Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2: Everything We Know So Far

Nice video.

I know Nintendo have said the game takes place in the same Hyrule but do we think that means the game map will be the same or were they referring more to it taking place in the same timeline/universe as the first?

Gannon banned

@Ooccoo_Jr I can't imagine the game map being the same. That would be pretty boring, wouldn't it? A lot of the fun of BOTW was the exploration, and that would be gone. I would guess something happened to change the world drastically.

@Ooccoo_Jr From what you can see in the trailer. Yes, it's the same map, but with minor differences (as expected). Death Mountain is no longer active for example. And the towers are gone (but they could easily be retracted again).

I'm sure, and I hope, there will be more dramatic differences. New towns, locations changed, big dungeons, etc.

If a continuation of the same Hyrule as before being able to transfer certain data from the first game would be cool like being able to keep you house and transferring over items

@Octane It appears there is a catastrophe beginning at the end of the trailer, which I expect will change the world map drastically.

@roboshort I wouldn't mind them reusing some assets/locales etc in order to speed up production but as you say the exploration was the number one thing that made the first game so great so I really hope we don't lose that. Perhaps the map could extend to the north? Or maybe they will go all Link to the Past on us and introduce a dark world version of Hyrule?

i always felt the the places in botw like the castles and all where probably fully built in dev and then knocked down to ruins for the game. my guess is that it will all thoes places will be fully formed in botw2

@Ooccoo_Jr Yeah. A dark world version might be interesting. I think they should still be able to reuse a lot of assets while still making a lot of changes and improvements to the world... I'm guessing Monolithsoft is behind a lot of the world design and I can't imagine them just doing a recycle job

It would be nice to have Demise as the main vilain. That would force Nintendo to release a remastered version of Skyward Sword before BotW2.
Also I wonder if Zelda will be captured the Peach way (5 minutes after the game starts) or if she will be playable on some quests like her ghost in Spirit Tracks.

I believe a 2020 or early 2021 release is entirely possible. Perhaps they covered less on this game in order to wait for a larger reveal at the Games Awards and then a full E3 Treehouse segment next year.

@jockmahon hmm, That's actually a very interesting analogy. I am assuming we will not see any form of the game anytime soon, they must have a lot of development work to do.

@Ooccoo_Jr think about it. If the sheilah ruins are gone, what's the best way to look into another layer of hyrule's past?

Look at the color of the arm sealing Ganomdorf.
Look at the ghost fire surrounding the spirits of the king of hyrule and four champions.
Look at color of thes motes of light Sheikah monks dissolve into when passing into the afterlife.

Look at the aztec-like(rather than jomon-inspired like the Sheikah) jewelry worn by the arm then the many stony ancient ruins with serpent sculpture of the Zonai, an extinct people of Hyrule that seem to have had a lot in common with Azrec before suddenly disappearing without trace. Or how Ganondorf look like the victim of an Aztec sacrifice here?

Recall how they want to make a game slightly darker than Majora's mask?

We're not going to revisit the events of the past by visiting the past

We'll do it by visiting the realm of the dead themselves.

There's your dark world

Hyrule, land/day if the dead edition. At least that's an aesthetic I can bet they could end up using.

They could really open the game up by adding in some much-needed verticality. If Hyrule Castle is off (back) into the sky then having Link he able to explore upwards as well as outwards would be a start.

The first ability that needs adding in to BOTW 2 is the ability to swim and dive underwater. Then they could also add in under sea exploration (look how well they did it in AC: Origins) as well as under lake Floria.

They could also expand some of the barer areas of Hyrule. There was literally nothing of note in the Gerudo Highlands or Faron.

Anything but another dark world or more time travel.

So Nintendo life have exactly the same details about the game, based off the trailer, as us?

@NES_64 THIS is literally my only concern and the only thing I care about! Grinding 900 korok seeds makes up the majority of a 100% completed file. I NEED some of those goodies to transfer over with my previous BotW save data! 😭

It could be set a few years after BOTW so that towns have been rebuilt. More characters to interact with. If just the same landscape we'd get bored quickly.

Or/and maybe a dark world too to shake things up.

I see the trailer much differently. I see the mummy returning, in the process the bridge breaks and it appears Link falls. The underground collapse I think will cause a change in the landscape and I think we will have to guide Zelda on an adventure to find Link, or an amnesia Link back to Hyrule to save the kingdom

Switching between Link and Zelda as they explore different worlds, with different rules and tools, would be interesting.

Probably reading too much into it... but I got a vibe that MAYBE Zelda will be playable and that there might even be a multiplayer mode. At least that's my hope

isnt that one of the dragons spiraling upwards?

1 thing this missed is the fact that Link is going to lose his right hand. In the trailer we see that the blue glowing arm grabs links right hand, and it slowly starts disintegrating. It seems as though they are following the original concept for Breath of the Wild, where Link had a fake arm that acted as a multipurpose tool. In the concept art Link lost his right hand, just like in the trailer. Also if the gameplay of this game is centered around Links fake arm, then it looks like Zeldas not going to be playable.

I think they could (in theory) get the game ready for release by the end of 2020 for a big holiday release, but it's probably gonna be Q1-Q2 2021.

@Cartune but what about us that played on the WiiU version. This would be like a double "screw you". First they took away gamepad implementation so the WiiU version wouldnt be superior and then adding extras for people that played on Switch?

@Thorthegreat12 the "now in development" let me to believe this is not for next year. But as they are now launching Zelda games every year I would say next year we will have a HD remaster of one of the GC/Wii era

@Balta666 "I would say next year we will have a HD remaster of one of the GC/Wii era"

the only one in that camp we dont have is Skyward Sword.

@NOOGA Can’t miss what you never had. 🤷🏾‍♂️

@Cartune but we did have it. in WWHD and TPHD and it worked beautifully. As much as you are forced to be in the menus in BotW it really would have come in handy.

@NOOGA I mean, it’s not necessarily a ‘screw you’ to the Wii U owners, I’d look at it as a ‘you missed out’ more so... Think about it. If the Switch owners got a bonus for having completed goodies on their BotW save file, would that really stop the Wii U owners from purchasing the sequel? 🤔

Why is Zelda's new haircut an indicator, that she might be playable? I mean: WHAT?🤪

@Cartune oh, im purchasing it regardless. Im just a little bitter still about the gamepad thing xD

@NOOGA on switch we have none and I hope that is fixed. Actually I would prefer the other two as skyward sword is very close to the bottom of the list in my opinion (and not because of the motion controls)

I’m hoping we get some insights sooner rather than later. Be a bummer to wait until E3 2020 to hear something about it.

The story is not that important, there is so few details in that reveal so first impressions are likely to change. I think it definitely sets a tone, a dark one, so I take that mostly from the tease.

plz l don't want to play as ugly Zelda because l hate her new haircut, l hate her voice, she has an ugly face, and l don't want to play as a girl.

Also if Link is taken away, l would like him as a dark Link and have him to be a boss fight.

@Balta666 i would love a version of skyward sword without motion controls tbh but i do agree that at least WWHD would be a better choice.

If you can play as Zelda, then the title Legend of Zelda finally makes sense. I truly believe that Nintendo made a mistake not naming the game Legend of Link, I mean who's the protagonist in the game?

Super Peach World, Peach Galaxy, Super Peach 64, etc. That's Zelda logic applied to Mario games.

Ganondorf will resurrect, kill Zelda. Link will inherit new time travel capabilities. He will go back 100-150 years in the past to put an end to the beginning of the Calamity and ultimately save Zelda from death at the hands of the resurrected Ganondorf.

The map will primarily be the older Hyrule, so more populous. Whatever Link does to avert crisis in the past will effect the modern Hyrule. Much time travel.

Link will work to stop the Calamity but ultimately see the other version of himself fall right at the 100 year mark when Calamity rises. Then time travel Link will take the place of the fallen hero and end the Calamity.

After the fall of the Calamity in the past Link will return to the new future to greet his resurrected self and they will join forces to end Ganondorf in a co-op battle. Then Zelda will be saved from death and both Links can fight over her because they both want her. “Old” Link will become Dark Link because she prefers “New” Link and “Old” Link will be the ultimate final boss. The history of Hyrule will be written in blood.

(That’s my theory)

@NOOGA unfortunately that doesn’t seem in the cards. Nintendo commented that “it would be nearly impossible to make Skyward Sword without motion controls” in all those Zelda interviews after/during E3.

@NOOGA I don't see how would possible to as the whole gameplay revolves around that gimmick anyway. I suspect that if they ported as rumoured you will have to play with joy cons detached with right one was sword and left one as numchuck

@Supadav03 "it would be nearly impossible"
So you're telling me there is a chance?

@Zach777 I came here to post almost exactly this same theory, minus the hokey Back to the Future plot.

My theory: One of the best ways for the devs to reuse the map but make it different enough from BotW is to introduce time travel. Link and Zelda uncover Ganondorf sealed away, they realize that whoever sealed him there (probably the Sheikah) made a mistake by not destroying him completely, now he's escaped and Zelda falls to her death. The glowing hand controls time, and Zelda's death solidifies Link's decision to go back in time. He goes back 100 years to when the Champions were still alive (another gripe fans had in BotW, we were supposed to care about people who we knew were already dead). However, like in OoT, there's only 1 Link. Maybe current Link doesn't actually time travel, maybe he rewinds time altogether (MM) to before he was put in the Shrine of Resurrection 100 years ago. But he retains all the knowledge of what happens, and he knows that his Champion friends will perish if things stay the same. He also knows that the true threat isn't just Calamity, but Ganondorf underneath.

So, Link goes on his own quest because he knows everything they did the first time was a waste of effort. Underground with Zelda, they read the markings on the wall and they learn about the existence of other dungeons around/underneath/above Hyrule that contain some great power that can defeat Ganondorf, and he goes off to find that power. Maybe he convinces the Champions to help him (Medli and Makar style in WW) where their unique Champion powers can come in handy to solving the dungeon puzzles.

By going back in time, entire villages that were wiped out by the Calamity would still be around, which means more NPCs and sidequests. The shrines and the towers wouldn't be around yet. The map could be terraformed a bit here and there to make it different enough. They could include traditional items to breathe new life into the map (i.e. a hookshot you could use like the grapple hook in Arkham, zip up a mountain and pop over it into a glide) because the Sheikah Slate still isn't active. The Master Sword would be powered down, as would Link (back to 3 hearts, no armor upgrades). Keeping him in the future, they would need to come up with some other explanation why his armor/sword/hearts are all back to square one.

Also, 900 Gold skulltulas.

They could use this opportunity to tell a truly fantastic story, maybe even a grand retelling of Ocarina, which would help us get over the fact that the map is still relatively the same. The only thing I haven't figured out how to place in my theory yet is the castle rising up. Not sure if that would be in the present or the past, but it would make more sense to be in the past since the towers/shrines are gone from the overworld in the trailer.

I think there will be enough differences to make the sequel worth playing. I trust that with Monolith Soft's help there will be new areas to explore and more enemy variety and I'm excited. I'm switching back and forth between normal mode( trying for 100% completion) and master mode right now waiting for Link's Awakening to release.

@nintendolie
It's "The Legend of Zelda" not "The Adventures of Zelda". Also, why isn't "Metroid" called "Samus"?

i just hope they get rid of that weapon/shield durability thing or at least give them a cool-down period like the master sword has.
i also would like the ability to fuse weapons and shields together rather then the waste it is to have to toss them out for better ones

A theory I have goes along with the Demise is back plot. The glowing hand belongs to Ghirrahim who's back for his master one more/last time. Those kind of look like his arm bands too.
"But it saves Link"! Does it? All that's shown is it grabs Link's arm while possibly taking his other one at a different point.
Could also help with finally being Zelda if he takes out or captures Link.

@MrBlacky a technical indication. Long hair is difficult to animated in real time and avoid surrounding items.

I just want to travel through a living world this time... More towns, more people, more enemies and creatures.

@Zequio
http://img07.deviantart.net/15a0/i/2017/117/a/5/link_in_ancient_armor_by_enriquearreguin777-db7bml9.jpg
🙄

I need this game next year. I'm not banking on it coming next year, but I'm not ruling it out. It could be a holiday 2020 game for sure. Prime 4 could be the holiday game for 2021. At least that's my thought. Probabaly not right though 😋

• dungeons are returning (no doubt about it)
• darker tone than BOTW
• again a big open world
  INSTABUY

@Balta666 It’s been “now in development” a lot longer. I think the reason they chose those words was to not commit to a release frame and also inform people who may not already be aware it’s at that stage. The project has been in development since the end of Breath of the Wilds in planning stages. Then, as described in Master Works, the actual game making had begun prior to the interview in December 2017. Since then we’ve seen countless job listings and positions offered for development. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility at all that this game is coming out in 2020. Core design principles have been set through the engine and art style, so it is highly likely this project will be streamlined in development. At the end of the day, this is speculation. I don’t know where they are with the game, but I’m hopeful that we could see it in 2020/2021. That being said, King Zell has mentioned a 2020 Zelda game if you “liked botw”.

Multiplayer would be a dream come true

I like how this seems to be taking a darker turn. I can, however, wait...until after I finally play and finish BotW.

Guarantee they've been building this for over a year now, ever since they finished the DLC they would have been working on this.
I reckon a year from now we'll see it, either holiday '20 or Q1'21 would make the most sense.

I also reckon it'll be the same world but a lot of it rebuilt, more towns and NPCs. I hope this happens too as after playing AC Oddysey for the past 5 months it made me realise how few sidequests are in BoTW

@NES_64 That's totally what I was thinking too! I would love if they had that feature

All I'm hoping is that they'll reconsider, and have it also supported on the Wii U, because that's the only console I own. I personally don't care if it is released a month later, or costs $10 extra.

@BotW2WiiU
Atleast now I know that I aint alone

Can they get rid of the bullcrap weapon degradation?

And add in more stock Zelda stuff like large dungeons.

BOTW was interesting but as Zelda games go I don't think it was quite what I was looking for. Link's Awakening is much more what I like to see in a Zelda game.

They can change up some things but the core needs to stay relatively stable. It was like if Sony made God of War 4 a first person shooter.

@sword_9mm that's a horrible example. Many, many OG Zelda fans like myself completely connect with BotW as the modern realization of what we first played on the NES. This is the Zelda we had back then, met with the 3D in-world experience first introduced in Ocarina. Sure, it's missing some of what people expected with the repeated themes that were begun with Ocarina, but Hyrule as we knew it is destroyed. What would you expect? The whimsy of that world was lost and they've been just-surviving for 100 years.
What exactly were you missing in BotW? The Zelda theme and Field of Hyrule music? An Ocarina? I mean, imagine a handful of looping overworld songs while you're wandering and exploring for 20 hrs... That's guaranteed obnoxious.
And as for the weapon degredation, I think it's a refreshing idea the keeps battle and survival hand-in-hand, as it should be. You can't just take hit after hit on a shield and not expect it to split at some point. Likewise with a weapon. Some weapons are more brittle than others (stupidly brittle in some cases) but that's called variety and unexpected circumstances.

@NImH

I wasn't talking about the music.

The weapon degradation is awful and is awful in EVERY game ever. I also don't want to mix potions, cook food, or any of that micromanagement BS. We have Elder Scrolls games for that. Adding odd-ball realism type things to a Zelda game is silly imo. How about they do the same to Mario. No you can't jump like that; find the step stool and ladders....

The shrines are BORING. The larger dungeons are much more interesting. Maybe not even dungeons but different areas to complete.

Look; it's nice they tried something different but I'd have rather they made a new series than to put Zelda in it.

Different strokes for different folks. I'm glad you enjoyed it but I've basically given up on it.

I hope that Zelda and Link are both playable in the next game with their own unique ways of dealing with things and perhaps their own dungeons.

@sword_9mm fair enough. But I think you may be in the minority on a couple of those points. I agree that they could do with a change in the food/health replenishment department. But we aren't going backwards to hearts manifesting from grass cuttings. As for the jump mechanic, I just don't understand your point there...

One of the things I thought after finishing BotW was how much more fun it could be with online co-op, one as Zelda, one as Link or something. More dungeons and a mix between exploring and a set path for story wouod be welcome, as well.

@Ooccoo_Jr
It would be cool to have a sort of dark world with tons of portals, and a minecraft nether type thing where distance travelled in the dark world is three times as much in the real world

My guess, based on the trailer, is that the castle is going to be destroyed/sink underground and this event will alter the complexion of the whole map. Think WoW: Cataclysm.

As someone who subscribes to RSS... please stop pushing minor edits into RSS broadcasts if possible. I have no idea why I keep seeing the same articles over and over but it gets really tiresome.

@RadioHedgeFund Couldn't agree with you more. Underwater exploration really felt like missing in BoTW. Dungeons as well - but that's been already said like 1 million times. Or more.

The sky exploration possibility is also very interesting but in my opinion cannot compare with the underwater one.

Sure thing is they can do lots of staff in order to deliver us a fresh experience revisiting the same Hyrule. And I totally trust they can nail it because if they is a game designer out there in the world I put my blind trust on is Eiji Aonuma and his team.

Those HD remakes titles after all seem like a substitute for heroin when compared to the PURE DOPE a brand new Zelda title offer.

In Japan, it is often tradition that when they cut their hair short (into a Bob), it is the start of a new era in their lives. Zelda spent her life being ruled and burdened by the task of harnessing this power that she had no time to herself with what she wanted. Now that she is free from that, she started a new era of her life where she can live life how she wants along with her appointed Knight, link.

next year is Zelda 35th Anniversary so they will release BOTW sequel next year to celebrate it

I would think that BOTW 2 would be a holiday title for this year, as they have nothing else so far, they like like to promote holiday titles early on in the year, and they are running out of series that can hold that spot. The rumored Mario celebration stuff is still a rumor, and that can’t really carry Nintendo throughout a holiday, especially not a Holliday where two consoles are potentially releasing

If they reuse this map, it will completely seal Nintendo's fate as one of the laziest companies in the video game industry.

Seriously no information from all this write ups whatsoever Or you have no idea what you guys are publishing. You have to wait for the developers to give a hint than writing in circle in other to gardener views. You guy's made no point atleast for me. The only good thing you did was mere suggestions like releasing next year due to what's happening recently around the globe.

@thechetearly why? That means that they are using their resources well and that they are trying to be creative using the resources they hav

@thechetearly
I still don't believe, it will be the same map as in BotW. How could there suddenly be dungeons or anything, if you explored every corner in this world already?

@MrBlacky I’m thinking we may be going underground or in the sky? A possibility

@ChrisDono
OR far in the future or past. The basic terrain could be the same or similar, but you could implement new stuff like dungeons and what not.

@NES_64 interesting, but the idea of transferring your home or items wouldn't really be fitting. It can't be canonically explained how a home or items you bought in the future came back into a past time (the game is a prequel)

@thechetearly Facts. Odyssey was good, BOTW is their main hit to this day, the most effort into a 1st party game I've seen. Pokemon sword is a joke.