After an exceedingly long wait, Nintendo has finally announced a name and release date for the sequel to “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (BOTW). A game that Zelda fans have been waiting for since the Nintendo Direct E3 in 2019.

The release of BOTW changed the entire outlook on the Zelda franchise, bringing it back to its roots. The first Zelda game was released back in 1986, from then, none of the games had the freedom it had; not until BOTW was released, in 2017, which featured an open-world game and became a staple for other open-world games.

The game begins with Link awakening from a century-long slumber. Almost immediately, he is told that he must go save Princess Zelda from Calamity Ganon. Link willingly agrees, without any of his memories, and starts his journey to free Zelda, beginning with heading to Kakariko Village to speak with Impa. There Impa tells him he needs to free the four divine beasts. Vah Ruta, Vah Medoh, Vah Rudania, and Vah Naboris, which are machines that were used against Calamity Ganon 1,000 years before and had succeeded, were all corrupted by Calamity Ganon 100 years prior. The fight against Calamity Ganon was lost, and Link is now up to piece together the remains and save Hyrule.

Even though the game (King Rhoam) hints heavily at seeing Impa, freeing the divine beasts, and retrieving the Master Sword before heading directly to Hyrule Castle, the game gives you the freedom to do so. Unlike many games, you can head straight to the final boss right after completing the tutorial (the plateau). Although this makes the game way harder, it is an option.

BOTW has 120 shrines and 900 korok seeds (which are all puzzles). There are also 76 side quests and 18 memories to discover. Even after solving these puzzles and completing everything, there is still more to do because an additional DLC expansion pass includes The Trial of the Sword, Master Mode, Hero’s Path Mode, the travel medallion, and new armor.

Not only does BOTW have all this content, but it has also won multiple (189) Game of the Year Awards. It also won the Best Action/Adventure Award, the Best Game Direction Award, and the Most Anticipated Game Award, among many others.

Before the announcement of the sequel to BOTW, Nintendo released a prequel: “Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity”. Although many Zelda fans were awaiting the BOTW sequel, this prequel was still an enjoyable game. Having after-game content was a nice addition.

After releasing BOTW, Nintendo teased a BOTW2 in June 2019, which was before COVID-19. The teaser shows Link and Zelda exploring what appears to be underneath Hyrule Castle. There they find what looks like a deceased creature (many theories point to it being Ganondorf) until it moves to look at them. Then Link gets some sort of magic infused into his arm (possibly linked to “Skyward Sword”), and Hyrule Castle lifts into the sky. Zelda fans were ecstatic. Three years and three months later Nintendo has finally announced the release date and name for BOTW2: “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” (TOTK) will be released on May 12, 2023.

The expectations for TOTK are incredibly high, considering the game it is originating from. The long wait continues as Zelda fans all over the world wait for May of next year.