The Breath of the Wild 2 trailer from E3 2021 may have been brief, but was full of details and subtleties that could have easily been missed. It was a fantastic showcase of the game everyone has been waiting for. Although a 2022 release window is disappointing, we have Skyward Sword HD and potentially Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD to look forward to (according to my sources), though right now Nintendo wants to keep the focus on Skyward Sword HD. Here we’re going to give a trailer analysis of the E3 2021 Breath of the Wild 2 trailer and give our insight, as well as point out some details many may have missed.
The E3 2021 Breath of the Wild 2 trailer begins with Malice, everywhere, and Link’s arm being enveloped by it. It is presumed, and heavily implied later in the trailer, that this “arm” that is transplanted to Link is the same arm that is keeping Ganondorf sealed from the first Breath of the Wild 2 trailer. With the arm released, Ganondorf’s evil Malice is left unchecked, and once again it will be up to Link to put an end to his evil desires. Some say that the arm is of Sheikah origins, but this is not clear. Looking at the design, it could easily be Twili, which would be a nice connection to Twilight Princess. At this juncture, it’s anyone’s guess.
With Ganondorf’s resurrection after what must have been an unimaginable amount of time, we get him in a victorious pose. We don’t know his goals nor his motivation, but once again, it will involve conquering Hyrule and obtaining the Triforce to fulfill his evil desires. Hyrule Castle, with Malice’s help, lifts up above the ground, ascending to the sky. The way Hyrule Castle breaks apart is very reminiscent of the way it appears in Ocarina of Time. This may just be a call back to the classic game, but it’s very cool nonetheless.
Once again, we see Princess Zelda fall into the catacombs below Hyrule Castle. This implies that she and Link may be separated for much of Link’s journey, though the trailer was so brief that we don’t know anything for sure. Because Zelda possesses the full Triforce, and this is characterized in Breath of the Wild, Ganondorf will be after her. Though many hate for Zelda to be the damsel in distress, this may, and probably will, be the case for much of Breath of the Wild 2. Though, and this is just my personal opinion, there will be a huge twist when it comes to this. This Zelda is not like previous ones. Age-wise, she’s over 100 years old. She fought Ganondorf’s incarnation, Calamity Ganon, for 100 years, and kept him at bay. She’s not helpless.
Link’s arm is the new gameplay mechanic in the title, if it wasn’t obvious enough. Notice how he uses his arm, not the Sheikah Slate, to stop the metallic boulder? He also uses his arm to travel to the Sky, which will be an integral part of the game. Many thought Breath of the Wild 2 would simply use the same map as the first game. This was a severely misguided assumption. The Sky appears to be massive in scale; everything we hoped from initially from Skyward Sword. It is a brand new world, massive in scope and scale, which is probably why Breath of the Wild 2 is taking so long to develop. That’s okay though. It actually makes the title all the more exciting! Link’s new arm seems to have the ability to take him up into the Sky, which may indicate that there’s a “link” between the seal of Ganondorf and the Sky itself. There may even be a link to Demise himself.
There’s so much to soak in with this latest trailer, but it’s obvious why Skyward Sword HD was remastered before Breath of the Wild 2. This latest iteration in the Zelda franchise appears to be everything we’ve wanted from a Zelda game, and contains elements that were severely missing from Breath of the Wild. 2022 may be a ways away, but this is all very exciting. There are some details we didn’t delve into, but all in all, Breath of the Wild 2 has all the makings of one of the best games of all-time.