Fans know almost nothing concrete aboutThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. Nintendo says it doesn’t even want to revealZelda: Breath of the Wild 2’s official title yet because it’ll spoil some elements of the game. If the title itself is going to stir up conversation,Zeldafans are probably right to expect big surprises and dramatic reveals.Since it’s at the latest point in theZeldatimeline, it’s totally possible that a past villain could return and get acknowledged in the game’s title. As a matter of fact, manyZeldafans thinkBreath of the Wild 2will resurrect the franchise’s biggest, oldest villain: Demise.
The demon king Demise has only appeared in oneZeldagame to date,Skyward Sword,but his influence is felt throughout the franchise.Skyward Swordmarks the earliest point of theZeldatimeline, establishing tons of important lore, including why Ganon eternally comes into conflict with Link and Zelda. That’s because Ganon isthe resurrected heir to Demise, enacting his curse on Link by seeking vengeance for the demon king’s defeat. Demise himself could be preparing for a comeback, though. Between theories about Demise’s connection to Malice andBreath of the Wild’s mysterious ties toSkyward Sword,Demise’s return seems likelier by the day.
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Demise and Breath of the Wild’s Malice
Many fans point to Malice as a good sign that Demise has something to do withBreath of the Wild 2.Skyward Sword’s introductory cutscenedescribes how Demise led the first monsters into the human world, and Fi later describes Demise as the source of all monsters. Demise’s place as the forefather of monsterkind is awfully familiar to Malice and some of its core purposes.
Malice creates endless streams of cursed monsters in Hyrule Castle and the Divine Beasts, and more importantly, it’s responsible for the Blood Moons that resurrect monsters all across Hyrule. Malice’s seemingly bottomless ability to conjure evil creatures makes some fans believe that its ultimate source isDemise the demon king. It doesn’t hurt thatSkyward Sword’s monsters sometimes drop purple Evil Crystals described as physical malice.
Fans believe that theBreath of the Wild 2trailers reinforce Demise’s ties to Malice.Breath of the Wild 2’s trailers show Link and Zelda coming into contact withwhat appears to be Ganondorf’s corpse, buried beneath Hyrule Castle and bleeding Malice profusely, suggesting it’s a source of the mysterious power. Considering the physical similarities to Demise, from hair to facial features, some fans think the corpse isn’t Ganondorf; it could be Demise instead. Demise was first destroyed inSkyward Swordwhen part of Skyloft crushed him by plummeting to earth. Some fans believe that Demise’s corpse has been buried under that spot for all these years, since Hyrule Castle was built on the site of Demise’s destruction. Even if it’s the corpse of Ganondorf, his implied burial site could intentionally reference Demise’s resting place.
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Breath of the Wild’s Skyward Sword Ties
The Demise theory isn’t just helped by potential references to Demise himself;Breath of the Wildhas other connections toSkyward Swordthat could foretell Demise’s influence. For instance,Breath of the Wildfeatures Demise’s nemesis Hylia as a major character. The goddess Hylia bestows greater strength on Link when he completes challenges set by her dozens of monks.She was responsible for Demise’s original defeat and sealing, but she has a very small presence in the overarchingZeldafranchise. UntilBotWreleased,Skyward SwordwasHylia’s main appearance. If Nintendo decided to revive Hylia and give her a greater presence than the classic Farore, Din, and Nayru, it’s clearly tyingBotWtoSkyward Sword.
The Master Sword’s role inBreath of the Wildalso hints atSkyward Swordby pointing fans toward the distant impact of Fi. During a couple points inBreath of the Wild,Zelda mentions a guiding voice coming from within the Master Sword. That seems like a pretty obvious invocation ofFi, the spirit of the Master Swordwho accompanied Link throughoutSkyward Sword.The notion that Fi could still be alive was reinforced byBotW’s Trial of the Sword DLC, where one of Fi’s signature sound effects can be heard once Link finishes honing the Master Sword. Fi is also a major enemy of Demise who could prove pivotal in defeating him a second time.
Finally,Breath of the Wild 2seems like it’s referencingSkyward Swordin new ways. The firstBotW2trailer showed Hyrule Castle beginning to fly into the sky on a cloud of Malice, butthe E3 2021BotW2trailershows there’s a lot more flying islands being created. For all the fantastical settings thatThe Legend of Zeldahas gone through, none of them emphasized flying islands nearly as much asSkyward Sword.Some fans believe that Demise is recreating Hyrule in the image that he remembers. It seems hard to imagine that Nintendo would put all of theseSkyward Swordreferences inBreath of the Wildif Demise wasn’t returning too.
Demise Could Define Zelda’s Future
If Demise really is coming back, it could signify a tremendous change of course inThe Legend of Zelda’s future.Zeldais no stranger to reusing villains, but bringing back the franchise’s original evil inBreath of the Wild 2would be fundamentally different from Ganon’s various incarnations or Vaati’s past schemes. Some fans think that Demise’s return hailsthe end ofThe Legend of Zelda’s timelineas fans know it. Nintendo surely isn’t going to abandonThe Legend of ZeldaafterBreath of the Wild 2,but it might want to start a new chapter. Destroying Demise and changing Ganondorf’s fate as Demise’s heir would be the perfect way to end the current age ofZeldaand move on to wholly new storylines.
Of course, fans won’t know for sure if Demise has something to do withZelda: Breath of the Wild 2until Nintendo confirms it. Even so, there’s an overwhelming amount of evidence thatBreath of the Wildand its sequel ultimately might havesomething to do withSkyward Sword.The two games share many aesthetic choices and lore points to be coincidental. Even if Demise himself isn’t the main antagonist of the game, it wouldn’t be surprising if his power has something to do with the evolving threat of Malice and whatever other challenges Link and Zelda face.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2releases in 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
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