In my previous post I came up with a general setting for a sequel to Breath of the Wild, which in this case was a remake of Link's Awakening. In this post I want to go through some basic ideas of what Nintendo could do in a sequel to improve the game and its mechanics in general.
This is really about small ideas that add to what they were trying to achieve in Breath of the Wild. So, if you don't like its open world, the inventory system, breakable weapons or the absence of traditional dungeons, then you're looking in the wrong spot here. Sure, some of it probably will change in later Zelda games, but with a direct sequel on the Nintendo Switch we shouldn't expect any ground-breaking changes. Instead Nintendo will probably look into refining the new formula, so let's discuss for now what could be done better.
More Weapon and Shield Variety
Breath of the Wild has four basic weapon types that are also reflected in the four Divine Beasts and its Champions: one-handed melee weapons (in combination with shields), two-handed melee weapons, spears and bows. Any weapon in the game is essentially just a variation of one of the four types, so even Rods and Boomerangs are just one-handed melee weapons, even though they offer some extra functionality.
Those extra functionalities created a good part of the variety, especially with the game's main elements: fire, ice and electricity. There are variants for arrows and all three melee weapon types in these elements.
The shields got the short end of the stick, however. There are mostly just that, shields, with only the Ancient and Guardian Shields offering something different. For a sequel it would be nice to have Elemental Shields. Flame Shields could burn enemies, when they hit them. Frost Shields would freeze them and Shock Shields would zap them. Additionally there could be a Gust Shield that creates a stream of air via a propeller in front of you. It might even serve as a "Hover Shield" while shield surfing.
Mirror Shields also have been absent in the series ever since the Wind Waker and the Minish Cap, which is a shame, because reflecting light and enemy attacks was a nice functionality, where in this case they could auto-parry beam attacks. Light could even become another main element in the game similar to the Light Arrows in past games. There could be Light Blades, Light Spears and alike that would kill dark/cursed foes instantly, but offer only little durability.
It also would be nice to have more weapon types in general or at least more weapon functionalities, where Whips, Balls & Chains and Flails come to mind. But then again, whips could just be implemented as another one-handed melee weapon, while a Ball & Chain would probably work like the two-handed blades in animation as well. Boomerangs on the other hand probably should have worked more differently with a target functionality like in the Wind Waker or Twilight Princess. Boomerangs really have become quite useless in Breath of the Wild with the way they are now and should receive an overhaul in the sequel.
Inventory Stashes
That's a simple one. Similar to how you have stables from where you can access all your horses at any time, there should be a large inventory stash that can be accessed from any village, stable and alike. You can put any weapons, armor or food there, which you want to save for later. It would be similar to the Item Check in Skyward Sword, with the main difference that this stash can be accessed from multiple locations.
More Mounts
That's another "simple" one. Breath of the Wild lets you ride many different creatures, but the main focus was certainly on horses and with the end of the DLC on the Master Cycle Zero. A sequel should expand to new mounts for different areas, whether they are mechanical or living.
There could be a small motor boat to travel the oceans or some fast fish creature that can be rented from the Zora. There could be a lizard creature that helps you climb steep terrains. And there ultimately could be a flying mount like a Loftwing or a small airplane. The more mobility, the better.
Lighting and Gravity Physics
Breath of the Wild was the first Zelda game, where Nintendo fully utilized a physics engine for all kinds of stuff. And this was really fun and impressive. It allowed for lots of experimentation in puzzles, new ways of combating foes, even spectacular methods of throwing Link through the world.
A sequel should expand the physics engine to new areas. First of all, there should be a better lighting engine. The one in Breath of the Wild does its job, but it looks quite "fake" in various areas, especially in completely dark places like the Typhlo Ruins. Ideally light would look more real and you would be able to reflect it for puzzles, which wouldn't even be a new thing in the series, because the Nintendo 64 Zeldas and the Wind Waker did this before. This would go hand in hand with new light-based weaponry.
Another physics feature that they could use for manipulation would be gravity. There could even be a new Gravity Rune, where inside the field everything moves slower and you're able to perform larger jumps. Gravity could also be flipped and make you walk on walls, something they already had tried with magnetic fields in Twilight Princess.
Fix the Food
Eating everything at any time has proven to be quite overpowered. In previous Zelda games you could bring a limited supply of potions, while in Breath of the Wild you can store up to 60 food items in your inventory and also eat various "materials" like apples or meat.
Nerf this!
What's especially broken are any "hearty" or "enduring" recipes, which added additional hearts or stamina bars, because with just one ingredient you can get yourself a full refill of hearts or stamina. This could be fixed by removing the refill, so they'll only add the yellow hearts or stamina wheels, but the depleted hearts and stamina will remain the same. This will give the player a bigger incentive to invest in different recipes, instead of cooking the same simple meal dozens of times.
A "cookbook" that remembers any recipes that you created or that were found in stables and villages would also be a nice idea and invite players to experiment more with this feature of the game.
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