What country is Hyrule based on?

While most gamers play The Legend of Zelda to escape the real world, the fictional land of Hyrule is so specific and well-realized that it must be based on a real place, at least in part. The much-anticipated Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom contains a version of Hyrule that’s sort of a remix of the world map in the acclaimed Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. And where did that map originate? A well-known city in Japan, it turns out.

According to The Verge, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Breath of the Wild director, claims that his home city of Kyoto served as inspiration for that version of Hyrule. He explained:

“I took a map of Kyoto and overlaid it on the game world, and I tried to imagine going to places that I know in Kyoto. I’d think, ‘It takes this much time to get from point A to point B, so how does that translate to the game?’ And that’s how we started mapping out the world in Breath of the Wild.”

Breath of the Wild art director Satoru Takizawa confirmed that Hyrule is a loose match for Kyoto, where Nintendo also happens to be headquartered. Takizawa said:

“One thing that made it really easy is that there are so many tourist spots in Kyoto. You have all of these famous temples and shrines and whatnot. If I’m going from famous spot A to famous spot B and it takes me this long, it made it really easy to envision how that would translate to the game map.”

But that doesn’t quite settle matters, as it sounds as if Kyoto was used more as a barometer for distance and layout. How about inspiration for the actual design of the towns and landscapes? Zelda fans have long debated this, with message board threads going back several years hypothesizing where Hyrule would fit in our world.

According to the Zelda Universe Forums, some fans think Hyrule is emblematic of the Middle East because it’s sometimes referred to as a “sacred” land. Plus, the original shield from the first Legend of Zelda is a cross, which might be a nerdy hat tip to the Crusades.

Others believe its splendid landscape of mountains and forests suggests that it’s based — aesthetically, at least — on Ireland, Wales, or Switzerland. And then there’s India, itself a bearer of mountains, volcanoes, deserts, and a border to the sea, all of which can be found in various versions of Hyrule. Perhaps the most interesting theory is that Hyrule originally was based on ancient Greece. That Mediterranean diet sure would explain how Link has defied aging for so long.

As fans plow through Tears of the Kingdom, they’ll no doubt develop new theories for Hyrule’s inspiration. Just don’t count on anyone tracking down the source of those floating islands.