That’s why it’s exciting to know Breath of the Wild 2 will have a fresh batch of enemies for players to scrap with. Last year’s trailer for Breath of the Wild teased a few new foes, including Bokoblins with horns and a mechanical being potentially related to the Guardians. Breath of the Wild 2 will seemingly emphasize Ganondorf’s return from the dead and a potentially more dangerous tide of Calamity Ganon’s Malice, so with those factors in play, the timing seems perfect for several classic Zelda monsters to return.
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Darknuts
Darknuts seem like a solid addition to Breath of the Wild as a new heavyweight threat. These dark knights are mainstays in The Legend of Zelda, making their debut in the first game and appearing as powerful enemies in multiple entries since. Darknuts are particularly well known for the versions from The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, in which they’re too durable for Link to fight head-on, forcing him to test his swordsmanship until he can cut off their armor.
Breath of the Wild lets Link collect armor, but it doesn’t have many humanoid enemies with significant armor plating. Mobility and parrying are crucial skills in Breath of the Wild, and Nintendo can design a new line of Darknuts focused on testing those skills as they mount a heavy offense that Link must evade until he can get through the armor. If Breath of the Wild 2 blends the sturdy black armor of Twilight Princess Darknuts with their jackal-like appearance in Wind Waker, the result could be a great new version of a classic enemy.
Poes
Darknuts appear in quite a few Zelda games, but Poes are even more prolific. As mischievous ghosts that appear and disappear in the midst of combat, Poes fill the role of a classic fantasy foe in The Legend of Zelda. Poe Souls also traditionally serve as valuable collectibles that earn Link special rewards, or at the very least a fistful of Rupees. Despite these valuable contributions, there are no Poes in Breath of the Wild; the teleporting elemental Wizzrobes are the closest thing the game offers.
Breath of the Wild 2 seems like it might put an emphasis on dark magic and necromancy, as the E3 2021 trailer appears to show Ganondorf rising from his grave in a lich-like form. If that’s the case, Breath of the Wild 2 could use some undead enemies like Poes to support the theme. The plush, baglike Poes might be too cartoony for this version of Hyrule, but Nintendo could take inspiration from more stylized variants like in Twilight Princess and Wind Waker. It’d also be great to see Poe Souls become a collectible of value in Breath of the Wild 2, potentially for the monster part merchant Kilton.
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ReDeads
A lot of Zelda enemies have variants that can be cute, especially in more cartoonish entries like A Link Between Worlds. Nevertheless, ReDeads manage to be consistently terrifying creatures. Between their zombie-like designs and their ability to paralyze and grapple Link, trapping him in dangerous situations, ReDeads have become Zelda icons, causing fans to move carefully when traversing the depths of Zelda dungeons.
It’s unclear if Breath of the Wild 2 has traditional dungeons that ReDeads can haunt, but it’ll doubtless have dark tunnels and enemy strongholds worth guarding. Considering how Breath of the Wild’s Blood Moon reanimates every dead monster in Hyrule, it wouldn’t be strange if the undead Ganondorf also conjured some ReDeads to reinforce his army. By introducing ReDeads, Breath of the Wild 2 could also include the flammable mummy-like Gibdos as a ReDead variant. It’d be satisfying to toast a Gibdo with Link’s new flamethrower.
Wallmasters
Most of Breath of the Wild’s enemies do little more than attack Link, there aren’t many focused on protecting their allies or making Link more vulnerable. Wallmasters could fix this if they got updated in Breath of the Wild. While Wallmasters usually appear as disembodied monster hands that try to drag Link to earlier parts of dungeons, Breath of the Wild 2’s Wallmasters could spawn from pools of Malice and try to grapple Link in more combat-oriented ways, either throwing him into crowds of enemies or pulling him away from vulnerable monsters. They’d simultaneously add a new element to Zelda combat while giving Malice another means to threaten Link.
Within the lore of the franchise, it’s not surprising that Breath of the Wild has such a different cast of monsters from its predecessors. It takes place more than 10,000 years after the next most recent Zelda games, so there’s been a lot of time for change. Still, while the Breath of the Wild family of games celebrate change, it’d be nice to get more nods toward the franchise’s history. If Ganondorf will have a renewed role in Zelda, then at least some of his recognizable minions deserve a place in the spotlight too.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 releases in 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
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