The new information on the sequel to the last Zelda is being asked. We talk about how little we know and how much we hope.
Released in September 2019, the Link’s Awakening remake for Switch counts as the last installment in the Zelda series released to date. One that also holds the guy commendably despite its humble Game Boy origins. But that doesn’t change that fans are looking forward to the series’ next evolutionary step. The sequel to a game, Breath of the Wild, which not only let us experience an unprecedented epic, it also rethought each and every one of the fundamentals, going back to the roots, throwing down old walls and recovering a kind of freedom lost after years of conditioning. and motivation with more sequential adventures.
From the open tutorial of the Plateau of Dawn, a region where a full map from previous installments would have a place, to immediate access to the final showdown against Ganon and the optional – but beneficial – nature of all the content in between, Nintendo showed an unusual confidence in such a long-lived franchise and targeting such a wide audience. The items of limited uses became versatile mechanics (magnet, paralyzer, etc.) that years later continue to find new applications in the hands of the most skilled, and the interrelation of systems such as gliding, climbing, meteorological phenomena, cooking or weapon wear. they formed an exploration loop where curiosity – goodbye to the omnipresent markers – and the ability to adapt were rewarded. From there, the next question is as obvious as it is difficult to answer: what now?
Silent development
That there would be new Zelda after Breath of the Wild was a known fact before the release of Breath of the Wild itself. In a case like this, the unknowns focus on the platform, the preservation or change of the artistic direction, the transport mechanics and many other variables that Nintendo has toyed with delivery after delivery. Being a launch game, the initial logic always invited to think of a continuation for the hybrid (although as time has passed, speculation about its review increases), although it was something that was not confirmed until E3 2019, more two years after its premiere. Of course, it was not an empty wait, as 2017 was still marked by downloadable content, with the highlight, La Balada de los Chosen, arriving in December.
That same month, Eiji Aonuna confirmed in the Master Works book (with illustrations and concepts discarded from the game) that there would be no more DLC and that the next installment was already underway. Of course, it was no surprise, but he would have to wait a long time for tangible news. In 2018, the silence was broken by the buzz of comments about the intention to preserve that renewed freedom and the announcements to recruit personnel. In 2019, it was indirectly confirmed that Monolith Soft was re-involved after participating in several previous installments and, come June, the first trailer was finally revealed. The game was no longer only a slightly more tangible reality, but also a formal sequel in Hyrule itself – at least from the start – with the same incarnations of Link, Zelda and … Ganon?
