Topic: Are new smaller scale mainline Zelda games a thing of the past?

I just had a terrible realization about The Legend of Zelda franchise.

It will be about 5 years since we had the last new mainline Zelda title if Breath of the Wild's sequel is finally released at the end of 2021, or early 2022. While it's not unusual to have to wait for 4 to 5 years for a new big home console instalment in the mainline Zelda series, what has made the wait harder this time around is the fact that we haven't had a NEW smaller budget mainline Zelda to keep us busy in the interim.

In the "good old days" we used to get big home console games and smaller scale portable titles intermittently. With Switch we've had to settle with a rerelease of a spin-off (Hyrule Warriors in 2018), a remake (Link's Awakening in 2019) , two new spin-offs (Cadence of Hyrule in 2019 and Age of Calamity in 2020) and a remaster (Skyward Sword in 2021). While the releases might have satisfied most Zelda fans for now, it's not the same as getting a new mainline Zelda.

So as a conclusion I'm afraid that going forward it will continue the same and Nintendo won't produce new smaller mainline Zelda's anymore, and all we can wish for are remakes and spin-offs while we wait for another new mainline title. If Nintendo continues with the "unified platform" approach with subsequent consoles, can there be room for big and small new Zelda games on the same platform?

Yea, sadly that seems to be the case, at least in the last half decade.

Nintendo seems content with these second-party spinoff titles like Hyrule Warriors counting as Zelda games (which, you know, people can argue on a case-by-case basis) to fill the gaps between the actual main games.

The thing that really gets me is that Nintendo seems totally uninterested in developing any new 2D Zelda games, which is such a shot to the gut. Link Between Worlds was the last new 2D main game, 7 years ago, and even then some people consider it kind of halfway because it borrowed so heavily from A Link to the Past. (I know Tri Force Heroes was 2015, but that was just a series of dungeons if I recall... I don't know, count it if you want.)

I get that people are clamoring for the open-world innovation and all that, but to possibly leave behind the 2D roots completely really saddens me. Smaller 2D games could be the perfect way to fill the gaps between the huge games, especially if they keep going for BotW-scale games.

@Moshugan I certainly hope not, but yeah, I had this realisation a while ago. What makes it worst for me is knowing that the BOTW style of Zelda might be the future of Zelda going forward because me personally, whilst I enjoyed it and think it is a good game, I still don't think it is a good Zelda game; in the drive to relook at the conventions of Zelda, I think they stripped too much away.

Not having another smaller 2D title or even a main 3D title of Zelda (in the style of the older titles) going forward makes me incredibly sad.

I swear people just like getting worked up about Ninty abandoning games, someone was saying the same thing about Metroid yesterday even with Prime 4 in the work. lol

They released a remake of Link's Awakening not too long ago so they are aware of a desire for 2D Zelda games, BOTW hasn't destroyed 2D Zelda.

I'm not interested in 2D games but I miss smaller scale 3D games like Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker. I hope they're not replaced by the open world style for good.

The funny thing is that at the time OoT and WW were celebrated for the massive worlds.

@jump
Yes, but that was decades ago lol. Games have changed to these bloated affairs that need to give the player a million different things to do at any given point. Today a game like Ocarina would be considered fairly small and "only" had a few things to collect and amuse yourself with aside from the main quest.

And I consider a 2D remake way, way different than Nintendo developing a new 2D Zelda. I don't think the LA remake demonstrates their desire to make a new 2D Zelda. I'll be wicked happy if I'm wrong, but I just don't get that vibe. I think they had a great idea for the new art style and the little half-baked dungeon creator, but otherwise it's obvious they cut some corners (frame rate; half-baked dungeon creator lol) and weren't all that eager to patch it much after release (I think it got one patch, right?)

@MS7000
I'm with you 100%. I hope beyond hope that the BotW model will run its course with the sequel and maybe one more game. Maybe people will get it out of their systems at that point and we can get back to some more focused adventuring (with some innovations, of course).

I really would like them to pursue the 2D dungeon-making idea. I think they could pull it off. There's a lot of potential there.

@Moshugan Pandemic also halted game developmet, or delayed it, in many cases. BOTW 2 was tentatively slated for late 2020 release. I'm not sure when we're going to get out of the pandemic's shadow.

Also, I think it appears Nintendo is waiting until after March 31 to reveal it's Zelda anniversary plans. I'm just wondering if they are going to make us wait until June/E3-time, or later, to announce what they're doing.

@WoomyNNYes
Yea, I think it'll be summer right before or perhaps even after the Skyward Sword HD launch until Nintendo reveals its other Zelda plans. People keep saying Nintendo wants all focus and hype to remain on the SS remake without muddying the waters with other anniversary announcements like a collection or anything like that.

I really hope they do something else, though. The SS remake is amazing especially for someone like me who never owned a Wii (I have played bits and pieces of it but never straight through), so I do feel like Zelda's anniversary year is already good, but it could be much more if they have something else up their sleeve.

I might be the biggest BotW detractor on this site, but even I'll admit that the open world aspect of BotW should be the standard for the 3D Zelda series going forward. Leave the 2D Zelda experience to remasters and remakes of the classics we already know and love, just like LA. Now go and get us a proper remake of Zelda II, Nintendo.

As Nintendo is releasing at least one Zelda themed game per year I bet they will develop more 2d or 3d "classic" style games. Just bear in mind those games have big development cycles not comparable with remakes

I wish Nintendo would outsource development of a small 2D Zelda title to another company, that they know can be trusted. I really wish Capcom/Flagship still existed in some capacity because that particular venture was sensational. I still can’t believe how a non-Nintendo team managed to produce such a faithful and charming trilogy of Zelda handheld games. Truly awesome...

I wish Nintendo would make and encourage 3ds level games on the switch. Making everything to "console" standards has made games few and far between. This will continue to get worse as technology goes on, resulting in either rushed games or few games.

We need smaller $30-40 Gameboy advance/DS/3ds level of games from major developers, not just indies.

Zelda release dates (North America, major releases bolded):

1987
1988
1992
1993
1998
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
2021 (?)

So yeah, this would be the biggest Zelda drought since the Clinton era. They were up to at least one new game every two years for a while there. It's possible Nintendo has some smaller titles in the works (or outsourced them like they did with Capcom) but so far, they haven't really used the Switch to promote their smaller franchises (instead relying on rehashed games) and the Switch is on track to have the weakest first-party lineup of any recent Nintendo generation.

No, the success of Links Awakening remake proves otherwise. I wouldn't be surprised to see remakes of the Oracle games and perhaps even Grezzo doing an original 2D Zelda in the future. 2D Zelda are good stop gaps for the larger open world Zeldas.

@KryptoniteKrunch Link's Awakening was a rehash, not a new release. The OP was asking about brand new small-scale Zeldas (which will mostly be 2D), not remakes.

I can't imagine Nintendo not making 2d Zeldas anymore and Link's Awakening sold better than a LOT of games. There's no reason not to if they're still making money and Grezzo is still around.

I'm hoping we get some more indie studios to do some 2d adventures. I absolutely loved cadence of hyrule. Played through it about 4 or 5 times.

Likely scenario is Nintendo outsourcing the smaller titles to other devs like Grezzo.

I think we'll at least get more remakes and ports like remake of the Oracle games on the 2D side and the Wii U ports on the traditional 3D side but for actual new Zelda games that aren't BotW style I doubt it. It's rare that franchises which delve into open world return to their roots at some point so I think for new games BotW will be Zelda's future, Pokemon Legends Arceus will be Pokemon's future, etc.

It's sad as full open world is so boring compared to linear or semi open world and the story massively suffers.