Details were scarce, but theNintendo E3 2019 Direct presentationrevealed through an intriguing and atmospheric trailer that the acclaimedThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwill receive a direct sequel on Nintendo Switch. Despite the defeat of Calamity Ganon, it appears that his corruption is still rampant in the land of Hyrule.
It shouldn’t be too surprising that Zelda and Link are back, but it looks like the sequel may take players somewhere else other than Hyrule if I interpreted the cryptic clip correctly. The trailer, which featured familiar imagery of Ganon and all of that dark goo and what not, seemed to show the Hyrule Castle being lifted up. Whether there is something underneath or if the sequel is going allSkyward Swordcannot be said at the moment.
I fully expect this to be a “Majora’s Mask” toBreath of the Wild’s"Ocarina of Time," being a direct sequel using the same engine, but changing up the locale and gameplay to give it a new spin. I can’t imagine that Nintendo would use the same open world environment from the 2017 game, and I imagine that if the sequel inhabits Nintendo’s same take on the open-world genre, building a brand new world will take a significant amount of time.
Admittedly, I’ve basically done everything inBreath of the Wild—except for the final Hyrule Castle sequence. I’ve been trying to wring as much out of the game as possible in short occasional play sessions, and I’m currently trying to cheese my way through Trial of the Sword after completing all Divine Beasts and the Champion’s Ballad DLC. I don’t know how the game’s end plays out, but, uh, I assume Link and Zelda win.
We shouldn’t expect any concrete details on this sequel in the near future, as the trailer implies that it is quite early in development; we may have seen the signs when Monolith Soft, who provided development support onBreath of the Wild,was staffing up for a newZeldagame. Still, players should still get a lot out of replayingBreath of the Wild, or they can spend endless hours dissecting the minute-long trailer below.
Check out our other Nintendo E3 2019 coverage, includingsome new information on theLink’s Awakeningremake.
