The Legend of Zeldais perhaps Nintendo’s most treasured franchise. While Mario is certainly the mascot,Pokemonsells incredibly well, and other series likeSuper Smash Bros.orAnimal Crossinghave massive followings, it isThe Legend of Zeldathat seems to hold an important place in the hearts of fans, and even Nintendo itself.
2021 is set to be an intriguing year for Link, Zelda, and the crew of Hyrule. Of course, many are anticipating thepossible release of the sequel toThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but that has not yet been confirmed. However, thanks to Nintendo’s handling ofThe Legend of Zeldaover the past few years—and even specifically on the Switch—it is plausible that 2021 could see HD remakes, newZeldaideas, more third-partyZeldatitles, and more. All of this is especially true given that 2021 is the franchise’s 35th anniversary.
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New Zelda HD Remakes and Remasters?
Before the well-receivedThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HDon the Wii U, fans spent years clamoring for HD remakes, re-releases, and remasters ofZeldaclassics, so whenWind Wakerfinally came to the Wii U in HD glory, many hoped that countless other games would follow. Of course,The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HDalso was released on the Wii U (albeit without some of the enhancements thatWind Wakersaw), but both games are now “stuck” on that Nintendo console.Bringing back thoseZeldaWii U HD remakes to the Switch, perhaps even in a bundle, simply makes too much sense. And if the aforementionedBreath of the Wildsequel is not going to be ready for 2021,Wind Waker and Twilight Princesscould be enough to hold fans over.
Lastly, Nintendo may not be done making HD remakes, even ones that are far more creative than an upgraded game likeTwilight Princess.Nintendo brought backThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening(to big sales success) in 2019.Link’s Awakeningis not a traditional 3DZeldagame, but Nintendo gave it a brand new look that many enjoyed. It is entirely possible that anything fromMajora’s MasktoZelda 2: The Adventure of Linkgets some sort of HD remaster or total remake for the Switch in 2021, if just on the basis of its anniversary being similar to Mario’s.
Zelda Dungeon Maker
Mario Makeris a great re-imagining of the franchise. Nintendo simply handing all of the tools to the Mushroom Kingdom over the community—allowing them to create all sorts of wonderful bits of magic—is something indeed remarkable. With it, the community continues to make everything from traditionalMario-esque platforming levels to haunted house puzzles to creations that Nintendo probably did not even anticipate. Similarly, aZeldadungeon maker is an idea that seems perfect, one that Nintendo could pull off forZelda’s anniversary.
There is a small version of adungeon maker inThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which did more than enough to make fans think that a full game could come out of it. Of course, a fullZeldaDungeon Maker would be much more detailed. Giving players the ability to make and share everything from crazy combat challenges against Armos and Stalfos to perplexing puzzle rooms with hidden secrets would be an excellent way to keepZeldaenthusiasts entertained in 2021 and beyond.
More Third Party Zelda Games
As much asZeldafans love old games in the franchise—and as fun as it would be to get creative with making aZeldadungeon reminiscent of games from the past—one thing that Nintendo could do in 2021 is simply give the fans something new. And because Nintendo has a lot on its plate, the best way to do this may be by handing over the keys, very carefully, to indie and third-party developers.
For a very long time, Nintendo has held ontoZeldawith a very tight grip. But recently, The Big N has allowed others to make full games with the property, and thus far it has been an experiment that fans appreciate.Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityhas been a huge hitand is a good example. The new hack-and-slash game, along with the originalHyrule Warriors,was developed by Omega Force and published by both Nintendo and Koei Tecmo. The game is not designed to have the same adventure, heart, and appeal as the mainline series; instead, it focuses on dynamic over-the-top gameplay and uses the IP to branch out with new ideas.
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What is perhaps even more surprising was that Nintendo allowed an indie developer (Brace Yourself Games) to create a music and rhythm-based actionZeldagame namedCadence of Hyrule,which was one of the highest downloaded games on 2019on the Switch. For bothHyrule WarriorsandCadence of Hyrule, Nintendo saw a formula (theDynasty Warriorsgames and the indie gameCrypt of the NecroDancer) and could see thatZeldawould fit within it. While Nintendo continues to develop hardware, create a Universal Studios Japan theme park, and work hard on a plethora of games, it is possible that it would handpick third-party and indie developers to work on specificZeldaprojects for 2021 and beyond.
Breath of the Wild Sequel Release
The 2021Legend of Zeldaelephant in the room is, of course, theBreath of the Wildsequel. 2017’sThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildis a generational title, one that will be very hard to top. It is hard to define exactly what madeBreath of the Wildso special, but perhaps it is the fact that the standardZeldaformula was finally altered, giving players something fresh to enjoy. Perhaps it was the freedom of exploration, the beautiful world to traverse. For many, Breath of the Wildsimply felt unlike any other open-world experience. The sequel, which could come out in 2021, will have to capture that magic yet again.
TheBreath of the Wildsequel likely will not feel as fresh as the original, as it is using the same engine and now players understand what they are looking forward to. But whatever the specifics are of the game, right now, so little is actually known. Although there have been plenty ofBreath of the Wildsequel rumors, they should not be trustedat this point.
TheBreath of the Wild 2sequel was originally announced back at E3 2019, with little information ever since. Many believe it is coming this year, whether it be due to untrusted rumors, likely patterns, the anniversary, or whatnot, so it’ll be interesting to see what comes of it. At the very least, fans can expect some new information.
Much like thebeloved but confusingLegend of Zeldatimeline, there are many different paths that Nintendo could take with Zelda in 2021. It is very plausible that the sequel toThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwill release this year, but even if it is not ready for 2021, The Big N has many other options. It could launch more HD remasters, allow more third-party and indie teams to handle creativeZeldatitles, or even release thatZeldadungeon maker game. But then again, a part of the magic that is Nintendo is its unpredictability, so it likely has a surprise up its sleeve. Regardless, 2021 looks like a special year for Nintendo,Zelda, and its fans.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2is in development.
