Breath of the Wild 2's Trailer Was Exactly What E3 Needed
When Nintendo teased a sequel to the blockbuster Legend of Zelda game Breath of the Wild two years ago at E3 2019, fans were elated. Now, after two years of complete silence, a new 90-second trailer closed out Nintendo's 2021 E3 presentation. The trailer gives some huge clues as to new settings and gameplay mechanics. Subsequently, many people on the internet are positively overflowing with joy.
This year hasn't been the most action-packed E3, and tensions were already high coming into Nintendo's E3 Direct. Not only did this trailer deliver on everyone's hopes for the Direct, but one could argue that, as the Direct was most highly anticipated event of E3, it delivered on fans' hopes for the entire expo itself.
Everything about Breath of the Wild 2's 90-second trailer is positively thrilling. There's another glimpse of Link's mysterious arm injury, followed later by a quick shot of Link's arm getting transformed into a piece a high-class ancient tech. (It's interesting to note that this ordeal bears heavy similarities to Finn's arm in Adventure Time.) It's clear from the trailer that this transformed arm will add new battle mechanics to the game, which, as most fans likely fans agree, is incredibly exciting.
Audiences also get one very, very quick glimpse of the mummified probably-Ganon corpse from the original teaser - but this time, he's upright, moving, and screaming. It's very creepy, but very delightful. This is in the opening moments of the trailer, when flecks of malice (aka "Ganon goo" as they were later referred to) swirl around Link and mummy-Ganon. In this part of the trailer, Zelda falls into a dark, cavernous abyss. The same wisps of malice later appear to be responsible for levitating Hyrule Castle into the sky.
This image of Hyrule Castle stuck on a giant piece of earth, mid-air, leads beautifully into the most exciting reveal of the Breath of the Wild 2 trailer. As producer Eiji Aonuma said afterwards, "the setting has expanded to include the skies above Hyrule." One of the most thrilling shots is of Link, his beautiful hair unbound by hair ties and flowing in the wind, freefalling onto a sky island. There are multiple sky islands. Of course, the paraglider will return to help Link navigate this new terrain, but the trailer also teases a new ability: turning into some kind of ancient tech water droplet which allows players rise upwards and pass through stone.
And, seriously, the sheer beauty of Link's free-flowing hair bears mentioning at least one more time. There are many lessons to be gathered from this brand-new Breath of the Wild 2 trailer, even if one of them is not the game's official title. But one lesson, certainly, is that Link looks great in his latest entry. Starfield and Halo announcements aside, E3 2021 has officially lived up to the hype it exactly like it needed to.