The Breath of the Wild sequel continues to be in development, and it might have the most dramatic Zelda plot in the franchise’s history if the latest teaser is anything to go by.
First off, the new trailer appears to pick up where the last one left off when Link and Zelda encountered a mysterious mummified figure deep in the caverns below Hyrule Castle. Now, in the second trailer, we again see a striking tapestry of chopped-up footage that shows off even more drama. Link’s arm goes through quite an ordeal, Zelda falls deeper into a pit, and the mummified figure who looks a lot like Ganondorf begins to regenerate into the Zelda villain we all know and love. And yes, there is Malice. Tons of Malice.
Thanks to the new trailer, we now know that Link’s arm may have increasing significance in the plot and gameplay mechanism. The last trailer showed a glowing hand wearing a golden device that seemed to hold back the Malice at bay. Now the Malice is attacking Link’s right arm, but perhaps this happens after the green glowing magic is absorbed into him in the first trailer. In the 2021 trailer, the golden device is wrapped around Link’s arm in a later shot as he lays down on a stone floor engraved with never-before-seen ancient markings. For better or for worse, Link’s new “arm status” appears to be a key item that behaves much like the runes of the Sheikah Slate, with more enhanced versions of abilities such as Stasis. It is probably safe to say that the source of the green magic is benevolent. It may have even saved Link from the Malice. As for Zelda, we simply witness her fall into a dark hole, and nothing more. For now, this is all we see of her short-haired royal presence.
From there, the rest of the trailer features Link in a dashing new ancient-looking outfit in a brand new sky world above Hyrule, along with more things to do in the Breath of the Wild land we’re all familiar with. Link’s new getup features a return of his green roots with a green sash embossed with an unidentified emblem. The trailer ends with Hyrule Castle rising dramatically out of the ground by a violent malice eruption, and the year “2022.”
It is important to note that it may be tricky to decipher the order of all the events here due to the strategically chopped-up editing of the Breath of the Wild sequel trailers. Therefore, determining the order of the events can change the narrative quite a bit. It answers some questions but leaves us just as confounded as the last trailer. Will Zelda be captured forever? Why did the Malice attack Link’s arm? Is the armpiece connected to the ancient past 10,000 years ago? Are aliens involved? Which timeline is this even in? One thing is for sure: The trailer looks absolutely fantastic, and there is plenty of drama to go around. Whenever it’s ready, the Breath of the Wild sequel will undoubtedly have an awesome story. It is certainly worth the wait.
