I don't have time to check this thread, but as a huge Zelda fan I am psyched. My favourite portable Zelda has an adorable remake and a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild is coming. Here are my feverish, excited thoughts:
- Late 2020 is a possible release date, but Nintendo don't want to commit given a) Zelda's history of delays and b) continuing delays for fan-favourite titles (Animal Crossing the latest victim, Fire Emblem also a victim).
- The 'now in development' tag feels very different to what we got with Prime 4, which was simply a logo reveal, and Bayonetta 3, which wasn't in-game footage. This clearly looked to be an edited in-game cut-scene designed to give us vital clues about the plot/possible mechanics. Also quite different to BotW's 2014 reveal, which was obviously just footage designed for the reveal. I think this E3 reveal showed us a key early scene in the game - perhaps even the opening of the game.
Thoughts on the game:
- I'm assuming by now we've all concluded what we see in the footage is Ganon's corpse, buried deep beneath Hyrule Castle. BotW takes place 10,000 years after the first time Calamity Ganon was sealed, and, going by the Zora history tablets you can find, the events of Ocarina of Time were already a distant memory by the time that first Calamity happened. Therefore, the villain we get in BotW is a metaphysical incarnation of Ganon - his will and malice given form, rather than some version of the human he once was, many millenia earlier.
- The pit/cave-paintings also recall Demise's burial site, so I'm assuming something similar happened to Ganon's human form after a defeat (not necessarily a defeat we've seen) - he was sealed deep beneath the earth. My assumption is the Sheikah defeated him and used their power to imprison his corpse - hence the blue light beaming down onto Ganondorf, with his latent malice fighting back.
- My understanding of Zelda (fanon, this isn't canon) is that Ganon's connection to the Triforce of Power has effectively helped make him immortal across all time/space, which is why his malice outlived his body, and manifested itself as the Calamity. Presumably Zelda and Link search for this corpse in order to finally end Ganon, but it goes wrong - and Ganon is instead revived.
- This is all supported by a key mistranslation in the English-language version of BotW. As you prepare to fight Ganon's beast form, Zelda tells Link ""He has given up on reincarnation and assumed his pure, enraged form." However, in the original Japanese script, she says "This form was born from his obsessive refusal to give up on revival…" . This is a key difference - the first translation implies that if Link defeats beast Ganon, he finally will be vanquished. The second translation demonstrates Ganon will never give up reincarnation and that any victory brings temporary respite. His corpse is, I think, his final anchor to the world, which Zelda and Link will want to destroy.
Thoughts on how this will affect the mechanics/broader premise:
- I do think we're now getting playable Zelda. Zelda is given more focus in this trailer than Link. Nintendo set out to break all conventions of the series with BotW, but they kept one key convention: we still played as Link. Letting us play as Zelda breaks the final convention of the series.
- My assumption is, and I'm sure people have already surmised as much, Link will either be captured or possessed by Ganondorf at the outset of the game - and Zelda must free Link. Ganondorf will be reincarnated in his human form. Zelda may need to fight a new take on Dark Link at some point - Ganondorf may even take Link's body as his own.
What we can expect in terms of the overworld, dungeon structure etc I don't know, but I think the basic premise of the game - Ganondorf revives his human form, Link is incapacitated, we must play as Zelda - is indicated in that trailer.
