The Master Sword from the Zelda franchise has played a crucial role in the story of many of the mainline games in the series, and yet there it seems to be missing during the gameplay real for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 at E3 2021. This has led some fans to believe that it may be broken in the beginning of the game.
Nintendo has taken an interesting direction with the Master Sword in Breath of the Wild, so many are speculating on the fate of the franchise staple weapon. Back in 2019, Nintendo released a teaser trailer announcing Breath of the Wild 2 to be in development, which prominently featured Link wielding the Master Sword in an encounter with the mummified corpse of what people presume to be Ganondorf. Meanwhile, the newest gameplay trailer from E3 2021 shows Link's new abilities, but most intriguingly that Link is not carrying the sword.
The Missing Master Sword
Nintendo decided to make the Master Sword an optional quest in Breath of the Wild instead of required content, which enabled players to seek it out if they so choose. When players engage in the main quest they will be questioned by village leaders where the sword that repels evil is, a tactic Nintendo employs to give players incentive to seek out the sword.
Having the Master Sword featured in the alleged opening cutscene for the game suggests Breath of the Wild 2 follows an ending where Link has all of his memories and the Master Sword. There is an apparent lack of the Master Sword in the gameplay real showed at E3 2021, however, meaning that Link may lose his iconic sword in the opening encounter with Ganondorf. This choice may suggest the Master Sword breaks, and players are given the incentive to fix it through an optional quest.
Previous Master Sword Complications and Quests
In many mainline Zelda titles, there is a point in the story in which the Master Sword cannot be used to its full capacity and needs to be upgraded. Wind Waker has one such main quest, in which players must help the reincarnated sages empower the sword in order to deal damage to Ganondorf. Just like in Breath of the Wild's DLC Master Sword quest, the fully empowered version of the sword deals more damage to enemies permanently.
Skyward Sword has a similar main quest in which the player must empower the Goddess Sword through a series of dungeons in order to unleash the Master Sword. With Skyward Sword HD on the way, this connection may not be coincidental, and further speculation points to Nintendo tying the two stories together. The plot of Breath of the Wild 2 could include obtaining the Master Sword, possibly by reforging it in the Zelda sequel.
The Reforging Theory
Breath of the Wild design philosophy was to go back to the original Legend of Zelda's roots of exploration and discovery over more formulaic titles since Ocarina of Time. The design philosophy of the sequel appears to be similar, yet there are some gameplay elements that are different. It is unknown what happens to the legendary weapon at the beginning of the game, and other theories have cropped up that Demise may be returning. It would be safe to say that Fi may be returning as well.
With Zelda as a relevant character in the sequel and her previous communication with Fi, it holds up that she would be able to communicate with Fi in some way now that she has access to her divine powers. It is also assumed that this game will be either wrapping up the Zelda timeline, or creating a completely new one based on theories that time travel will play a crucial role in the plot. With Skyward Sword HD on the way, and connections drawn by Link's skydiving in the E3 trailer, the possibilities of a broken Master Sword with a reforging quest that's either required or optional seems likely too.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 will be released in 2022 on Nintendo Switch.