Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda is an anthology series. Each game shares many of the same themes, characters, items, and more, but Nintendo avoids dealing with direct continuity by letting each Link be at a different point in the Zelda timeline. In the few cases where a Link does carry over, such as Majora's Mask or Phantom Hourglass, he often winds up in a new land through mysterious circumstances by which he loses his previous items. However, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 may not have this luxury.
Whereas in Majora's Mask the Hero of Time falls through a magic portal into Termina, and in Phantom Hourglass the Hero of Winds is knocked overboard while investigating a Ghost Ship, Breath of the Wild 2 is setting up an adventure in which Link and Zelda investigate the mysteries of Hyrule together after the first game. The original E3 2019 trailer even shows Link wielding the Master Sword as they find a magic-bound figure underground, suggesting what was originally a side quest is now canon.
How the plot for Breath of the Wild's sequel will develop is still unclear, and Link could very well lose all of his items and skills early on due to some unforseen circumstance. However, there are merits worth considering for both adhering to continuity and to wiping Link's record clean for the new game.
The Benefits of Link Keeping His Progress
Probably the biggest benefit to retaining all of Link's gains from the original Breath of the Wild is it makes that journey more worthwhile in retrospect. While much of Breath of the Wild is optional, giving players the choice to run straight from the Great Plateau toward Hyrule Castle, taking major story beats and side quests as "canon" presents a Link who has grown a lot. He has presumably travelled to the homes of each major race in Hyrule, gained their trust by stopping the corrupted Divine Beasts, and used their support alongside the Master Sword to slay Ganon.
The semi-prequel Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, a hack-and-slash game created by Dynasty Warriors developer Koei Tecmo, also posits this series of events is likely canon. Players gradually discover Age of Calamity is an alternate take on the history of Breath of the Wild's Hyrule, one in which time travel shenanigans allow Sidon, Riju, Teba, and Yunobo to save their predecessors: Mipha, Urbosa, Revali, and Daruk respectively. Dialogue implies they've come from Breath of the Wild's canonical universe, wherein Link saved their peoples.
Another major thing that should be considered canon if Link does retain his progress is the memories gathered across Hyrule. Link has amnesia following his 100-year rest in the Shrine of Resurrection, partially explaining his wiped abilities at the beginning of Breath of the Wild. Thus, it would be trite to see Nintendo pull out another plot device to somehow revert his growth.
This isn't to say all of Link's abilities have to carry over to the sequel. With the E3 2021 trailer depicting a larger focus on airborne travel across floating islands, as well as brand-new powers like phasing through walls, Link will need to acclimate to new challenges. It may even make sense not to carry over abilities like the Champion's Blessings given their spirits depart from the mortal world after Calamity Ganon is slain. However, making him start at zero could be a step too far.
The Benefits of Link Starting Over
All that being said, there is still a strong argument to be made for giving Link a full reset going into Breath of the Wild 2. One obvious point is that despite the game being a sequel, there's no guarantee every person will have played the original. Even then, Breath of the Wild affords players such a wide range of experiences that it's impossible to say whether each variant of Link will have completed the adventure as "canon" might dictate.
The two trailers released for Breath of the Wild 2 thus far offer conflicting visual indicators for how much progress will carry over. In the 2019 trailer, Link has the Master Sword and dresses in the same blue tunic that represents this take on Hyrule. In the 2021 trailer, more focus is put on Link travelling through new floating environments in a unique garb, which implies a fresh start. Still, some new abilities like reversing time on a rolling spikeball appear to build off Link's established Runes rather than stand on their own.
Breath of the Wild's narrative aside, another big reason to consider wiping Link's slate clean is that it would keep gameplay fresh. If Link retains everything going into the sequel, he might be overpowered from the start - even if Nintendo scales his health back down and offers new challenges to overcome. This issue compounds because so many people did play Breath of the Wild, meaning they're accustomed to the abilities he gained. Video games are built on the idea of progressing, and it may not be satisfying for the protagonist to be partway through his arc.
Nintendo seems to have recognized the potential for its open-world Hyrule to become monotonous, as demonstrated by in-game challenges like Eventide Island. Breath of the Wild's free nature means players could discover the island right away, but clearly its intent was for people to arrive after becoming more powerful, that way there's an impact when the Shrine challenge takes everything back to basics and forces players to survive as they did on the Great Plateau.
Perhaps the experience Breath of the Wild 2 should emulate is Metroid Prime. In the original Prime, Samus Aran begins with all of her abilities before they're stripped away. This gives players a visceral idea of how strong they can become once they reclaim their abilities. With a strong narrative justification, Breath of the Wild 2 can have its cake and eat it too; let players see how far Link has progressed and then wipe his progress to necessitate a new journey. Regardless, he should probably not lose his memories and relationships a second time.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 releases in 2022 for the Nintendo Switch.
