After a two-year wait from the initial reveal trailer, Nintendo finally unveiled a second trailer for the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at E3 2021. Fan speculation has been rampant since then, and deep analyses have uncovered some surprising possibilities. The game has a tentative release estimate of 2022, so there's plenty of time left for discussion.
While it's impossible to say for certain until the game comes out, there are fascinating observations that have been made. Theorizing and speculation are a natural part of this process, as fans try their best to envision a completed puzzle with only a handful of its pieces. But that's all part of the fun on the journey.
10 Malice May Be Able To Rapidly Accelerate The Passage Of Time
Malice is a mysterious presence in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The full extent of its capabilities remains unknown. It's clearly a dangerous, omnipresent phenomenon associated with Calamity Ganon, and Link takes damage when in contact with it.
It's a safer bet to suggest malice simply damaged or corrupted Link's arm in the latest trailer. But some fans suggest it could have reversed the effects of Link's century spent in the Shrine of Resurrection, essentially mummifying his arm, similar to the Sheikah monks found in shrines. In any case, the truth of the matter remains to be seen.
9 Sheikah Towers And Shrines May Be Gone
In scenes where much of the landscape is shown in the latest trailer, it appears that the Sheikah towers and shrines have vanished. In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, when Link activates the first tower, more of them rise out of the ground all across Hyrule. They may have all gone dormant once again.
The shrines were mostly already above ground, but in a dormant state too. In some instances in the first game, such as the Kam Urog shrine near Fort Hateno, players actually get to see a Sheikah shrine emerge from the ground. Perhaps they have also vanished beneath the surface?
8 The Divine Beasts Might Not Have Major Roles In The Sequel
In the ending sequence to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Zelda mentions to Link that the Divine Beast Vah Ruta has stopped working, and suggests they investigate. It may not just be Vah Ruta that's having problems though. An area where Divine Beasts Vah Rudania and Vah Ruta were visible in the distance in the first game is also shown in the latest trailer, but they are nowhere to be seen.
Something like that might typically be written off while a game is still in development. But since there was mention of Vah Ruta no longer working properly in the story, it seems that there could be greater implications to their absence. Exactly what happened, or the extent of their inoperability, remains to be seen.
7 Link No Longer Seems To Need (Or Have) The Sheikah Slate
At the very beginning of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Link receives the Sheikah Slate, an important artifact and tool that players use throughout the game. It's attached to his left hip during the entire adventure. In the latest trailer Link isn't carrying it, and it appears he no longer needs it to use rune-like abilities.
Instead, Link's new bracer on his damaged arm fulfills a similar role. A bright light shines around the apparatus attached to Link's arm when he uses the rune-like abilities that were showcased in the trailer. Is the new bracer perhaps made from the original Sheikah Slate? Does Zelda have it with her instead? The answers are still unclear.
6 Players May Experience Two Distinctly Different Versions Of Hyrule
New footage from the latest trailer has clarified that gameplay in the sequel will take place on floating islands in the sky as well as on the surface world. But there may be two completely separate versions of Hyrule to explore. Link looks quite different when traversing the sky islands.
The few moments in the trailer that show the view from the ground level have also revealed that the new floating islands are not visible in Hyrule's skies. And yet, where Link is shown looking out from atop one of the skyward landmasses, details of the existing Hyrule world can be recognized below. This mystery may suggest having multiple versions of the world to explore this time around.
5 Similar To Stasis, Link Uses A New Ability To Rewind Time For Certain Objects
One of Link's new abilities is also shown in the latest trailer. It's similar to the stasis rune ability from the first game, but instead of briefly halting the passage of time for an object, this new ability actually reverses it. Link uses it on a giant spiked metal ball that's rolling downhill towards him.
When the ability activates, the ball stops its momentum, and just like with the first game's stasis rune, other entities in the area seem unaffected. A glowing cord appears behind the ball and projects the path it had taken. The ball then rolls back up the mountain, retracing its path as it moves back through time.
4 Link's New Flamethrowing Apparatus Is Worn Like A Shield
Link is shown carrying a fearsome-looking dragon head object that shoots a jet of flames out of its mouth to defeat a new foe. What might not be immediately apparent is that he's actually wearing it like a shield. It's even mounted on a round wooden base which looks just like a shield normally would.
Perhaps it is some kind of new accessory that Link can swap freely between different shields. Or it could be a new type of shield that trades defense for offense, or it might not be a shield at all. Whatever it is, it sure has firepower.
3 Harnessing Time Could Be A Central Theme Of The Game's Story
This theory may ultimately miss the mark, but many observations can be connected to time in the two games. Link's new stasis-like ability seems to rewind an object's time, and for that matter, stasis was able to pause time. The Temple of Time from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time featured prominently at the start of the first game.
Different time periods may explain the discrepancy in the visibility of the sky islands. Link underwent 100 years of slumber without aging visibly in the first game. Fans have even speculated that the story in the sequel game may involve traveling through time to prevent Zelda's demise, referencing her long fall into darkness seen in the latest trailer.
2 In Addition To The Sky Islands, Link May Also Explore Hyrule's Underground
A fascinating new ability that Link has gained is teased in the latest trailer. He activates the bracer on his arm, suggesting it's a new rune-like ability. Green energy swirls around him, and he shoots upward through the air and into solid ground, swimming through stone as though it were water, and finally emerges standing atop the solid stone surface.
Thanks to his new ability to swim through stone, Link reaches an otherwise inaccessible location. Some fans have wondered if this also works for going underground. Since there seems to be a recurrence of scenes exploring areas below ground in the trailers so far, it may be possible.
1 The Mysterious Zonai Tribe May Be A Bigger Focus In The Sequel
In the reveal trailer for the sequel game, Link and Zelda are traveling underground. Beastly, warlike drawings and massive stone carvings reminiscent of the Zonai's crest symbol are shown along the cavern walls. These clues suggest a larger focus on the mysterious, ancient tribe.
In the latest trailer, observant fans have likened the dragon-headed design of Link's new flamethrower to a statue found in the original game among the Zonai ruins. Is it possible Link's new abilities come from the Zonai rather than the Sheikah? Perhaps Link explores Zonai's history in the sequel? Only time will tell.