Following a long wait from the game's initial reveal trailer, Nintendo fans have finally gotten another look at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 at this year's E3. Fans were given plenty of information about what they can expect from the game when it finally releases in 2022, and there's a lot to sort through. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2's latest trailer built upon the ideas teased in the 2019 reveal, giving fans little in the way of an explanation, but a lot more hints to decode.
The two Breath of the Wild 2 trailers collectively unloaded a lot of information on fans, but one feature initially teased in its 2019 reveal received a lot more air time in the E3 gameplay reveal. Fans suspected something was slightly amiss with Link's arm in the 2019 reveal, with the trailer seeming to hint at the fact that Link had gained some magical powers, but between the two, there's clearly one big question to ask.
What Happened to Link's Arm In Breath of the Wild 2?
Link's arm has been through an awful lot in the two Breath of the Wild 2 trailers Nintendo has released so far. In the 2019 reveal trailer, Link is seen struggling with his right arm as a green aura seems to set upon it. Link is then saved from falling by a disembodied green hand, which was previously seen battling Ganon, suggesting this disembodied hand is in some way related to what's going on with Link in Breath of the Wild 2. To add to this theory, the disembodied arm is right-handed, which is the same arm that Link is seen struggling with.
In the latest BOTW 2 trailer, Nintendo drops a few more hints as to what is going on with Link's right arm. Link's arm is very briefly shown being consumed by Malice, a toxic enemy substance in Breath of the Wild before the trailer shows a clear view of Link's right arm, which now appears to be blackened and rigged up with some kind of Sheikah tech. Despite being engulfed by Malice earlier, his arm is fully functional and even turns blue a couple of times during the course of the trailer.
What Is The Green Energy In Breath of the Wild 2?
Fans have some theories as to the identity of the green energy Link seems to now possess. For starters, the first trailer heavily features Luminous Stones, deposits of which were fairly rare in the original Breath of the Wild. This is significant as these stones carry a description that alludes to the fact that the luminous glow could be as a result of spirits of the dead possessing them. This is where the theory lies, with fans suggesting the green aura is a spirit that has been sprung from a Luminous Stone. This seems like a fairly solid theory, as it's likely their inclusion was no coincidence, leaving only the question of who the spirit is.
A strong contender is The Hero's Spirit, as the skeletal features of the hand align with what Legend of Zelda fans understands to be the appearance of The Hero's Spirit. It also seems to be in some way connected to Breath of the Wild's Champions Abilities, which shared a similar characteristically green glow and afforded Link supernatural powers. In Breath of the Wild, these powers ranged from summoning a gust of wind to lift Link into the air to a second chance at life upon losing all of Link's hearts. It appears that this feature will make a return in Breath of the Wild 2, as Link is shown making use of some interesting abilities thanks to his new arm.
How Link's Sheikah Arm Could Impact Breath of the Wild 2's Gameplay
The main feature shown in the trailer is Link's ability to traverse to Breath of the Wild 2's sky section, as well as unique traversal elements like phasing through stone. It is likely that this ability is granted through Link's arm, as he is seen raising his glowing green arm while in the process of traversal. Link is also seen in the original trailer being saved by the disembodied arm as he looked certain to fall to his doom, potentially a useful feature that could prevent the player from regularly falling from the sky kingdom in Breath of the Wild 2.
In terms of what Link's new Sheikah technology could bring to the table, the trailers show little. Link is shown not only stopping boulders with an ability that looks a lot like stasis, but reversing their direction with apparently little more than his bare arm. Aside from this, Link is captured firing flames from his left arm, but it's unclear whether this is related to what appears to be going on with his right arm.
The presence of this flame-thrower attachment, however, suggests the inclusion of ideas first shown by Nintendo at a GDC panel in 2017. At this panel, Nintendo showed off concept art from the early development stages of Breath of the Wild, in which Link has a mechanical arm very similar to the one seen in Breath of the Wild 2. This arm can transform into a number of weapons, including a cannon, a hammer, and a grappling hook. It was suggested at the time that Nintendo wanted to include these features, but ultimately decided against it. What is clear from the trailers is that Nintendo is now more open to exploring these concepts in Breath of the Wild 2, which could make for some interesting gameplay mechanics.
While fans will surely learn more about what is actually up with Link's arm closer to the release date of Breath of the Wild 2, for now, it is shrouded in mystery. The one thing that is made abundantly clear from the trailers is the significance of Link's arm to both the story and gameplay of Breath of the Wild 2. But while all of the unanswered questions surrounding Link's wellbeing in Breath of the Wild 2 are a cause for much frustration among Zelda fans, they are also the source of much of the intrigue surrounding the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 will release in 2022 for Switch.
