Back during the Wii U days, things weren’t exactly the greatest for Nintendo. The Wii U wasn’t doing so well sales-wise, and while the system did have a few shining moments likeSuper Smash Bros.andMario Kart 8, overall the console was a failure. EvenSuper Smash Bros.for Wii Uwas subsequently replaced withSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, andMario Kart 8saw aDeluxere-release on the Switch just shortly after launch. There is one series of fantastic Wii U games that didn’t make it to Nintendo Switch yet: eachThe Legend of Zeldaremaster.
Of the few great Wii U games on the system, some of the most popular titles wereThe Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HDandTwilight Princess HDremasters. While the Nintendo Switch featuredThe Legend ofZelda’s next big step inBreath of the Wild, the Switch also got the fantasticLink’s Awakeningremake as well. Now there will presumably be a long lull inZeldagames on the Switch untilBreath of the Wild’s sequel, but there doesn’t have to be. Bringing theZeldaremasters from Wii U to Nintendo Switch would be the perfect way to help bridge that gap untilBreath of the Wild’s sequel finally releases.
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The Down Time Between New Zelda Releases
2020 was shaping up to be a lull year forZeldagames, at least until recently. Back in 2017, one of the Nintendo Switch’s flagship launch games wasThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Bringing the franchise forward via the open world transition,Breath of the Wildhas easily become one of the most popular games on the hybrid console. Many open world games are, to this day, adopting its elegant simplicity likeGhost of Tsushima. Then in 2019, Nintendo releasedThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakeningremake, a shot-for-shotrebuild of the original game in a familiar but unique 3D art style. This year has seen a number of Nintendo releases slow down, but that doesn’t have to be so forZelda.
Nowrumors ofOcarina of Timecoming to the Switch, in some fashion, have started making the rounds thanks to a few trademark filings in Australia and Europe. While this wouldn’t be the first time thatOcarina of Timewould be re-released, it could potentially be a remaster as a result. This could be a sign that Nintendo is attempting to fill the lack ofBreath of the Wild 2announcements with anOcarina of Timeremaster, which isn’t a bad idea. But ifOcarina of Timecan receive its own new remaster, that’s even more reason to port over theWind WakerandTwilight PrincessHD remasters as well.
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker/Twilight Princess HD
ConsideringMario Kart 8 Deluxemade its way over to the Nintendo Switch soon after the console’s release, it seems like a no-brainer to bring over the popularZeldaremasters as well. While it’s a shame thatsome of the best games on Wii U were remasters, bothWind WakerHDandTwilight Princess HDare still constrained to Nintendo’s old platform. EvenMario Kart 8has a lower metacritic rating compared to theWind Wakerremaster on Wii U, and yet bothLegend of Zeldatitles are still not available on Switch, even thoughMario Kart 8 Deluxeis. Even if anOcarina of Timeremaster is coming to Switch, the Wii U remaster should come along as well.
Both remasters have several quality-of-life changes that enhance the experience of both games.Wind Waker HDin particular has a lot of good mechanical and quest improvements, like how the Swift Sail (found at Windfall auction house) allows for full speed sailing with the wind always at Link’s back.Twilight Princess HDreduces the amount of Tears of Light in the beginning areas to make finishing the activity quicker. Among other improvements both mechanically and graphically, both games are superior to their original counterparts. Bringing both games back over to the Switch would require a little legwork, but otherwise wouldn’t be too difficult to port.
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Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is Still Years Away
These two remasters have likely been in waiting because of the two recently releasedLegend of Zeldatitles. Releasing these remasters in betweenBreath of the WildandLink’s Awakening, even though the remasters likely wouldn’t compete with the new games, still probably would’ve been distracting. Not to mention how the sales likely would be affected by the newerZeldatitles, asBreath of the Wildcontinues to be a consistent bestseller on the Nintendo eShop. But while there’s a solid gap in time beforeBreath of the Wild’s sequel, now would bethe perfect time to releaseWind WakerandTwilight Princess HD.
ConsideringBreath of the Wild2is still a long ways away,Wind Waker HDandTwilight Princess HDon Switch could be the perfect opportunity to bide time forZeldafans. Whileinitial rumors ofBreath of the Wild 2suggested the game is coming alongfurther than expected, the truth is that there’s likely still plenty of development time ahead for the sequel. The game has only been announced since E3 2019, so the turnaround realistically would be late 2021 at best. Obviously, fans are ecstatic for the sequel, but for now, returning to the classicZeldaremasters would be an easy second choice on Switch.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildis out now on Switch.
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