There are many franchises that Nintendo can call their “best,” and it’s not as easy as saying it’s all Mario and his spinoff games, as there have been plenty of other franchises that have helped shape The Big N over the years. One such franchise is The Legend of Zelda, which is celebrating its 39th anniversary. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto due to his love of exploring his native Japan when he was younger, the adventures of Link, Zelda, and more have captivated fans for decades. Just in the most recent Nintendo console generation, the games have inspired many things in players.
One of the great ironies of this franchise is that, unlike franchises with Mario or even with other Nintendo mascots like Pikachu and Kirby, Nintendo hasn’t sought to “crank out new titles” to keep the momentum going. Instead, Nintendo has always been good to know that The Legend of Zelda is best when spaced out and having time to create something special. That speaks volumes when you think about the collection of titles we have on the Nintendo Switch.
We’ll start with the obvious one, Breath of the Wild. This title was the launch game for the Nintendo Switch and had been in the works for years. Nintendo even “skipped” the Wii U generation, in terms of a new release, just to ensure that this title was ready for the Switch when the time came. That was clearly the right move. The game was a revelation to many and helped shift the entire franchise from being exploration-based to truly open-world. That gave fans a new perspective on what this franchise could be, but it wouldn’t be the only time Nintendo pulled a shocking twist.
In 2023, it released the official follow-up to the Switch launch title via Tears of the Kingdom, which added even more twists and gameplay styles to the mix to once again make it like no title before it. Players were able to create and build things using whatever was around them, and they loved that “challenge” to see what they could do.
We also got the remake of a beloved handheld title, which fans adored, and even Princess Zelda got her chance to shine on Switch via her first solo game, Echoes of Wisdom. The question now is, “What will Nintendo do next with the franchise?”
While it’s unlikely we’ll get a game this year, with the Nintendo Switch 2 arriving soon and the franchise’s 40th anniversary coming next year, you know that Nintendo has something in the works.
