A reader takes an optimistic view of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2, based on the fact that Nintendo clearly isn’t rushing the game.
When I saw the new trailer for Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 titled ‘Launch timing update’ I knew it wasn’t going to be good news. Technically that could mean they were just announcing the date, but the ominous black thumbnail seemed to make it clear that another delay was looming. And that’s exactly what happened. A massive delay too, that might mean the game isn’t coming out till this time next year.
It’s disappointing, of course, especially as I’m not very interested in anything else Nintendo has planned at the moment (especially if they don’t release Advance Wars), but at the end of the day they’re doing the opposite of someone like EA with Battlefield 2042, and saying that the most important thing is not making the release date but ensuring the game is a high quality as possible.
That’s more important than ever now, because not only has Nintendo not had a big release in a while but the Switch is starting to get old. And while the first Breath Of The Wild is still widely held to be the best game ever made, Elden Ring is clearly a contender and quite a similar game in many ways. So there’s a lot to prove, but I think Nintendo knows that and are planning to go all out.
The constant delays are obviously partly due to the pandemic but they’re also very common for Nintendo games that were originally planned to be expansion packs or spin-off style sequels. Zelda: Majora’s Mask was the same and so was Super Mario Galaxy 2, which was originally just supposed to be an expansion but then turned into one of the main rivals for title of best game ever.
So, despite us knowing almost nothing about the sequel to Breath Of The Wild I think there’s every reason to hope that not only is it going to be good but that Nintendo is aiming for the fences.
We already know some important things though, such as about the new magic abilities (in part because of those patent leaks) and hints in the trailers about Link having a robot arm, a flamethrower, and in the latest footage some kind of damage or infected Master Sword.
The most important confirmed detail though, from Nintendo themselves, is that the game will take place on both the ground and in the air. The implication there is that the stuff in the air – the floating islands you can see in the trailer – is just as big as the original overworld and if you assume they’ve changed a lot of the overworld too, which you just know they have, that is an enormous amount of work.
The thing I’m most interested in is if you will be playing Zelda on the ground and Link in the air, as many fans have theorised, based on some of the things that happen in the trailer. It sounds a great idea (assuming they get a better voice actress for Zelda) and about time she played a more significant role in the series that’s named after her.
For any game to be even as good as Breath Of The Wild would be an incredible achievement but I honestly believe that Nintendo are shooting for the moon with this one, and want to capitalise on the last game’s success and make it clear they are the king of open world gaming.
It’ll be a long time till we find out, one way or the other, but for me the delay is the best evidence yet that Breath Of The Wild 2 is going to be worth waiting for.
By reader Cranberry
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