location is right in the centre between these two pools.

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Samantha Loveridge
Sam is the UK Gaming Editor at Fandom. She's been addicted to games since she first got her paws on a GameBoy and hasn't looked back.