The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is getting a sequel, and its development mirrors the beginnings of Super Mario Galaxy 2. The Breath of the Wild sequel was announced last week at E3, and instantly became one of the biggest talking points of the show.
DLC is a major factor in today's gaming realm. A number of Nintendo titles utilize DLC, such as new characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, or Luigi's Balloon World in Super Mario Odyssey. Breath of the Wild is no stranger this. Its first DLC, The Master Trials, added new dungeons and armor sets. The Champions' Ballad featured a new story quest and gave Link a set of wheels in the form of the Master Cycle Zero. The Champions' Ballad was released in late 2017, so fans wondered if DLC had concluded for the game. As we'll see, more DLC was being thought up, but it ended up being too much for a single game.
In an interview with Kotaku, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma briefly discussed Breath of the Wild's sequel. Aonuma explained that DLC ideas for Breath of the Wild became too big for the existing game, so starting over with a sequel was decided.
"Initially we were thinking of just DLC ideas, but then we had a lot of ideas and we said, 'This is too many ideas, let’s just make one new game and start from scratch.'"
This is similar to the development of Super Mario Galaxy 2. Originally, Super Mario Galaxy 2 began as an expanded version of the first Mario Galaxy. In an interview with Game Informer dating back to 2010, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto stated that Super Mario Galaxy 2 began as a "1.5" version of Super Mario Galaxy. The team had a number of ideas that it couldn't add in the original game. However, because there was so much new stuff, it was decided to make a full sequel. This decision paid off, as Super Mario Galaxy 2 would go on to perhaps be even more liked than its predecessor.
If Breath of the Wild ends up retaining the quality of Super Mario Galaxy 2, then the game is in good company. Super Mario Galaxy 2 was not a rehash, and did not fall under "more of the same." It took the concept of its predecessor and arguably went bigger. Nintendo has shown that it knows how to build upon past games. So, fans should have something grand to look forward to in the sequel to Breath of the Wild.