At the least E3 in 2019, there were several trailers shown for upcoming games to get fans excited for the next couple of years in gaming. But one of the best trailers from E3 2019 has to be the Breath of the Wild 2 teaser that Nintendo showed.
Since E3, however, it's been mostly radio silence. It's been more than a year, but fans have gotten almost no more information to hint at BOTW2's storyline. This has caused a flurry of fan theories to pop up about the story, co-op possibilities, and all the mysteries from Breath of the Wild that should be covered in Breath of the Wild 2. Some fan theories seem plausible, but some of these are out there and would make for an explosive change to the Legend of Zelda franchise.
BotW2Â Will Be All About Time Travel
The Legend of Zelda timelines are complicated tangles of games and reincarnations that have happened over centuries, swirling in and around one another. There is one fan theory about the upcoming Breath of the Wild 2 that would make everything make sense, however. One theory posits that Zelda and Link will stumble through time, making it even more complicated.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is supposed to take place thousands of years after the Golden Age and downfalls of the previous games, so this Link and this Zelda are incredibly far removed from the Links and Zeldas of before. Breath of the Wild seems to reference all three of the timelines, so it would make sense that the actions of BotW might be the link that brings them all together. This would mean that there were three possible Links, three Zeldas, and three Ganons, which might explain how Ganon got so powerful in the first place.
BOTW2's Villain Won't be Ganon
Calamity Ganon was such a massive part of Breath of the Wind that it seems almost inconceivable that the second installment wouldn't focus on him as well. But there is an older evil than even Ganon that could be the antagonist for Breath of the Wild 2: Zant, the King of Shadows. The theory behind this is actually quite sound, as far as fan theories go. The music from the BotW2 trailer is eerily similar to the Zant final battle music from Twilight Princess. This video shows the haunting audio of the BotW2 trailer, played backwards:
And this one is the song from the final battle against Zant:
Reddit user u/ReroFunk posted this theory after listening to the audio backwards, and it's hard to argue that the audio is similar.
BotW's Prophecy Wasn't About Link
While many BotW players probably clicked through Impa's story of the history of Hyrule and the tapestry after the first time, some fans took a much closer look at the tapestry, leading them to notice a few glaring errors in Impa's story. As she tells it, Link and Zelda defeated Ganon with the Master Sword 10,000 years ago. But that's a long time ago, and many details could have gotten lost during those centuries. And, upon closer inspection, the guy in the tapestry looks a lot like Ganondorf fighting Ganon, not Link.
With flowing red hair, a large distinct snout, and the Gerudo tan, it's much closer to Ganondorf than Link. Hylians and Gerudo peoples get along pretty well in BotW, so if Ganondorf was able to pull Ganon out of his body, perhaps he would have been the one to fight Calamity Ganon 10,000 years ago. He would have been holding the Four Sword, not the Master Sword, but they are similar enough looking to be identical when translated to a tapestry.
While it seems crazy at first, it would make Ganon as the antagonist much more interesting. It would mean the Ganon figure that wakes up in the video is a version of Calamity Ganon, locked inside of Ganadorf's body as he awaits Link, Zelda, and the unbreakable Master Sword to save him. Another hint that this may be the story of Breath of the Wild 2 is in the swirling green letters in the trailer. They seem to spell out "Seal Ganon" in the letters of the Gerudo people.
BotW2Â is About Forging or Finding the Triforce
Link's history in the Legend of Zelda series is always connected with the Triforce of Courage, which has always been closely linked to the color green, so it seems quite interesting that it's Link's right hand that is glowing in the trailer. The Triforces always show up on the right hand. Perhaps Breath of the Wild 2 could be centered around Link forging or finding the Courage piece, leading Zelda and Link (and maybe Ganon) on a quest to gather the rest. This might lead them deep into scary ruins and dungeons, and perhaps even back in time.
BotW2 Will Be About The Twilight Realm
The trailer for Breath of the Wild 2 is incredibly dark, and features swirling green letter that remind Twilight Princess fans of Midna's arms. It's hard not to see the possible connection, but a new game related the Twilight Realm would certainly create a lot of different possibilities for the game.
User TheSadisticLemon on Reddit shared a theory that perhaps the trailer doesn't take place under Hyrule Castle, but instead takes place in the buried ruins of the Arbiter's Grounds. Theyappear in Breath of the Wild in the desert, but it is also the name of the fourth dungeon in Twilight Princess, which was a fan-favorite Wii Zelda title. This is place where Ganondorf was sentenced to death by the Sages, and he was released in Twilight Princess in a similar way to Ganon-like figure in the Breath of the Wild 2 trailer.
BotW2 Will Feature A Time Loop
When people think of direct sequels and Legend of Zelda, most think of Majora's Mask, which was released with the same assets, Link, and look as Ocarina of Time. Majora's Mask features a time loop, where Link is caught up in the same time loop over and over again until he can save Termina from what is probably the most evil-looking moon ever seen in gaming history.
Since Breath of the Wild 2 is being teased as a direct sequel, people were looking for hints of a Majora's Mask treatment for the BotW2. And since the time loop is one of the most prominent features of Majora, people are wondering if Nintendo will continue the pattern. It seems unlikely that it will tread this territory once more, but there may still be some type of connection.
Link's Green Glowing Hand is a Holding Power
Instead of the Triforce of Courage, some fans think that this green glow will be something else entirely for Link in Breath of the Wild 2: an all-in-one weapon and tool magic that would be much more powerful than even the most powerful weapons in Breath of the Wild. If this green glow is the same power as the hand holding onto the Ganon-type character in the BotW2 trailer, it could be a powerful time-stopping mechanism that Link accidentally stole, letting Ganondorf to go free.
But it could be way more than that as well. On top of stopping time, fans hope that this power will give Link a phantom bow, grappling hook, hammer, and all the other tools normally collected over the course of several of the games in the Zelda series. This would solve the Breath of the Wild weapon durability problem that many had with the first one.
The Zonai Will Be Front And Center
In Breath of the Wild, there was a quest called A Fragmented Monument to complete a circle carved with Zonai letters for the Kah Yah Shrine in the Feron region. It's not one of the most difficult shrines in BotW, but it does involve running all over the place, looking for carved fragments on the beach. The script written around the circle of the carving is Zonai script. The Zonai in BotW's story have been gone or extinct for some time, but their ruins are all over the Feron region. The Barbarian Armor also seems to be related to the Zonai as well, as their architecture features strongly in the three labyrinths where the armor is found.
There is also some evidence that Zonai architecture features prominently in the Breath of the Wild 2 trailer. They may be long dead, but if time travel or time loops are involved, there may be time to meet these ancient warriors at last.
Breath of the Wind 2 has no release date, but will be available for Nintendo Switch.
