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Zelda fans uncover Breath of the Wild backstory from Special Edition map

Runes translated from Sheikah to Japanese to English.

Dedicated Legend of Zelda fans have uncovered a detailed backstory for Breath of the Wild, hidden on the reverse of the game's Special Edition map.

Fans used a quick glimpse of the map from last week's Treehouse livestream.

The parchment map, included with North American copies of the Special or Master Edition, features a stylish set of runes embedded in a print on its reverse side.

Fans, including YouTuber Zeltik, decoded this script - the language of the game's Sheikah race - and translated the resulting message from Japanese into English.

Here it is:

Simply put, the Sheikah were a technologically advanced race (the creators of the neon-blue technology seen around Hyrule) who attempted to defeat Calamity Ganon using four divine beasts and mech army.

Ganon was sealed away in Hyrule Castle, but the strength of the Sheikah army was feared by the King of Hyrule, who then banished the tribe.

The video above has more theory, such as that Link was put into stasis after the battle against Calamity Ganon because the Sheikah knew they would one day need him to return and defeat Ganon once again (which does sort of keep on happening).

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Tom Phillips avatar

Tom Phillips

Editor-in-Chief

Tom is Eurogamer's Editor-in-Chief. He writes lots of news, some of the puns and makes sure we put the accent on Pokémon.

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