Zelda Breath Of The Wild 2 could, and maybe even should, shake the series up to the degree that Zelda 2 did back in the 80s. Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link is famous for fundamentally changing the gameplay of its then nascent series, from top down adventure to side-scrolling action-RPG. Breath Of The Wild 2 might end up being a change on a similarly grand scale.

Granted, this doesn't appear likely, as the trailers shown since the game's announcement have promised the same gameplay loop as the previous Breath Of The Wild, with some minor/major gameplay enhancements and new areas to explore. Fans are anticipating much from this game, from Breath Of The Wild 2 bringing back Sidon and possibly giving him more to do, to the game's narrative tying closer into the larger Zelda timeline. However, what if the game pulled the rug out from under everyone by being a complete departure from what BOTW built?

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It's entirely possible that the still vague trailers for Breath Of The Wild 2 are complete fabrications, hiding what the game truly is. This tactic is a familiar one to fans of the Marvel films, where big spoiler scenes are shown, but VFX details are changed or altered to hide a big twist. So how likely is this to be the case, and what would a completely different version of Breath Of The Wild 2 even look like?

 BOTW 2 Might Be A More Traditional RPG, Similar To Skyrim

Zelda holding a torch in Tears of the Kingdom's reveal trailer, with Link in the background.

There's a lot a trailer can hide or lie about, such as what role the broken master sword will play in BOTW 2, but Nintendo likely wouldn't craft an entire false trailer just to obscure a fundamentally different gameplay style. Especially since, as Zelda 2 and games like it prove, Nintendo has never been ashamed of shaking things up and standing by it. So if BOTW 2 is going to be different from its predecessor, it might take more from a different source altogether.

One of the most popular RPGs released in the past several decades is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and while the first BOTW borrowed lightly from the game, the sequel could take it a step further. Incorporating more RPG elements into the game such as skills and character level progression would potentially take the foundation laid by Zelda 2 and build on it to make a proper Zelda RPG. To go another direction, BOTW 2 could forgo an open world entirely; neither example would conflict with what little the trailers have shown of the game.

The release of BOTW back in 2017 has left the Zelda fandom unable to confidently predict where the series is going next, seeing as how the BOTW dev team has already demonstrated a bold willingness to throw out everything established before in favor of something new. The upcoming sequel could be an attempt to build on the wildly successful gameplay of its previous title, or it may be another roll of the dice to see how much the Zelda formula can be bent before it breaks. Either way, Breath Of The Wild 2 remains one of the most anticipated Nintendo games of the past several years.

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