E3 2021: Breath of the Wild Sequel “Aiming” For 2022 Launch

It’s been two years since we first got the announcement of a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and fans have been eager to see more of the game. During their E3 Nintendo Direct today, Nintendo and Zelda series produce Eiji Aonuma debuted some new footage from the game and announced that it’s “aiming” to release the sequel in 2022.

The new trailer for the game was very brief and didn’t directly reveal much about the sequel’s story. We got quick glimpses of Link, Zelda, and Ganon in the caves underneath Hyrule, with Zelda falling into an abyss and Link’s right arm being engulfed in the same calamity energy that surrounded Hyrule Castle in the first Breath of the Wild. The trailer concluded with another shot Hyrule Castle being raised into the sky with the same calamity energy emerging from the ground underneath it.

While there wasn’t much story in the trailer, there was a fair amount of gameplay shown that reveals this sequel is expanding in a major way. No longer restricted to just land, the sequel to Breath of the Wild will take players into the skies above Hyrule where there appear to be airbone settlements to explore. Diving returns from Skyward Sword as we saw Link falling through the clouds with a lengthy amount of hair flowing in the wind.

This extra hair length implies that the main story takes place quite a bit of time after the events in the cave with Zelda and Ganon. Throughout the trailer, we can also see Link with what appears to be a mechanical sort of right arm, hinting that things went very badly for our hero down in the cave.

We also got to see some new abilities in the trailer. Link’s time-stopping ability from Breath of the Wild now appears to let you reverse time for the targeted object. He’ll also be getting a flamethrower of sorts, and something that allows him to teleport up through different surfaces. The latter ability showed Link climb through a hole of energy onto a structure in the sky, so it’s possible that this could be one way for players to quickly and safely get from the ground to the new locations above Hyrule.

It certainly looks like Nintendo is building on the things that made Breath of the Wild so beloved and introducing new ideas to make the sequel an even better game. Fans may be a bit disappointed to have to wait so long for the game, but it’s sure to be worth the wait.

Aside from this trailer for the Breath of the Wild sequel, Nintendo also gave some more news regarding other Zelda games. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity received a new trailer and is getting it’s first expansion on June 18. And to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the franchise, Nintendo is releasing a Zelda-themed Game & Watch that comes with the original Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda II: Link’s Adventure, the GameBoy version of Link’s Awakening, and a version of the Game & Watch title Vermin with Link as the main character. It will also feature two clocks that you can play and interact with. This will cost $49.99 when it releases this Fall on November 12.

Anyone hoping for a Switch port of other classic Zelda games should also temper their expectations because Aonuma confirmed that they do not have plans for any other games or campaigns for the series’ anniversary. That’s not to say that they’ll never happen, but don’t expect them anytime soon.