The Legend of Zelda is perhaps Nintendo’s most treasured franchise. While Mario is certainly the mascot, Pokemon sells incredibly well, and other series like Super Smash Bros. or Animal Crossing have massive followings, it is The Legend of Zelda that 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 the possible release of the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but that has not yet been confirmed. However, thanks to Nintendo’s handling of The Legend of Zelda over the past few years—and even specifically on the Switch—it is plausible that 2021 could see HD remakes, new Zelda ideas, more third-party Zelda titles, and more. All of this is especially true given that 2021 is the franchise’s 35th anniversary.
Before the well-received The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD on the Wii U, fans spent years clamoring for HD remakes, re-releases, and remasters of Zelda classics, so when Wind Waker finally came to the Wii U in HD glory, many hoped that countless other games would follow. Of course, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD also was released on the Wii U (albeit without some of the enhancements that Wind Waker saw), but both games are now “stuck” on that Nintendo console. Bringing back those Zelda Wii U HD remakes to the Switch, perhaps even in a bundle, simply makes too much sense. And if the aforementioned Breath of the Wild sequel is not going to be ready for 2021, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess could 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 like Twilight Princess. Nintendo brought back The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (to big sales success) in 2019. Link’s Awakening is not a traditional 3D Zelda game, but Nintendo gave it a brand new look that many enjoyed. It is entirely possible that anything from Majora’s Mask to Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link gets 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.
Mario Maker is 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 traditional Mario-esque platforming levels to haunted house puzzles to creations that Nintendo probably did not even anticipate. Similarly, a Zelda dungeon maker is an idea that seems perfect, one that Nintendo could pull off for Zelda‘s anniversary.
There is a small version of a dungeon maker in The 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 full Zelda Dungeon 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 keep Zelda enthusiasts entertained in 2021 and beyond.
As much as Zelda fans love old games in the franchise—and as fun as it would be to get creative with making a Zelda dungeon 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 onto Zelda with 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 Calamity has been a huge hit and is a good example. The new hack-and-slash game, along with the original Hyrule 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.
What is perhaps even more surprising was that Nintendo allowed an indie developer (Brace Yourself Games) to create a music and rhythm-based action Zelda game named Cadence of Hyrule, which was one of the highest downloaded games on 2019 on the Switch. For both Hyrule Warriors and Cadence of Hyrule, Nintendo saw a formula (the Dynasty Warriors games and the indie game Crypt of the NecroDancer) and could see that Zelda would 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 specific Zelda projects for 2021 and beyond.
The 2021 Legend of Zelda elephant in the room is, of course, the Breath of the Wild sequel. 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a generational title, one that will be very hard to top. It is hard to define exactly what made Breath of the Wild so special, but perhaps it is the fact that the standard Zelda formula 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 Wild simply felt unlike any other open-world experience. The sequel, which could come out in 2021, will have to capture that magic yet again.
The Breath of the Wild sequel 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 of Breath of the Wild sequel rumors, they should not be trusted at this point.
The Breath of the Wild 2 sequel 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 the beloved but confusing Legend of Zelda timeline, there are many different paths that Nintendo could take with Zelda in 2021. It is very plausible that the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will 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 creative Zelda titles, or even release that Zelda dungeon 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 2 is in development.
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