We’re entering a fallow period of blogging, in between our last adventure[1] – Skyward Sword – and the game we’re all coveting, the sequel to Breath of the Wild. In the interim, ZeldaforElders.com is considering playing Ocarina of Time on the Switch, but we have two misgivings: one, a controller concern, and two, the Thomas Wolfe issue. Allow us to explain.
First, Skyward Sword left us emotionally scarred with respect to controls made for one console being revised for another. Recently, we tried OOT on the Switch using the pro controller; the on-screen prompts didn’t match up with what our hands held. Then we unearthed old controllers from the Nintendo 64 console and hooked them up to the Switch with an adapter, but there was no minus or plus button on our dinosaur controller and oh no how are we supposed to take screenshots, wailed Demelza? Of course, we’d like to get our hands on, literally and figuratively, the N64 wireless controller specifically made for the Switch. Unfortunately, like so many Nintendo offerings in the past couple years, the N64 controller is perpetually out of stock. And sure, the site says more controllers are coming in 2022, but that’s what they’re saying about BOTW2; we’re not holding our breath (of the wild or any other type).
Then there’s Thomas Wolfe, who famously wrote that you can’t go home again. In fact, you can – provided you don’t mind being disappointed that home isn’t the same as it was when you left. Our memories of Ocarina of Time are from a time when we were younger and more wide-eyed in all respects. Dare we risk those cherished memories? The jury, which remains out, is at least deliberating, and we hope to be summoned back to the courtroom in a couple of weeks for a decision.
Until then, we’re left with whining about how much we disliked Skyward Sword and speculating about BOTW2. Today, we combine the two as we ponder the parallels between the aerial shots in the sequel’s trailers and our recent experience flitting around Skyloft and nearby sky islands.
Like everyone else in the Zeldaverse who happened to be then playing, or at least recalled, Skyward Sword, we were struck by the similarity between the shot in the second BOTW2 trailer of Link splayed out in the air, presumably falling toward a hole in the sky, and the same view of Link in SSHD falling through holes to Eldin, Lanayru, and Faron.
There is some speculation on the interwebs that Link will be able to float not just through specific holes in the sky, as in SSHD, but more generally among the Hyrulean heavens. Because apparently using a paraglider is de trop when you’re traveling a short distance.
And credits and kudos, if accompanied by who-does-that headshaking, to the resourceful players who found and analyzed Nintendo’s latest patents[2] and thus concluded that BOTW2 will feature Link utilizing his bow and arrows in various free-falling positions. We admit we are not nearly so excited by aerial archery as are those perusing the patents. We have enough going on just trying to navigate the friendly skies; we’d prefer to avoid the unfriendly skies, thank you very much. Those weird birds that flitted around SSHD trying to hit Link on his Loftwing were ….um, successful more often than we’d like to admit, and similarly, we didn’t appreciate the occasional sky tornado knocking us off course. Honestly, we’re flying here. Don’t expect us to take out our bow and shoot a Flying Moblin en route to our destination!
(And the Zeldaverse begins twittering about the rumors of Flying Moblins in BOTW2. Remember, you heard it here first.)
Speaking of flying, which is, after all, what we’re doing in this post, albeit randomly, what about Loftwings? Will they make a return in BOTW2? Perhaps Link will dive off a sky island near a group of wild Loftwings, then freefall toward the bird of his choice, then, once he lands, hit L L L L to soothe the skittish beast, until eventually Link soars off to a sky livery to register his new friend with a clever name and everything. (Itzal hopes none of this is true, btw.)
And now that we’re speaking of Loftwings, what about that Amiibo from SSHD? We’d like to think it will be of use in BOTW2, so we really get our $24.95 worth. Perhaps using the Loftwing amiibo in BOTW2 will provide Link with related items, such as fancy bows that shoot in triplicate or new special-use arrows that rewind time or unravel tornados. Or maybe the amiibo will drop carrots, hay, and oats, the better to keep Link’s steed aloft while our hero is targeting a Flying Moblin in triplicate. (Itzal begins to sweat.)
We didn’t care much for Loftwing flight in SSHD, we admit. Actually, we whinge, something at which we excel, particularly as it comes to the Joy-Cons and Skyward Sword. Can it be that Loftwings, which did not appear in either BOTW2 trailer, are extinct in the next game? After all, it’s possible the sequel takes place 10,000 years or more after the events of SSHD. Who knows the environmental consequences – and their effects on the Loftwing population – when part of Skyloft fell to the ground? (Itzal is reminded of the extinct dodo bird, and hopes for the best.)
We also didn’t like Goddess Cubes on the Surface that activated treasure on a random speck of island in the sky. And we really, really hated the Spiral Charge training tutorial. Please let those remain entombed in SSHD. (Itzal makes a “cheers” gesture with his drink.)
In contrast, here’s the number one thing we’re hoping BOTW2 brings to the skies over Hyrule: a better bar. The Lumpy Pumpkin lacked the witty repartee, the lounging sofas, and – most important – the focus on adult beverages of BOTW’s Noble Canteen. Just think about it: one place was lumpy, the other noble. Enough said. (Itzal and Demelza drink.)
And ideally, in keeping with the airy subject matter of this post, we’d like our better bar to have a Bird of Paradise on the cocktail menu. If it doesn’t, try ours.
[1] Some might say “misadventure” and they would not be wrong.
[2] We credit GameReactor.eu (@GamereactorUK), and we apologize to anyone who also poured over the patents without our knowing, and thus acknowledging, other such efforts.