Tale of the new calamity – Breath of the Wild sequel trailer analysis

As we reached the end of the Nintendo Direct at this year’s E3, we were impressed and satisfied with the lineup of games that were awaiting us. With plenty of titles to look forward to, there was nothing left but to wait for Pokemon Sword and Shield, Links Awakening, and all of the other anticipated titles to arrive. But then, to our shock and utter delight, we were surprised with a minute and a half teaser for a brand new Zelda title: a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild.

Despite the video having barely more than a minute of content, there is still a great deal to unpack here. Images flashing across the screen, an unseen world, and haunting music not only increase our excitement for the game to come but actually give us a full narrative that forecasts just what this game will be about. We already know that this game follows Breath of the Wild, but what exactly has brought Hyrule into crisis once again?

It should be noted that what follows is a personal interpretation of the video. While I will do my best to explain my conclusions based on the trailer footage and any relevant information, you are each encouraged to come to your own conclusions regarding the trailer, and take what I am about to share with as much skepticism as you want.

Setting the stage

To get a good idea of what is going on, we first need to establish where the action is taking place. Several of the opening shots depict Link and Zelda traveling in relative darkness, lit only by torchlight and glowing crystals coming out of the surrounding rocks. Thus, it is most likely that the pair are somewhere underground. Additionally, the ancient murals on the wall seen in one shot, combined with a quick picture of a stone building later on, lead one to believe that they are traveling within a ruin buried deep beneath Hyrule. This isn’t all that unusual, as the various trials in Breath of the Wild were all located underground, indicating that there are plenty of such structures buried deep beneath the earth.

The dark environment and the depictions on the wall indicate that Link and Zelda are most likely in an underground ruin.

The earthquake that is shown at the end of the video, blowing up a cloud of dust, is part of what is causing Hyrule Castle to rise. Whether the events of the teaser cause the quake or perhaps the quake is what spurs Link and Zelda to investigate, it is likely that the ruin Link and Zelda are exploring is located directly beneath the castle. Which, considering what is inside, explains why Calamity Ganon arose from Hyrule Castle as opposed to Gerudo Desert or any other location.

Something else to note in that wide shot of a supposedly peaceful Hyrule, is the distinct lack of guidance towers, Sheikah shrines, and the monoliths that were surrounding the castle due to Calamity Ganon. While this is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, enough time has apparently passed for the monuments in that game to either be destroyed or returned to the earth. This would also indicate a change in the geography of Hyrule. While it most likely won’t be drastic enough to create a completely new world, enough will have been altered to warrant giving the country another look, especially if additional settlements such as the once-ruined Castle Town have been established. If the game employs Zelda’s usual tactic of a duality of worlds, a somewhat familiar Hyrule would play nicely against a completely unknown subterranean world.

The central chamber

The centerpiece of the teaser centers around an open room with three very conspicuous objects in the center. The first is a husk of a body. It seems withered after a manner much like the Sheikah monks in Breath of the Wild, but this body is arched backward to the point where its head is pointed at the ground; an indication that the person is (or was) in a state of great agony. The hair on its head – exceptionally long due to a great period of time passing – and the jewelry that adorns the body, complete with the Gerudo symbol, is a strong indication that this body is an old incarnation of Ganondorf. The headpiece is most reminiscent of the Twilight Princess incarnation, but considering the game and the surrounding environment, it is most likely the Ganondorf from when the Guardians were first used, if not older.

The other points of interest are connected to the body. The first: tendrils of shadow that cover and flow from the dried husk like rivers of darkness. At first, they seem relatively inert (though still slowly moving and very disturbing), but as events unfold in the trailer, the streams gain color, volume, and ferocity, enveloping a rat and exploding on the chamber’s ceiling. The imagery is very evocative of the Calamity we saw all over Hyrule and particularly on the different forms of Ganon.

The final object is in stark contrast to the rest of the chamber. A blue-green spectral hand is initially placed palm down on the figure’s chest, from which the dark tendrils appear to be originating. This is admittedly the most difficult object to deduce, as the only identifying features are the bands around the spectral arm, and mysterious twirls of energy emanating from the top of the arm. The swirling shapes appear to be some kind of lettering, but there is little indication as to what language it could be. The armbands, however, have a similar appearance to some of the designs on the towers and shrines in Breath of the Wild. So, it may be yet another product of the lost Sheikah technology.

The story of the trailer

Those are the things we can spot easily. The rest of the trailer is a bit harder to decipher at first glance. The rest of the clips are brief, to say the least. The flashes of light, Link and Zelda moving and turning at fast speeds; if you blinked, you very likely missed something, and it doesn’t take much to realize that very few of these clips are in chronological order. However, by slowing down the footage and separating out the individual sections, it becomes clear that not only can these scenes be put in a logical order, it also tells a story, one that may actually reveal just what is going on here.

The longer images, those of Link and Zelda traveling through the underground, come first. The two are investigating something that has led them down here. Their travels lead them to this underground ruin and eventually to the chamber with this disturbing husk of a figure and the spectral hand.

As Zelda is ready to begin her investigation, the earth beneath her gives way. We briefly see her fall in one scene and see Link’s hand grab her hand in another. So, true to form, Link has saved the day… but only briefly, because there is also a brief moment where the spectral hand grabs Link’s arm. Upon inspection, it is clear that Link grabbed Zelda’s hand with his right hand, while the spectral hand grabs Link’s left arm while Link is falling himself. So, Link grabs Zelda’s hand, but is unable to keep his own grip, begins to fall, and is saved by this ghostly hand.

Two important points need to be made here. First, as far as we know there was no triggering mechanism. Nothing spurred this hand to action apart from the imminent fall of our two explorers. We know that the hand grabbing Link is in all likelihood the same hand as the one on the corpse, because they are both right hands. This means that the hand likely reacted to the blood of the goddess and/or the spirit of the hero, and because of that, the hand is potentially sentient.

The spectral hand will most likely play a pivitol role in the game, as a special mechanic or maybe as a type of companion.

Second, there is a brief clip where Link’s own right hand begins to glow, as the spectral energy and lettering appears to merge with Link. Since this is Link’s right hand and not the arm that was grabbed by the spectral hand previously, this implies that the fusion is no accident. Most likely this is done in response to the other events of the trailer and will be the special mechanic or focus used throughout the game.

However, in order to save Link and Zelda, the hand is required to leave its post suppressing the dark energy emitting from the demonic husk. Without any force to hinder it, the energy begins to erupt in volume and ferocity, exploding across the chamber, and slowly granting life to the once motionless figure. We see its hand twitching, a flash of light casting a terrifying shadow that is evocative of both Ganondorf and Demise, and finally the bright orange eyes of the corpse coming back from the dead, as we then see Hyrule Castle rising from the earth.

And so, the latest entry in the Zelda epic is already laid before us. A dark connection to the ancient Calamity, potentially an incarnation of Ganondorf himself, is revived and already causing havoc that must be repressed and sealed with help from a spectral hand and the magic it contains. Where this will take us is anyone’s guess: across Hyrule, under the earth, and perhaps even a return to the skies. All we know for sure is that the stage is already being set for our return to the wild. And we are ecstatic at the prospect.