Despite the game being announced at E3 2019, not much has been revealed about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. Longtime series producer Eiji Aonuma took to the virtual stage at E3 2021 with a gameplay trailer and confirmed development is "steadily progressing," leading to Zelda being one of the most-discussed titles from the expo on Twitter. However, there still isn't much in the way of an official release date or details about the sequel's plot, with even its title being kept close to the chest in order to avoid spoilers.
That being said, there are some details fans can glean based on what has been shown. The E3 2019 Breath of the Wild 2 reveal trailer showed Link and Zelda encountering a mummified being many assume will be Ganondorf, and it seems his power lifts much of Hyrule into the air. This leads to an abundance of floating islands that apparently take cues from Skyward Sword, as shown off in the E3 2021 trailer. Link may also have temporal powers in the sequel based on some gameplay clips, and this lends credence to the idea that Koei Tecmo's hack-and-slash spin-off/prequel Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity may play a larger role in the overall narrative. The four Champions' descendants offer the most apparent bridge between games.
The Legacy of Hyrule's Champions
Breath of the Wild's narrative is relatively straightforward in broad strokes. Players take control of Link when he wakes up 100 years after Hyrule is destroyed by Calamity Ganon, and he must travel to the capital cities of the four major Hyrule races to rescue their ancient superweapons, the Divine Beasts, from Ganon's control and eventually stop the evil scourge. However, its most interesting lore comes in the form of memories and flashbacks, with Link and Zelda having previously teamed up with a representative of each race who serve as "Champions" that pilot their Divine Beasts.
The four Champions; Mipha the Zora, Daruk the Goron, Urbosa the Gerudo, and Revali the Rito; are implied to blossom into a group of close friends with the Triforce wielders. Yet the Champions perish during battles with Ganon over control of the Divine Beasts, and as Link defeats the four Blight Ganons he also receives a new power from the spirits of his former friends. Those allies linger long enough to deliver a powerful blow to Ganon's health during the final battle if Link rescues each Divine Beast.
One of the most interesting things about the Champions, given they don't have much of a physical presence in the Switch launch title, is that their untimely demise leaves responsibilities on the shoulders of four descendants whom Link helps during his journey: Sidon, Mipha's brother; Yunobo, a descendant of Daruk; Riju, the young Gerudo Chief; and Teba, who takes on a defacto leadership role for Rito warriors. These individuals help Link to save their people from the Divine Beasts, but their roles are expanded in an interesting way via the 2020 spin-off game Age of Calamity.
How Age of Calamity Shook Things Up
At first blush, in-part thanks to the game's marketing, Age of Calamity is seemingly a simple prequel to Breath of the Wild. It uses the tried-and-true Dynasty Warriors gameplay formula to let players live out the war against Calamity Ganon 100 years prior to Breath of the Wild. Not only can fans play as Link, Zelda, and the four Champions, they can also control characters like Impa. Via its upcoming DLC, Age of Calamity players will get to use Purah and other members of the roster too.
However, Age of Calamity wound up being an alternate universe tale rather than a traditional prequel. Early in the game players are introduced to a small egg-shaped Guardian (later named Terrako) who travels back in time at the outset of the war in order to warn Hyrule's leaders about the coming Calamity. This sets the narrative in a new direction, but it completely jumps ship from the original continuity after Terrako summons the four descendants from the future timeline so they can save the Champions from dying at the hands of the Blight Ganons.
Ultimately, this was a fun twist for Breath of the Wild fans, even if some may have preferred a traditional prequel. Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, and Teba became playable characters with entirely unique styles, and because of their intervention there turns out to be a happy ending for this version of Link, Zelda, and their friends. What's interesting to consider for later games is that these descendants are from a post-Breath of the Wild era, claiming Link helped them save the world in their timeline, and at the end they return to that continuity. Thus, Breath of the Wild 2 is in a position where it might be unsatisfying to not address that particular narrative thread.
Breath of the Wild 2's Potential
Link gaining time-altering abilities is hinted at a few times during Breath of the Wild 2's E3 2021 trailer. For example, he utilizes a new version of the Stasis rune that appears to send a rolling spike ball back up a hill along its original trajectory, and a scene with Link phasing through the ground on one of Hyrule's new floating islands is compared to a water droplet recollecting and returning to the air. The series has a long history of time-based shenanigans, namely in games like Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, so it'd be fitting to see that play a pivotal role in Breath of the Wild 2.
If the game is going so far as to let Link mess with time, it would seem strange not to include some mention of the four Champions' descendants visiting an alternate timeline to save their ancestors. Breath of the Wild 2 utilizes the original game's map, so it would make sense to find Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, and Teba in their respective corners of Hyrule, taking part in the plot. How their dimension-crossing adventure might play into Breath of the Wild 2 remains to be seen, but perhaps their additional fighting prowess will make them integral to battling the new threats Link and Zelda must face.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 releases for Nintendo Switch in 2022.