After years of mostly silence, Nintendo has finally unveiled new footage for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's sequel. While story details are still mostly a mystery, the trailer that debuted at E3 2021 still provided fans with some new features, narrative tidbits, and mechanics that should be arriving in Breath of the Wild 2. Here's everything that appears to be new in the latest E3 trailer.
Surprisingly, Breath of the Wild 2 looks more like Skyward Sword than many previous Zelda titles. The trailer shows Link free-falling from the skies, gliding through the clouds, and parachuting onto nearby landmasses - all of which looks reminiscent of Skyward Sword. While the opening sequences appeared to still keep its darker edges, showing Zelda vanishing into darkness, the E3 2021 trailer was bright and vibrant, looking much more like the first Breath of the Wild more than darker (both in tone and aesthetics) entries like Majora's Mask or Twilight Princess.
The latest Breath of the Wild 2 trailer also reveals some new powers for Link, including the ability to pass through solid stone. It's a pretty interesting new ability, and one that will surely come in handy while traversing ruins and exploring dungeons. A weapon, which appears to work similarly to a flamethrower, was also shown off in the trailer, perhaps hinting at a return of popular Zelda gadgets like the Hookshot.
Breath Of The Wild 2 E3 2021 Trailer New Characters Revealed
The latest trailer also gives small glimpses of ostensibly new characters, including a zombified priest-like character that doesn't quite look like previous images of dead Ganondorf. It's possible this is a new villain of some sort, similar to Zant in Twilight Princess, although it's still too early to tell for sure. It could also be Astor, from Age of Calamity. Either way, it hints that new villains will be appearing in Breath of the Wild 2.
There's also a small glimpse of an arm, which may be Ganondorf's, since it looks very much like the model of the dead (but reincarnated) Ganondorf in Breath of the Wild 2's first trailer. However, it could also be Link's new arm, which seems to be the source of a lot of his new powers. Because Zelda is seen falling into darkness at the beginning of the trailer, and Link appears to be looking for her during the main events of the game, it's unlikely Zelda will be playable in this entry the way some fans had hoped. Of course, this could be a classic ruse that would make it all the more surprising if Zelda has a bigger role in Breath of the Wild 2.
Perhaps even more importantly than gameplay, the latest E3 trailer for Breath of the Wild 2 gave fans a 2022 release date. Admittedly, even the developers stressed they're "aiming" for this release date for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's sequel. Still, this is the most concrete release date fans have been given since the game was first announced.