‘Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2’ gameplay: Nintendo’s patent filings details Link’s possible free-falling and other movements

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2” is possibly one of the most anticipated games of 2022. While Nintendo released a new trailer earlier this year, fans are still fairly clueless about the gameplay changes and improvements present in the sequel. However, several patent filings recently discovered might provide players with more details.

Three patent filings from Nintendo were published over the weekend, as first spotted by Gamereactor.eu, appear to have the concepts and technical details on the new gameplay features possibly coming to “Breath of the Wild 2.” While patents do not always become part of the end-product, it is worth noting that some of the game mechanics and movements described in the documents match with some scenes in the trailer released last June.

The patent filed under number US20210370175 seems to correspond with Link’s ability to pass through a platform above him. The patent describes an information processing system that would allow a game to recognize a ceiling or “terrain object” above a character as a possible destination. In this case, upon player input, the character could be moved to that platform.

While the document does not mention Link or any reference to “Breath of the Wild 2,” this description appears to match with this scene in the latest trailer. It shows Link climbing up to a patch of land above him without using a ladder or any equipment as he just simply passes through the platform.

The same “Breath of the Wild 2” trailer shows Link’s new ability to travel in the air without a paraglide as he appears to be free-falling through the clouds. A similar gameplay movement is described in another patent, filed under number US20210370179, which also describes a character’s ability to shoot a bow or other weapon onto a “predetermined object” while falling. The information processing apparatus described in the patent filing will determine the character’s shooting direction allowing it to target objects while moving or falling.

Another Nintendo patent filed under number US20210370178 describes a storage game program that would allow players to practically rewind their movements. The document says this concept will let a character “perform return movement to return to previously recorded positions and orientations” in sequential order. While this does not exactly appear in the “Breath of the Wild 2” trailer, the concept could be an intriguing feature for in-game puzzles and dungeons.