Hyrule is enormous, Link has amnesia, and Princess Zelda apparently believed twelve landscape photos were enough to explain where she had been. Welcome to the Captured Memories quest in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where scenic photography becomes a kingdom-wide treasure hunt.
Recovering these memories reveals the history between Link and Zelda, explains events leading to the Great Calamity, and adds emotional weight to the final battle. Completing the quest also unlocks an additional post-credits scene after you defeat Calamity Ganon.
This guide explains how to start the quest, where to find all twelve photographed locations, how to reveal the secret thirteenth memory, and how the quest relates to the complete set of eighteen base-game memories.
How Many Captured Memories Are in Breath of the Wild?
The Sheikah Slate contains twelve photographs connected to the Captured Memories main quest. Once you recover all twelve and report to Impa, she reveals a final photograph leading to Memory 13.
- 12 photographed memories can be recovered in almost any order.
- 1 final memory becomes available after finding the original twelve.
- 18 total base-game memories appear in the Adventure Log when story-related memories are included.
The four Divine Beast storylines unlock memories involving Revali, Daruk, Urbosa, and Mipha. Pulling the Master Sword from its pedestal unlocks another. Those five scenes do not count toward completing the Captured Memories quest.
How to Start the Captured Memories Quest
The glowing memory locations will not appear simply because you have reached the correct patch of grass. You must first activate the quest:
- Leave the Great Plateau and complete Seek Out Impa in Kakariko Village.
- Travel to the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab during the Locked Mementos quest.
- Help Purah restore the Camera Rune and photo album on the Sheikah Slate.
- Return to Impa and show her the restored album.
- Accept the Captured Memories main quest.
When you reach a photographed location after activating the quest, a pale golden-green glow appears on the ground. Stand inside it and select Recall to watch the associated scene.
Get Help From Pikango
Pikango, the painter near Impa’s house, acts as the game’s built-in hint system. Complete Find the Fairy Fountain for him, and he will begin appearing at villages and stables around Hyrule. Show him the relevant photograph, and he will describe a nearby landmark. His directions are not GPS coordinates, but they are considerably more helpful than squinting at a blurry tree for twenty minutes.
Claim the Champion’s Tunic Early
After recovering any one of the twelve photographed memories, return to Impa. She will reward Link with the Champion’s Tunic, which displays an enemy’s exact remaining health. You do not need to finish the entire quest first.
All Captured Memory Locations
The numbered list below follows the order of the photographs in the Sheikah Slate album. You may collect the first twelve in any order, although viewing them in album order makes the developing relationship between Link and Zelda easier to follow.
1. Subdued Ceremony Sacred Ground Ruins
The first memory is in the center of the Sacred Ground Ruins, directly south of Hyrule Castle. Central Tower provides a practical starting point, while Katah Chuki Shrine is closer if already activated. Look for the circular ruin surrounded by water on the map.
Guardian Stalkers patrol the surrounding field. Early in the game, stealth is usually wiser than attempting a dramatic laser-parrying performance. Approach through cover, recall the memory in the middle of the ruins, and fast-travel away if necessary.
2. Resolve and Grief Lake Kolomo
Travel north of the Great Plateau toward Lake Kolomo, southwest of Central Tower. The memory is on the lake’s western bank, facing the Dueling Peaks. Follow the shoreline and compare the shape of the peaks with Zelda’s photograph. This is one of the safer early memories and a good candidate for earning the Champion’s Tunic.
3. Zelda’s Resentment Ancient Columns
The third Captured Memory is at the Ancient Columns in the Tabantha region. Cross the Tabantha Great Bridge and climb toward the ruins south of Piper Ridge. The glowing spot is directly in front of Tena Ko’sah Shrine.
A dangerous Guardian Scout waits inside the shrine, but entering it is unnecessary. Activating the shrine as a travel point is still worthwhile before leaving.
4. Blades of the Yiga Kara Kara Bazaar
Follow the main road southwest through Gerudo Canyon until you reach Kara Kara Bazaar. The memory appears beside the oasis pond, near the bazaar’s northeastern edge.
The desert is extremely hot during the day and cold at night. Bring heat-resistant clothing, cooling food, or a chilly elixir. Link can save Hyrule while properly hydrated; there is no bonus for arriving lightly roasted.
5. A Premonition Eldin Canyon
This location sits on a rocky height west of Goronbi Lake, between Eldin Tower and Woodland Tower. Approach from Eldin Tower for a shorter glide or climb eastward from Woodland Tower if you want to avoid the hottest route.
Bring stamina-restoring meals and appropriate fire protection when approaching from Death Mountain. The glowing memory is near a stone circle on a high ridge overlooking Hyrule.
6. Silent Princess Irch Plain
Head northwest of Hyrule Castle to Irch Plain. From Ridgeland Tower, glide northeast toward the small U-shaped body of water visible on the map. The memory rests beside a large tree southwest of the plain.
Use the lake’s shape and Hyrule Castle in the distance to confirm your position. Because the ground is relatively open, spotting the glow is easier during clear weather.
7. Shelter from the Storm West Necluda
This memory is east of the Great Plateau, on a hill between Scout’s Hill and Deya Lake. Look across the Hylia River from Scout’s Hill for a prominent tree growing beside a large rock. Glide toward that tree to find the memory at its base.
The photograph’s view of the Bridge of Hylia is the best visual clue. If the bridge appears at the correct angle, you are close.
8. Father and Daughter Hyrule Castle
The most dangerous Captured Memory is outside Princess Zelda’s Study on the western side of Hyrule Castle. Enter from the west, cross the moat, and climb toward the tall study tower. Slip through an open window, then walk onto the connecting exterior walkway to find the glowing spot.
Bring stamina food, durable armor, and Ancient Arrows if available. You do not have to defeat every Guardian. Careful climbing and strategic hiding are perfectly respectable heroic techniques.
9. Slumbering Power Spring of Power
The Spring of Power lies in Akkala, south of North Akkala Valley and west of East Akkala Stable. Katosa Aug Shrine or the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab makes a useful starting point.
Enter the large sunken spring and walk toward the Goddess Statue. The memory is in the water directly opposite the statue. The surrounding rock formation is distinctive, making this location easier to identify than many of Zelda’s tree-based compositions.
10. To Mount Lanayru Sanidin Park Ruins
Travel west from Central Hyrule toward Sanidin Park Ruins, southwest of Hyrule Castle. From Outskirt Stable, follow the road across Manhala Bridge and continue uphill. The ruins sit beside the road.
Climb the steps and locate the large horse statue. The glowing memory is immediately beside it. Using a registered horse makes this route pleasantly quick and thematically appropriate.
11. Return of Calamity Ganon Lanayru Road East Gate
Start in Kakariko Village and follow the path past the Great Fairy Fountain. Continue east through the Lanayru Promenade until you reach Lanayru Road’s East Gate, west of Mount Lanayru. The memory is on the road in front of the ruined gate.
The route contains several monsters. If you encounter the Lynel near the mountain, you have traveled too far east. Quietly reverse course before the Lynel adds Link to its own collection of memories.
12. Despair Hyrule Field
The final album photograph leads to a small wooded area northeast of Bottomless Swamp in Hyrule Field. Kaya Wan Shrine beside Wetland Stable is a convenient travel point. Head west from the stable and search the forest between the swamp and the Hylia River.
The glow is beside a large rock among the trees. The terrain looks frustratingly similar in every direction, so place a map pin before entering the woods and search in an organized circle.
How to Unlock the Secret Thirteenth Memory
After recovering all twelve photographed memories, return to Impa in Kakariko Village. She will direct Link’s attention to a painting inside her house. That image reveals the location of Zelda’s Awakening, the final Captured Memory.
Warp to Ha Dahamar Shrine beside Dueling Peaks Stable. Travel east into Blatchery Plain, near Ash Swamp, and look for a group of inactive Guardian remains. The glowing spot is beside a ruined Guardian resting against a large rock.
Recall the scene to complete Captured Memories. If you finish the quest before defeating Calamity Ganon and remain through the credits, the game presents an additional story scene.
How to Unlock All 18 Base-Game Memories
Completing Captured Memories fills thirteen of the eighteen slots in the Adventure Log. To unlock the other five:
- Free Divine Beast Vah Medoh to recover Revali’s memory.
- Free Divine Beast Vah Rudania to recover Daruk’s memory.
- Free Divine Beast Vah Naboris to recover Urbosa’s memory.
- Free Divine Beast Vah Ruta to recover Mipha’s memory.
- Obtain the Master Sword in Korok Forest to unlock the final base-game entry.
Pulling the Master Sword normally requires thirteen permanent Heart Containers. Temporary yellow hearts do not count. The additional memories from The Champions’ Ballad DLC are separate from the eighteen entries in the original game.
Player Experience: Making the Memory Hunt More Enjoyable
The Captured Memories quest works best when treated as a long expedition rather than a checklist that must be cleared immediately. The photographs encourage players to study Hyrule’s geography: the angle of the Dueling Peaks, the silhouette of Hyrule Castle, the placement of ruined columns, and even the direction in which a road bends. After several successful matches, the map begins to feel like a recognizable landscape rather than a collection of tower regions.
A useful routine is to inspect every photograph after activating a new tower. Compare mountain profiles, bodies of water, architecture, and climate. If a picture contains desert palms, volcanic rock, or Rito structures, its general region becomes obvious. Place two or three possible pins on the map, then investigate them while completing shrines or Divine Beast objectives nearby. This saves considerable travel time and preserves the satisfaction of solving part of the mystery yourself.
Pikango’s hints offer an excellent middle ground between blind searching and following exact directions. His clue usually identifies a landmark and a direction from a stable. The player still has to navigate the final stretch, but the search area becomes manageable. It feels less like receiving an answer and more like asking a friendly painter why Zelda photographed yet another suspiciously important tree.
Preparation changes the experience dramatically. Unlock towers and shrines before attempting a dedicated memory run. Carry stamina meals for Eldin Canyon and Hyrule Castle, temperature-resistant equipment for Gerudo and Eldin, and a few stealth meals for Guardian territory. Revali’s Gale, if available, turns several awkward climbs into short flights. A fast horse is especially helpful for Sanidin Park, Lake Kolomo, and the roads around Central Hyrule.
The Hyrule Castle memory deserves patience. Entering the castle early can be thrilling, but arriving with limited stamina and weak armor makes the trip unnecessarily punishing. Save before crossing the moat, study the three-dimensional castle map, and remember that the objective is Zelda’s Studynot defeating every Guardian with a personal grievance. Reaching the glow and escaping safely is a victory.
Viewing the memories in album order also produces a stronger narrative experience. The scenes gradually reveal Zelda’s frustration, curiosity, fear, and growing trust in Link. The final Blatchery Plain sequence then lands with much greater emotional force. What begins as a sightseeing quest eventually becomes one of the game’s most important pieces of storytelling.
Note: This walkthrough covers the thirteen locations required for the Captured Memories main quest and explains the five additional base-game memories. DLC memories are not required for quest completion or the additional post-credits scene.
Conclusion
Unlocking every Captured Memory takes Link across deserts, volcanic ridges, ruined parks, quiet forests, and the extremely unfriendly grounds of Hyrule Castle. Start the quest through Impa and Purah, use Pikango when a photograph becomes baffling, recover the twelve album memories, and return to Impa for the final clue. The reward is more than a completed quest: it is the missing emotional history behind Zelda, Link, and the fall of Hyrule.
