You've Been Watching The Breath Of The Wild 2 Trailer All Wrong

When Nintendo delivered the long-awaited "Breath of the Wild 2" trailer at E3 2021 without even providing a proper title, some fans felt like they were left with more questions than answers. However, a few dedicated gamer have dug deep into that trailer to investigate the theory that more clues may be hidden in plain sight — but in the wrong direction.

For any "Zelda" fans who feel confused, hold on; it's going to get weirder before it starts to make sense. Essentially, when the first "Breath of the Wild 2" teaser came out way back in July 2019, some fans on Reddit were convinced that Nintendo had hidden secret messages in the trailer's audio, but they could only be deciphered if the trailer was played backward. Sadly, many of those connections were tenuous at best, and despite efforts by Reddit users to filter, pitch shift, and perform any other conceivable modulations, the community ultimately decided that the teaser's music might simply be a medley of past "Zelda" themes, if anything.

However, either fans hit it closer to the mark than they thought or the developers decided to throw out a lifeline, because there is some pretty convincing evidence that the new footage may have a different meaning when played backwards.

The main moment in the trailer that has fans convinced that the footage is viewable in both directions is related to one of Link's powers in "Breath of the Wild 2" — the ability to manipulate time and seemingly phase through solid objects. In the footage, there is a moment in which a pool of water forms into a droplet, then shoots upwards into the sky, which is perfectly juxtaposed with a similar image of the player character passing straight up through a rocky platform.

This felt like too much of a coincidence (and also, water doesn't move like that), and so Downpour Interactive writer Mitch Dyer reversed that moment on Twitter, only to find that the audio sounded pretty much the same in either direction. In fact, the entire second half of the trailer — from the moment it shows what appears to be Link's glowing green arm — sounds, looks, and feels just as cohesive in reverse as the first half does when played normally.

So what does this mean for "Breath of the Wild 2?" It remains hard to say, especially considering how coy Nintendo has been with the game's full title and plot. Fans on Reddit have noted that the series has a long history of playing with time, while others on Twitter have speculated that the game's main protagonist may be none other than Zelda herself, and that Nintendo is purposefully downplaying her involvement. Fans will just have to wait patiently — and maybe try reversing any other upcoming trailers — to find out what to expect from "Breath of the Wild 2."