In praise of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's uncanny, inhuman mountains

My favourite Zelda moments generally don’t have much to do with Zelda. They’re not moments of heroism or even action, to be honest. If anything, they tend towards the opposite: a little change in the world that comes unannounced, an accidental glimpse of something from just the right angle in a quiet moment when I think I’m busy doing something else.

I’m talking about moments like the one in Link to the Past where you climb the mountain and the lovely plump, rounded trees of Hyrule which you’ve spent so much time with up-close are suddenly seen from a distance, far below you. Still plump, still rounded, but coming together to form something larger than their individual selves – a forest!

There’s another moment, from Wind-Waker, that I love just as much. It’s Dragon Roost Island, an early part of the game, and I guess I’m climbing towards a boss. Outside, hopping around on the wind-cleaned rock, I’m messing about with the eyeglass and I see a distant part of the same island, the same cliff, where one of those Kargaroc birds is sat in their straw nest. Simultaneously goofy and rather regal, this is a creature I haven’t seen up close yet, so this is a glorious fortuitous sneak at what’s ahead.