The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's greatest success stories. The franchise pioneered the dungeon-crawling adventure genre as gamers know it today, and it has routinely been one of the biggest sellers on each of Nintendo's consoles. The progression of The Legend of Zelda has moved steadily along with the rest of the gaming industry, to the point where its most recent entry, Breath of the Wild has become one of the most important games of the last five years.
If there's one thing that The Legend of Zelda is known for, it's consistency. The franchise has very few games that are unforgivably bad, to the point where even the worst Legend of Zelda games still receive pretty respectable reviews across the board. This level of consistency has led to several Zelda titles receiving remakes of some kind over the years, each of them ensuring that a whole new generation of gamers has access to some classic games. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is one of the newest examples of this, and there are many more Zelda remakes that have truly captured the essence of the original games.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
When The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time released on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, it would quickly take the world by storm with its incredible gameplay, narrative, and soundtrack. It is regularly regarded as one of the greatest games of all time, and this reputation got a second chance to shine in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS. This remake took everything that was great about the original and cleaned it up for a more modern audience, with enhanced graphics and a number of quality of life improvements. As if Ocarina of Time couldn't get any better, this remake brought it to a whole new level.
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
The Legend of Zelda is no stranger to experimentation, and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker is one of the biggest indications of this. From its cell-shaded graphics to the open sea exploration, it took some time for this game to become a classic. Once The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD released on the Wii U, however, the game's strengths became undoubtedly apparent. One of the biggest benefits that this remake had was the Wii U gamepad, as it would display the map and allow for inventory management. It seemed perfectly suited for the console and arguably made for a better experience than the original Wind Waker.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on Switch
It is often a daunting task to take a game that is so drastically different from the current industry standard and remake it from the ground up, but that's exactly what was accomplished with The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on the Switch. The charming Game Boy title had a reputation as one of the best mobile Zelda titles, and the Switch remake renewed that charm with vibrant cartoon graphics and the same classic Zelda gameplay. It truly looks like a whole different game from the original, and it even added a custom dungeon creator for longtime Zelda fans that have dreamed of crafting their own since the very first game.
The Legend of Zelda is certainly experiencing a renaissance as of late. Breath of the Wild has catapulted the franchise to all new heights, and the upcoming Breath of the Wild 2 already looks like it could revolutionize Zelda, and the gaming industry all over again. With Skyward Sword HD out in the wild with favorable reviews, Nintendo has given fans yet another solid Zelda remake. While the focus will likely be shifting towards Breath of the Wild 2 for the foreseeable future, at this rate it seems likely that The Legend of Zelda franchise will get yet another remake sometime in the future.