Nintendo released a surprise Direct Mini this morning to unveil a number of new details about the upcoming Breath of the Wild sequel. During the 15-minute presentation, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma provided highlights about gameplay mechanics, character and enemy designs, and plot details.
The first gameplay mechanic Mr. Aonuma discussed was the game’s difficulty. “For a true follow-up to Breath of the Wild, we wanted to provide a greater challenge for players who mastered the combat in the first game,” Mr. Aonuma said. “To that end, we decided to increase the frequency of weapon breaks.”
Game footage shown during the direct indicated that weapons, regardless of type, will have no durability and will break after a single use. Mr. Aonuma said this design decision will “encourage players to collect as many items as possible, which will, of course, also require them to collect as many Korok Seeds as possible.” It was confirmed in the Direct that there will be 2,000 seeds to collect in the new game.
The last gameplay detail revealed was about Link’s interaction with the animals in the game. “Many fans were upset that they could not pet the various dogs found throughout Hyrule in Breath of the Wild,” Mr. Aonuma said. “Unfortunately, developing a system to pet the dogs would require us to delay the game further. To both meet the release date and prevent any additional disappointment, we have decided to remove the dogs from the game entirely.”
Shifting from gameplay, Aonuma brought some attention to the characters and enemies that would be featured in the game. He explained some of the changes that Link and Zelda have undergone since the first game, and he also revealed the true identity of the mummified figure seen in the game’s original teaser trailer back in 2019:
“Many fans have speculated that this character is an undead version of Ganondorf, but that actually isn’t the case. The full details will be revealed throughout the game’s story, but this is actually the character Groose from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.”
Following this revelation about the game’s villain, a new and haunting rendition of Groose’s theme from Skyward Sword began to play.
As the Direct Mini drew to a close, Mr. Aonuma took the chance to give one final surprise in the form of the game’s final title: The Legend of Zelda: Return of Gamelon. He also announced the game’s release date. Return of Gamelon will be available worldwide on February 30, 2022.
