With the next Legend Of Zelda game shrouded in mystery, GameCentral looks at the series’ past to see what discarded elements could potentially be brought back.
February 21 marks the 40th anniversary of The Legend Of Zelda and the series has never been in better shape. Not only are Breath Of The Wild and Tears of The Kingdom two of the best entries (and two of the best video games ever made) but they’ve been financial successes on a scale the series has never seen before.
The only problem right now is that fans have no idea what will follow them or how Nintendo intends to celebrate the anniversary – if it intends to acknowledge it at all.
Currently, all that’s known about the next mainline entry is that it will feature a new open world setting and that it won’t return to the old pre-Breath Of The Wild formula. But it will take some inspiration from Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Imprisonment… whatever that might be.
But although Nintendo has made it clear it wants to push forward with new ideas, that doesn’t mean it can’t look to the past for inspiration. After all, Breath Of The Wild was very much inspired by going back to the original NES game from 1986.
So, to celebrate the anniversary, we’ve put together a wish list of classic features from past Zelda games we’d love to see be brought back for the next entry.
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Of course, we don’t expect all of these to be included in the next game, but they’re all interesting elements from the series’ history and we’d bet on at least a few of them remerging, in altered form, in the future.
Dungeons
Granted, dungeons never technically left the series, especially given the introduction of shrines, which offer smaller puzzle and challenge rooms. As enjoyable as those are, we can’t help but yearn for more traditional, large-scale dungeons to make a return.
We weren’t especially fond of Breath Of The Wild’s Divine Beasts and while Tears Of The Kingdom had a go at more traditional dungeons, they weren’t especially memorable and rather short. They also felt quite awkwardly crowbarred into the existing Breath Of The Wild formula – a rare example of Nintendo attempting to placate fan complaints.
Given how Zelda’s overworlds have evolved, we’d love to see dungeons get a similar overhaul, perhaps being filled with optional secrets of their own and offering incentives to revisit them – ideas Nintendo has experimented with before. Although they also need to be more central to progression, with upgrades and permanent tools or weapons; not to mention better boss battles, although we’ll get to that later.
More complex combat
Zelda’s combat has never been bad – Ocarina Of Time’s was hugely influential in terms of 3D action – but it’s also never been the focus and so has generally remained very simple. Link learned a number of sword techniques in Twilight Princess, but very few of them stuck around, with only the shield parry carrying over to the modern games.
Skyward Sword’s combat was welcomingly technical, as you needed to angle your sword to bypass enemy defences, and the Switch port showed this could be done without motion controls. So, we wouldn’t mind seeing that be further refined.
Alternatively, Nintendo could take cues from action games and make Link nimbler or grant him a wide variety of different weapons that have different functions and abilities, since otherwise his armoury tends to function very similarly in terms of everything but reach.
We’re not asking for something as layered as Nioh 3 or Devil May Cry 5, but if Nintendo is looking for areas to differentiate the next Zelda from prior games, slightly more complex combat is one obvious choice.
Weirder characters
It feels like Zelda games aren’t as unabashedly weird as they used to be. That’s not to say they’re entirely po-faced, as evidenced by goofier characters like Master Kohga and the Great Fairies, but we’re more-so talking about visual designs. Outside of the monster loving Kilton and Koltin, there are few truly freaky looking weirdos populating Hyrule nowadays.
Perhaps this is due to Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom’s more modern art style, since the earlier, less graphically detailed games allowed for more oddball character designs. Examples include the almost skeletal lake scientist in Ocarina Of Time and the weird half-woman/half-bird creature Ooccoo in Twilight Princess.
It’s not just the characters though but the world of Hyrule itself, which has become a more grounded and realistic place over the decades. Apart from anything that tends to limit the gameplay opportunities and we miss weirder scenarios, like the time aliens showed up to steal cows in Majora’s Mask.
More horror
Conversely, we wouldn’t mind seeing a new Zelda embrace its darker side and lean into the horror elements that have always been there. Many will say they found the Guardians and Lynels in the newer games scary, but they elicit a sense of panic because of how strong they are, which isn’t the same as actual horror.
The Gloom Spawn in Tears Of The Kingdom are much closer to what we have in mind. Aside from being very tough to kill, their appearances drown the world in red, the accompanying distorted music heightens their otherworldliness, and they’re just visually creepy to look at.
That sort of eeriness could be felt in creepy characters from past games, like Ocarina Of Time’s shambling ReDead zombies or the Hero’s Shade from Twilight Princess. A single location could offer some degree of survival horror-esque encounters, which would clash nicely with the rest of the game and make it all the more impactful.
Midna
To this day, Midna – Link’s smarmy imp companion from Twilight Princess – remains one of the most popular characters in the entirety of the franchise, even being voted number one in a popularity poll by YouTuber Schaffrillas Productions. So, it’s surprising that Nintendo has done almost nothing else with her since her debut, beyond a playable appearance in the first Hyrule Warriors.
In the run-up to Tears Of The Kingdom, there were fan theories of Midna and the Twili race making a return or at least having ties to the mysterious ancient Zonai race. Despite some very similar imagery and music leitmotifs, though, none of that wound up happening, with neither Midna nor the Twili getting so much as a reference.
You could argue that Midna could only return in a Twilight Princess sequel, but the series isn’t opposed to having old characters come back in new roles, such as Tingle and Beedle. Even if it’s not the original, a descendant or reincarnation of Midna could fill a similar role and give Link an entertaining ally to explore Hyrule with, which would be welcome after two games of near constant solitude.
MIA Zelda side characters
There are honestly a lot of iconic Zelda characters who are overdue a reappearance in a new game.
Tingle – Despite being one of the more famous faces in the series, to the point where we fully expect a cheeky cameo in the live action movie, self-proclaimed fairy man Tingle hasn’t been seen since the first Hyrule Warriors. His outfit was added as DLC in Breath Of The Wild but the man himself is nowhere to be seen.
Aside from bringing some more weirdness back to the series, Tinglecould reprise his role as a map merchant, perhaps offering more expensive ones that reveal rare treasure locations.
Epona – Yes, Epona was in Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, but only as an amiibo exclusive unlock and she’s hardly necessary anyway, when there are plenty of other horses to acquire, losing the special bond she shared with Link in previous games.
Her last true appearance (not counting Hyrule Warriors) was in Twilight Princess and that was nearly 20 years ago. Having Epona as Link’s one and only horse would be a pleasant throwback, but Nintendo could implement ways of fostering a bond between Epona and players with management mechanics similar to the modern Pokémon games.
Navi – For a character as synonymous with the series as Link himself, it’s surprising that Navi has only ever appeared in Ocarina Of Time, which ended with her suddenly leaving Link behind after spending the whole journey together.
The sequel, Majora’s Mask, began with Link looking for her but he was then waylaid by the Skull Kid, with the game ending with Link resuming his search. There’s an untold story there, in Link reuniting with Navi; one that may not have ended happily if his return as the Hero’s Shade in Twilight Princess is anything to go by.
Hand in the Toilet – It’s weird that this is a thing that’s appeared in more than one Zelda game. Sitting in that perfect Venn diagram of creepy and enjoyably weird, Link has encountered a ghostly hand sticking out of a toilet a few times, though all it ever asks for is paper in exchange for a reward.
Its Skyward Sword appearance is particularly amusing since you can give it someone’s love letter (which was written for someone else), causing the ghostly hand to fall for and haunt its writer. Since the whole idea is based on Japanese ghost stories, Nintendo could draw from similar inspirations for new characters if it doesn’t want to just re-use the toilet hand again.
Hookshot
As one of the series’ most iconic items, the hookshot has been sorely missed in newer Zelda games. Sure, Link can climb most surfaces nowadays on his own, and his ascend ability in Tears Of The Kingdom renders vertical travel almost a non-issue, but there remains something inherently satisfying about using the hookshot.
Plus, it has more utility than just letting Link zip to otherwise unreachable areas. It can be used for puzzle solving and bringing objects to Link. You get two of them in Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, which could be built upon for the kind of momentum based movement seen in the Spider-Man games.
Perhaps it could even be reworked into more of a weapon. We mentioned more refined combat earlier but imagine using the hookshot to pull enemies towards you and following up with an attack or swinging them as a projectile or just off a cliff. It wouldn’t surprise us if the live action Zelda movie gives Link a hookshot to please long-time fans and if so, it’d make perfect sense to bring it back for the games as well.
Fishing rod
Fish are a plentiful resource in Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, but the only way Link can get them is by hand, which isn’t always easy when he can only swim for so long. You have to wonder why he never considered asking to borrow someone’s fishing rod.
Such an item would be a perfect fit for those games’ solitary adventures, especially when the early hours see you scraping whatever you can get your hands on to survive. Plus, everyone loves a good fishing minigame to unwind and relax.
Many previous Zelda games have had exactly that – the rod was even a permanent item in Twilight Princess, allowing you to fish in any body of water. You could also use it to distract Ganondorf in the final fight, so maybe this could be expanded upon and used for messing with regular enemies too, if only for the sake of comedy.
MIA Zelda items
There are many recurring and one-off items from throughout Zelda’s history that could be revisited in a future game. For instance, the power bracelets which grant Link increased strength, allowing him to lift heavier objects. These could be a handy unlock that allows Link to explore more of the overworld or even reworked to let him pick up enemies too.
A new instrument would be a nice inclusion too, seeing as a lot of Link’s past adventures have seen him use music to progress, be it an ocarina, harp, or pan pipes. Maybe Link can get an electric guitar in this modern era of Zelda games, which wouldn’t be that out of place when motorbikes now exist.
Vehicles and flight
The Master Cycle Zero was a fun DLC addition for Breath Of The Wild, but most people had already beaten the rest of the game by the time you got to use it. Plus, its high speeds meant the game would often pause briefly, in order to load the next portion of the map, highlighting the limitations of the original Switch.
Meanwhile, in Tears Of The Kingdom, the flying machines you could build only lasted so long and would automatically break apart after a while. No doubt this was to prevent you from flying forever and render exploration obsolete, but we imagine this was a technical limitation too.
With the Switch 2’s beefier hardware, this shouldn’t be an issue and Breath Of The Wild’s map stuttering while on the bike is completely gone in the updated version. Obviously, a speedy bike and/or flying machine (or any sort of vehicle) would have to be a late game reward, but having unrestrained movement on land and in the air would be thrilling and make post-game clean-up less of a chore.
Underwater swimming
With Tears Of The Kingdom expanding Breath Of The Wild’s open world with the underground depths and floating sky islands, it’s understandable why some fans figured Link would be able to explore underwater as well. While that wasn’t the case, it does feel like the natural next step for another open world Zelda game.
Link’s been able to fully swim underwater before, in games like Majora’s Mask, with the use of specific items and it’s something that would add a new layer of Tomb Raider style exploration.
It could be something that’s gradually upgraded as you progress, improving how long Link can stay submerged for, or maybe he could take harpoons with him for dealing with underwater threats.
Will Link get his green tunic back?
Link used to be defined by his green tunic and silly hat. It’s what he wore ever since the very first game in 1986, so it was a shock to see this iconic ensemble effectively replaced in Breath Of The Wild. There is now a whole generation of fans who associate Link with the colour blue more than green, despite the series’ own lore establishing green clothes as those worn by the chosen hero of the goddess Hylia.
The green tunic hasn’t been completely abandoned, though, as it’s a hidden unlockable in Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, while Link wore it once more in Echoes Of Wisdom.
It’s possible Link’s change in attire will be a one time thing as Link is seen wearing green clothing in early images for the live action movie, though there’s no sign of the hat. Considering the movie obviously aims to attract new fans and increase Zelda’s presence among mainstream audiences, perhaps Link’s appearance there will be reflected in the next game as a compromise between his original and modern designs (classic green outfit but hatless).
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