Three years after my first adventure in Hyrule, I still find myself drawn back to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Some might ask, why revisit such a massive game in 2026? For me, the answer lies in a single, haunting quest: gathering all 18 of Link’s lost memories. It’s a quest that reshapes the entire narrative, and I decided it was time to document that journey not as a detached guide writer, but as the adventurer who stood on the hilltops, peered into ancient geoglyphs, and felt the weight of each recovered moment.
Right from the start, I knew this wouldn’t be a quick errand. The Purah Pad’s Adventure Log can hold 18 memory entries, but half of them—the 12 Dragon Tear memories—demand that you physically search Hyrule. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s worth it, let me assure you: following these memories in chronological order is the only sensible path. I made the mistake of triggering one out of sequence early on, and the spoiler it contained hit harder than a Gleeok’s thunderstorm. So, listen to a fellow traveler: let the story unfold as the developers intended.
The first real step is tracking down Cado near New Serenne Stable. He’s a bit jittery, which should have been my first clue that something extraordinary was afoot. Cado points you toward Impa, and that meeting changed everything. Impa introduced me to the concept of Geoglyphs—those colossal land-art images visible from the sky. She then urged me to visit the Forgotten Temple. Honestly, at that moment I thought, “How much more forgotten can a temple get?” But following her was the key that unlocked the whole puzzle.
Standing in the heart of the Forgotten Temple, I faced a vast stone map etched with symbols marking every Geoglyph across Hyrule. What a moment that was! I remembered Impa’s wise suggestion: use the Purah Pad to snap a photo of the map. That one picture became my traveling companion for the next several real-world days. I simply opened the album whenever I was unsure, and it saved me countless trips back to that dusty ruin. The map shows 12 locations, each corresponding to a Dragon Tear memory. The remaining 6 memories come automatically through the main story—so don’t fret if your count seems low while you’re out hunting tears. I certainly did at first, checking my Adventure Log obsessively until I realized the truth.
Actually finding each Dragon Tear is a mini-adventure in itself. The Geoglyphs are enormous drawings carved into the landscape—a spiraling serpent, a proud horse, a weeping figure. Inside each drawing, somewhere among the lines, lies a small, glowing pool of water. That’s the tear. I learned to spot them from the air: launch yourself from a Skyview Tower, glide over the Geoglyph, and scan for a teardrop-shaped sparkle. Once, I spent an hour climbing the wrong mountain for the serpent-shaped glyph near Hateno, only to realize the tear was hidden in a valley below. If I had just taken a moment to observe the drawing’s form from above, I would have saved myself that blunder. But blunders make for better stories, don’t they?
Let me share a few emotional beats, carefully avoiding spoilers. Without giving names or events, I’ll say that some tears reveal the ancient origins of the Master Sword’s fate, while others pull back the curtain on Princess Zelda’s struggle in the distant past. The memory connected to the Rist Peninsula spiral choked me up; it’s that powerful. One on the cliffs near Gerudo Canyon made me pause the game and just stare at the screen. You’ll know them when you see them. And yes, I rewatched every single one in the Purah Pad later, reading the brief descriptions that appear, desperate for every scrap of lore.
A word on order: if you talk to Impa again at each Geoglyph, she’ll hint at which tears should be collected first. I followed her advice rigidly after my early spoiler experience. It meant a lot of backtracking across Hyrule, but the narrative cohesion was more than worth it. I even kept a personal checklist on a sticky note attached to my Switch, marking the numbers 1 through 12 as I went. Old school, but effective.
For the remaining memories, you only need to progress through the main quest. They unfold after critical showdowns in temples, during encounters with certain characters, or after you’ve reached particular locations like Hyrule Castle. I recommend not rushing these. Take time between major story beats to hunt a few tears; the blend of free exploration and scripted discovery is what makes this quest feel so satisfying.
By the time I nabbed the final Dragon Tear, I had clocked over 15 extra hours purely on this side quest. Was it worth it? Absolutely. The context these memories provide transforms
Tears of the Kingdom from a great game into an unforgettable epic. Every time I now see the Light Dragon soaring overhead, I’m not just looking at a cool sky creature—I’m reliving a story of sacrifice and hope. If you’re still carrying the Master Sword without having uncovered all 18 memories, do yourself a favor: grab your paraglider, fast-travel to New Serenne Stable, and start the journey. The tears are waiting, and they hold more than just water.