Breath Of The Wild 2 Theory Makes Ganon Our Hero
Thanos, Darth Vader, King Kong - some villains are just misunderstood. However, when it comes to Nintendo's Zelda series, there's no denying Ganon is about as bad as they come. Up there with Bowser, Albert Wesker, and Sephiroth, Ganon is an undeniable villain of the video game world.
It looks like he's back to flex his mummified muscles in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, but now, a new theory pitches him as the hero of the sequel.
It seems like an eternity since Nintendo announced a sequel to 2017's Breath of the Wild, however, patience has paid off as E3 2021 gave us a closer look at what's on the way - including a 2022 release date. Theorists have been quick to pick over every frame of the latest trailer, and with a trip into the skies above Hyrule confirmed, they think they've cracked the game's big twist.
Why do fans think Ganon will be the hero in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2?
Posting a deep-dive breakdown of the trailer on YouTube, Kinda Funny's Barrett Courtney posed that Ganon is actually the hero. Also sharing his musings on Twitter, Courtney added, "We’re playing as Ganondorf in Breath of the Wild 2. He was the 'hero from 10,000 years ago'. Take it to the F*****G BANK".
Notably, the trailer confirmed Breath of the Wild 2 will split the action between our usual ground-based Hyrule and the skies above. There was something decidedly Skyward Sword about the latest reveal, and let's remember the 2011 Wii game took place at the very start of the Zelda timeline. We've already covered why Nintendo might be keeping Breath of the Wild 2's real title a secret, suggesting it could be more like a Skyward Sword sequel.
Notably, eagle-eyed gamers noticed that Link looks like two completely different versions in the first BOTW2 trailer and this one. What if it's a simple case of mistaken identity, with the sky-based segments of the game taking place thousands of years before the game's main events? If this is the case, we could expand Ganon's backstory and even make him a playable character as the misunderstood Hero of Time.
Taking it one step further, Courtney thinks the game will be called "Demise of the Wild" and directly tie to Skyward Sword HD. In Skyward Sword, the villain was an ancient villain called Demise, who was eventually resurrected in the form of Ganondorf (Ganon's human version). The next title might see Zelda and Link fighting to free Ganon from his cursed past.
Should Ganon be the hero in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2?
Timeline trickery and alternate realities are all the rage right now. Alongside Disney+'s Loki series dabbling in the Multiverse, Insomniac Games' Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart threw the rulebook out the window and reinvented what we thought we knew about the long-running series. All of the above is some great tinfoil theorising, but we just can't imagine Ganon being the hero and Link being sidelined for long.
Then again, Zelda games have become synonymous with reinventing themselves and adding a unique twist to the tale. Just like Majora's Mask moved the story away from the tried and tested Link vs Ganon, there was something refreshing about having Skull Kid as the de facto big bad. Sympathetic villains are also in, so maybe it's about time we got under the green skin of Ganon to see what makes him tick. Just like Joker gave the Clown Prince of Crime, we could chart Ganon's tragic fall from grace to become the franchise's ultimate villain.
As previously covered, Nintendo is likely playing the long game with BOTW2's marketing and hiding some major plot points until Skyward Sword HD is out of the way. There are also reports of a Wind Waker remake for the Nintendo Switch, and with the franchise's 35th anniversary running all of this year, we're expecting Nintendo still has a few things hidden up the sleeves of Link's tunic.
