Steve Barnes' World of Happiness

Blog

Last-minute Nintendo Direct predic.

Breath Of The Wild's sequel was announced almost two years ago, and Aonuma faded into the last major Direct supposing viewers might expect him to elaborate at last. Somehow I wasn't poised to leap and gawk, and I was right to hold off. Instead, Skyward Sword received its upconversion for Switch. (While it's HD and 60fps – and what a companion amiibo; Loftwings are the goats of birds – I somehow think I'll stick to the original version, most beloved. Amazing it's ten years old this year.)

Now, however, it's time for the unveiling. The two-year-old teaser ended with Breath Of The Wild's version of Hyrule Castle rising monstrously by several stories, as if on a gargantuan mechanical platform from beneath the earth, which comports with the original's lore.

Breath Of The Wild's soul spawned directly from the original Legend Of Zelda's in many ways, applying Miyamoto's earliest dreams for the series to the expansive potential of modern tech. What profoundly lacked in that translation was the realization of the original game's dungeons. Yes, the series has generalized the term "dungeon" to mean any kind of designated, mappable area of trials and tests in which is found a game-critical item, and Breath Of The Wild has those, but compared to its outdoor realm, it barely honours what was explicitly dubbed the underworld – something I've missed in every installment that seems only to tip its hat to the idea.

This sequel will be Breath Of The Wild's full and neglected embrace of the darkness and toil, the twisting passages and countless chambers, the observation-based puzzles and the calculated facets of combat.

Such is my predic.