Everyone in the Zelda community wants to know if Zelda herself is playable in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. It's something fans have wanted for a long time. After so many years spent as a damsel in distress, it would be a wonderful change of pace to let Zelda be her own hero, using her own skills to defeat the monsters that seek to destroy Hyrule. On the other hand, many fans think Ganondorf is the surprise protagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. Certain tapestries make fans think that he saved Hyrule once before, and the stirring corpse in Breath of the Wild 2's trailers may suggest he'll come back from the grave. Ganondorf has returned from the dead before, after all.
These two fans' hopes both seem like pretty far-fetched dreams, but considering Breath of the Wild's drastic changes to the Zelda formula, anything seems possible. With that in mind, what if not one of these fan theories is true, but both? What if both Zelda and Ganondorf will stand at Link's side in Breath of the Wild 2 and make contributions as playable characters? Not only could Nintendo pull that off, but it should. If either one of these characters becomes playable in Breath of the Wild 2, then the other should too. There could be no better representation of the Triforce's sacred unity.
Striking a Balance in Breath of the Wild's Characters
Zelda would be a fantastic playable character in Breath of the Wild 2. In all the years of The Legend of Zelda, it's sort of shocking how rarely Zelda herself has been playable, even though she's the franchise's namesake. Since Breath of the Wild is already the poster child for change within the Zelda series, there's no better place to change that pattern than in the BotW sequel. Trailers for the game have already established that Link and Zelda have been traveling together again, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity has already shown that this incarnation of Zelda knows her way around a fight. There's no reason she couldn't pick up a sword and a bow and slay the Calamity's minions just like Link.
In contrast, a playable Ganondorf would be an incredible change of pace for The Legend of Zelda too. So many of the franchise's most memorable moments stem from encounters with this intelligent, calculating Gerudo version of Ganon. He's been a worthy adversary for Link for many years. Still, one wonders if Ganondorf might ever get tired of his cycle of evil and break from the curse of his ancestor Demise, deciding to use the Triforce of Power for good rather than being an eternal villain. Breath of the Wild 2 could be the first game to introduce this kind of character arc for Ganondorf, changing the direction of The Legend of Zelda for years to come.
As excellent as either of these characters would be as additional playable characters next to the omnipresent Link, though, either one would skew the franchise's equilibrium. These characters are an eternal trio crucial to the story. For decades, The Legend of Zelda has balanced the overarching plot by setting up Zelda as a force of good, Ganon as a force of evil, and the single playable Link as the scale that holds both of them up. If either Zelda or Ganondorf became playable alongside Link, that delicate narrative balance would be upset, with two playable characters vastly outweighing a straggler NPC in-game presence. With that in mind, Nintendo could preserve the old structure in a new way by making all three of these characters playable in Breath of the Wild 2.
The Legend of Zelda's Trio United
The potential behind uniting Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf as a team in Breath of the Wild 2 is obvious. Zelda would get to develop new levels of independence that she's rarely been allowed before, while Ganondorf could grapple with his legacy as he tries to turn his back on Demise and previous incarnations of Ganon. It could be interesting to characterize Link as a quiet peacekeeper between Zelda and Ganondorf as the two of them butt heads based on their ancestral conflicts and mutual distrust. Whatever narrative threads fill Breath of the Wild 2, though, what would be most important is Zelda and Ganondorf standing firmly at Link's side when the three of them confront the evil that threatens to destroy Hyrule, depicting the Triforce wielders as united for the first time.
There are mechanical benefits to introducing a playable Zelda and Ganondorf too. Each character could have a different fighting style, expressing a preference for certain weapons. For instance, Zelda might be a particularly fast and accurate archer, while Ganondorf prefers heavy weapons, dealing more damage with two-handed equipment than his companions. They could also have Sheikah Slate-style abilities unique to them, representing both Ganondorf and Zelda's relationships with magic. Since Link seems to have an enchanted arm in BotW2, it'd make sense if all three characters had slightly different lists of magical powers. Between new storytelling opportunities, diversified combat, and new puzzle-solving techniques, there are tons of benefits to featuring three playable characters in BotW2.
A New Angle on The Legend of Zelda
Nintendo doesn't seem afraid to try new things lately. Breath of the Wild changed everything with its weapon system, cooking, and large-scale open-world exploration, but that's only one sign of risk-taking in recent history. Super Mario Odyssey totally changed the Super Mario formula with Cappy's capture powers, customization, and so on, while Super Smash Bros. Ultimate presented a colossal undertaking that's broken tons of fighting game records. Hopefully, that attitude of risktaking and experimentation will shine through in Breath of the Wild 2, ideally including a playable Zelda and Ganondorf in its list of big ideas.
Admittedly, it seems unlikely that Nintendo goes as far as to add two new player characters to Breath of the Wild 2, even with the experimental nature of many recent Nintendo titles. Zelda and Ganon's roles in The Legend of Zelda are such old traditions that Nintendo might struggle to break them at this point. On the other hand, an unconventional move like that would be a blessing for The Legend of Zelda's longevity. Every franchise has to regularly reinvent itself to stay fresh. If Breath of the Wild 2 doesn't make Zelda and Ganondorf into playable protagonists, then maybe the next Zelda game will go that far.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 releases in 2022 for Nintendo Switch.