We know surprisingly little about the game currently titled The Sequel To The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. [Oof, it's Tears of the Kingdom, past-Kate! We'll forgive you for not knowing the name of the new Zelda game before it was announced, though. Carry on! - Ed] But that won't stop me from furiously speculating about it all the same, based on all the trailers we've got so far, and all the things I know about the Zelda games!
Presumably, you've clicked on this feature because you also love wild theories, so welcome to my equivalent of a shed covered in newspaper clippings and red strings. Today, I'm focusing particularly on the new feature I'm going to call "Link's Weird Arm", which could be the main new mechanic in BOTW2. We just don't know!
Let the speculatiarm begin.
Arm Theories, Part One
A Link to the Skyward Sword
Skyward Sword is, canonically, the first in the Zelda timeline. Breath of the Wild is at the very end. But in some trailers, we've seen that BOTW 2 will involve chunks of Hyrule being yeeted into the sky, although we don't have a reason for why. The beginning of Skyward Sword tells the tale of how a select part of Hyrule was sent up into the sky by the goddess Hylia, to later become Skyloft — the place where the first Zelda and the first Link were born.
Could it be that the timeline... is a circle? The actual Legend of Zelda is a cycle that we are all trapped in until the end of time? Hmmmm. Similarly, it could be that Breath of the Wild 2 is actually set way, wayyyy in the past...
How this relates to Link's arm is interesting. For starters, Link is using his right arm in BOTW and the clips of BOTW 2 we've seen so far, which ties in nicely with Skyward Sword — Link's sword arm was changed from the canonical left-handedness to the right hand to fit better with the motion controls on Wii. Secondly, his new arm-look is all-black with tattoos that look a bit like someone we've seen before...
That's right, Skyward Sword antagonist and servant of Demise, Ghirahim, has all-black arms and weird branch-like tendrils, too. Demise would later go on to be reincarnated as our old pal, the Triforce-botherer Ganon(dorf)... so who is Ghirahim? Is it Link from the future? Hmmmm...
Demise's eventual demise in Skyward Sword locks him into the Master Sword, which has a dual purpose: One, making the Master Sword all full of evil (which seems bad!) and two, trapping Fi in there with him. Let's dive into that a little bit more...
A Grand Fi-turn
The Master Sword in Skyward Sword is personified by Fi, a spirit who really likes telling you things that are very obvious. Fi is sort of present in Breath of the Wild, as Zelda mentions that there is a legend about a voice in the sword, and later on — when Link is nearly killed — Zelda hears the Master Sword speak, telling her to take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection.
There are also sound and visual cues a lot like the ones in Skyward Sword sprinkled throughout the game, like when Link raises it skyward after completing the Trial of the Sword. In this clip, at around 1:03, the sword glows just like it does when Fi is about to speak, and makes her signature noise. That has to mean something.
If Fi and Demise are still inside that sword (or even if it's just Fi!) that could be the beginning of another great fight between good and evil — one where Link is once again trapped in the middle.
Arguably, this detail is more about the sword than the arm holding it... but perhaps it's the sword's evil power that caused the arm to go all weird in the first place.
The Melty Master Sword
Of course, we'd be silly not to mention the melty Master Sword. It looks like the Malice that crept up Link's arm also affected the Master Sword, rendering it quite useless in the process. It's not clear if Link will have to go on a quest to repair/restore it, or if he's just going to use his wiggly sword from now on, but we'd guess the former (especially because we haven't seen him actually use the sword in any of the clips so far).
But if Fi is inside the sword, we can't imagine she's having a good time being all melty. Does this compromise the sword? Is Fi broken forever? Does the sword still work? We just don't know.
Sick Tats, Bruv
The most noticeable detail of Link's Weird Arm is arguably its tattoo-like design, which echoes a lot of imagery from the previous trailers and games. As I've already covered, it's similar to Ghirahim's own arm-designs, whatever that means.
For now, we're left to wonder if this sleeve is actually a tattoo, or if it's part of some curse/power that Link gains in the game. Presumably, we won't see Link actually getting tatted up, but it's an edgy new look for him all the same.
Notably, the patterns — the sort of digital tree-branch looking things on Link's shoulder — look like something from Twilight Princess. A good time to re-release the HD remaster on Switch, then? We need to refresh our memory!
Nailed It
An interesting new feature of Link's cool arm is the long nails. Although long nails are relatively common on female video game characters (along with high heels and ludicrously tiny armour, usually) it's extremely rare to see a male character with manicured fingernails. In Breath of the Wild, and the trailer for BOTW 2, he has regular, unremarkable, short nails, so what happened here? Do the nails mean something? I certainly think so...
It's Not His Arm
In the 2019 trailer, there's an important detail: The seal upon Ganon(dorf) is a disembodied hand, grasping him in place. From beneath the hand, Malice (the manifestation of evil) is leaking out. The arm is decorated with runic-looking metal bangles, similar to all the markings we see left behind by the unknown Zonai race from Breath of the Wild.
The seal breaks, and Link's right arm glows a lovely minty green, as magical-looking swirls surround him. Later in the trailer (but perhaps before the events I just described?) the ethereal hand grabs his (normal) left arm as he falls, and we see a split-second scene of the arm grabbing Ganon(dorf) while still attached to — presumably — the owner of the arm. It's interesting that even in this past scene, when the seal was formed, the arm looks all old and wizened, with long, witchy nails.
We don't know whose arm this is. But we know it's not Link's. He's just borrowing it. And it was, at one point, strong enough to seal away the greatest evil...
...It's Ganon's Arm?
In the tapestry we see in BOTW, the hero that seals away the evil is a red-haired, teal-coloured figure, covered in Zonai-like spirals.
What if the hero wasn't Link, but Ganondorf? His origin is somewhat heroic: Born as the only male in 100 years in the Gerudo line of women, Ganondorf was a red-haired man capable of great power, leading to him being the embodiment of the goddess, Din's favour. In Skyward Sword, he is revealed to be the incarnation of Demise's hatred of Link and Zelda, the hero and the princess... but what if he was a hero once, too? A hero who was corrupted by power and hatred?
What if that's his arm? It would match with the teal colouring, and we never see the face of the hooded figure that the arm belonged to... So why not Ganon?
Also, growing up in a tribe of all women probably would lead to having really nice nails.
That bombshell ends Page One of madcap theories... Head over to Page Two to find out about my wild colour theories, and whether or not BOTW Link is the Hero of Time, reincarnated (or preincarnated? The timeline is weird).
Comments 44
It's a key to open shrines. It also gives me a Hellboy hand of doom vibe.
It's the arm from Princess Mononoke, obviously.
The arm let's you summon huge elemental creatures you control by using finger motions infront of the IR camera...
...ok, no idea...but it sounded cool!
Normally Nintendolife are pretty good at this sort of thing but half these theories fall apart when you realise the screenshots seem to show leftie Link but Nintendo’s own video show him as a rightie.
As shown in other trailers the green hand seems to absorb into links arm.presumably it is said hand giving him the sheikah abilities. It couldn’t be the Shinkansen slate doing that because it is not in any of the trailers.( with link or Zelda)
I knew 100% who the author of the article would be, just from the title.
I couldn't really think of any other writer who would be compelled to write about weird arms
This game is clearly just setting up for something bigger:
Arms 2: Hyrule Hysteria
did link have the trifoce tatoo on any of his hands in BOTW? what if Link and Zelda tried to destroy the Triforce so Ganon wont have any power ifhe got back again (and he always does) sonething goes wrong and link loses the arm he has the triforce tatoo on.
YES - a sixth article!
@RadioHedgeFund I just reversed a couple of the images for composition reasons, that's all
This is his journey to become the legendary hero Robo-Elf.
No no, see, Link's arm was blasted off by an alchemist, and Link's brother sacrificed his own arm to save him, leaving him with the power of deconstruction.
It's a speed run mechanic. The darkness eminating from his arm visibly spreads accross his body and you have to complete the game in under 2 minutes before he is consumed entirely.
It's a new armour set that he obtains throughout the course of the game as he defeats evil. Ganondorf is actually the first boss...
Zekiro: Ganons Die Multiple Times.
(even though I'm joking, a grappling mode like Sekiro would be really cool)
“The suspense is terrible! I hope it’ll last.”
We will find out next year.
The arm is necrotic. It's decomposition is why the nails are so pronounced (and why people (used to) think fingernails continue to grow after death).
Hope you weren't eating.
If the fourth virtue is friendship, as you say, does that mean that...
Friendship Is Magic?
Took me WAY to long to decipher that “Fi-Turn” pun since I pronounce it as in “eye”…someone’s gonna have my head for this take🥴
Breath of The Wild 2: Re-Armed - ARMageddon Edition
I'm simultaneously reminded of Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke, as well as Guts' prosthetic arm from Berserk.
@GrailUK
Think about who isn't with Nintendo Life anymore and things start to make sense and then start to think about why they left?
Kate covered so much here, she’s guaranteed to be at least partially right!
I’m no Zelda scholar, but it seems evident they are borrowing a bit from Mononoke-hime and Link will journey to save his sword and himself from an evil curse or tatari. He would have been consumed by the malevolence already if not for some Zonai or Triforce-y intervention, but the protection is temporary.
Maybe he looks like a ragged monk because he was half mad and wandering for a long time, or just went full hermit to protect folks from his evil fingernails.
Like Dr. David/Bruce Banner - we wouldn’t like Link when he’s angry?
Or maybe Zelda’s missing (again…) and creepy arm Link is suspect #1? Hyrulians must be quite upset and paranoid about the cataclysm and all that.
It’ll be fun to keep speculating and see how things develop in the trailers over the next year.
@RadioHedgeFund and @KateGray Rotate the image in the thumbnail just under a quater and all i can see is a worried Scrooge McDuck from Ducktales in his top hat. I cant unsee it now 😂😂
Surely its not just me?
Ganon was never a hero, just drop the dumb theory already. Ganondorf is obviously the main villain of the sequel and the source of every Calamity Ganon and malice through the ages.
@marktornits I'm sorry, I don't follow you.
I've definitely been thinking the same about a few of these theories such as the circular time line and the arm belonging to Ganon/Demise. Was thinking that Zelda might fulfil the role of the Goddess Hylia in having her role in the game focused around sending the land back into the sky. Sad that we'll have to wait at least another year to find out if any of these are true!
i think the yellow glowy ball is link getting one of the runes (or what will be replacing runes). His hand is glowing the same color as the ball, which makes me think he's getting a new power. And fi's probably telling him something about the power he just got. or maybe link's hand is the monado from xenoblade chronicles, i mean there is XC2 armor in the original lol
we better get a trailer at e3 tho
@OrangeSoda I'm chewing my nails.
Ganondorf might be trying to corrupt and bend the Master Sword to his will. It makes sense: if you're malice and hatred incarnate, you'd probably want to take out the one thing that can seal you away or better yet, turn it against the people who wield it. This certainly fits with the links people have pointed out between Shinto shrines and the sky islands, with both being based on the idea of a spiritual journey of purification.
I do find the idea of time-based mechanics interesting, but I think it could work differently; what if you have to keep the evil within the sword at bay? What if there's a tension between exploring and doing quests and having to prevent corruption overwhelming the sword and Link? That would certainly address the "there's not enough to do in BotW 1" criticisms that some people (but not me) have made.
Fi was probably already in a bad mood after being cooped up inside the Master Sword for however many tens of thousands of years, and now she's gone all melty and corrupted I predict an 89% chance that she's capable of going sicko mode on the reincarnation of her former master.
I would love to see that this link is fused with all Links.
Legend of zelda: Multiverse Link fusion 😂
I've always thought since I first played skyward sword was it's the beginning and the end, and the link from the comic at the back of first historia book was the link from botw, and yes on that tapestry it has never been link. I have always stuck to this theory. I wonder if we will see hylia in the second Installment?
The ghirahim comparisons are weird because Ghirahim doesn't actually have black tatooed arms with patterns. That was just his true, pitch-black sword spirit form peeking through his disguised appearance. If anything Link's arm looks as if something is superimposing onto him, rather than being revealed underneath. I do think it's Ganon's arm, yeah. Fused with the arm that was sealing him in the cave, trying to stop him from possessing Link.
Ghibli-Wibbly Timey-Wimey is one of the all-time great subheadings
Well since Lynel monsters only appear in one Zelda timeline it means this is in the Link to the Past timeline. That being said if you played Link to the Past there is a lot of green cyclops statues in the dungeons and one of which is seen in the trailer for BotW2 and appears to communicate with Link. My best guess is that is some even more ancient technology that link can now communicate/activate via his arm, also it enhances him so he can use stronger versions of the Sheikah slate abilities, and in fact the arm itself could be the Sheikah slate transformed somehow.
@MattEriks no, there is a scene where we see the full triforce (equally lit up) on zelda's hand when she saves link so...
I haven't seen so many arm puns being flung around since... well, ARMS.
That's why I find Kate's witty humour utterly disarming.
Nice theories. Very interesting read!
I really lean to the "tapestry Link is Ganondorf" theory. Maybe the king said: "well Ganondorf, thanks for defeating the calamity. But because you are so powerful its better to mummy-fie you and put you underground in a cave".
Wouldn't that be a terrible fate for Ganondorf? You would be pissed too!
The timeline being a cycle sounds pretty convincing for some reason
I'm tired of theories I want actual information
Link couldnt scratch his back, so the goddesses gave him a new hand with nails to scratch, lol no?
No but i hope we see more powers from links side.
It’s tingles ghost slowly possessing link
Obviously
Peripheral neuropathy from shredding too much fish skeleton guitar without a proper warmup and stretching routine.
I think nothing happened with his arm. Only wounded.
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