If you haven’t yet played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you really should. It’s an absolutely breathtaking entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise that, in a lot of ways, rewrites the entire formula for the series. While there are folks out there with some nitpicks, Breath of the Wild has been an astonishingly well-received game.
So it should surprise absolutely no one that people are anxious to return to the brilliantly colored version of Hyrule that Breath of the Wild offered. Well, I should rephrase that. The announcement that a sequel was in the works was definitely a surprise. The part that’s not surprising is that the entire world is freaking out about it. (I admit that I’ve been doing a lot of freaking out as well.)
While the trailer crammed in a lot of subtle hints at what’s to come — the same art style, a return of the original BotW‘s world map, and a darker tone — plot details were pretty sparse. Speculation is running wild about what this game will even be about (and imaginations have been running even wilder).
However, there’s a detail from the original Breath of the Wild that people seem to have forgotten, and it’s a detail that may actually reveal the plot of the sequel.
Adventurers who managed to find all of the Captured Memories in Breath of the Wild will perhaps remember a tower filled with books, right outside Zelda’s bedroom in the ruins of Hyrule Castle. (The Hyrule Castle memory was literally right outside of it.) In this tower is a book of research notes by Zelda, and if you’re enough of a snoop to actually read the thing, you’ll find this entry:
Here’s the full text, fin case the screenshots are difficult to see:
Robbie has restored mobility to many of the Guardians we’ve excavated. But we have still yet to find all of the Guardians. Records mention a greater number of them–and even other types. They are said to be stored in five giant columns beneath Hyrule Castle. The thing is… No matter how I search beneath the castle, I can’t seem to locate these columns. They must be buried deep. Were they perhaps designed to sense the appearance of Calamity Ganon and to only activate upon his return?
Now, these notes are most likely referring to events within Breath of the Wild. After all, Hyrule Castle is surrounded by five giant pillars, which seem to play at least some role in keeping Calamity Ganon limited to Hyrule Castle. It’s possible that when Calamity Ganon returned, these pillars rose from the ground and let loose many of the Guardians we’ll encounter in the game.
However, what if Zelda’s notes are referring to different columns entirely? What if the mystery of these columns has not yet been solved by the time Breath of the Wild ends? Well, that certainly gives Zelda and Link motivation to explore beneath Hyrule Castle, doesn’t it?
Of course, this is just speculation. I do think the explanation I’ve given earlier is probably more likely. However, with so few actual details confirmed, anything is possible.
