Recovered Memory

Recovered Memories are special replayable cutscenes from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Most of these cutscenes represent the lost memories of the Hylian Champion Link whom suffers from amnesia as a result of the Slumber of Restoration. Once obtained they can be accessed via the Adventure Log's "Memories" section which lists the memories in order and gives a brief synopsis of what occurs in each memory cutscene. These memories deal with the events leading up to the Great Calamity and how Link became injured defending Princess Zelda. However the final one is a vision of Princess Zelda entrusting the Master Sword to the Great Deku Tree which occurred after Link was placed in the Shrine of Resurrection. These memory cutscenes provide much of the backstory of Breath of the Wild.

Recalling Memories
Memories are recalled during certain Main Quests. Some are recalled during the story though 13 are acquired through a specific quest.

Captured Memories
After Link restores the Sheikah Slate Album with the assistance of Purah, she discovers 12 permanently stored pictures of places as they appeared before the Great Calamity which Purah concludes were taken by Princess Zelda a century ago as the Princess had kept the Sheikah Slate she and Purah's research team had discovered in her possession for study. Purah notes Link probably was with her when the pictures were taken and could be useful in restoring his memory. She suggests he talk to her younger sister Impa as she was closer to Zelda due to having been a trusted royal adviser. Link returns to Kakariko Village and Impa notes the pictures were indeed taken by Zelda. She suggests Link find and visit the locations to recall his memories of them. She tells him to report back to her after recalling at least one memory as their is something she wishes to give him. Link can visit the locations in any order though each memory is tied to a specific location though the location data for the pictures is encrypted in Sheikah Language. If Link assists the Sheikah artist Pikango in a Side Quest in Kakariko Village, Pikango will appear in various locations in Hyrule and provide Link hints to each pictures location thanks to his keen eye for detail and landscapes of Hyrule. Some however feature identifiable landmarks that still exist in Hyrule albeit slightly altered due to the Great Calamity and passage of time. Once Link discovers the correct location a glowing spot will appear where Link can recall the memory associated with that location. After recalling one of the 12 memories Link can return to Impa who rewards him with the Champion's Tunic he wore in the past which she had been keeping safe for a century while he slept. After recalling all 12, Link should return to Impa who reveals there was a 13th picture which was printed and hung on the wall of Impa's House. Link can take a picture of it to help find its location. This final recovered memory shows how Link was injured during the Great Calamity and how Zelda was responsible for saving him with encouragement from the ancient spirit of the Master Sword who's voice Zelda could hear. After the memory ends, Link hears a telepathic message from Zelda indicating she had been the architect behind the Captured Memories quest which was intended to help Link recover his memory of her and the Great Calamity with Impa acting as an intermediary under her orders explaining the 13th and final picture. However there are several memories not acquired through this quest.

Memories of the Champions
During Link's quests to free each of the Divine Beasts, Link will recall memories of his fellow Champions, Mipha, Urbosa, Daruk, and Revali during one of the four quests to free their coresponding Divine Beast. These are received automatically during the story though can be accessed via the adventure log like his other memories. Each memory deals with a specific Champion when Zelda was not present.

Memory of the Master Sword
Link's final recovered memory is actually a vision of an event he was not even present for which is received automatically after successfully removing the Master Sword from its pedestal in Korok Forest. After the memory ends, the Great Deku Tree reveals it is a vision of the past and notes he hoped to see the Princess' smile again once Calamity Ganon is defeated comparing her smile to life giving sunlight. Though it is a vision, Link's memory of the vision is recovered as his 18th and final recovered memory.