We've already discussed this at length, but Cadence of Hyrule is one of the most interesting releases on its way to Switch. In what is an extremely rare occurrence, Nintendo has handed over the keys to one of its biggest IPs to an indie developer, potentially changing the future of its beloved franchises in a rather dramatic fashion.
Nintendo's Nindie manager, Kirk Scott, has already explained how he hopes Cadence of Hyrule will be the start of a new trend going forward, where the Japanese giant could work with more indie developers to bring new and different takes on beloved franchises to players. We imagine that smaller studios all around the world would do almost anything to work with a series as big as Zelda, and it seems the questions have already started to come in.
Elden Pixels, a team made up of ex-Zoink and Image & Form employees which has already released Alwa's Awakening on Switch, has already jumped at the chance to mention its desire to do exactly that.
Sure, sending a tweet might not be the most traditional way of securing a deal, but why not? And who's to say that plenty of other developers aren't sending email after email to their Nintendo representatives and account managers as we speak? Cadence of Hyrule could well have opened the Nintendo x Indie floodgates, and the potential partnerships that could be born as a result are pretty mouthwatering.
Do you expect to see more and more indie developers asking to work with Nintendo? Would you like that to happen? Things could be about to get interesting...
[source twitter.com]
Comments 68
Im sure the people who run the twitter do not run the games guys. Ask through a coorporate meeting. Thats how I get my projects done
I think D-Pad Studios wouldn't mind a crack at Kid Icarus, either
https://twitter.com/DPadStudio/status/1108914045980037120
This is an experiment on Nintendo's part, so they'll likely want to see the reception Cadence of Hyrule receives before committing to anything similar in the future.
Honestly this is really cool, collaborations are always a really great thing. Remember when squaresoft collabed with nintendo to make Super Mario RPG? Or when Nintendo collabed with Konami to make DDR Mario mix? Sure not all collabs work out great, like I think the Minecraft one is kind of stupid, but the majority of collabs always turn out creative at least
A remake for zelda 2 is farrrrr overdue. These guys would do a great job as well
Yeah... If I was the guy in charge of this on Nintendo I would ignore this guys, not because I don't think they are competent, but because this is not how you get a deal. You didn't see the guys behind Cadence of Hyrule tweeting about this or even asking for it. Nintendo likes to keep their projects secret, so I guess they took them more seriously when they presented them the idea that way.
Zelda × Shovel Knight making a sequel of Zelda II The Adventure of Link!
Their plenty of indie companies I love to see use Nintendo ips. Wayforward ,the guys behind wargroove , shin'en ,yacht club games ,inti creates and galaxytrail
@Ralizah - This is exactly what is going to happen before any more of these ideas come around.
Though honestly, would have gone for that Olwboy x Kid Icarus idea NL promoted.
I would far prefer that LizardCube handle a Zelda 2 remake. Their remaster of Wonder Boy was brilliant, and I'd love them to get their hands on Zelda 2, give it their distinctive beautiful art direction, and tweak it to bring it up to the modern age.
@NintendoByNature Was just thinking that as I looked at the screenshot.
I don't think these collaborations will be a very regular occurrence. Nintendo's IPs are too important to just throw around willy-nilly. None of the suggestions I've been hearing are compelling enough to justify Nintendo entrusting their IPs for. It's gotta be something really interesting and special. NecroDancer and Zelda really is just a perfect combination.
One indie developer gets to work on a spin-off rhythm game, another starts asking to remake one of the main series titles.
Yachts Club Games is a perfect fit for the next Zelda × Indie crossover. The game is medieval, which helps to make it easier for both companies.
I just want assassin creed hyrule
@KingBowser86 I think they'd handle a zelda 2 remake pretty well. Alwas awakening was a pretty solid game in its own right. But I think yacht club games is more in line to do great things with a zelda 2 remake
@KayFiOS For me, that's probably the big difference. Cadence of Hyrule is a fresh take, completely different to anything we've seen from the Zelda series and something that we never would have seen if it wasn't for this collaboration. Remakes and sequels are something that Nintendo could probably just do a better job of themselves if they wanted to, they don't need to get indies involved in the process.
I think this would definitely help spice up Nintendo's franchises for me. Sometimes I do feel like a new take by a different studio can be a breath of fresh air, even for Nintendo.
I think they were just being cute with this tweet. Hope we see collabs bring something new to the table like Cadence. Don't want to see the creators of Hollow Knight making a Metroid game - rather see the Into the Breach people could make a Metroidvania approach to a turn based grid strat game, with branching paths or whatever.
@BenAV Exactly. It's not just indies, either. Nintendo themselves wouldn't give Mario a gun and put him in a strategy game with Rabbids. I hope Nintendo will continue looking to other companies for fresh ideas for spin-offs of their IP's, rather than pushing out another Hey, Pikmin!
I suppose since most indie developers are obviously 'inspired' heavily by Nintendo, having their games feature Nintendo IP would be a dream come true. However, I don't think Nintendo enjoying Crypt of the Necromancer and asking for Cadence of Hyrule opens the door for a wave of generic Zelda games featuring Link that play like copies of generic Zelda games not featuring Link. Cadence isn't that. Every indie team and their mum must be thinking 'imagine a roguelike (you will die) Mario' or 'Yoshi's Island walking simulator with an emotional narrative.' There is more chance of them playing Untitled Goose Game and wanting a Star Fox version!
Pretty sure this isn’t how these indie collaborations are going to work.
They won’t be making full blown Nintendo games. Like Cadance of Hyrule, at most they’ll feature Nintendo IP.
It's hard to tell if this tweet is a joke. But I'm sure there are a lot of indie devs bombarding Nintendo with requests anyway. But I hope, for Nintendo's sake, they keep a firm hold on their ips. If you lend your ip out to everyone who asks, you're going to end up weakening the franchise. Especially if it's just for more formulaic pseudo-retro spinoffs/remakes.
The only reasons Mario + Rabbits, Cadence of Hyrule, and Hyrule Warriors work is because-
1) They offer something different than Nintendo's main games.
2) Nintendo doesn't lend their ip out to everyone.
Give them to okay to play around with licenses in demos. If the project looks promising, give them a green light.
Id buy it if they did full remake and modernized it.
Really, I just prefer Nintendo make their own games.
I think if they can do it and do it very well, then why not give them a chance if Nintendo has no plans or desire to do it in house themselves. Or just in general, maybe it wouldn't be too bad to have indie studios tackle certain properties that Nintendo just doesn't have time for. Of course with hawk like Nintendo oversight
There is a big difference between having characters in your own game like Cadence and making a game in the series like a Zelda 2 follow-up.
Ok, if it was anyone else I would be laughing at their stupidity. But Alwas Awakening is actually one of the best NES tributes I ever played, and it feels like a really authentic NES experience. If anyone could remake Zelda 2, it is definitely Elden Pixels.
@NintendoByNature Having played it myself, it could do with some modern QoL improvements. It did have magic and healing, so there's no need to scale the difficulty a great deal. But some things could be less obscure, the game could be the current LoZ length, and things like the Graveyard Ghosts and Darknuts could be made far less tedious. Plus, hey, any excuse to give Dark Link a final boss role and explain why/how Ganon uses it/him (i.e. This is why you don't let Ganon get the Triforce of Courage, kids).
Actually, that explanation would be great, because then we could have a Dark Zelda secret boss!
@KingBowser86 Actually Dark Link doesn't work for Ganon. Ganon doesn't really have that big of a role in Zelda 2. Zelda 2 is about Link going on a quest to wake up the real Princess Zelda, not the Zelda from 1 but a Zelda that was cursed and has been put into a deep sleep. Ganons still dead, but his minions are on a mission to take Links blood and use it to resurrect him. The final boss of Zelda isn't one of Ganon's minions, but instead, it is the final trial for Link to prove that he is worthy to claim the Triforce, so he must face his dark half. That's about as basic of a summary you can get of the plot of Zelda 2.
@ilikeike Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is the Master System's masterpiece. A game that was perfect even back in 1989. It just received a fresh skin on Switch. Nothing in terms of gameplay has changed. Zelda II on the other hand had flaws that made the game frustrating, and I'm not sure a new skin will magically make this a better game. It could use some modern gameplay tweaks as well.
@SKTTR What Zelda 2 needs is the Samus's Return treatment. Same game with a fresh coat of paint and new gameplay improvements/changes. Like the 2D combat could be made better, there could be a better variety in the enemies, actually give hints instead of giving cryptic error messages, and improve the RPG elements.
@KingBowser86 I personally think the game is fine even though it's one of my least favorite zelda games. The only thing I'd like to see is updated graphics, some more guidance on where to go next or at least hints and most importantly, do away with the lives mess. Just give check points and I can handle the combat being tough as nails. I mean heck, I beat this game twice but it was definitely no cake walk. A few little QoL improvements like a save system or check points would do the game wonders. Nothing worse than being all the way on one side of the map and getting a game over only to have to start back at the castle with zelda
@SKTTR I'm well aware of that (and I think that Wonder Boy certainly showed its age and could have used a few readjustments), but LizardCube has already expressed their interest in remaking Zelda 2 in both artstyle and gameplay. Plus they're already making a new Streets of Rage so I think that they're up to the task of creating something more than just a fresh coat of paint like Wonder Boy.
Zelda 2 is pretty solid mechanically, it's just horribly balanced and vague with its direction. If LizardCube could make those few changes as well as whatever else they think is necessary, I think they'd do quite well.
Nintendo probably won't say yes to anymore Zelda collaborations. Publicly begging, even satirically, will probably just hurt your chances with Nintendo, on top of what others have said about going through the proper channels.
If Nintendo is using an indie spinoff to build hype for their first-party game releasing the same year, then I could see an indie 2D Metroid to tie into Metroid Prime 4.
@patbacknitro18 That could be argued in OoT where Dark Link is waiting in the Water Temple and Ganondorf did obtain the whole Triforce. Mario's breaking of blocks that used to be Toads was retconned - they could do the same here or just make my hypothetical version of the story of this game based on other games' canons entirely.
And that's -if- they still wanted to pay homage by being incredibly similar to the original. For all that matter, we could have a tense 2D platforming Ganon fight, and that'd be outright rad.
@Devlind plus the cadence of hyrule folks had established themselves very strongly with crypt of the necrodancer.
At this degree, more likely studios may be the Shovel Knight folks(who themselves owe a lot to Zelda II as well) or the team behind Shantae.
I really hope Cadence of Hyrule meets huge success, so Nintendo will be opened to more partnerships
Imagine a world where Nintendo finally let fans create their fan project games (for free ofc, I agree we shouldn't get any money from a project we don't own the rights) and partner with indies to create games for their franchises, it would be the best way to keep their franchises for decades
Hopefully this could mean the return of classic dormant franchises, such as F-Zero, Star Fox, Wave Race, Pilotwings, Eternal Darkness and others.
I would like the people who remade the Monster boy to remake Super Mario (or even Mario 3).
I want remakes to have new artsyles.
But I do want indies to bring their crazy ideas and make games work with Nintendo (like rabbids, necrodancer, warriors)
Id rather Indies cover franchises that don't have releases all the time. I'd like to see people tackle F-Zero, Star Fox, or Metroid.
@Arnold-Kage Shin'en & F-Zero, make it happen already!
@bluemujika
Fully agree. Think people bin saying shin'en should be allowed to make an f-zero since neo racing got released back in 2015
@Ludovsky
That be wayforward.
The success of Nindies are one of the highlights of Nintendo's development of late. If they're aiming to become the platform of choice for smaller 3rd parties I'm not surprised to see them going all in by sharing IP. Obviously, they just need to share wisely.
Guys, be careful about wishing too much for Nintendo franchises handling by indie dev, because you wouldn't want to get an another fiasco like Zelda CD-i.
@NintendoByNature Yeah. I think it would be interesting if we saw more sidescrolling RPG Zelda games. I think there is potential there.
I would love to see a follow up to Zelda II. This would be a dream come true. Hopefully they keep the difficulty up there like the original game and no easy mode. The creators of cuphead keep that tradition with keeping the difficulty hard so that when you do beat the game, there is a sense of accomplishment.
@roboshort personally, I wouldn't like them to make a new zelda side scrolling rpg but remaking 2 would be nice. My point being I'm not crazy about a zelda game being side scrolling like 2 was. I prefer the top down 2d formula above all. And id almost feel cheated if they spent time making that style as opposed to a 3d or top down 2d. Ya know?
@KingBowser86 The difference though is that in OOT Ganon was in charge of everything, in Zelda 2 Ganon was gone. His minions were still on the hunt for you to bring him back, but everything else was a trail that Link had to overcome to prove he was worthy for the Triforce of courage. With facing his inner darkness in Shadow Link being his final trial. That being said, they could still have a Ganon fight if they remade Zelda 2. Just have some new half of the game where after waking Zelda, Ganon's minions get some of Links blood and resurrects him, and then for the second half you go into a brand new area to take down Ganon once more.
As long as the concept is solid and subject to quality control, I'm okay with this. As long as we don't get a Zelda-like clone of Flappy Bird called Flappy Fairy or something.
@NintendoByNature Yeah it’s personal preference, I suppose. 2 was rough around the edges but I think there is potential there. If Nintendo wants a Zelda game or two each year I think there should be more variety than just top down and 3D. As long as a competent external developer works on them, it shouldn’t drain Nintendo’s internal resources too much
Hmm. I’m pretty sure Nintendo doesn’t just want more of the same. They worked with Crypt of the Neceodancer because it was such a fun and original idea. Better to work with that team than copy them outright. Indies better bring something fresher to the table to get Nintendo’s attention, me thinks.
I still want an Image & Form Metroid game more than pretty much anything.
@roboshort I can't argue with you there 😆. If we had two zeldas a year id take a 2d side scrolling i suppose.
@PBandSmelly Actually if it is a small indie team, then most likely the people in charge of the Twitter could be people who makes the games too.
Edit: Unless you mean the people in charge of Nintendo's Twitter than nevermind heheh. (but who knows, they might do some work on games too.)
@Devlind Ah that makes a lot of Sense! (but they could still do it in secret still.)
@Wawawaaaario Nintendo just has to select the right Indie devs then!
I would love to finally see some Nintendo themed Zen Studios Pinball FX tables.
Nintendo would never just hand off a project like a Zelda II remake or follow up to some random indie dev. Nor, will Nintendo green-light a project via social media. Brace Yourself Games isn't working on the next big project for Nintendo, Cadence of Hyrule is just a small collaboration. Sure, this could open the door for indie developers to make use of Nintendo's IP but a Zelda II remake is far-fetched. Also, there is already a Zelda remake coming so I doubt Nintendo will green light another now.
A sequel to LoZ 2 would be cool
Game Designer at Elden Pixels here and the one who sent out the original tweet asking about this
It wasn't like we were actually thinking Nintendo would reply, it was more a fun tweet seeing if anyone would be interested, and seeing the responses people seem to be!
As a super small indie dev based in Sweden getting an actual meeting about this with Nintendo would be practically impossible, but sending out a tweet takes 5 minutes : ) And even though the people running the social media aren't the ones signing deals, someone on Twitter were quick to add business people in the mentions so the chances that Nintendo has seen this is very high, higher then if we'd drop a random email.
Thanks everyone for your kind words!
And on a personal note I can't understand why anyone would criticize Zelda II, the only thing I'd change is removing the lives system and respawning at the start. Everything else in that game is brilliant
While I respect their pitch in, I think if a Indie X Nintendo should be done, it should be more transformative like Cadence of Hyrule. I think what got the attention from people is that is was such a uniqe twist, but still seems to instantly make sense, once people saw it.
I'm really hoping Nintendo takes this on board going forward and allow indies to at least try new takes with their IP. Just imagine that - indies churning out Mario, Kirby and Zelda games exclusive to Switch throughout the year. A new twist to Mother or F-Zero could bring about a revolutionary resurgence in their respective fanbases and Nintendo wouldn't even have to lift a finger.
Alma's was reviewed as OK at best, wasn't it? I'm sure Nintendo would prefer to work with current Image & Form, but I think they're focused on their own brand more, which is also commendable.
You know what license I would like some of those indie devs to tackle? Warhammer 40,000. GW seems more than happy to sell it to anyone now, but for some reason only mobile tat comes out recently.
For the record:
Before the indie scenes gets any funny ideas, Shovel Knight has to catch up first with the console-exclusive bonus level thing.
no faster way to make nintendo regret their decision to allow someone to get their hands on nintendo ip than to bombard them with requests to do the same for everyone and their grandma.
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