Players in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have shared their thoughts on how Bolson, an NPC Link spent a lot of time with during the previous game, reacts to seeing them when they encounter him near Lurelin Village. The character treats Link like a stranger, which is bringing out all sorts of emotions from fans.
Bolson, an NPC Link can spend a huge amount of time with in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, acts like he doesn’t even know Link in Tears of the Kingdom. Players have been sharing their feelings on the matter, ranging from acceptance to deep sorrow over the loss of a relationship that they believe might have formed in their past adventure.
Related: Tears of the Kingdom Complete Strategy Guide – Quests, Shrines, & Full TotK Walkthrough
Bolson Doesn’t Seem to Remember Link From Breath of the Wild, and His Terrible Memory is Hurting Players’ Feelings
Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, meaning many of the NPCs in the game are the same characters players have encountered or spent time with as Link relatively recently, according to the timeline of the games. However, Bolson, a character which players can spend an incredibly long time with, doesn’t seem to remember their time together.
One player posted on the TotK Subreddit about how Bolson’s poor memory makes the things they did together in the past game feel insignificant, and many others joined in with their thoughts. Most players agree with the feelings expressed, “Like, dude you helped me build my house. I let you crash on my lawn for as long as you needed. We both attended Hudson’s wedding.” In the real world, Bolson and Link would have a fairly close relationship. Link has presumably stayed at the house the pair built together while Bolson slept on the lawn, so it makes little sense that Bolson would treat Link as a stranger.
However, some players have chimed in with reasonable arguments to the contrary, “Bolson had only 2 things on his mind; Be Gay, Do Construction. You can’t expect him to remember people’s names.” While Bolson and Link spent a lot of time together, it could be said that it’d be easy for the NPC to forget Link since he’s got a lot of other things on his plate.
While most of these comments are in jest, there is something to be said for the visceral reaction players first feel when an NPC they perceive as having a close relationship with their character basically doesn’t recognize them. Rejection in all its forms hurts, even when that rejection comes from a formerly closely acquainted minor video game character.
