Satori: Lord of the Mountain - Zelda: Breath of the Wild Lore 

I remember watching a streamer try to shoot the Lord of the Mountain and the whole chat was like, "NO! That's sacred!"

Link: Hello I would like to register this horse. Stable man: sir that is literally a God Link: ok and? Make it quick I have an obstacle race I need to win

I didn't want to cry today 😭 the tribute to Iwata and learning about how Nintendo dealt with his passing hit me right in the feels. I love this game so much and appreciate everything that went into making it.

I remember when I first heard about the connections with Satori... a sad but nice tribute ❤

Who can say who Satori was. All I know is that I feel a deep sadness when I see the mountain glow. I miss Iwata, though I had never met him personally, and every time I see the glow at night I send a thank you to him for all he did.

I just love this character so much it’s strange design, it’s lore and as a tribute to iwata. One of the most rememberable aspects of breath of the wild.

So this is a tiny mini-theory I've had about the Lord of the Mountain since the first time I heard the story from the hunter: I assumed that the only reason Link can ride him is that LotM *allows* him to do so. Obviously, he's gotta test Link's courage and determination before he will allow it (very similarly to how Link is constantly tested in various ways) hence the large amount of stamina needed. But that ultimately, Link is allowed to do so b/c the Lord of the Mountain can sense Link's inherently pure heart, which is what allows Link to see Koroks, Hestu, etc.

Notice that when the lord breathes, its breath hangs in the air like in winter, literally the 'breath of the wild.'

All I can imagine is Satori as a sage going to meditate on the mountain often, and in the spot where he eventually passed due to old age, a cherry blossom sprouted. Maybe the local wildlife loved him so much that when they also passed, some became blupees to collect rupees to keep him powerful rather than turning to humans for help.

Before hearing about Quince's story, I had thought the Lord of the Mountain fulfilled a kind of Artemis-like role; a defender of nature, but willing to reward those who are skilled or clever enough in their wild-craft to impress or best it. Blupees will drop their cache of rupees when shot, but escape unharmed. It's almost like a little reward to a particularly skilled hunter, as finding, let alone hitting a blupee, is really tough! Satori itself behaves like this too; you have to be extremely careful sneaking up on it, and have considerable stamina to avoid getting bucked of. But your cunning and persistence are rewarded in the end with a flawless mount, albeit one that cannot be kept or truly tamed. I suppose this take can be read into Quince's story as well. Satori was ready to attack the hunter it assumed was there to harm its animals, but the pup that was shown compassion intervened and seemed to make a case for him. It will defend its subjects fiercely, but also show mercy in turn to those who are kind to animals.

The golden things on Satori’s head remind me of the spirit vessels in Skyward Sword, so maybe if Satori is a sage, he is a sage that guards the entrance to the silent realm. This could explain how he has been around since before the sheikah, and could add another tie in that botw has to Skyward Sword.

It is worth noting that the lord of the mountain appears only during a crescent moon. In mythology it is seen as a symbol of fertility and is related to the cycle of life and death. It's astonishing how much depth the game has down to the smallest detail. As a personal note/theory, I believe that the spiritual energy is able to ward off the dark energy/malice, which could explain why a being with as much spiritual energy as Satori prevents the undead from being in its presence.

I remember discovering the Lord of the Mountain for the first time in Hyrule and how surreal it was to see him for the first time. After learning it was a tribute to Satoru Iwata, I can't help but show some respect to the creature and every time the mountain glows, I go there to visit and pay my respects until he disappears. I may have never known the man, but he seems like a good person and many people miss him to this day.

I for one hope Satori being a tribute to Satoru Iwata will start a trend with Nintendo Games with future influential members of Nintendo’s staff who pass away being immortalized in the next game from Nintendo.

When you become a source of motivation for people to do their best, you know you’ve done well in life. Iwata got them through BotW, and surely he will get them through the sequel as well.

The backstory is sad and wholesome at the same time and it makes me very happy that Iwata got a worthy tribute in one of the best and most influential video games of all time. Also tells you a lot about Nintendo as a company, I have never heard of another AAA game with such a heart-warming, prominent, and well thought-out tribute.

One interesting note that wasn't mentioned, though might not actually have any significance, is that there is a notable blupee just above kakriko village on the path to the shrine and fairy fountain. Makes me think there might have been or still be a connection between the blupees and the fairies...

Holy crap... how did you find that wall etching of the LOM in that room! Amazing

maybe it's a stretch, but the fact that animals flock to satori mountain reminds me of the flute boy from a link to the past. that game also uses the congregating of animals to denote sacredness, as one can see in the sacred grove as well. the plot around flute boy in ALTTP also involves transformation, with his monster form in the dark world and his subsequent metamorphosis into a tree. it's also worth pointing out that gulley, a sage, takes flute boy's place in a link between worlds. i just point all this out because these similarities with flute boy suggest that he, or a figure like him, could have been the sage who became the lord of the mountain. i wouldn't have thought of this without the wonderful analysis of this video, always happy for more zeltik content!

Based on Quince's story and the subsequent theory of hunters being unwelcome, one has to wonder if Satori would in fact attack Link if he were to kill some of the animals that gather atop the mountain...

Something else connecting Satori and the light spirits from Twilight Princess is that his and the blupees' golden horn thingies look very similar to the Vessels of Light that you hold the Tears of Light in in TP.

The mention of Satori appearing in the evening whenever a crescent moon is in the sky is possibly a reference to the day Iwata passed: July 11, 2015 had a waning crescent moon... it's a beautiful tribute hidden in plain sight.

Had a pretty shitty day at work. Thanks, Zeltik, for making the evening a bit less grim.

Wow. I can't believe I never saw the owl faces [to Satori or the Blupees] before. And the mural underneath the castle having more than just the Divine Beasts etched into it? Insaneee

I always just found the apparent cultivation of the mountain interesting. The way all the fauna is sorted into individual groves and particularly in the apple Grove where all the farm tools are found

I remember the first time I found Satori for the photo side quest. I already knew about him being a tribute to Iwata, but even still I read the compendium entry for Satori and was brought to tears. May his memory be a blessing.

interestingly, the word "satori" (as in, the Zen Buddhist concept) comes from the Japanese verb "to know".... which is _satoru._ While Iwata's name used different kanji from the verb, I'm sure that the devs had that fact in mind when creating Satori, since homophone-based puns are common in Japanese.

One little thing I noticed is that he is the guardian of the mountain. I think the mountain represents Nintendo, who's founder was the Yamauchi family. Yamauchi can be translated to Mountain opening, or inside the mountain, or separately as mountain home. I think the idea is that Iwata has joined the legacy of the Yamauchi family as the guardian spirits of Nintendo.

The chamber in which you fight Ganon can also be observed in the titanic area where you power up the Master Sword after completing the various Trials of the Sword challenges.

I remember when I first played BotW, I was so INTIMIDATED by Mount Satori with it's glowing light because it reminded me so much of Minas Morgul from LotR. I delayed going up it because I felt I needed to gain more experience and weaponry before I could take on whatever the glowing light was. The spooky theme music didn't help my nervousness either!

I felt so bad when I tried to board Satori and the stable master called him cursed. He’s not cursed. He’s just different.

I knew about the "real world" inspiration.... and though I expected it to be brought up, someone is still cutting onions in here... We all miss him. He is definitely watching over the teams as they push forward, continuing their amazing works.

the fact that botw lore is still being discussed about 4 years later shows how much work the team has put in this game. so much mysterious things in this game lmao

I had an idea a while back that Satori could've possibly been resurrected by Malanya, the horse God. I don't have much evidence towards it, other than Satori having a horse like body, but I thought it was a fun idea to toss around.

It would be kinda neat if Satori plays a role in helping Link with his possessed arm in the sequel...

i have a feeling the lord of the mountain is definitely linked with kapora gabora. the idea of him being a sage is interesting when we consider we havent seen the sages in botw yet, but its likely zelda, mipha, daruk, urbosa, and rivali (or maybe their successors since they died), which makes 5. if we consider impa to be a sage as well, that makes 6. we’re missing the seventh sage, but i have a feeling its the lord of the mountain. another interesting but possibly crucial detail to note is how kapora gabora famously rotates his head back and forth, creating the illusion of two faces. and what does the lord of the mountain have? two owl like faces.

This is so well put together. The storytelling and delivery of narration is also top notch. Well done Zeltik. 👏🏻

I love to go over this Mountain. It feels so strange, mythical and beautiful at the same time. Thank you for all the research it was so interesting !

Much like life, you can ride enlightenment but you can’t hold on to it. Love it.

I am actually living in Tokyo Japan right now! So looking at this is super inspirational to me in regards to the culture and the people who live here. ❤️🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼

It’s amazing when devs do tributes like this it reminds me of the legend of glitter beard that the devs of sea of thieves did for one of the devs that passed when making sea of thieves if you guys haven’t seen it look into it it’s amazing and the best Easter egg/ tribute I’ve ever seen in a game for someone who passed

I wonder if the green lights only appearing in the nights when Satori is around could be a showcase of him making the spirits that would animate Stal enemies move on to the afterlife

To be absolutely honest, I think this is a elaborate tribute to Iwata and little more. It is one letter off from his name after all, not to mention that one NPC who literally looks just like him.

I remember the first time I saw the mountain glow. It draws me in with it's turquoise shine. I teleported there. The mist gave way to the holy ceremony that I had interrupted. More blupies then what I could imagine dance into the air. The King itself only allowing a glimps of his glory to me. I was mystified as the ocean glow disappeared like a vision that I wasn't suppose to remember. Real talk, I tried so many times to mount Satori. Had to get almost 3 wheels to mount it.

Thought this would bring up the sage from Twilight Princess we see Ganondorf murder... Not a sure connection, but the only time I can think we see an actual sage killed onscreen!

Satori I definitely one of my favourite parts of BOTW I wish there was more things like him and the dragons

The thing is like about your theories, Zeltik, is that they seem so genuine and they make so much sense. I love hearing these fascinating possibilities.

I am now just realizing how much Studio Ghibli influences not just “Breath of the Wild,” but to Nintendo as a whole. The forest spirit in “Princess Mononoke” not just influenced the Lord of the Mountain, but it also influenced the creation of Xerneas from generation VI of Pokémon. Xerneas is the bringer of life and creation, similar to the Forest Spirit and Satori.

I never really watched your videos because they are pretty long and all... But! I decided to take the time to watch this one and I’m really amazed by how much you broke this down and how in-depth you went. So many amazing little details that we don’t know about and because of you I will be looking at this game differently-in a good way... Thank you so much Zeltik.

8:10 Whaaaaaaat, the observatory is so much more detailed than I thought!

lmao this almost made me tear up, was looking for old botw content after the tears of the kingdom trailer and found this incredible channel. You clearly put so much effort and research into your videos, it's nice to see someone who's as passionate about this franchise as me.

Thank you, Iwata, God bless you.

One thing I noticed on Satori Mountain that spooked me was in the apple grove. The apple grove has a higher concentration of apple trees than anywhere else in the game, and it's the only place where fallen apples are at the base of the trees. In the grove, there are some farmer's tools leaning against some of the trees in a way that suggests that they were placed there only for a moment, like their owner would come back momentarily. The tools are two pitchforks, a farming hoe, and a woodcutter's axe. When I was going through the forest the tools very much felt like a warning, like others had tried to take advantage of the abundance of the mountain, and their tools were left as a warning to others to not repeat their mistakes.

the cinematography in this video is beautiful. the clips, sounds, & editing elevate these videos so much. great work!

Been watching your channel for years and still in awe of your ability to artfully discuss the art of this beloved franchise. Thank you!

And today, for a humble offering, Satori guides the player to the sort of places that started this whole story.

This isn't mentioned in the video but something that struck me when I first approached the mountain when the Lord was present, is that the temperature in the blue light is SO COLD! You need high level cold res to stay in the area, and to me it kinda relates to the coldness of spirit worlds and spirit plains, coldness of death. It seemed peculiar to me.

I honestly love the artistic poem opening and how you've edited and paced it overall. The shots and bg music really helped set the mood, not to mention how you've scripted the whole thing! Phenomenal work, sir.

Satori is a figure we may never get answers for as to who he was in life, but as a spirit, I like to believe he is representative of the beauty of life, and how precious life truly is.

Zeltik's ability to keep a listener intrigued and invested in the story is next level. Truely fantastic listening to these videos. Your content is always on fire , thank you!🙏

You put a lot of effort into this video, and it shows. Thank you for comprehensively covering this topic, while still keeping things flowing. Given all the hard work Iwata-san has done for us, he deserves to be remembered by both his staff and us fans. Thank you, Zeltik.

The use of the Spirit's Lament vocals from TP without transitioning into the main melody for a solid five minutes drove me absolutely up the wall. Every time the loop finished, I was expecting that main melody.

The way they described Iwata is how I feel about my grandmother sometimes. That’s really precious.

This entire video was beautiful, I don't know how I never knew any of this about Mount Satori and what secrets it holds. Your videos constantly make me want to drop everything I'm doing and play, you truly are gifted at what you do!

Everything was excellent and I loved the analysis (Satori is one of my favorite things and I wish they included it more in TOTK) but the fact that it's a tribute to someone they so clearly cared about just makes it even more special. He must have been a special boss for his people to love him enough to put his legacy into their game.

"...Above all else I am a gamer" -Satoru Iwata

I like to think of satori as the spirit of iwata. a spirit watching over hyrule and nintendo. I hope iwata will be in every zelda game from now on in some form. he will always be remembered. even by players who never lived at the same time as him, because they will research the easter eggs

Being a defender of nature, the Lord of the Mountain may be closely associated with the goddess Farore. The first mention of Farore in the A Link to the Past manual states: "And the "god of courage" used the kindness of [his/her] strong heart, and created those which crawl on the earth, those which travel in the air, and all of the living creatures of the world." (Translation by Zethar-II from Zelda Legends) And in Ocarina of Time it is stated by the Great Deku Tree: "Farore… Because of her abundant heart, all life that would follow the laws was created." (Translated by jacensolo06 from Zelda Legends)

Watching this again after playing TOTK has been a wild ride

I was just walking my dog and now I’m tearing up cuz of the last part. I love Zeltik’s videos where he just focuses in on one of the mysterious things in BotW’s world

You've always had a great way of making your theories and lore observations very deep and sometimes personal. Always a pleasure to watch

I've always been amazed abd intrigued by this creature and location, I hope there's some more to be revealed about it in the next game

This was one of my favorites of yours, Zeltik. Such beautiful lore and possibilities.

I dont know if this was intentional or not, but I like how the The Lord of the Mountain's little area has shallow water in it. It makes it look like it's walking on water like the forest spirit in Princess Mononoke

Wow, amazing find with the depiction on the wall in the observatory. Clearly the ancient sheikah knew about Satori, but something I noticed is that Purah’s telescope at Hateno tech lab is pointed at Satori mountain so I took that to mean she was observing the creature as well.

One of my favorite videos from you, so good and loved the ties into studio ghibli. Thanks Zeltik!

I'm pretty sure, in Totk, Kolton's Mystic Set are Satori's robes from when he was a sage. Same rupee inspired ability, design is quite different from the brothers' own designs. Keep in mind, I've yet to read the description of the items, so this may be common knowledge, but came up on the realization today.

Your narrating / voice over is as good as any I've ever heard on TV. Impressive for RU-vid for sure! Very enjoyable and informative video. Thanks!

The whole time I was waiting for what you put at the end. So damn beautiful, got me crying.

Can I just say how really well-made this video is?? Zeltik you have become a masterful video maker, and I always look forward to seeing your work. Keep it up!

I never noticed the connection between botw and Princess Mononoke, one of my favorite movies of all time. My god that's so amazing to learn, even more reasons to love both of those things. If any of you haven't seen princess mononoke, do yourselves a favor and watch it. All of Miyazaki's films are incredible, but that is easily one of the best. It NEVER fails to impress me. Like for instance Zeltik said the main antagonist is Urboshi, which is technically true, but she's also kind of not. She isn't evil by any means. Hard to say more without spoiling things. Just watch the movie, you won't regret it!

another princess monoke reference in botw, the lord of the mountain and its concept reminds me a lot like the deer god (shishigami) from the movie, despite it also being a beautiful tribute to satoru iwata as well. edit: nevermind, I commented this before you mentioned it lol

You didn’t have many details to go on but put together a really cohesive and meaningful message!! love this, thank you ❤️❤️

What a beautiful part of a beautiful game, Iwata tribute, lore and all. I love LoZ!

While all the lore is wonderful...having it be a tribute to Satoru Iwata is the most touching and impactful for me. Fantastic video, as always.

Your editor deserves a bonus for this one. It was beautiful

16:22 It's a terrible day for rain. ;_; A tribute to Satoru Iwata was also my #1 headcanon .Another point - Satori's protection of animals could mirror the work done by Satoru on the Pokemon series, most famously helping the Game Freak team optimize compression of Gold and Silver and fit all the new content on a GBC cart. The space his work freed up is the reason that Gold and Silver had enough space to fit all of Johto and Kanto into one game. He also worked on Pokemon Stadium, re-creating the battle code from the GBC games in one week. Dude was a legend as both a programmer, executive producer of games, and president of the company.

Mr Iwata died on my birthday. I was in Japan at the time, and the trains seemed quieter than normal. Many of my students were more subdued, contemplative. So many people lost a treasured person. Since then, I make sure to thank Mr Iwata for his work every 11 July before I do anything that day. It's wonderful that they'd put such a beautiful tribute in Breath of the Wild. I'm sure Mr Iwata would be very pleased.

Such great content. Thank you Zeltik!

I think you might really be into something with the connection between the Lord of the Mountain and the Great Fairies. First the Great Fairies are found in bodies of water, appropriately refered to as "Great Fairy Fountains", and the Lord of the mountain also appears in a small body of water. Blupees are much like fairies in that they are magical creatures rarely found through Hyrule. And Great Fairies are larger, more grand versions of the more common fairies that surround them at the fountains, the same way the Lord of the Mountain could be seen as a larger, more grand version of the Blupees that surround it in the pond.

ngl, that quote at the end made me tear up ): wow... I feel that on a personal level

Really nice video. You added a great amount of lore and info from the game I didn’t know, before going into the Mayazaki and Iwata influences that I think are big here.

your videos are edited so well; great work!

Exquisite as always. Hit all of the pressure points I'd want to see in a Satori video, with additional insight that comes from extensive research beyond my imagination.

Any time someone brings up the Ancient Sage story, I can’t help but picture Mr. Iwata himself as the Sage. A wise and jovial soul, in some shrine-priestly garb, taking his daily walk up the mountain to meditate beside the small pond at its summit. It is a Happy Image, and it brings a little light to my soul when I see the glow from Satori Mountain.

I just love the fact that the team would love to discuss their ideas with Satoru, whose name literally means understanding.

this is such a great video, as always! I really loved the bit at the beginingn as you described the land, and the legend of the lord of the mountain... I enjoy writing short storie, and your writintg there let me perfectly imagine the setting without even having to look at the screen, please it was so pretty... I've always liked those little segments in your vidoes and just thought I'd meniton it here. The rest of the video was great too, and I hadn't realised most of the other links you mentioned to the rest of the game.

I’m a simple man, you talk about Iwata, I like the video

That's so cool! I love the possible/partial tribute to Iwata, too! That's SO cool!

I like that the Satori’s markings remind me of the markings of the Light Spirits I like to think a sage can be a Champion in eras past, maybe a sage that had abilities relating to life and nature. Maybe something connecting to the moon too since the moon is said to have some magical effects, like the blood moon reviving the monsters, or the moon phase relating to the emergence of Satori. The moon is said to give healing or cleansing powers. I know it’s a stretch, but that’s why theories and AUs are so interesting.