Nintendo Grabs Smartphone-Related Trademarks For Zelda: Spirit Tracks And Mario Vs. Donkey Kong

@kuromantic The switch has a touch screen. I wouldn't mind a "The world ends with you" like remaster for both Zelda DS titles, for the Switch and or mobile.

I would rather play these on a Switch...

Spirit Tracks released in December 2009 and Japanese trademarks get renewed every 10 years. This could just be a early renewal and since the last Mario Vs Donkey Kong games were 2015 and 2016, a game for Mobile and Switch (think Pokémon Quest) is likely.

Never played spirit tracks. But touch gameplay worked for link before.

I just don't think the Zelda games would work that well on mobiled. I'll just play the originals on my DS

I dont like to admit this but Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks would work very well on a phone

Those Zelda games had some of the most bad controls in the series and they were very slow paced. Those could be remedied in a possible remake though.

Honestly, Mario vs. DK was born for a Smartphone app.

All the DS games are suitable for smartphone. DS came out years before the iPhone, all the touch-based games had their ideas copied from DS games.

Well, ports for Spirit Tracks and maybe Phantom Hourglass .... Why not after all ? If it means that more people will have the chance to play these games that are really enjoyable, I don't see why I should be against it

I’d pay good money to have Spirit Tracks on my iPhone! The 2D Zelda’s are my favourite series in all of gaming.

I doubt it would be very successful due to the ease of emulating touch-controlled games on Android, but a proper mobile release would probably be much better than emulating it. It would look better, sound better, and be more visually coherent as you're not cramming 2 screens onto 1. I'd definitely buy Spirit Tracks on mobile.

@MushHill_Act1-1 "Mario vs. DK was born for a Smartphone app"

Back when Iwata was bad mouthing free-to-start and all the Nintnedo fanbois were talking about Nitnneod only makes "real games", not crappy mobile games, MvDK March of the Minis was one of the games I would point to as Nintnedo already making mobile games, just on handhelds. Also Dr. Mario, several of the games in Nintnedo Land like F-Zero and also Pushmo. But those Mario v DK games go way back.

I don't know anything about Spirits Tracks, our pre-owned cartridge never worked and nobody ever got around to returning it.

If they come out with Zelda for iOS I will gladly play that!

Let's face it: if Zelda is next in the smartphone treatment, then the DS games are the go-to titles to choose. The work has already been done, all that needs to be done now is a transition that, admit it, was just waiting to happen. I'm in.

I missed out on spirit tracks! Would be super happy to play it on phone or iPad

I haven't played Spirt Tracks. I'd give it a go...if it were released on Switch.

I don't care for mobile games.

If handled well, I wouldn't mind seeing Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks ported to more modern hardware. Both don't rank very high on most favorite Zelda lists, but there's such a high bar set for the series that that doesn't mean much. On their own, both games are excellent.

I can't speak for Mario Vs. Donkey Kong since I haven't played any of those, but it's popular enough that I wouldn't be surprised if it surfaced again.

They both would work, and even though I wouldn't likely play them, I'd still like to see it happen. Phantom hourglass could work as well, and even Yoshi Touch N Go possibly. It'll appeal to someone, and that's all that matters to Nintendo's business. Me? I'll stick to the core consoles

Mario Vs. Donkey Kong would be a wet dream for the switch.
But the "you have to have Amiibos to get a full game"-appeal of the last incarnation left a sour taste.

3ds remake incoming?

Assuming that these IP's are coming to smart phones, they make sense. The DS era of Zelda games always had you leading Link around with a stylus, and that would translate well to someone using a phone, even if a finger could block more of the screen than a stylus. March of the Minis with you building tracks with your hand and going around managing the Minis paths makes sense as well. Not expecting ports, though I can see Zelda getting a game where you pay once, where the March of the Minis tries the free-to-start approach.

@Andrew5678 Yeah, I also think if they Release ST on Smartphones it will either be a new version (new graphics, but paced for Smartphone play) or a Train-Puzzle Spin-Off...

I enjoyed both Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks back in the day (although the touch control mechanics grew old really quickly) so I'm intrigued to see what they might do with Spirit Tracks. I think I'd prefer a non touch control port if I'm honest... but we'll see. I agree with other comments that this is just as likely to be a spin off game based on the Spirit Tracks world - a train puzzle is a good shout.

@kuromantic or, ya know, using the analog stick to move and a button to sword?

This and that Gameboy add-on patent thing could be a hint at what is to come. Perhaps Nintendo is currently looking into how their older handheld games could be brought back? Either some kind of expansion on their subscription service, or as individual sales. Let's be realistic, the DS Zelda games would be pretty simple to port to a smart device.