Creating the beautiful settlement of Tarrey Town is one of, if not the most rewarding sidequests in Breath of the Wild. I love that the player has a pivotal role in bringing together a team of tradespeople who not only build the foundation for the town’s charmingly square houses, but also the foundation of its diverse community. This dynamic nature, whereby your small actions create the town bit by bit over time, really makes you feel like you’ve caused a substantial change in the world.
Let’s face it, hardly any other quests, even defeating Ganon, give such a tangible sense of actually helping Hyrule to get back on its feet. Assisting this pioneering man with making his vision of creating a new community into a reality is an incredible feeling. When I finished helping Hudson to create that quaint village, I stopped and thought to myself: When Hyrule gets back on its feet, this once relatively uninhabited region of Hyrule will become the bustling center of Akkala, where generation after generation will settle and where merchants will travel from far and wide.
It’s the perfect place to tarry for a night or two — or a week, or forever. When you cross that bridge seeking shelter from the storm, the sun will break through the clouds without fail to give you a moment’s respite. Seriously, I swear that is an actual mechanic in the game. There have been countless times where it was aggressively thundering and pouring with rain, but the moment I set foot through Tarrey’s threshold, the sun greeted me on the other side.
Now that I’ve gushed over the town as a whole, let’s take a moment to appreciate the effort it takes to reach this goal, as well as reflect on the things that make this town so wonderful and memorable (spoilers: remember that I am a Gerudo fangirl).
The search for four Sons
Tarrey Town begins as nothing more than some unwieldy rocks and a shrine on an uninhabited peninsula. But with the blueprints for Bolson Construction homes, which are the self-proclaimed “new age of comfort,” Hudson decides to transform it into a town. In-keeping with his official Bolson Construction policy, however, you must recruit tradespeople whose names end in the suffix “-son” to help him.
The search for these “Sons” sends you far and wide across Hyrule. In fact, you will literally need to traverse its four corners to find the four Sons: a Goron named Greyson, a Gerudo named Rhondson, a Rito named Fryson, and a Zora named Kapson. These four Sons all lend their skills to Hudson to help bring the town to life. Greyson helps to destroy the rocks, Rhondson provides tailoring for everyone, Fryson opens a general store, and Kapson officiates Hudson’s wedding with Rhondson. (Yay! My second favorite wedding after the undeniable best of Kafei and Anju.)
Once you’ve recruited help, you slowly start to see the town take shape, with its cute building-block houses encircling the town and its handy stores open for business in the center. More residents and even another merchant come to settle in later!
It really is quite the search, as it can take you near the full length of the main story to complete, but it’s so worth it. And I’m not just saying that because you get to see a Gerudo get married. Well…
The Sons’ wedding
I recently got engaged myself, so I may admittedly have too much wedding on my brain. But when I first saw this scene, I loved it. It’s a Gerudo getting married — come on! What could be more amazing than a badass Gerudo woman, unapologetically glamming up in white and gold for her special day, marrying the ambitious man that brought the town together? We got invited to this one too! (Still waiting for my invitation Kafei — I know you know how to send mail.)
With Rhondson and Hudson’s marriage, the town is complete. It’s the perfect conclusion to a perfect quest. Even the music sounds the most cheerful it has ever been by the end, as it reaches its final composition. Yes, the music changes as the town grows — and it’s beautiful.
The evolving music
Not only is the town itself dynamic in that it changes each time the quest progresses, but so is its music. Every time a new tradesperson comes to Tarrey Town, the music changes to reflect it. I love this touch so much. It perfectly and noticeably reflects its growth, while also encapsulating a small piece of each new Son’s race.
The piece begins rather lonely sounding, with some simple drumming, piano, and a low clarinet. But the memorable melody that is a mainstay in every version remains optimistic and unchanging, symbolizing the town’s rooted determination and vision to become a complete community.
Once you recruit the Goron, a strong trombone pervades and enlivens the piece, which is intentionally reminiscent of the Goron Town’s theme. Then, once you’ve recruited Rhondson, you hear some gentle plucks of a dulcimer that are undoubtedly characteristic of Gerudo Town. Once the Rito arrives, the clarinet becomes more pronounced like it is in Rito Village, and once the Zora priest moves in a quiet maraca enters the piece. This is a subtle-but-definite reference to the sleigh bells and chimes from Zora’s Domain.
Finally, once the wedding is over, the piece fully fills out with the low-yet-warm sound of a violin or cello. By this point, it weirdly reminded me of the Ordon Village theme from Twilight Princess, which I doubt was intentional. But I think it’s because I associate those warm instruments with a cozy, soulful village, which by the end Tarrey Town had absolutely, finally become.
