After all her years of princess-ing, it might finally be time for Zelda to take on the role of hero in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's yet-unnamed sequel. The Breath of the Wild 2 reveal trailer may have been short, but it revealed just enough to get plenty of fans excited about the possibility of playable Zelda.
Speculation began after Nintendo announced Breath of the Wild's sequel at E3 2019. The Breath of the Wild 2 reveal showed Link and Zelda journeying together through some kind of dungeon or cave system, likely located beneath Hyrule Castle. They then come across a mummified body (which appears to be Ganondorf) held down by a glowing green hand. The mummy wakes up, the cave collapses under Link and Zelda's feet, the glowing hand appears to save them, and Hyrule Castle begins to rise up from the ground.
Breath of the Wild 2's brief trailer - when combined with prior knowledge about Breath of the Wild's Zelda and the series as a whole - provides some fairly compelling evidence for a playable Zelda. Here's why she might be a playable character in Breath of the Wild 2.
Without even looking at Breath of the Wild 2's trailer, the mere fact that the sequel exists provides some proof players might soon take a walk in Zelda's virtual shoes. Zelda has played roles of varying importance in the series' stories, but Breath of the Wild made her the star. Link's Breath of the Wild memory sequences showed a Zelda stiffled by her father's insistence on her playing the role of princess. She was destined to seal Ganon away with the royal family's mystical power, but she couldn't doing so, and instead wanted to assist Hyrule with her bright mind for technical research. At Breath of the Wild's conclusion, she successfully seals Ganon, and she and Link set out to rebuild Hyrule. She's finally achieved her destiny, but that drive to become her own person is undoubtedly still there.
Breath of the Wild brought a depth to Zelda's character not seen before in the series. It made her a strong-willed individual, with a desire to break away from society's expectations and forge her own path. It's the perfect set-up for a sequel in which Zelda finally gets to do just that, becoming the playable hero of the series that shares her name.
When the trailer dropped, fans were quick to point out that, among her other appearance changes, Zelda had a new, shorter haircut. This is probably a symbolic choice, indicating a kind of personal transformation (with Zelda once again breaking free of family and Zelda series traditions), but it might also have a practical purpose. Some fans on Reddit speculated that, because long hair is harder to animate, Zelda's short hair is a sign she'll play a bigger role in Breath of the Wild 2. She already had a fair number of animations in the first game, but those were all part of carefully crafted cutscenes. A haircut might be what Nintendo needed to achieve the more dynamic animations of a playable character.
Another clue in the Breath of the Wild 2 trailer goes beyond superficial changes. At one point, the glowing green hand appears to take over Link's hand. It's unclear if it's invading him, absorbing him, or - as one Breath of the Wild 2 theory suggests - granting him Ganon-slaying powers, but the shot led some fans to believe he'll be captured by this mysterious force, leaving Zelda to save the day. While possible, this exact scenario is unlikely.
Nintendo has confirmed Breath of the Wild 2 is happening because the first game's developers had too many Breath of the Wild DLC ideas, so they made a full game instead. Since the Champion's Ballad DLC's motorcycle appears to have been inspired by scrapped concept art, it's possible that another piece of concept art showing Link with an ability-granting, Sheikah-infected arm was among the inspirations for Breath of the Wild 2's DLC-turned-full game. If true, this would leave Zelda with a big power deficit, but that doesn't necessarily mean she won't be playable. Perhaps the hand infects both of them, players get to choose which of them it infects, or she gets similar powers through some other means.
The most compelling evidence Zelda could be playable comes from Breath of the Wild 2's developers themselves. Speaking to IGN, Director Eiji Aonuma sidestepped a question about playable Zelda in co-op, and he told Kotaku, "I can't tell you," when asked whether she would be playable at all. These non-answers leave room for Nintendo to make Zelda playable. Unfortunately, previous comments from Aonuma are less promising.
After Breath of the Wild's reveal made some people think Link could be a woman, Aonuma told VentureBeat, "No one explicitly said that that was Link." This gave some fans hope for a female protagonist, only for Aonuma to say Link's male gender was set in stone, since a female Link would, "mess with the balance of the Triforce." Most damning of all, Aonuma told GameSpot his team considered making Zelda playable instead of a female Link, but the idea was thrown out. "If we have princess Zelda as the main character who fights," Aonuma said, "then what is Link going to do?"
The theory about Link being captured answers this question easily, but it's a matter of what Aonuma is willing to let go about series traditions. Everything else about Breath of the Wild 2's Zelda - her story in the first game, her haircut, and her presence with Link in the trailer - points to her playing a more heroic role. Whether that means she'll be playable is still undetermined, but here's hoping Nintendo will finally give Zelda the respect she deserves.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U on March 3, 2017.
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