The teaser forThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2shows Link and Zelda exploring the ruins of Hyrule Castle, eventually coming across what appears to be Ganon in his Gerudo form as his lifeless body suddenly reanimates and the castle begins to lift off. Fans haven’t received many more hints from Nintendo, but Ganon’s return seems almost certain.
Ganon should not be the only threat inThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, however. Though there is little continuity between most of theZeldagames, those with direct sequels have been great opportunities to explore more complicated kinds of villainy. There may even already be evidence that Ganon is not the greatest evil in the world ofBreath of the Wild.
RELATED:Breath of the Wild Player Was Right About Mii NPCs Years Ago
Ganon and the Skull Kid
The formula ofThe Legend of Zeldais almost as well-established in the history of gaming as Mario saving Princess Peach from Bowser. In most games in the series the player takes on the role of Link as he fights the forces of Ganon to rescue Princess Zelda and save the kingdom of Hyrule. However, that has not always been the case.
After the events ofOcarina of Time, for example, Nintendo continued the story of the same Link inMajora’s Mask. Ganon plays no role inMajora’s Mask, and even Princess Zelda herself only appears briefly in a flashback toOcarina. As a result, Majora’s Mask was able to explore a very different kind of villain. While Ganon embodies evil, the villain of Majora’s Mask is as much a victim as a perpetrator.
Not only isthe Skull Kidwho finds the mask is controlled by it, but there are hints that he still has some agency towards the beginning of the game that increasingly slips away as the mask gains more control. It could be argued that the mask itself replaced Ganon in the formula as an embodiment of evil, but if nothing else players were presented with a more tragic and childlike villain that infusedMajora’s Maskwith a greater sense of dread than some of the lighterZeldagames.
RELATED:Immortals Fenyx Rising May Just Be Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2’s Best Friend
Complicating Ganon
Breath of the Wildalready begins to explore some similarly interesting themes. ThoughtheZeldatimelinecan be confusing, it is strongly that Calamity Ganon still originated from the Gerudo King Ganondorf after he was defeated, sealed away, and consumed by Malice. The corpse seen inBreath of the Wild 2trailer appears to support that, as does Ganondorf’s semi-regenerated form during the final boss fight ofBotW. By reintroducing Ganon’s Gerudo form,Breath of the Wild 2has a chance to distinguish the character from the pure manifestation of evil that he surrendered to.
In doing soBreath of the Wild 2has the opportunity to explore Ganon as a more complex character and to give fans more insight into some of the greater forces at play in the world ofZelda. InBreath of the WildGanon represented an amorphous existential threat while human villains likeMaster Kohgaof the Yiga Clan provided comic relief.
IfBreath of the Wildhas multiple main villains or villains which can be broken down into multiple components like the Skull Kid and Majora’s Mask itself, it could explore a new twist on the classicZeldaformula and dive the depths of the human motivations which would eventually rob Ganon of his “humanity” and transform him intoCalamity Ganon. It shouldn’t be the same structure asMajora’s Maskwhere Ganon is simply revealed to be controlled by Malice or another force, but Nintendo could complicate Ganon’s motivations without absolving him.
By complicating its universeThe Legend of Zeldacould even start to show how characters like Link and Zelda can also fall prey to the same corruption, rather than Ganon being inherently evil and the game’s heroes purely good. For now, however, fans will have to wait for morenews from Nintendoto see just what the next game inThe Legend of Zeldaseries has in store.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2is currently in development.
MORE:5 Ways Breath Of The Wild Is The Best (& 5 Things Other Zelda Games Do Better)
