Though Nintendo celebrated theSuper Mariofranchise’s 35th anniversary with a number of new games, it doesn’t have anything major planned forThe Legend of Zelda, which is celebrating itsown 35th anniversary this year. However, the Japanese giant has something small in store for the more nostalgic fans, set to launch later this year.
The Legend of Zeldais one of Nintendo’s flagship series, though Link may not operate like a mascot for the Japanese gaming studio the way that Mario does. Still, many fans were anticipating something special for the 35th birthday of Link and Zelda’s saga, such as a release ofBreath of the Wild 2, or perhaps even abundle of classicZeldatitles likeOcarina of TimeandMajora’s Mask,similar to the limited-time release ofSuper Mario 3D All-Stars.The firstLegend of Zeldagame has reached its 35th birthday and, alongside Nintendo’s other major franchises likePokemon, many believe it to be just as deserving of the spotlight.
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However, the producer of theLegend of Zeldaseries, Eiji Aonuma, announced that Nintendo doesn’t have big games planned for 2021 aside from theremaster ofSkyward Sword, which may come to the disappointment of fans who were hoping for something bigger.Skyward Sword HDis set to release next month, however, many fans would argue that it wasn’t the remaster they were hoping to see from Nintendo, and the $60 price tag for a single game that released 10 years ago seems pretty hefty.
Still, Nintendo does have something small to commemorate the occasion. Fans can purchase a specialLegend of ZeldaGame & Watch system. Because the first game in the franchise is reaching its 35th anniversary this year, the system will come with the originalLegend of Zelda,The Adventure of Link, and the Game Boy version ofLink’s Awakening. The system will also come with another classic title,Vermin, with Link as the main character.
However, it’s currently unclear how much the Game & Watch system will cost. While it’s an ambitious idea that may appeal to nostalgic gamers that played theoriginalLegend of Zeldagames, the price point of the handheld console may determine overall reception.
As forBreath of the Wild 2, which many were hoping to see release this year alongside the rumored Nintendo Switch Pro andZelda’s 35th birthday, Nintendo has confirmed that the game will release in 2022. While this is also disappointing to many fans of the long-running franchise, it isn’t much of a surprise considering how little content has been shown so far, even in addition to the 98-second teaser at Nintendo’s E3 Direct.
TheLegend of ZeldaGame & Watchsystem will launch on November 12.
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