So now that we have our last trailer pre-launch, we've seen a bunch of stuff. I wanna make some predictions here about the structure I think the game will be following. Keep in mind this is only based on the trailers and no artbook leaks, which I have not seen.
So, first thing's first. Zelda's role here I think is going to be significant.
I said in another thread that this scene looks like a debug camera over gameplay footage to me. The framing, the stillness of Zelda, the camera movements, the way the environment is moving. There's no way this is a cutscene. That's what my eyes are telling me, anyway. So that would mean playable Zelda somehow, some way. I think I have an idea of how that would work, considering she got separated from Link. So let's take a look here...
First thing to note is, in the above screenshot, the background looks significantly traversable and manipulable. This is also true in this shot...
Talking to the supposed Zonai man. The background looks veeeery similar. I'm willing to bet this is the same room as the shot above, or at least the same structure. I am also willing to bet that this shot is a conversation in which Zonai man is encouraging Zelda to forge ahead on her path, which leads her to the previous shot. She's on her way somewhere. And where would that be?
Here, perhaps? This appears to be over the Great Plateau, maybe, judging by the background. But it's not very high. There's no sign of sky islands whatsoever. That's a bit odd, isn't it? Here's why I think that's important...
As Zelda falls, she starts glowing in a particular way we've seen before. I believe this is her getting magicked away to safety... to the room we see in those first shots. But where is there? Some people are speculating it's the past, but... I am speculating it is in fact a Realm of Memories which will contain a few segments where Zelda is playable. This is what I think her "come and find me" at the end of the trailer is referring to, because...
Same glowy particles that were surrounding Zelda, but now they're covering a Sanctum that looks awfully pristine. I think this scene is Link walking through a memory. Some people have theorized there will be time travel, but I think I can buy a realm of memories better. Would be more in line with BotW. Eventually, Link will be able to enter this realm and reunite with Zelda. Now, here's another thing that supports why I think this...
This shot of the Zonai man is a memory, I'm willing to bet. I think this is a memory of the original sealing of this Ganondorf, pre-10k years ago. Look in the background. We see a Rito with the Great Eagle Bow and a Gerudo with the Scimitar of the Seven, being corrupted by malice like the Zonai man is here. There's even malice particles floating around in the air. Neither of these warriors look like Riju or Tulin (or Teba), nor do they resemble Revali or Urbosa. I think these are Champions or Sages of old, and this is a memory that Zelda sees when she goes into the realm of memories and speaks with the Zonai man as seen in the first shots I posted. That is how I think this all connects together. It's possible that the Hylia-looking lady (who is likely Hylia herself or an ancestor of Zelda) using sealing powers to blast a laser at that horde of Moldugas is also a memory.
So how does this all fit into the structure of the game? I bet we get memory segments with playable Zelda in between dungeons. I suspect there will be at least four of them. I think that once Link get's that dungeon-clear fanfare, the game will shift settings over to Zelda's perspective. And the way I think this will work is that Link must involve himself with each of the four races. Link completes a segment with them, he gains their allyship, and we see Zelda in the realm of memories. Rinse and repeat, in any order. At least for the first four. After that, I think is where things will start to get linear.
There's a progression in their designs here. In earlier trailer footage, Sidon does not yet have the crown on his head and Tulin only has the swallow bow and does not yet have the Great Eagle Bow which we see peeking on the corner of the shot (along with Yunobo's Boulder Breaker). So I think this is a story event that can only take place after you do each of their individual plotlines, and it will culminate into a linear story for the second half of the game, maybe.
So we have, according to my speculations... Tutorial > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory... which them culminates into this scene...
Zelda is on the platform we see over the Great Plateau in that shot I posted earlier. And she has the Master Sword. She's probably fixing it up. I think this will conclude her playable storyline. So then we move to... Link enters the realm of memories to find her > the next four dungeons open up (im assuming 8 dungeons not counting a possible final one because there are 8 phials) > the story begins to move into the linear path where the Champion Successors come together and fight for Hyrule.
So, I could be totally off-base here, but this is what I'm reading from this trailer alone. This is what I think (and hope) the structure will be like. Once Zelda and Link reunite perhaps she will become an NPC ally like the Champion Successors. That'd be cool. I just have a very hard time believing that Zelda's role in this game will not be a parallel journey to Link's that we see unfold on screen, whether at our own hands or not. I think she's going to be more front-and-center than we think.
So, first thing's first. Zelda's role here I think is going to be significant.
I said in another thread that this scene looks like a debug camera over gameplay footage to me. The framing, the stillness of Zelda, the camera movements, the way the environment is moving. There's no way this is a cutscene. That's what my eyes are telling me, anyway. So that would mean playable Zelda somehow, some way. I think I have an idea of how that would work, considering she got separated from Link. So let's take a look here...
First thing to note is, in the above screenshot, the background looks significantly traversable and manipulable. This is also true in this shot...
Talking to the supposed Zonai man. The background looks veeeery similar. I'm willing to bet this is the same room as the shot above, or at least the same structure. I am also willing to bet that this shot is a conversation in which Zonai man is encouraging Zelda to forge ahead on her path, which leads her to the previous shot. She's on her way somewhere. And where would that be?
Here, perhaps? This appears to be over the Great Plateau, maybe, judging by the background. But it's not very high. There's no sign of sky islands whatsoever. That's a bit odd, isn't it? Here's why I think that's important...
As Zelda falls, she starts glowing in a particular way we've seen before. I believe this is her getting magicked away to safety... to the room we see in those first shots. But where is there? Some people are speculating it's the past, but... I am speculating it is in fact a Realm of Memories which will contain a few segments where Zelda is playable. This is what I think her "come and find me" at the end of the trailer is referring to, because...
Same glowy particles that were surrounding Zelda, but now they're covering a Sanctum that looks awfully pristine. I think this scene is Link walking through a memory. Some people have theorized there will be time travel, but I think I can buy a realm of memories better. Would be more in line with BotW. Eventually, Link will be able to enter this realm and reunite with Zelda. Now, here's another thing that supports why I think this...
This shot of the Zonai man is a memory, I'm willing to bet. I think this is a memory of the original sealing of this Ganondorf, pre-10k years ago. Look in the background. We see a Rito with the Great Eagle Bow and a Gerudo with the Scimitar of the Seven, being corrupted by malice like the Zonai man is here. There's even malice particles floating around in the air. Neither of these warriors look like Riju or Tulin (or Teba), nor do they resemble Revali or Urbosa. I think these are Champions or Sages of old, and this is a memory that Zelda sees when she goes into the realm of memories and speaks with the Zonai man as seen in the first shots I posted. That is how I think this all connects together. It's possible that the Hylia-looking lady (who is likely Hylia herself or an ancestor of Zelda) using sealing powers to blast a laser at that horde of Moldugas is also a memory.
So how does this all fit into the structure of the game? I bet we get memory segments with playable Zelda in between dungeons. I suspect there will be at least four of them. I think that once Link get's that dungeon-clear fanfare, the game will shift settings over to Zelda's perspective. And the way I think this will work is that Link must involve himself with each of the four races. Link completes a segment with them, he gains their allyship, and we see Zelda in the realm of memories. Rinse and repeat, in any order. At least for the first four. After that, I think is where things will start to get linear.
There's a progression in their designs here. In earlier trailer footage, Sidon does not yet have the crown on his head and Tulin only has the swallow bow and does not yet have the Great Eagle Bow which we see peeking on the corner of the shot (along with Yunobo's Boulder Breaker). So I think this is a story event that can only take place after you do each of their individual plotlines, and it will culminate into a linear story for the second half of the game, maybe.
So we have, according to my speculations... Tutorial > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory > Link, dungeon > Zelda, memory... which them culminates into this scene...
Zelda is on the platform we see over the Great Plateau in that shot I posted earlier. And she has the Master Sword. She's probably fixing it up. I think this will conclude her playable storyline. So then we move to... Link enters the realm of memories to find her > the next four dungeons open up (im assuming 8 dungeons not counting a possible final one because there are 8 phials) > the story begins to move into the linear path where the Champion Successors come together and fight for Hyrule.
So, I could be totally off-base here, but this is what I'm reading from this trailer alone. This is what I think (and hope) the structure will be like. Once Zelda and Link reunite perhaps she will become an NPC ally like the Champion Successors. That'd be cool. I just have a very hard time believing that Zelda's role in this game will not be a parallel journey to Link's that we see unfold on screen, whether at our own hands or not. I think she's going to be more front-and-center than we think.
