The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Trailer + Story Speculation

…Well, it’s been a while since we’ve talked about Zelda on this blog, hasn’t it? 😛 And what better time to make up for that than right here. Now, keep in mind, as I’m typing this, I haven’t been watching Nintendo Treehouse for more info, as it’s one of those things where, if you didn’t watch from the beginning, you’re pretty much screwed, so I’m basing this article solely on the trailer. When the whole thing is posted as a single, viewable video, I’ll check it out and see what I got right. For now, though, here’s the trailer…

… … … …HOLY HYLIA. O_O So, let’s go ahead and get the obvious thing to do with this trailer out of the way: Figuring out where this takes place in the timeline. Well, we can very clearly spot the Bridge of Eldin in one scene, so as it pertains to the fork in the timeline, that tells me that this takes place in the same line as where Link went back in time, warned of Ganondorf’s plans, and thus Ganondorf was tried and executed for his crimes against Hyrule…well, or so people were led to believe, anyway. Granted, Hyrule has obviously gone through some changes since then, but then again, Hyrule in Twilight Princess looks different from how it did in Ocarina of Time, so it’s not too big a leap to suggest that this is the same Hyrule, only that things have changed in the time between the games. We see the Master Sword in the woods, which admittedly could be either the Lost Woods from A Link To The Past or the Sacred Grove from Twilight Princess, but regardless of which one it is, the place has clearly been overgrown by grass quite a bit.

Speaking of, the next thing I’m left to guess at is that a LONG time has passed between Twilight Princess (assuming I’m right about the timeline placement) and Breath of the Wild. What makes me say that? Well, a few things. Specifically, Hyrule seems a lot more lush when it comes to plant and wildlife than it did previously, and we don’t see ANYONE else in the trailer other than Link. That tells me one of two things happened: Either the Hylians all eventually moved on to new lands, leaving Hyrule to the other creatures that inhabit it, or there was some sort of disaster that occurred and that there are very few Hylians left. Naturally, I could be wrong in either case, and that Nintendo simply hasn’t shown off the Hylian settlements in the game yet, but I don’t think I am. Why? The title of the game is Breath of the Wild. Between the title and the gameplay, this game clearly has an emphasis on Link having to survive in the wilds with few to no one around to help him. We hear a voice in the trailer, but it doesn’t sound like she’s anyone who is talking directly with Link, instead being telepathy, or simply some other kind of voice in his head.

On the subject of Link, something odd I noticed during this trailer is that, at no point in it, do we see Link in his trademark green tunic. Instead, we see him in a lot of other kinds of clothes and even armour at one point. This seems to suggest that either Link will find different full outfits to wear along the journey, or that attire customization is going to be a thing in this game. Personally, I’m kind of hoping for the latter, but again, why the lack of the green tunic? Well, the tunic seems to be connected to the Hero of Hyrule, the one who saved it from evil, and thus is why Link wears it in his every incarnation, as he is destined to become the hero. So, why doesn’t he wear it here? One possibility is that he isn’t the hero in this game, or perhaps that he simply hasn’t earned the right yet. But there is one other thing to point out, as it pertains to the Hero of Hyrule: His weapon of choice, the Master Sword.

As we see in the trailer, the Master Sword is rusted and cracked all over. Now, why would this be? It’s been thousands, if not MILLIONS, of years since Skyward Sword, when the Goddess Sword was transformed into the Master Sword, and not once has it ever been shown to have this type of damage done to it. So why now? This would SEEM to suggest something very wrong has happened to it and/or to Hyrule. We know that monsters are not only roaming the land, but now have encampments and are much more organized, that there are massive Guardians around Hyrule, and that Ganon apparently plays a role in this game, but what does that indicate? Has Ganondorf finally taken over and gotten revenge? Has the Master Sword simply become too damaged because of the growing evil in the lands? Could something have happened to the link (pun intended) between it and the line of the hero? And where does that leave Link? Is he a survivor of a group that were hiding out in Hyrule and is now on his own, or some kind of explorer that’s returned to Hyrule to determine what’s happened after so long?

Well, right now, we have no answers. All we can do now is speculate as we wait for more details to arise between now and its release next year on the Wii U and NX. Still, lemme know what you all think of the trailer, as well as my ramblings, and we’ll see what comes up between now and the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Ja né!