Daily Debate: Will The Master Sword Play A Bigger Role In Breath Of The Wild 2?
Posted on June 23 2020 by Alexandria Weber
In Breath of the Wild, the Master Sword functioned in the story as Link’s burden, his task that is similar to Zelda’s own burden of accessing the goddess’ sealing power. It was mostly referred to as “the sword that seals the darkness” and it is what tied Link to the task of restoring peace to Hyrule in the event that Calamity Ganon returned. However, unlike requirements in Ocarina of Time, the Master Sword is not necessary to defeat Calamity Ganon in any of his forms. In fact, the final blow is struck with the arrows from the Bow of Light. Because the fight up until then could technically be done with any weapon, the Master Sword is more of a recommendation than a necessity.
This ties into the open-world aspect of the game. Players aren’t only free to go wherever they want, but to solve puzzles in multiple ways, and to fight monsters with their weapon of choice. However, the Breath of the Wild 2 development announcement was preceded by a teaser where Link is shown with the Master Sword. This means that it will likely be the first Zelda game with a fully-powered Master Sword at the beginning, assuming that the teaser shows events near the beginning of the game. After all, Link was never shown returning the sword to its pedestal in Korok forest at the end of Breath of the Wild, instead keeping it equipped in the ending cutscene. If Breath of the Wild shifts to a more linear structure, perhaps there will be less freedom in choice of weaponry.
Although I can’t definitively say that developers had it in mind at the time, the first DLC for Breath of the Wild centered around the Master Sword. The Trial of the Sword consisted of fighting many levels of monsters in order to power up the Master Sword. At the time of release, I had already defeated Calamity Ganon, so it felt like powering the sword for a fight that was already easily won. Because of that, I can’t help but think now that the Master Sword may be meant for another fight.
What do you think? Was the Master Sword actually meant for what we assume to be Ganondorf’s corpse? Should there be another instance of Fi’s guidance? Let us know in the comments below!
Alexandria Weber is a Senior Editor and an aspiring creative writer. Her favorite food is apple pie and she loves her cat Galadriel. Ask her for pictures!
