On Thursday, Nintendo surprised gamers by dropping the Super Mario Bros 35th Anniversary Direct, announcing a huge amount of new Super Mario content to be released from now until next March. The Direct included such announcements as the porting of Super Mario 3D World to Switch consoles, a brand new Super Mario Bros. online battle-royale game, a Mario Kart augmented reality toy, and of course, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a re-release of three of Mario's biggest console outings.
But this begs the question: with The Legend of Zelda's 35th anniversary looming on the horizon, does this mean that the Hylian hero will receive similar treatment as the mustachioed plumber? Will Nintendo honor its second-most-beloved franchise in the same sort of way its done for Super Mario? It seems to be looking that way. But what exactly might we expect from the anniversary? There's a lot to unpack, with many possibilities for The Legend of Zelda series. But given the circumstances, here are the most likely outcomes that fans might get from a Zelda-themed 2021.
A Zelda Game Collection Similar to 3D All-Stars
The biggest and most exciting announcement that came out of the Mario Direct was the reveal of Super Mario 3D All-Stars for the Nintendo Switch. Ideally, the Zelda franchise would get a similar package for the Switch, with the franchise currently lacking all 3D mainline titles aside from the most recent entry, Breathe of the Wild. Sure, fans have the remake of Link's Awakening on the hybrid console as well as the original NES and SNES titles via the Nintendo Switch Online service. But fans currently have no way of playing any of Link's other 3D adventures: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword each remain unobtainable on current-gen.
But the question as to which titles should be added to the hypothetical "Zelda All-Stars" remains unclear. Both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess were recently given HD upgrades on the Wii U, so those titles would be the easiest for Nintendo to port over. But when looking at the Mario collection, it's clear that Nintendo took one title from each of Mario's console "eras": Super Mario 64 from Mario's early days on the Nintendo 64, Super Mario Sunshine from GameCube, and Super Mario Galaxy to represent the Wii. If Nintendo were to really want to best represent the Zelda series as a whole, it would technically make the most sense to take one 3D adventure from the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii respectively; however, doing so would leave out two of Link's adventures.
Another very likely possibility is a limited launch window for the Zelda collection, in the same way that Nintendo is limited the availability of Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Many fans are suspecting Nintendo to be going the "Disney Vault" route of limiting its game's re-releases in order to keep the monetary value up. Like it or not, this practice seems like it would work and keep the classics from losing value.
A Brand-New Mainline Zelda Game
Just like Mario, Nintendo seems keen on continuing to grow and expand the Zelda brand as well. Fans already know that the sequel to Breathe of the Wild has been in development for quite some time now, so it would only seem natural for Nintendo to release the next big entry into the franchise for its 35th Anniversary, or give a release date at the very least. Mainline Zelda games have typically taken 4-6 years between entries-- with Breathe of the Wild taking the longest-- but it has been stated that the new sequel borrows quite a lot of assets from the original 2017 game and even uses the same map, so a 2021 release doesn't seem unlikely. The Switch is also coming up on the second half of its life-cycle in 2021, and Nintendo typically releases two Zelda games per console generation, so it feels like the perfect time for another grand adventure.
Something A Little More Unexpected
Another likely announcement that fans might see is something a bit more out-of-the-box; Nintendo loves surprising its fans, and the Mario Direct certainly offered a few surprises. Last year's Cadence of Hyrule proved that the Zelda franchise can still feel fresh with the incorporation of completely new and unique ideas. It's unclear as to what sort of surprising Zelda-related news gamers might get, but really anything is possible. A sequel to Hyrule Warriors, a new Link's Crossbow Training game, or something entirely different are all possible. Heck, maybe Nintendo will re-release or remaster one of the old Zelda Gameboy games, like Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. Maybe fans will finally get a re-release of the Phillips CDi games finally. Well, probably not that last one.
Honoring the Series' Long History
Of course, it wouldn't truly be a celebration of Zelda's 35th Anniversary if Nintendo didn't properly honor the series as a whole. One of the best bits of the Mario Direct was the segment towards the end where Nintendo took players through a short history of the whole series, from Super Mario Bros. in 1985 all the way up to Super Mario Odyssey on Switch. Hopefully, Nintendo will do something similar by honoring the Zelda series. It also seems fairly likely that fans will see new Zelda amiibos, and other collectible items such as themed board games and toys (Legend of Zelda LEGO sets, anyone?).
With such a long history and large devoted fan-base, The Legend of Zelda deserves a great 35th Anniversary, just as Mario is getting in 2020. The series is loved by fans old and new, and it's safe to say that Nintendo has something very special in store next year for the world of Hyrule.