The Legend of Zeldaremains one of the most important titles in Nintendo’s canon, and one of the biggest franchises in gaming. Since its arrival with the original game in 1986 (1987 in North America),The Legend of Zeldahas been one of the most consistently critically acclaimed and commercially popular video game series on the market. Nintendo consistently finds new and exciting ways to innovate and excite with this long-running series, and seemingly each new title continues to innovate and raise the bar for games across several genres.
Eight years after the release of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo is now closer than ever to releasing its long-awaited new system, theNintendo Switch 2. While this new console-handheld hybrid will bring plenty of excitement to all kinds of gamers, theZeldafranchise may get off to a rather slow start on the system, with only a few smaller titles set to arrive in the system’s first year. This is most certainly not bad news, however, and it only opens the door for the latter part of the system’s life to be even more exciting forZeldafans.
The Legend of Zelda Has Plenty Of Time To Establish Itself On The Switch 2
The Switch 2 Will Have Some Smaller Zelda Content
Currently,The Legend of Zeldafranchise is set to get off to a rather quiet start on the Nintendo Switch 2. At the platform’s launch, the only newZeldamaterial being released will be theNintendo Switch 2 Editions ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildandThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. These new re-releases will allow fans to experience two wildly popular and massively successfulZeldagames from the Nintendo Switch’s life, now with greatly increased resolution and improved frame rates.
From there, the only other confirmedZeldagame set to be released this year on theNintendo Switch 2 isHyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. This new project is aZeldaspin-off serving as a crossover betweenZeldaand theDynasty Warriorsseries, and the third installment in theHyrule Warriorschronology that began in 2014 on the Wii U. Following its predecessor,Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, serving as a prequel toBreath of the Wild, this new title will serve as a prequel to its follow-up,Tears of the Kingdom.
Zelda’s Slow Start On The Switch 2 Creates Excitement For Its Later Life
While this may appear to be a slow start forZeldagames on Nintendo’s new platform, it is fairly understandable that the publisher will not have much newZeldacontent ready to go at the Switch 2’s launch. After all,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomhas only just turned two years old, and Nintendo just launched another new mainlineZeldagame last year,The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Thus, it seems likely that the publisher is currently quietly working on the nextZeldaadventure, and it may still be a few years out.
It’s not all bad news thatZeldawill not have a big new game right away on the Switch 2. All it means is that the system is primed to have a fantastic, AAAZeldagame sometime later in its lifespan, and that Nintendo is simply not rushing to capitalize on theZeldahype following titles such asTears of the KingdomandEchoes of Wisdom. Nintendo is already set to bring several major franchises to the Switch 2 early in its life, withgames likeMario Kart World,Donkey Kong Bananza, andKirby Air Ridersset to bring the hype in the system’s first year.
Nintendo Will Continue To Bring The Zelda Goodness In The Meantime
Zelda’s presence will also no doubt be felt on the Switch 2, even if a big new game is not ready to go right off the bat. Beyond persistent rumors that titles such asThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind WakerandThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princesswill be released in a remastered form, rumors have also circulated thatThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timewill be getting a remake on the new system. Nintendo is no stranger to putting outre-releases of classicZeldagamesto tide fans over until bigger new entries are ready to go, and the Switch 2 should prove no different.
Given how many gamesZeldafans have gotten on the Nintendo Switch over its lifespan, the wait for a major new title on the Switch 2 may prove to be a rather long one. With that said, Nintendo fans will still have plenty ofZeldato enjoy on the new system, thanks to itsbackward compatibility with current Switch gamesand the spin-off and re-releases set to arrive this year. Even if the next AAAZeldatitle is still a few years out, Nintendo will likely continue to experiment with the franchise and offer plenty of options to tide fans over in the meantime.
