Since the reveal of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, it's drawn comparisons to cult hit N64 title, Majora's Mask.
This entry, dating back to the year 2000, was pretty much unlike anything else before it - with much darker and scarier themes, and creepy music. It was sort of doom and gloom all around, with the Moon constantly looking down at you, and Skull Kid causing chaos across the land of Termina.
While some theories seem to be eager to connect the two sequels through themes (and possible similarities) - suggesting there might be some sort of link, Nintendo's Bill Trinen has made it clear that Breath of the Wild 2 (or whatever you want to call it), is its "own game". Here's exactly what he had to say when queried about the subject during a recent interview with IGN:
“I would say it’s an easy comparison or conclusion to jump to at this point in time, just given what’s been shown so far and given the nature of it being a direct sequel... So I understand people making that conclusion, but at the same time – and I don’t want to delve too much into it – but this is its own game.”
According to Trinen, this new entry in the series will gain its own identity when Nintendo starts to reveal more about it over the coming months:
“I think as we start to show a bit more of the game over the coming months to the next year or so, it’ll probably start to be a bit more apparent where this game stands on its own and what makes it so unique."
Are you getting Majora's Mask vibes when watching the Breath of the Wild 2 trailers? Do you think this game has the potential to match Link's original outing on the Nintendo Switch? Leave your thoughts down below.
[source ign.com]
Comments (43)
Yes, but how many Koroks are there this time?
I never really got the impression it was much like Majora's Mask, or that it's even dark. Sure, you have mummified Ganondorf from the initial trailer, but after that.. it looks brighter and more cheery than the original game, due to the colors popping out more. The sky gameplay looks triumphant as well.
TIME - key part of both games
It might be its own game but it is nowhere close to Majora's darkness
Majora's mask was crazy dark, No way I see Zelda going back there again.
I never really liked (as much as the rest of the game) the sky sections in other Zelda games, or the floating islands mechanics in other games (like you move from one location to the other and there's nothing in between). But I'm confident Nintendo will do a great job here. The majora's mask comparison is more about using the same engine and timeline, to me at least. And this one sure is in the BOTW world. I can't wait, anyway and think I will restart BOTW for the 5th time
In today’s gaming climate majora’s mask would never get made. I’m sure it would be classed as far to risky
In certain ways I wish it was more like Majora, that game actually had some personality which is something BOTW really could use.
Nothing alike. Not sure why people think it’s like Major’s Mask other than people wanting it to be
@MrGrim can you imagine koroks hiding in and behind clouds?
That task would be impossible to complete!
I probably would have felt those MM vibes a year ago being that the only thing we saw was Link and Zelda underground in the vicinity of what looked like the corpse of Ganon, but this new trailer shows open skies and a bright atmosphere, so I don't see the MM comparison.
It gave me a mixed vibe.
Like a mix of skyward, ocarina of time and majoras mask.
The bright and the sky from skyward, storydriven and dark fibe of both Ocarina and majora.
But also seeing link with lots of hair making him look older. Feels almost like ocarina of time rime leap. Younger link to adult link.
Sadly other than that underground Ganon part, the last trailer didn’t make it seem as dark as we were once expecting.. 😔
Feels more like Skyward Sword and not as much Majora’s Mask/OoT (sadly)
No ***** anyone thinking otherwise is delusional, Aonuma is back in the saddle and he doesn’t care about making another Majora or even a legit BOTW2 instead he’s got an axe to grind over the response to Skyward Sword.
A game doesn't have to be less colourful and dimmed down to be dark, though. It's a common misconception that people seem to have that art style dictates how deep a game could delve into darker themes. We have games that literally use their artstyle as shock value when darker themes kick in. Look at Doki Doki Literature Club as an easy example.
This game could have darker themes and concepts which we are yet to see. We saw very little of the story so far so I think it's way too difficult to tell. He could also be referring to the story not being the usual 'Link vs Ganon' but could be entirely original with a little more nuance, which I think was a very big part of what made Majora special. There is also the time travel factor which both games share from the looks of it.
May I also add I have a gripe with the idea that "dark" means "better". A story in a game has to first and foremost be well written and serve its purpose as well as coinciding with the gameplay and world. I don't like DQ12 being announced as a darker title and I didn't like it when the developers said the same about this game back when it was announced. It creates a little bit of buzz on the internet but it serves no other purpose or actually tells us any net positives about the final product.
I also really like that Trinen is pointing out that the game will have a much more obvious distinct identity when they reveal more of the game. I thought the trailer made it very clear that it's a game that stands on it's own but it looks like some people on the internet stand to differ. It's almost as if he is responding to those people directly saying "be patient, you will see it's not just an expansion for Breath of the Wild".
@Expa0 Personality! Nail on the head imho. There's something with BOTW that just didn't click with me at all. No personality. Hopefully it feels a little less blank.
mario rabbids. pokemon. splatoon3 and BOTW 2. 2022 is already off to a great start.
From what I've seen so far, I don't like it at all. I am not a huge fan of Zelda to begin with, especially not the 3D ones, but I could forgive some of the sillier elements in BotW, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up liking it.
This however? Going through the floor like a drop of water? Flying around? Sky islands?
Ugh...
But I honestly hope it will end up amazing for the people who truly love these games. Me personally, I am getting this close holds fingers to just start learning Unreal and create my own game, because almost nothing scratches my itches anymore these days.
@Dround87 exactly how I feel about botw. After watching sombody play it. it became real apparent how barren it is compared to other zelda games
In the trailer when "the character" teleports through the floor, it looks like a skirt. Considering that and the fact that the character in the sky shots have long hair, could it be Zelda/a woman? They never show us the face...
I didn't get Majora vibes at all, it felt pretty pedestrian.
"vibes" the word of the moment
@cyberboycoolen It’s Link wearing a tunic. Same blue earring, same corrupted hand. The chest’s exposed, and I doubt they’d give that type of Toga to a woman in a Zelda game.
Sooo there won't be radio-silence untill next years E3? Does that mean the game arrives early 2021/march 2021?! I hope so!
People just compare it to Majora's mask because of the creepy first teaser and the fact Aonuma said it would be darker then Majora. But the rumors about more linearity, +Link/ancient hero falling from the sky, +Skyward sword getting re-released all hint more to a Skyward sword sequel.
@VoidofLight Ahh makes sense.. Thanks for the insight
Personally I like that BOTW is being used as a basis. Games are so big nowadays that if they started from scratch there'd probably be less new as they attempt to recreate the best stuff from BOTW instead of expanding on it.
Though regarding tone id question how much they've shown and how much they're keeping close to their chest. We haven't even seen the equivalents of Shrines or the Divine Beast Dungeons yet.
You could probably make Majora's Mask look lighter than OoT if you just showed off Link wandering around Clocktower town, and horse riding.
For me, the only thing that would kill my hype for this game would be finding out it's taken the Majora's mask time resetting mechanic. I hated it (but loved everything else...which made me hate the time mechanic even more). But I doubt it will have anything like that in it.
Starring Princess Zelda as the playable character?
I didn't get any MM vibes from the trailer. Sure it has something strange and mysterius (perhaps even dark) about it.
But it's not the charming "Tim Burton like" darkness as we have in Majoras Mask.
It's a very surface level comparison that never made much sense. Having eerie and unsettling elements doesn't automatically equal Majora's Mask.
I think they are not saying a lot as this is a straight continuation of the first game, maybe adding the sky elements to the map and possibly an underworld?
Since when was people's comparison to MM only about dark themes?! This is a small group of people that are taking comments far too literal. No-one is expecting MM. This is about using the same engine, going back to a very similar world, seeing similar locations, meeting similar characters, or even just having two large standalone Zelda games on one console - those are the comparisons.
@MrGrim "Yes, but how many Koroks are there this time?"
I hope there's an infinite amount of procedurally generated Koroks... x)
@Henmii "Sooo there won't be radio-silence untill next years E3? Does that mean the game arrives early 2021/march 2021?! I hope so!"
Hold your horses! Trinen said they'll be showing stuff "over the coming months to the next year or so" which could mean that the game is a year away.
i thought it was more so like skyward than majoras . it seems the castle is the only 'dark' part of that trailer
@Daniel36 Haha good luck with your game. And I'm not being sarcastic. Good luck.
In no way other than being a sequel does it give off Majora's mask 🤣🤣🤣
Can't say the trailer made me think of Majora's Mask. When I think of that game the first thing that comes to mind is the weird town full of quirky characters. And there was nary a town to be seen in the trailer soo..
I love when NOA execs pretend like they're being secretive. We all know they're kept in the dark about games being developed in Japan
I’m interested to see how open-world the sky regions are, especially considering how freeing it was to explore such an expansive Hyrule in the last game. But if travelling to new areas doesn’t diminish the flow of exploration, I’m really, really excited to see more of this game!!
Sure, the first teaser trailer had some dark elements, but it's way too early to say the game is anything like Majora's Mask. Many games in the series have, at the very least, a dark moment. Even more "light" Zelda titles like Link's Awakening have their dark undertones when you think about it.
@Large-Kelpfries Haha, thanks. And you were reply #36, so good luck vibes for me.
My thoughts from seeing the clip were, Nintendo has gone over the top. Like Mario 64 then Sunshine.
BotW 2 should be just that, more of the same. I've watched a you tube video than suggests botw 2 takes place in the sky and underwater.
@Moshugan
True. But to me it sounds more like they are starting the marketing campaign now, showing small trailers now and then.
If it would be a holiday 2022 title, I am pretty sure they wouldn't show anything anymore before E3 2022.
But we'll wait and see.
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