As mentioned previously, my favorite game of all time for quite a while was Final Fantasy VII. That all changed on the third of March, in the year two-thousand and seventeen, when Nintendo released not only the Nintendo Switch console, but what would dethrone SquareEnix’s flagship rpg title and claim the coveted spot of #1 on my list of all-time favorite games…The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I was lucky enough to get a console and copy of the game pre-ordered for launch day, and when it came out I waited in line until midnight on the 3rd to be one of the first to get my hands on it. I had scheduled the entire weekend off in advance, and even had my best friend fly in from out-of-state so we could spend the weekend exploring the open world of Hyrule.
It was a pretty big fucking deal.
So naturally, when Nintendo released this little tidbit towards the end of their E3 presentation…
…I damn near lost my mind. There are few things I get well and truly excited about, and new Legend of Zelda titles are one of them. Smash Bros. games and character reveals are the other ones, but that’s a story for another time. Not only is a new Zelda game in development, but a direct sequel nonetheless. So I’m going to discuss a couple things I noticed, somethings I’m looking forward to, and finish up with some concerns I have.
First things first…
I can’t have been the only one that noticed the similarity between this guy…
and this guy.
Which leads ME to believe, that we’re getting nothing short of the resurrection of Ganondorf. Not GANON, but GanonDORF, a character I sorely missed in Breath of the Wild, even though I understood why he wasn’t in it. So to say I was stoked to see his emaciated corpse sprawled out on a dais is an understatement. Ganondorf has been one of my favorite gaming villains since his introduction back in Ocarina of Time, and his monologue in Wind Waker about the winds that blow across Hyrule compared to those of the Gerudo desert is still one of the most memorable speeches I’ve ever seen an antagonist give. Showdowns with Ganondorf have always been epic in scale, and to see the potential return of this conflict in the sequel would be amazing.
I also couldn’t help but notice they rode down into the catacombs of Hyrule castle on the back of Vah Ruta, which leads me to wonder…if Link and Zelda are now able to command the divine beasts, will we get to see more of them in this sequel, and utilize them in actual gameplay? In Breath of the Wild they served as the games four main dungeons (prior to Hyrule castle, and excluding any DLC), but if this sequel is as direct as it claims, control of all guardians, divine beasts, and other ancient Shiekah machinery will have been restored. The ability to summon a divine beast to perform a number of tasks, or even call upon it when you’re within its established domain to assist you in a number of ways, is a prospect I would be greatly interested in seeing integrated in this game. Basically, I’m saying I want to call in Vah Medoh for targeted airstrikes.
What I’m looking forward to
Immediately recognizable is the familiar setting of the land of Hyrule, taken straight from Breath of the Wild itself. Seeing a continuation of the first game’s narrative while incorporating the character of Ganondorf presents countless possibilities for how the main story could develop, while at the same time allowing for source material from previous games to be seamlessly grafted in. The battle between Link and Ganondorf is one of the most iconic in video gaming history, and if there’s any chance at bringing that back then sign me the fuck up.
It will also be interesting to see how they address the fact that at this point…Link should be carrying around a veritable walking-armory of swords, shields, bows, armor, and food. If they find a way to incorporate your previous save file, all the better (and all the more reason for me to finish that third playthrough and get my file the way I want it), not to mention it would make for a fun new shot at acquiring the master sword if you haven’t already. There was a great deal to unbox in the first game, and seeing it continued in the exact same world setting as before will be a challenging feat of game design for the team behind this one. I for one can’t wait to see what they come up with.
Also, considering Zelda is alive and well now thanks largely in part to Link’s efforts in the first game, there’s the possibility of a co-op mode where players can control both Link and Zelda. We know from the epilogue to Breath of the Wild that Zelda’s sealing magic has more or less returned to it’s former state of dormancy once Ganon was defeated at the end of the game, but as she had already shown herself to be an intelligent and capable practitioner of the sciences, there’s a great deal she could offer besides sealing magic. Utilizing her keen senses and aptitude for discovery, Zelda could prove to be an invaluable companion to Link if, in fact, she accompanies him on his second journey through Hyrule.
My concerns
As excited as I am, there are a few things that worry me, and they tie in to what I’m excited about to begin with. If they’re making this game a direct sequel, that means they’re acknowledging everything you’ve potentially done in the first game, and it’s going to be difficult for them to explain why you suddenly have only three hearts, no weapons or armor, and none of the abilities the champions had previously given you. Being thrown into a game only to have it acknowledge everything you worked so hard for then promptly take it away is like taking the lazy way out in terms of writing, but based on the severe extent to which Nintendo polished and perfected Breath of the Wild, I have high expectations as to how they handle it.
There’s also the fact that it’s more or less confirmed that this game will take place in the same Hyrule as before, and while I certainly love the lush, breath-taking views of Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule, my initial thought was that it would be interesting to see how they’d go about changing the landscape in this sequel. To find out that they intend to reuse the same layout as in Breath of the Wild is, well…it makes me wonder how they’re going to keep this one interesting, for starters. It’s no secret that while I respect the artistic vision of Majora’s Mask, I’m not a fan of the fact that they removed a lot of key elements that make a Legend of Zelda game. I understand the why, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. In the trailer for this supposed sequel, they’ve already established this will take place in the same world, so one of my big concerns is how they’re going to scale you back down at or near the beginning of the game. I can’t imagine they’ll cut you loose with 27 hearts, 3 full stamina wheels, and all of your previous gear, but…who knows? That might actually be interesting if they did, come to think of it…
So what do you all think? Are they going to have Ganondorf cast the master sword out of Link’s hand with his demonic sorcery, and send it flying 30 miles away as soon as he shows up? Will he even recognize the blade of evil’s bane? Will they really let you start the game with all of your hearts and a fully upgraded Champion’s Tunic? How will they incorporate Ganondorf (hopefully), and how exactly will he tie in to Calamity Ganon? Thanks for reading, and be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below!
