BOTW 2 Could Have Multiple Villains (& None Of Them Are Ganon)

At this point,The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 has offered fans far more questions than answers. Not even the official title of BOTW 2 is known at this point, but early trailers have suggested a darker tone and a possible shake-up for the game’s primary antagonist. Based on the content in the first game, as well as what’s been shown in the sequel’s trailers so far, it’s entirely possible that BOTW 2 will have multiple villains – and that they won’t be Ganon or Ganondorf.

Early footage of BOTW 2 shows what appears to be Ganondorf being resurrected under Hyrule Castle – or at least someone attempting to revive him. This brings up a number of possibilities and questions, including who exactly it is that’s trying to resurrect Ganondorf after BOTW‘s ending. Rumors have suggested that BOTW 2 is connected to Twilight Princess, which could certainly lead to Zant being one of the main villains in Breath of the Wild‘s sequel.

It makes more sense, however, that this mysterious individual is actually Astor from Age of Calamity, the Legend of Zelda musou game that serves as a prequel to the first Breath of the Wild. If the sequel follows Age of Calamity‘s timeline split, then it makes a lot of sense that Astor would be a villain in BOTW 2. It would also be a nice change of pace from the bosses found in the first game.

Why BOTW 2 Should Have Villains That Aren’t Ganon Or Ganondorf

While it seems highly likely that Astor is the one attempting to resurrect Ganondorf in BOTW 2‘s trailer, avoiding Ganondorf and Ganon as villains in the sequel would be a smart call. In the first BOTW, players had to take down multiple forms of Ganon and it often made gameplay and boss fights feel repetitive. Moving away from a villain that players have already fought half a dozen times would help make BOTW 2 feel fresh and distinguish itself from its predecessor.

Ganondorf’s return in BOTW 2 would certainly be different from Ganon, but it likely wouldn’t be enough of a change. Breath of the Wild became so popular in part because of how much it shook up the traditional Legend of Zelda formula. And while traveling in the sky and Link’s mechanical arm are certainly ways to keep BOTW 2 feeling new, introducing (or reintroducing) multiple villains that aren’t Ganon or Ganondorf could be the shake-up the sequel really needs.

Skyward Sword, for all its problems, succeeded in feeling unique partly because it lacked the Ganon and Ganondorf villain players were used to (even if Demise was an early iteration of Ganon). And while it’s entirely possible Demise will return in BOTW 2, the sequel could certainly follow Skyward Sword‘s lead by focusing on villains players haven’t gotten used to. At this point, having more Ganon fights in BOTW 2 would feel both tedious and cliche.

For now, BOTW 2‘s villain is a major mystery, and it seems odd for Nintendo to tease Ganondorf’s return if he were the only antagonist in the game. Instead, throwing in multiple different villains would be both surprising and fresh. It’s even possible that players won’t know who the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 really is until after the game releases since that’s the kind of reveal Nintendo would probably keep close to the chest.

About The Author

Austin King
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Austin King is a Game Features Editor at Screen Rant. He’s the author of several books and hosts the Dragon Quest FM and JRPGs & Me podcasts. You can find him on Twitter @DragonQuaustin.

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