After long last, Nintendo finally offered an update on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2's development in the form of a trailer. While the trailer is only 98 seconds long, it details not just a taste of the gameplay that fans can expect with the sequel, but also lore, enemies, locations, and possibly even playing with time.
As veteran Zelda fans will know, the series has used time travel as a plot device for several games. Fans are actively comparing the Breath of the Wild 2 trailer to Skyward Sword because of a direct reference it makes, likely because the release of the Skyward Sword remaster is just on the horizon. In Ocarina of Time as well, Link must use time travel, jumping back and forth between the iconic young and adult versions of himself. Other games play with time in general, the most popular being Majora's Mask, which is where the "24 Hours Remain" meme comes from. So Breath of the Wild 2 may once again incorporate time travel in some form or another.
The Breath of the Wild 2 Trailer
Analyzing the trailer piece-by-piece, there's a lot of new information to uncover, but the glowing blue-green power that was previously seen in the initial Breath of the Wild 2 trailer taking over Link's arm may have some connections to Link's new powers, specifically time travel. Some clever Zelda fans have played the new trailer in reverse because, much like the first BoTW 2 trailer, music being played backward can be heard. This reveals that, using Link's new green-glowing power, he drops through a surface, and then a water droplet falls into the ground.
Something else to take away from the trailer in regards to time travel is the Sheikah. It would appear that the Sheikah were the inhabitants of the land in the sky, one of the primary locations Link will traverse in Breath of the Wild 2. This is implied by the many Sheikah symbols shown around the floating lands and their new monsters, and it's quite possible that an advanced civilization such as the Sheikah would have figured out how to make a Columbia-style land in the sky.
The Sheikah are said to have disappeared long before the events of Breath of the Wild, though much of their technology remains in Hyrule.
Why Breath of the Wild 2 Will Likely Explore Time Travel
It looks like both Breath of the Wild 2 trailers are pointing in the direction of time travel, or, more specifically, time reversal. Starting at the basics, both trailers contain music being played backward, implying that the events need to be played in reverse. This sound effect also happens specifically when Link is jumping through the surface using this glowing green power, correlating that action with time reversal. This would explain how players can travel between the mysterious land in the sky and Hyrule.
Recalling once again back to the first Breath of the Wild 2 reveal trailer, Zelda and Link can be seen studying a wall with petroglyphs, so it looks like they're trying to uncover secrets of the past before Link is infected by this glowing green energy. Where this energy comes from is a mystery, but perhaps it comes from Sheikah technology. Whatever the case, the Sheikah's civilization in the sky appears to play a big role in Breath of the Wild 2.
It's also worth noting that this land doesn't appear to exist during Breath of the Wild's timeline, even when the sky is completely clear. This would make sense as their civilization has largely disappeared. This could mean Link will travel between the past to explore the Sheikah's lost civilization and discover their secrets to stop Calamity Ganon and the Malice in the present.
Breath of the Wild 2 is set to release in 2022 for the Nintendo Switch.