When going on a date in Hyrule, location is everything. One player decided to take the timid priestess Paya to his favorite location in the game: Hyrule Castle. After all, nothing’s more romantic than Ganon’s evil lair.
Reddit user BOOXMOWO had spent countless hours drawing enemies and friendly character far away from their designated locations when they had an idea: why not bring their favorite character into the depths of Ganon’s territory. The NPC in question is Paya, the bashful Shiekah apprentice from Kakariko Village. In an extensive Imgur thread, they outline what it took to bring her all the way across the game’s huge map.
The answer is boxes. Lots of boxes. Stealing twenty crates from various enemy camps, BOOXMOWO hauled them to Kakariko Village, battling off moblins and random ninja ambushes all the while. The process took seven hours. At the village, the boxes were then arranged into an elaborate series of miniature mazes that broke Paya’s AI pathfinding and slowly but surely guided her out of the town. It made for a strange sight.
The journey towards Hyrule Castle proved difficult. Paya is a flighty NPC, running away at the first sign of trouble. Having traveled so far away from her designated zone in the game space, there was a serious risk that she could disappear the moment she runs offscreen. With monsters in no short supply, BOOXMOWO had to rely on a combination of skillful archery and a few disguises to even get close to Hyrule Castle. The castle itself is protected by dozens of laser blasting guardian robots.
Paya’s pathfinding also started to act strange. A single puddle of water in a hallway provided an odd stopgap, as she froze in place and refused to progress. She also started to get caught on small bits of geometry sticking out of the floor. With some nudging and use of the cryonis power, Paya was finally convinced to progress further into the castle.
The journey came to an unfortunate end when the duo encounters a big batch of Malice blocking the path. BOOXMOWO had to leap into the air to shoot the monster creating the big pool of Ganon goo, which tragically resulted in Paya despawning and returning all the way back to Kakariko Village.
The once timid girl undoubtedly returned home feeling like quite the hero even if she’ll probably have nightmares about box mazes for the rest of her life.