Little by little, Nintendo fans draw closer to the next appearance of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. Although Nintendo hasn't been clear about when fans will hear about it next, it still insists that the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will release in 2022, so inevitably Nintendo will have to address the game sometime in the coming months. The last trailer fans saw only raised more questions. Aside from teasing some of Link's new powers and the game's menacing undead antagonist, the last Breath of the Wild 2 trailer showed off new floating islands that shake up Breath of the Wild's Hyrule.
The floating islands are a particularly good addition to Breath of the Wild 2. Since the game reuses Breath of the Wild's previous map, Nintendo needed to adjust the terrain somehow to keep things interesting, and these islands are a perfect way to do so. It's not Zelda's first encounter with floating islands, of course; Skyward Sword has a large network of flying islands in its hub. Naturally, Breath of the Wild 2's islands draw Skyward Sword comparisons, but BotW2's islands actually ought to be nothing like Skyward Sword. Whereas Skyward Sword was defined by largely empty skies, BotW2 needs a wealth of activities in its floating islands.
Skyward Sword's Airborne Archipelago
In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Link comes from a flying town called Skyloft which nearly all Hylians call home. Skyloft is only one part of a metaphorical sea of islands, however; once players have access to Link's Loftwing and can roam Skyloft freely, they can land on and explore various tiny islands. Although flying around was billed as a major part of Skyward Sword, however, the sky itself is fairly empty. Most of the sky's attractions are Goddess Chests, which can only be opened by finding Goddess Cubes on the ground, alongside a few minigames and a couple of sidequests. Ultimately, there wasn't much to do in Skyward Sword's sky.
Skyward Sword's sky is probably as barren as it is because the bulk of the game is actually meant to take place on the ground, rather than in the sky itself. Almost all the game's dungeons, boss battles, and story arcs take place entirely on the world below Skyloft, with the sky itself only serving as a hub world for gathering rewards, buying equipment, and traveling between Skyward Sword's three main areas. That makes the sky's state make some sense, but it's ultimately one of Skyward Sword's flaws in the eyes of many. Fans who expected an aerial world comparable to The Wind Waker's open seas were disappointed to learn that they had little reason to wander around the sky.
Even if Skyward Sword's sky was never meant to be the core experience of the game, it would've been better if there was more to do up there. Players have such limited ability and motivation to explore Skyloft and its surrounding areas that the sky ultimately ends up being a pretty minor part of Skyward Sword. The sky of Skyward Sword had a ton of potential, so it's a shame that the islands are rather shallow in content. Breath of the Wild 2 has to learn from that mistake.
Aerial Adventures in Breath of the Wild 2
Odds are low that the majority of Breath of the Wild 2 will take place in Hyrule's new set of floating islands. On the contrary, the last trailer showed Link fighting monsters and exploring on ground level, so odds are that much of the game still takes place on solid ground. Even so, Nintendo shouldn't be tempted to put only the necessary amount of content in Breath of the Wild 2's sky islands. Skyward Sword's reputation was hurt by the underutilization of the sky, so Nintendo needs to make sure there's plenty to do in Breath of the Wild 2's skies.
The first Breath of the Wild already presents tons of great ways that the sequel can make the islands worth visiting. For instance, some floating islands might have their own optional mini-dungeons akin to Breath of the Wild's Ancient Shrines, offering Link a chance to test his strength and wits if he explores the islands thoroughly enough. Breath of the Wild's cooking system and valuable minerals also means that the floating islands could have resources found nowhere else in Hyrule. Aside from these inherent objectives, Breath of the Wild 2's side quests should also compel Link to explore the islands to uncover their secrets or find things that were lost to the sky after Hyrule's upheaval.
In the original Breath of the Wild, players always have a reason to wander around the overworld. Wherever players go, they're bound to find a sidequest, a hidden Korok Seed, a monster camp, an Ancient Shrine, or some other objective. Even the farthest reaches of Hyrule have something to do. Breath of the Wild 2 will ideally preserve that philosophy since it's one of the things that made Breath of the Wild so great. In order to be as content-rich as its predecessor, Breath of the Wild 2 would be wise to squeeze every last ounce of potential out of its flying islands as possible. After all, there's not much point in changing the map of Hyrule by adding floating islands if there isn't anything to do once Link gets up there.
Learning From Skyward Sword
The sky of Skyward Sword is still charming in its own right. Link's Loftwing is a wonderfully unique steed, and Skyloft itself is full of life. Skyward Sword just lost out on a lot of potential by having only a handful of islands that were truly worth exploring. Hopefully, Breath of the Wild 2 will turn that on its head, putting many hours of large and small objectives in its sky that truly entice players to stay airborne. The original Breath of the Wild provides its sequel with all kinds of ways to make the islands worth exploring, so it's just a matter of Nintendo doubling down on the islands' contents, rather than making them peripheral to the game's overall experience. Maybe Breath of the Wild 2's next trailer will give fans a better idea of what can be found in Hyrule's sky.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 releases in 2022 for Nintendo Switch.