With Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 looking to take over where the original left off, Nintendo is going to have a lot of work on its hands piecing together a story that will both satisfy players and make good on the good will of its predecessor. The simple fact is, Breath of the Wild was such a sensational addition to the larger Zelda franchise that it may have changed how 3D games in the series will have to play out in the future.
There will be many hurdles that the developers are going to have to address on the building process for Breath of the Wild 2, including how to uproot the ending of the previous game, how best to utilize the character of Zelda herself, and how to please fan expectations. It would be quite the task for any developer, even Nintendo, to handle the next huge step for the Switch through the next installment of the Zelda series.
Breath of the Wild's Ending
One of the biggest hurdles to face will be the way that the first game ended, and the apparent finality of the story as the game almost seemed to destroy Ganon for good. The first trailer for Breath of the Wild 2 has seemingly addressed this already with a mummified Ganondorf seemingly locked in a dungeon somewhere under Hyrule. However, this raises a number of other concerns when it comes to how the sequel will treat the story that came before, most importantly in how this latest title will balance making Ganondorf his own menacing presence while not robbing the original Calamity Ganon encounter of its impact.
This isn't even mentioning the implications that comes with what will have to be considered canon in this section of the series and what isn't. Seeing as so much of what the player does is optional in Breath of the Wild, does that mean that the Link in the sequel accomplished all of these tasks, or did he simply make a mad dash to Ganon and beat him at Hyrule Castle with three hearts. Optional tasks like claiming the Master Sword are even put into question at the start of the new adventure Link and Zelda will be setting out on in the next game.
The Open World
One of the draws to the first Breath of the Wild was how open the world of Hyrule was in that game, allowing the player to tackle story beats in whatever order they wanted at whatever pace they chose. Discovery became the name of the game for most players, as the game promised that if the player could look out into the distance and see a location, there was a way to get there and likely something to explore there. However, with Breath of the Wild's map remaining the same in the sequel, everything is already discovered and the shrines that served to fill the space are now completed.
This means that Nintendo has a huge task on its hands of making sure that the familiar world of Hyrule from the first game is still as fresh and new as it was when it was first introduced. The map can be altered for story significance, especially when it comes to how a true awakening by Ganondorf might affect the land similarly to how Calamity Ganon's appearance reshaped the world. We've even seen some evidence of this already in the form of Hyrule Castle lifting off the ground at the end of the original trailer for Breath of the Wild 2.
Zelda's Role
This landmine of a topic is what has been on the tip of everyone's tongue since the first trailer showed Zelda herself leading the way through a dungeon as her and Link discover the mummified remains of Ganondorf. Some hopeful fans have seen this as a hint that Breath of the Wild 2 might give players a playable Zelda or even a Co-op mode where two players control the two main characters at the same time. Either way, considering how little we actually saw of the title character of the series in the last game, Nintendo may want to consider putting her more front and center in the sequel.
Zelda's role in most titles has been that of a damsel in distress, often being robbed of her agency early on in most titles, unless she assumes a new name like Shiek in Ocarina of Time or Terra in Windwaker. So, while the unlikely possibility of a playable Zelda is theoretically on the table for Breath of the Wild 2, precedent will likely win out over the fan request. This doesn't mean that she has to be relegated to being captured and in need of saving again, but she will likely take a more supportive role in the fight against Ganondorf as opposed to an active one.
Player Expectations
On the topic of fan requests for Breath of the Wild 2, an impossible hurdle to overcome will be the expectations from fans of both the series as a whole as well as the original Breath of the Wild. Every fan will have their own interpretation of how they want the story of the sequel to play out, from confirming which timeline these games are in, to hoping for a return of the original villain Demise, to whatever fan theory is trending on Reddit when it releases. Keeping up with all of these expectations will make developing a compelling narrative for Breath of the Wild 2 a challenging task.
To a degree, there really is only one way to get past this hurdle and that's by going under it and circumventing the obstruction all together. Instead of trying to please every fan with Easter eggs or by making good on fan predictions, Nintendo needs to look at the story once again as an option, not a necessity. By hanging onto the mentality from the development for the original Breath of the Wild, where established timelines no longer matter and prophecies aren't always destined to play out as expected, Nintendo has an opportunity to reinvent The Legend of Zelda and usher in a whole new era for the series.
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is currently in development for Switch.