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

I don't know, I think open world is nearing the end of its power status. It'll always be around, I'm not saying that, I just think people are getting sick of it as being pretty much every game. I was reading comments over on IGN the other day <shudder> and even people over there were saying how they got burnt out on Horizon Zero Dawn's open world about midway through the game.

Thanks for all the replies everyone! The conversation has been good.

I think releasing the refreshed Link's Awakening at least shows that Nintendo is not allergic to associate the mainline Zelda brand with not-so-serious smaller scale games. I find it pretty likely that the Oracle games will be getting similar remakes. But speaking of those, wouldn't it be grand to finally get a brand new third Oracle game? "Oracle of Secrets" as Farore was called in the games. Or "Mystical Seed of Courage" as the third game was supposed to be named as.

I agree with some of you that I'd like them to make more traditional 3D Zelda's as well at some point. But I find it unlikely that we'll get anything like that in a long while.

@TheLightSpirit
Oh yea, it's horrible. I'm not registered over there and I barely go there anymore. Sometimes I still like to observe some of the comment sections though lol

I don't think they'll abandon them at all. I think we'll probably get another one on the Switch. Maybe made by Grezzo, reusing the engine they did for Link's Awakening.

Especially given that Skyward Sword is the last major remaster they'll likely be doing (not including porting the Wii U ones to the Switch). They'll have several years after BotW2, before the console is finished. Good opportunity for a new "2D" Zelda.

Honestly, I don't think 2D Zelda titles are gone. They'll take a while probably, but I doubt that they're gone for good.

I know people want to discount the remakes and spinoffs but I don't think it's as simple as dismissing them entirely. Of course you have to draw the line somewhere but personally I'd count Link's Awakening HD and Age of Calamity as "bigger" Zelda releases than Tri Force Heroes and Four Swords. With Link's Awakening HD in particular, on a scale of "straight port" to "new game" that was more like A Link Between Worlds was to LttP than Twilight Princess HD was to Twilight Princess.

Also something worth noting....
NES: 2 Zelda
SNES: 1
GB: 1 (and a colourised re-release of the same)
N64: 2
GBA: 1 + 3 re-releases (one including four swords)
GC: 2 + limited emulated disc + four Swords Adventures
DS: 2 + four Swords re-release
Wii: 2 + 1 spinoff and VC
3DS: 1 + 2 spinoffs, 2 remasters and VC
Wii U: 1 + 1 spinoff, 2 remasters and VC
Switch: 2 + 2 spinoffs, 2 remasters (one almost to the point it was a new game) and NSO

I'd argue the Switch era has basically maintained the same amount of Zelda releases. And it's one console in a generation that's not done yet.

@skywake
I love the LA Remake, but I wouldn't put it near Link Between Worlds in terms of originality. Yea, Between Worlds had the same world (roughly...not really, though) as LttP and the beginning of the game was quite similar, but it's really its own beast after the first couple hours.

LA Remake is just LA with a half-baked dungeon creator (which I really enjoyed for what it is). It does include the color dungeon, which was cool, but otherwise it's pretty much LA. They changed some of the seashell stuff and the map is more detailed, but it's the same game.

I would put it more in line with Twilight Princess HD, personally.

@skywake Regarding Link's Awakening, I agree with rallydefault's assessment. While A Link Between Worlds uses the same world map as A Link to the Past, it is a completely different game (story, dungeons, bosses, items, and gameplay are all different). It was a sequel, designed to be enjoyed by veterans of ALttP and newcomers alike. It's no more a remake of A Link to the Past than Majora's Mask was a remake of Ocarina of Time (the former reuses the game engine and many assets, including just about the entire cast). Link's Awakening, while it may have taken more work than the two HD Gamecube games, adds hardly any new content. If you have the $5 version, the $80 version is 99% redundant and vice versa.

As for the games per console, bear in mind that Nintendo is down to a one-machine strategy so we should expect more Zelda games on the Switch than any previous console. That's not what we're getting so far, they're making fewer games than they were during the Wii U-3DS era.

I don't really agree, obviously. I might be biased because LA is one of my favourite Zelda games but playing it on Switch was a fresh experience. I certainly didn't feel the same way with Twilight Princess HD or even OoT 3D.

I don't think it's so black and white. There's a bit of a sliding scale. For me LA HD definitely counts as a release.

@Euler yeah, Switch is a single console where there used to be two. And even on that metric it's ahead of the previous generation.

@skywake Link's Awakening is a full on remake, where as A Link Between Worlds isn't. A Link Between Worlds is moreso a sequel/re-telling of ALTTP.

The other way of looking at the Switch having supplanted both the Wii U and 3DS is that Nintendo don't have to make extra small scale Zelda games for people to play on the handheld platform, because it's no longer separate to the home console. That's probably just as well, given that making games on the scale of BOTW is surely a mammoth task that takes even more work than the mainline Zelda games that preceded it.

One option that they'd have is to farm out the development of some more lightweight Zelda games to third party studios to fill out the schedule alongside the spinoffs and remakes. They previously did this in the past when Capcom made some handheld Zelda games. Given that there are already a bunch of indie studios capable of making quality Zelda-likes it shouldn't be too hard to find someone willing to make an official one.

@VoidofLight
Let me put it this way. If you had a scale from 0 to 10 where 10 is entirely new and original game and 0 is straight port with no changes. NSO would be 0, Twilight Princess HD would be a 1, OoT 3D would maybe be a 2, Links Awakening HD would be 5, Spirit Tracks would be like a 6, Link Between World's maybe 8, BotW 10.

On that scale LA HD is closer to being a "new game" than a port. Make sense?

@skywake Does make me wonder where Skyward Sword HD will fit in that scale. Based off the initial trailer it’s looking like a nice zero. Booooooring!

It looks worse than fellow Wii game Mario Galaxy in 3D All-Stars (which looked really nice in HD!) but apparently mapping the motion controls to the analogue stick justifies selling it standalone at full price, lolz...

The problem with Skyward Sword is that the game always had a fuzzy look to it, so scaling it up just gets you high definition fuzz.

I'm sure there'll be a lot more work going into it than the 3D All Stars games. They were just easy wins with the graphics. Well, Sunshine and Galaxy were at any rate.

On my completely arbitrary and highly subjective scale? .... either a 1 or a 2

I think the point is more that there are some re-issues where you're not really missing out on anything if you skip it having played the original. Sometimes it really is identical, like the Virtual Console or NSO releases. If you have a Gameboy Color and a copy of Link's Awakening DX there was literally no reason to buy it again on the 3DS VC as an example. Also you could easily make the argument either way whether or not the VC release or the original hardware was "better". They're largely the same thing.

In the middle there are releases like Wind Waker HD, Twilight Princess HD, Ocarina of Time 3D and Skyward Sword HD. Are these releases worth revisiting if you have a copy of the original available? I mean maybe, but mostly just because the new platform is more convenient. But they are definitely the version to get if you never played the originals. And if you're interested in re-visiting and have the disposable income why not?

But on the other extreme for "re-releases" there's Link's Awakening HD. Sure it's fundamentally the same game but it's also entirely reworked visually. Even if you're a super-fan of the original, like I am, and already have a copy of it? You definitely want to give it another spin here. In that sense I don't class Link's Awakening HD as being in the same category as Skyward Sword HD.

...... although I am buying Skyward Sword HD

I'd say Wind Waker HD was a more notable upgrade because of the Swift Sail and changing the Triforce Quest such that it's a lot less tedious. GC backtracking main quests were somewhat tedious in general like Metroid Prime artifacts and Metroid Prime 2 Sky Temple keys but Wind Waker GC Triforce Quest was a gigantic level of tedious.

I cannot see a single reason for anyone who's already beaten Skyward Sword to get the HD version tbh. It's for a res bump and a new control scheme and that's it, no QoL fixes, lighting upgrades, new content etc. It's as close to VC as we'd get for a full price release.

As for new 2D, I'll stand by my assessment that A: Cadence of Hyrule should not be discounted when it comes to 2D Zeldas, being as much a full one as Triforce Heroes and B: There's too much money in 2D Zeldas for anyone to worry about them being abandoned.

@link3710 We don't actually know if there aren't QoL or new contenet just yet.

@link3710 @jump That’s basically me then. I’m going to get the game, almost irrespective of how much new content is added on. I may not buy it on, say, Day 1, but maybe Day 2 or Day 3. Of course the argument that it’s the most VC-esque game port of all is very strong.