OPINION: Breath of the Wild 2’s Botched Buildup Has Robbed It Of All Momentum

Summer 2019 seems like an absolute lifetime ago.

So much has happened, not only in the world of video games, but just in the world at large, that remembering the excitement and optimism I had after that incredible E3 in June 2019 literally seems like it happened decades ago. I was scrolling through my backlog of articles on Zelda Dungeon the other day and came across this thought piece I had penned immediately after the announcement of Breath of the Wild 2. Reading it back, the article so full of energy and light, I kept on thinking to myself: where did it all go so wrong for Breath of the Wild 2?

With the disappointing, yet not unexpected, news of the sequels delay into Spring 2023, I took a look around our Zelda Dungeon community and “Zelda Twitter” and was looking for the usual signs of a community reacting to a delay: disappointed gamers, fans rushing to quote Miyamoto-san about delayed games, people discussing new release strategies, and just generally getting their feelings out there. While there was some of that, there was also a lot of… indifference. A kind of “oh well, we’ll get it when we get it” attitude. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing, but when the sequel to one of the greatest, and best selling, games of all time is delayed, don’t you expect a bit of a reaction, some engagement… something?

It all brings me back to my question: where did it all go so wrong for Breath of the Wild 2?

Now before we dive deep and answer this question, I want to make a few things abundantly clear: if the game was not ready and needed to be delayed, then it should have been delayed. I’m absolutely not suggesting that Nintendo rush this game or make their developers work crazy hours or crunch to finish the product. I think we can all agree that the sequel should ship when it’s good and ready, while keeping in mind the health and safety of the developers. I’m also not going to pretend that COVID-19 doesn’t exist. I don’t think it’s a huge leap to say that I’m sure that COVID had a significant impact on the development of Breath of the Wild 2, and that without it, it’s possible that we would be playing this game as we speak.

But that’s where I believe the legitimate excuses end. Everything else is something that Nintendo could have altered to make sure that Breath of the Wild 2 was coming out with momentum on its side instead of the malaise it finds itself trapped in.

Let’s start with the announcement itself. I think we can give a little bit of leeway here since, as mentioned, no one could have predicted the pandemic in 2019, but looking back with the benefit of hindsight, this game was clearly announced too early. Although the initial trailer reveal was one of the all time great moments in E3 and Zelda history, it was still a very un-Nintendo-like move to announce a game that wasn’t going to be coming out any time soon so early. I remember being stricken by the wording: “the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now in development”. Usually, Nintendo is fond of showing games that are 6-9 months, maybe sometimes a year, away from launch, but with the wording of the trailer, even without a pandemic, it seemed pretty clear that this game was a long way off. What’s also weird is that that 2019 E3 presentation didn’t need that one last big announcement! That Direct was one of the best Nintendo had ever put on, with games like Link’s Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion, Animal Crossing, Cadence of Hyrule, and TWO Smash characters, including Banjo Kazooie as the main event reveal, which would have no doubt sent everyone home happy. It wasn’t like it was a weak year or Switch sales were stagnant and Nintendo needed to add a little spice; their lineup was awesome! So the decision to announce Breath of the Wild 2 that early seemed curious at the time, and a mistake in hindsight.

This problem was compounded by another: by showing the sequel this early, it lead fans to assume that this game wasn’t that terribly far away. I can’t be the only one that thought that Breath of the Wild 2 would be fully unveiled at E3 2020 and releasing that fall, right? Yeah, yeah, COVID, but again, it’s clear now that even without COVID, that timeline was never realistic. The expectation I had, which I feel like a lot of us fans shared, is that the sequel would reuse many assets from the first game and that would expedite the development process. It’s impossible not to look at Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask as a comparable. Ditto Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, which released two years later. *Ditto* The Wind Waker and then Twilight Princess, which released three years later. I’m not saying those comparisons are fair, but they certainly existed from a fan perspective, and to be honest, based on the (very, very limited) amount of footage we’ve seen, it doesn’t look like Breath of the Wild 2 is worlds different than its predecessor, which makes the time in between even more baffling.

And that leads to the next issue, at least for me. Not only is Breath of the Wild 2 *not* releasing sooner than your average Zelda game might by taking advantage of Breath of the Wild’s assets, but by the time it releases, it will be the longest time between mainline console Zelda games ever. Yes, I know COVID, and yes, I know developing games are tough, especially massive open world ones, but that seems crazy to me! Let’s assume the sequel comes out in March 2023 – that’s 6 years exactly. For comparisons sake, the time from Skyward Sword to Breath of the Wild was 5 years, 4 months, and that’s with building an entirely new engine and redesigning the first game to be a dual platform release. Now, I don’t mean to sound like some whiner crying about not getting any Zelda games – I’m a Metroid fan that’s lived through two separate 8 year game droughts, I know what complete radio silence looks like, and we’ve been fortunate to have a bunch of quality remasters and spinoffs in the last five years – but that’s hard for me to wrap my head around.

Speaking of, let’s talk about one of those spinoff games. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was a game marketed as telling the story that took place 100 years before the events of Breath of the Wild. Well, as anyone who’s played the game knows, that’s not exactly true. While the story in a bubble is fun and rewarding, it certainly didn’t deliver what it promised, didn’t add anything to the existing Breath of the Wild mythos, and definitely didn’t get anyone excited for Breath of the Wild 2. I think a lot of people, myself included, had read interviews where developer Koei Tecmo had said how involved Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma was with the story of Age of Calamity and were thinking this game could serve as a sort of bridge in between Breath of the Wild games, maybe hint at a plot thread in the sequel, introduce new characters, something. But… none of that happened. The new villain, Astor, was arguably one of the worst antagonists in any Zelda game, and the story just kind of wrapped itself up in an alternate timeline. Not only did fans leave this game not really any more excited for Breath of the Wild 2 than they had been before, but many people had a bad taste in their mouths after the false advertising of the story.

The most egregious example to me of Breath of the Wild 2 just missing the moment came at E3 2021. After a COVID delay, after the disappointment of Age of Calamity, after years of waiting, after complete radio silence on the game from Nintendo since its announcement, it seemed like it was finally time for Nintendo to pull the curtain back and give us a meaningful look at the game, and in my opinion, they didn’t. Yes, we got a trailer that showed some new features, but it was essentially a 60-second sizzle reel that showed footage with no context or direction. No story, no hook, and most frustratingly, no subtitle were given. I know some were satisfied by this sample size bite of Breath of the Wild 2, but I think I speak for many Zelda fans when I say that, by E3 2021, I didn’t want sample size – I was ready to eat. That Nintendo said they were “aiming” to have the game out for 2022 told me that almost assuredly this game was not going to meet that window, and lo and behold, it hasn’t.

Probably the most frustrating thing throughout this whole process has been the thing that’s always frustrating in situations like this – Nintendo. While the world was changing around them with pandemics, wars, and social upheaval, Nintendo predictably opted to be the same shadowy, secretive company instead of adapting and letting fans have a closer look at the development and progress of this highly anticipated game, even if it was just to say “just so you know, this game is still a long ways off and here’s why”. This has lead to something I like to call “Breath of the Wild 2 fatigue”. There hasn’t been an E3, Nintendo Direct, Game Awards, etc. in the last three years that talk of this game being shown hasn’t been a thing, and it’s started to take a toll. Instead of being excited for it, I’m just looking forward to it coming out so we can move on from this perpetual limbo. I know I’m not alone, and that is maybe the saddest thing about this situation.

I don’t mean to sound like some guy complaining about video games, I really don’t. I want Breath of the Wild 2 to be as good as it can be, and frankly, with the release of excellent contemporary games like Elden Ring, Horizon, even Tunic, the sequel needs to be really good in order for it to keep up and not feel like a disappointment. But I just look at this release window compared to the wait between Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild and feel like the emotions couldn’t be more different. “Zelda Wii U” had almost a mythical feel to it, and even during the darkest times of that games delay, there always seemed to be a positivity and hope around it. With Breath of the Wild 2, there seems to be more of a sense of confusion, exhaustion, exasperation, and fatigue. Maybe this is a reflection of the world we live in, but there’s no denying that there were also choices Nintendo could have made to preserve the aura of this sequel a little more.

I’m hoping that I’m just one awesome trailer away from feeling that sane excitement I felt in late 2016/early 2017 and that when the time does finally come to fully see what this game is all about, it will reenergize me and the community. I’m hoping that this game is every bit as awesome as Breath of the Wild and the wait will be worth it. But for now, contrary to what I wrote all those years ago, the hype train feels like its fallen off the tracks. As it stands right now, I’m just kind of sick of talking about Breath of the Wild 2. It’ll come out when it comes out, it will probably be really good, it will probably sell pretty well, yada yada. But I never thought that things would go so wrong in the buildup to this game that a guy like me, a lifelong diehard Zelda fan, would think of this game and think… meh.

The hype train has certainly derailed, and it’s up to Nintendo to get this game back on track.

 

Agree? Disagree? Let us know your thoughts on Breath of the Wild 2 in the comments below!

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