Traveling Thoughts on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Tarrey Town)

A few disclaimers before we move forward:

• Traveling Thoughts is a means of putting down my thoughts in a bit-by-bit process that will eventually lead up to a formal review of the overall subject. These posts will be more personal than objective, though one should expect a good amount of both as is my personality of habit.
• These posts will absolutely contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

This area isn’t even important to the game. It’s essentially a very, very, very dumbed-down version of one of Sid Meier’s Civilization games. Collect the resources, find the people, and build a community from the ground up. The real difference is that you don’t really do anything but bring the materials and the people. Some other dude does all the work off-screen. That said, you have to give this man a lot of wood.

Tarrey Town is an area in the game only obtainable if you go to a certain part of Hateno Village and talk to a group of construction workers, who will offer to sell you a house they planned to demolish (I think). One of the workers will eventually go off on his own once this condition is satisfied, stating that he’s going on a quest of self-discovery (I think). His next appearance will be on a large platform isolated by a mote-like surrounding situated to the east (I think) of Death Mountain. You find him here alone, pounding his way on rocks and rubble. He’ll ask you for favors so that he can build up his own town: Tarrey Town. Get ready to chop down five hundred trees.

You may be asking, “Why is this area even getting its own post?” An intriguing question, as I can’t really answer it. I suppose the scale of the project and the impact it had on my experience with the game was large enough that it warranted its own post. It is by no means important, but it is useful to build this town up for a multitude of reasons. That, and it’s such a strange little part of the game. It’s interesting.

There’s a sense of community within Tarrey Town that’s hard to connect with in other major areas of the game. Not since Hateno Village had I felt so “at home,” so comforted within a specific area of the game. A relaxing, carefree community of all sorts of different races and perspectives; it feels almost like America. (Ha.) The work put into helping Hudson (the dude’s name is Hudson) build the town also triggers the elation with seeing one’s work slowly build into something grand. It almost is like Civilization in that respect.

Some side quests are available here, as well as a vendor who sells incredibly rare items that Link will eventually find when going through enough shrines (they cost an arm and a leg, though). Some slightly interesting denizens and convenient shopping outlets also make up Tarrey Town’s square units; the more people Link recruits, the more the town, the shops, and the people expand. At the very end, there’s even a wedding between Hudson and a random Gerudo Link recruits at one point—likely the most random thing one could think to put into an action-adventure game. Why they feel they could be a good pair, I’m not sure, but I’m not one to question true love.

A shorter post for a shorter portion of the game, Tarrey Town nonetheless provides an ample amount of time away from the main quest (as though many things don’t) for both personal and aesthetic gain. It’s nice to feel like a part of a community you helped build, while also having another place to upgrade your heart/stamina meter or shop for supplies. And while I don’t speak for others, I think it’s nice to have another little town popping out of a little portion of the map. Makes the land feel more alive. Makes the game feel more alive. Opportunities like Tarrey Town are more than welcome in future titles. I only hope that whenever they decide to emulate it, they give the player more to do than gratuitous fetch quests.

(All gameplay screenshots courtesy of Krow’s Graveyard.)