Breath of the Wild 2 | E3 2021 Trailer Breakdown and Discussion 

The most exciting thing to this trailer is that it can't rain if you're above the clouds

Theory: The game is done, they are just hiding the Korok seeds

"then we get another shot of the arm, which could be the arm, arming itself onto link, who is now armed, with the arm." - Arlo 2021

"As we all know, the game has to come out this year... because I want it... so bad." This got a genuine laugh and like from me.

Theory: Link is using a new shampoo, that is why his hair looks extra beautiful

"Officially, Zelda has fallen into the hole" cracked me up

Zelda falling underground, while Link from the skies. Seems to have an interesting symmetry. How cool would it be to have underground sections with playable Zelda trying to find her way back up the surface, while Link works through the skies?

The general aesthetic of those high-in-the-sky buildings/architecture really reminds me of the Palace of the Winds/Cloud Tops architecture from Minish Cap. Beige color, ancient and spiritual feel, super high up in the sky. Could very well just be a coincidence, but this paired with the fact that they originally planed for Picori to be in the base BotW game, and... I dunno!

What if instead of transporting through time physically, Link's soul can teleport between his past incarnation, the hero from 10,000 years ago, and his current incarnation, the hero of the wilds. Perhaps the hand is the spirit of the hero who defeated the original calamity and, in order to stop Ganondorf, Link must transcend his own reincarnation cycle and protect hyrule in two times.

What's interesting is the "weapon" Link is shooting fire with is attached to his shield.

My trailer reaction: *Zelda - falls into a hole* Yup, we're not playing as her this time either.

An idea I heard a few times is that there's two Heroes. Throughout the trailer, we see two pretty different Links. The idea is that the Link in the sky is the Ancient Hero, and the one in the Champion's Tunic is our BotW Link. It's possible we'll play as two different Heroes in two different eras. Lots of story potential there.

For everyone wondering about the title: Nintendo said that they have a title but they want to wait until the reveal because it spoils something.

If the sky it truly open (a bit like Skyward Sword's floating islands but...better obviously) thenLink warping through the stone might be a flight mechanic! Miss an island (height wise) when gliding? Activate gloopy mode and schloop right through it to the top!

considering the music in both of the BotW2 teasers sound reversed, the scene in the second teaser with the puddle of water becoming a droplet, and the spiked ball being sent up the hill, it seems incredibly likely that time manipulation (specifically reversing or rewinding time) will be a major factor in BotW2

My theory: the great plateau is one of these floating islands which fell out of the sky

Theory: This game has you time travel back 10,000 years for link to fulfill the prophecy in a cyclical loop

I like the chameleon guy and think maybe he'll serve a similar role to the Great Fairies but as a Zonai figure which perhaps is the source of the arm technology

"I don't know how we're going to get that high" Oh Arlo you beautiful innocent soul...

"Aonuma made Majora's Mask in UNDER A YEAR! With REUSED ASSETS!!" "Well, I'm sorry. But I'm not- oh, wait..."

I think we are definitely looking at two different versions of Hyrule. Perhaps one from 10,000 years ago with the floating islands, and then the present day Hyrule with the floating castle (the final shot shows the castle as well as a sky completely free of Skylands) Also, every shot with the Skylands does not include the castle! On top of that, every shot where link is on the Skylands he is long haired and has the greek-style tunic. And every shot with link on the ground he is botw link. The sky-link looks much like the hero in the stories (from 10,000 years ago) with the yellow/green hand and the clothes look right too. So I think perhaps we play as the hero from 10,000 years ago (when there was still floating islands) as well as botw link in present time. I've posted this on other videos but I want to hear others opinions

Something else of note is that the trailer never shows links face outside of when the malice crawls up his arm at the beginning so there could be some change related to his face that they don’t wanna show us yet

I hope this trailer was just the tip of the iceberg... Really hoping we get to explore beneath Hyrule as well. I think exploring the wide open skies and a darker, spookier underground would be a cool dynamic.

Time seems to be a definitive theme in this one. The audio reversing in the trailer, a reverse drop, reversing the spike ball in time.

I can't be the only one who's interested in the fact they never show links face when he has the long hair 🤔 Edit: when his hair is down not long

Easily my most hyped...thing this E3. 2022 can’t come fast enough!!

Theory: they never show Link's face because it isn't Link. In the sequel, Link dies and we play as his twin brother: Bink

So here's a theory I got for the scene where link fell out of the sky: So this game seems to have more of a focus on the Zonai tribe with Link's arm and all and the Zonai have a heavy focus on dragons as we can see in the Faron ruins and with the fire-breathing shield link holds in the trailer. And do you know what else travels through portals in the sky: the dragons in botw. What this means exactly, I'm not sure but this all fits so well together it feels like its intended.

Arlo: "Ganon possibly sends Link to the future." Me: "Gotta get back, back to the past..."

One of the things I haven't understood that I've seen in different breakdowns is people saying that when he's wearing two different outfits that ones in the future and ones in the past. Do they not remember that we had multiple different outfits in the original?

I see how you could think that the water drop goes to the goo that link travels through, but I think that their separate shots, one with the water in reverse, and one of the link going through the thing.

The scope of this game looks absolutely massive. I understand why it is taking so long.

Theory: the fire weapon link was using is a dungeon item

There look to be bosses that aren't generic machine Ganons.

Of course 2022 is an error, he said they were aiming for a 2022 release, so that obviously means it won't come out that year.

Link is an inkling and that’s why he can travel through walls with his Ink thing

What if the Sky segments are Link reliving his ancestor's memories?

9:00 I just realized it's a shield of some kind! The fire thing! He's holding it exactly like he'd hold a shield!

“Zelda Rise Of The Calamity” because the calamity is rising the castle

I bet they wanted to release this for the anniversary (Both as a celebration and as a parallel to skyward sword), but the whole 'global pandemic' thing happened and it had to be delayed

Every time I refresh my RU-vid home screen there's a new video by Arlo lol

Did anyone else see how zombie-Ganon was lifting his arms? Demise is back you guys.

The Broom Icon on the Golem could suggest that Koume and Kotake are back.

Theory: Since they said they won’t say the name bc it could reveal the plot I think I have an I idea what it could be and they already told us. In last game Zelda had a line where she mentioned, “Adrift in time” or “Skyward Bound”. If this new game focuses on the sky or time travel these could potentially be the new titles.

This looks like a “Legend of Zelda: Breath of Fresh Air”

Monolithsoft loves their clouds huh? Look how great they look

The castle with malice below is really reminiscent of Ocarina of Time.

Arlo’s new upload schedule: 5 videos a day

I love the shift from the sheika tech design of many different parts of the game (clothes, enemies) to this more primitive feeling, dull versions of vibrant colors and more natural seeming clothes.

calling it now. we already had reveals of underground areas and sky areas so next reveal will be water areas

Thanks arlo been waiting for this one forever. Your theory helped me get even more excited.

3 videos in a row in my sub box are from alro. Big props to Kane yoshiller and arlo you guys are great

Theory: This is Skyloft, which is why Skyward Sword is being rereleased

the arm is time reversal, so the water that infiltrated through the rock comes back throug the rock

Just imagine the frickey puzzles we will get with time manipulation.

Theory: The timeline is a loop, this connects BotW to Skyward Sword. The Legend of Zelda franchise features a large cyclical theme, most prominently in the cycle of rebirth following Ganon, the goddess and the hero. In the trailer, one of the most obvious aspects is the floating islands. I think that this is the timeline looping back to the start, that being Skyward Sword. This would explain why the Skyward Sword remake is coming out. Second, as mentioned in the video, this game features a lot of things that are backwards, specifically backwards in time, such as the "enhanced" stasis and the music in some parts of both trailers. This plays back into the loop aspect, where the timeline resets itself and the cycle of reincarnation begins anew. Lastly, this could be a last-ditch attempt by the Three Goddesses, because Ganon/Demise is . In an effort to prevent him from destroying their creations, they rewind the timeline back to before it began in order to prevent it from ever happening. TL;DR: Goddesses rewind Hyrule 'cause Demise is winning, playing back into the cyclic aspect. Also there's time travel.

I'm still wondering in what fucking timezone Arlo is in, given his "any time, every time" uploads

Theory: Blue Shiekah energy was drawn from the Triforce of Wisdom. Link's new green arm powers are drawn from the Triforce of Courage. Red Malice lifting Hyrule Castle is drawn from the Triforce of Power.

Arlo, we’re loving all of this E3 content!

Great analysis this has a lot of new ideas love the ideas from there

I can’t sleep but at least there’s this.

The flying islands look to remedy some of my greatest concerns. I felt that BotW's world was too empty. The Great Plateau was awesome because it was so condensed. And exactly this condension of stuff is something that can very easily be achieved with flying islands. They can be carefully crafted in order for each one to feel very distinct, which I like very much.

Really looking forward to flying around Hyrule when it comes out, using the paraglider was my favorite part of the first game.

In the shot of the boko camp on the talus, you can see an inactive death mountain in the background. It further supports the theory that link went back in time, which would also explain the bokoblins having longer horns.

Theory: You and Zelda go down into the caves under hyrule castle, because of some strange occurrences happening. The whole thing that happens in the trailer happens, and then he transports you and Zelda back in time. That is when you essentially restart just like the start of breath of the wild. You (link) then have to kind of figure out what’s going on. You eventually find Zelda, and meet the original champions, and you have to seal of the first ever calamity Gannon. Then a portal opens up after you beat him, and you can go back to the original hyrule from the last game. Then once you beat Gannon again, you can travel in between the worlds. I could be wrong kn the last part, because if you had to beat Gannon to go back it wouldn’t work like the last game where you beat Gannon and then you went to your last save point.

5 high quality vidoes in practically 12 hours, shoutouts to Arlo and his amazing editors. They really turnt the burners on this time around.

I think that Link is sent to the past where a bunch of islands are floating about in the sky, before they went into the ground and enemies became weaker. At the end of the game, it's revealed that you were actually living out what Ganondorf's life was in the past before he got banished and left to rot in his cave, and then you basically have to fight a corrupted version of yourself (Ganondorf).

I was waiting for this video. Just recently bought myself a switch and botw for the first time for my birthday, so I’ve recently discovered this channel and other Zelda channel.

im so excited for botw 2 you have no idea. the cool prosthetic arm stuff, time manipulation, the fact that there even is a second botw game that exists it's all just making me froth at the mouth i literally cannot wait

In the clip where Link phases through the structure it looks like it’s being played in reverse with the way the droplet rises and link “floats” out of the puddle.

I agree I think the floating islands could be similar to the shrines in BOTW, and you can get to them by finding or reaching one of those puddles on the floor.

The fact that we first see link falling from way above the islands might suggest that he fell through a portal and this is a new timeline, OR it's the ancient hero from the tapestry brought 10,000 years from the past to where we are now.

I really hope this game links in to the '10,000 years ago' incarnation that was referenced multiple times in botw

I’m just happy that the castle flying really adds weight to my “castle was on great plateau and was moved to the plains where it is now” theory

In the part where you talk about the robot guy with the broom on him, you can see the same sort of colouring and light texture that is on links hand. It is very small, but it is like a stream of that greenish light going through a part in the back that hold the monster up, so maybe that suggests that there is some being, or power that is controlling a multitude of different things. Also in the part where you mention the small building shrine things on all of the different islands, you can see the trees from ludfo's bog beneath the trees, so maybe the islands are a continuation of skyloft, and they feel closer to Hyrule Kingdom when the castle made its way out of the ground

The shot of Link warping through the bottom of the island looks like its above the mushroom place near the Rito village!

And now the final analysis I've been waiting for.

Theory about his arm, It’s infected by Malice and he’s going to lose it permanently, but someone saves him by infusing it with that weird Zonai hand and he gains a portion of the abilities that the zonai had in the past. The clip of the green hand has link laying down shirtless (like in the resurrection shrine) on a stone table with presumably zonai writing.

Arlo thanks for making a breath wild Zelda part two video I’m really addicted to that game

the video length of this vid is a nice touch

4 Arlo videos in a day. We have been blessed

5 arlo videos in 1 day. Never thought I would see it.

I think the fire thing looks like either a special shield or it's a special item that can be mounted on a shield. Would be pretty interesting if we can attach other stuff to shields too!

How cool would it be if while Link’s on his adventure above ground, somehow you could switch between him and Zelda, and you could explore the deep, underground ruins below Hyrule? Maybe post-game you could explore both areas as each character. That would be kinda neat.

if it's set in the past there will probably be new cities and settlements. I really hope that's the case because going through all the ruins in botw made me sad

The almond shapes on the shoulder of the lizard thing match the orbs outside of the gate/portal where link swims through the bridge. Also looks like there is a beam of energy going through the robot, which is that same light blue color of links arm.

Someone pointed out that link’s outfit in the falling clip matches the champion’s outfit from the legends

Perhaps the skydiving is by using Farore's Wind?

My guess is that the reason you see 2 different versions of Link in the trailer is because its not exactly time travel like some people have been theorizing, the problem I see with that theory is that the 1st version of Link on his modified blue tunic has shorter hair, meanwhile the 2nd version of Link has longer hair and I don't think that his hair would grow so fast unless Link is somehow locked away for a set amount of time, leaving Ganon to raise havoc and cause all the parts of land to rise up into the sky. Something I noticed as well while watching the trailer is that the long haired version of Link is never actually seen using his arm for anything special besides at the end where he dives upwards to climb up a cliff but that after Link gets the special sheika arm (which does seem to be charged with some spirt energy going off by the other spirits you see in the first game and their very similar color), his consciousness is taken back to when one of his ancestors was around or possibly that he's just witnessing a flash back like in the first games, serving as a portal between the past and present to help Link stop the resurrected Ganon and save Zelda where ever she ended up, possibly even the same ancestor that is seen in the tapestry during the first game when Old Impa is telling Link about the battle that happened 10,000 years ago, the green color and long hair seem to make a good connection, my other guess is that he's among the last of the last up in the sky after the event of Skyward Sword with the Hylians most likely soon colonizing the earth below, explaining why in the trailer you don't see any proper building aside from possibly temples in the background of some shots. One last thing I noticed in the scenes with Link in his blue tunic is that oddly you never actually see any floating islands in the sky during that gameplay, possibly tying in with this possible theory that the game will take place in multiple eras. I've spent too much time on this

I totally agree that the rune is a time-rewind mechanism. As for the platform-phase through thing, My guess is that it liquifies his body to travel through as shown by the puddle that is made as he comes out through the top.

That worm guy link is fighting with the flamethrower shield reminds me of sea worms

Monolith Soft really bringing the Monado to Zelda. 😂

So here's my guessing. Both trailers are dark and spooky, so its a safe bet they want this game to be darker in tone. I think the sequence of events are shown out of order. Basically, the Ganondorf skeleton thing causes an earthquake with his awakening, which causes the ground to give way. Link grabs Zelda, and we get the classic, "Hero tries to hold on, but his arm is attacked, so he drops the other person." Zelda is dead, and Link becomes a hermit. Robby and Purah create Link's prosthesis, and fuse the Sheikah Slate into it.

I think that thing at 7:03 is a living creature which acts as a transport vehicle that Link hops in to get to some of those islands in the sky. It has a sort of spring-like launchpad and it resembles a little mini spaceship with a seat at the brownish orange part of the 'head'.

I am excited for sure.

11:54 It was indeed a big mistake, since is releasing in 2023 :D

Arlo, you managed to convince me to finally dip my toe in making and sharing my own Zelda theories. So I might as well go in all the way. Like most of you I am now really stoked for the game! After the first trailer and the comment from Eiji Aonuma that they showed quite a dark trailer, I was a bit afraid that it was going to be a very dark, doom and gloom game. But just like you said, Arlo, the views of the sky, the colours, clouds, etc. are gorgeous. I was, like many of you, also thinking of islands in the sky, likely pieces of land raised into the sky as this is probably the smartest move to make it fresh and I think it fits thematically. It changes Hyrule's map, creates possibilities for caves as well as more climbing, flying/gliding, and provides new ways of looking at something in the distance and having to figure out how to get there, which was one of the things Eiji Aonuma mentioned about the first game. Moreover, it indeed fits the theme of Skyward Sword, kind of bringing it full circle, or it is just a nice coincidence or nod to the reincarnation cycle. What I have not heard people say, so perhaps I am wrong, is that the footage where Link looks like the Link from Breath of the Wild all seem to be on the ground, while the 'new' Link seems to only appear on the floating islands and in the sky. This could mean nothing or anything at this point, but it was interesting to me. It could still confirm the two Hyrules or time points, or perhaps Link has to 'transform' to access the sky, maybe release the power of his arm to be able to travel there? By the way, I agree with you Arlo that rolling back the spiked ball seems to be time manipulation as it rolls up the hill in exactly the portrayed path. Moreover, losing Zelda and her Sheikah slate would be a great incentive to start the adventure as well as provide a reason to start over again in terms of abilities, the map, etc. Also, concerning the new buildings, etc., I could imagine that this takes place some time, say a couple of years, after Breath of the wild. Perhaps people have started rebuilding some ruins and changed the landscape a bit. Meanwhile, they have slowly started to unearth one or more underground settlements and such where Link and Zelda are in the trailers. What I also seemed to notice is that the 'Ganondorf' figure at the start of the trailer is, although not looking very friendly, to me does not really come across as very threatening. It could be a stance where he just laughs at being free again, like many villains, but it could also be a stance where he bestows you his powers. Moreover, if I look at Link's modified right arm, it is not just the inscriptions and technology, but also his fingernails and overall aesthetic which has changed and just reminds me a bit of the Ganondorf figure. And I can't help but feel that Link's new hairstyle also resembles that of some incarnations of Ganondorf to some extent. There has been speculation about Ganondorf being a good guy or even playable in this game. The feeling I get is that Ganondorf may fuse with Link somehow, granting him powers so they can tackle the evil in Hyrule together. I for one would really like to see that! In any case, whatever it will turn out to be, I am sold on the game!

The chunks leaving deep gorges into the ground with caves and dungeons would be amazing!

9:55 Those are the mushroom-looking trees in Ludfo's Bog SouthEast of the Thundra Plateau.

It's almost 12am, but I need to watch this first xD