There’s no such thing as a badLegend of Zeldagame, which reflects on why many were hoping for a collection of older games to come to the Switch for the franchise’s anniversary. Instead, it seems the Big N chose to focus onSkyward Sword, which is no surprise given how it may correspond toBreath of the Wild 2on theZeldatimeline. Still, many were hoping for more, and more rumors continue to float as a result.
The latest “XZeldagame coming to Switch” rumor suggests that the Oracle Duology, or the pair of 2001 games—Oracle of AgesandOracle of Seasons—will be coming to the Switch. Allegedly, the intention from Nintendo is to keep putting out remasters and remakes ofZeldagames over the next few years, possibly indicated by theSkyward Swordrelease.
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The leaker (Markomaro) builds from therumor thatWind WakerandTwilight Princessare coming to Switchfirst, as they are reportedly basically done, then says that the Oracle Duology will follow in 2022 or 2023. While all rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, the Oracle Duology is perhaps the least believable of the batch.
The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker and Twilight Princess on the Switch
Again,Zeldarumors are not new, and this leaker is far from the first or only to sayWind WakerandTwilight Princessare coming to the Switch. However, on top of that, it’s worth mentioning that the reason for their not-yet-released status is potentially due to Nintendo’s quality assurance process. Reportedly, the pandemic has prevented many games for getting quality assurance testing done, and so games likeMetroid Prime Trilogyare completedbut not able to be tested (and subsequently launched) quite yet.
With this being due to the pandemic, Nintendo has supposedly and understandably focused on big, new releases. As such, these twoLegend of Zeldagames could be ready to go, and even if that wasn’t the case, proper remasters of these two games would not be a far cry fromSkyward Sword. They all come from an era of gaming, andZeldagaming, that may be older, but it isn’t that much different from today.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons on Switch
On the other hand, the Oracle Duology would be one of the most complicated set of games in the series to remake. Sure, it’s not the oldest game in the franchise, but whereasWind Waker, Twilight Princess, and even the also-rumoredOcarina of TimeandMajora’s Maskall released on some sort of stronger console, the duology released on a handheld. It became playable on the3DS via the Virtual Console in 2013, but it was and still is very much a 2001 Game Boy Color game.
Not only does the age and the tech mean more work for a proper remake and a smaller likelihood of a remaster as a result, but the games were odd and ambitious for their time. The two games are linked, with each being able to be beaten, and a code leading to a “linked” ending that combines both of them. How this would translate to the Switch is a big question, but the developer could either remove it and make them one game (the effective “third” part of a trilogy), it could leave them be which wouldn’t be that satisfying, or it could make them the proper trilogy it always wanted. There’s probably more variables, but all the options make a remake of two games that is effectively two and a half and updating all of that sounds like more trouble than it is probably worth.
Of course, the Big N could decide it’s worth it, dedicate a team to making them, and the original vision of theOraclegames could come to fruition afterBreath of the Wild 2. It remains unlikely, though, so any of the aforementioned games are far more likely to release on Switch than theThe Legend of Zelda’s Oracle Duology.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2is in development.
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