"The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" will be released for both the Wii U and the upcoming Nintendo NX in 2017, whether during the console's launch in March or in the few months that follows, and fans of the series will be delighted to learn that a familiar race in the franchise is making a return after being absent for a few years.
As revealed in a trailer from Gematsu, Koroks will be all over Hyrule in "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild." They can be found just about anywhere and the trailer shows Link finding them underneath rocks, in the water or in other secretive hiding places. Finding them delights the Koroks and they will reward Link each time he finds them.
Koroks, who appear as children but with the body made of wood and faces made of masks and leaves, first appeared in "The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker" but haven't appeared in any game since. According to the game's lore they are the evolved form of the Kokiri, a race of children-like people seen in "The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time."
The games' lore states that they were children-like people who never grew old and were always associated with the Great Deku Tree. When one of the timelines in the franchise saw Hyrule become a vast ocean they evolved into their plant-like form, traveling and planting Deku seeds all around the world.
This would suggest that "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" takes place after the events of "Wind Waker" given that the Koroks are still present. It would also explain why Hyrule in "Breath of the Wild" appears to be more of a wild place instead of a more civilized kingdom with villages and proper roads.
"The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" launches in 2017.
