Fans of The Legend of Zelda are rightfully expecting 2021 to be a big year for the franchise. It's turning 35, just as Super Mario turned 35 last year, and fans are optimistic that Nintendo has a lot in store. In fact, ever since the latest Nintendo Direct, it's seemed increasingly clear that Nintendo wants The Legend of Zelda to make the most out of 2021. Skyward Sword is coming to the Switch after a remake was rumored for some time, and Nintendo has laid out a roadmap for its future DLC support for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Although Nintendo hasn't shared more about Breath of the Wild 2 yet, fans can't quite discount the possibility that it'll release sometime this year to help mark the anniversary.
All these games and updates make for a pretty decent celebration altogether. However, Nintendo proved in the case of Super Mario that it's open to trying something unorthodox to mark the occasion of a franchise anniversary. That came in the form of Super Mario Bros 35, a limited time battle royale and competitive platformer. If Nintendo is willing to try something new for Mario, then Zelda deserves the same kind of treatment, and there's one type of unorthodox spinoff that a lot of fans have been hoping will come together for a long time now. Whether it's likely to happen or not, 2021 ought to be the year that Nintendo releases Zelda Maker.
Nintendo's Love of Creativity
Nintendo has a long history of trying to foster creativity in its fans. Way back in 1992, it released Mario Paint, a surprisingly sophisticated art tool for the days of the NES. Mario Paint sold extremely well, and remains both fondly remembered and often referenced in Nintendo's other works. Nowadays, Nintendo can encourage creativity in some much more ambitious ways. Super Mario Maker is the best example of this. The Super Mario fan community was over the moon about the game's reveal and the opportunity to make their very own Super Mario levels. It was an extraordinary success, as was its sequel, which found brilliant and gratifying ways to expand on the first game's features.
Super Mario Maker might be a subfranchise that keeps going for a long time, seeing how well its done. However, it's not the only level design game that Nintendo fans are hoping for. Some of the most memorable moments in The Legend of Zelda come from traversing the game's dungeons. Each one feels unique and memorable, challenging players with combat, puzzles, and new items to master. Since dungeons are such an important part of the franchise, it'd be great to put the tools of dungeon making in the hands of fans to see what the community comes up with. Seeing how creative players are in Mario Maker, fans of a theoretical Zelda Maker would surely come up with some extraordinary designs.
It can't be denied that a Zelda Maker game is probably a lot harder to develop than Mario Maker. Part of Mario's strength is its simplicity; the majority of its core games can be boiled down to 2D sidescrolling platformers. Nintendo would probably have to choose to make Zelda Maker isometric or a third-person game, and each comes with its upsides and downsides. Dungeons are usually much more complicated and interconnected than Mario levels too. Still, so long as Nintendo settled on one and came up with design mechanics and building blocks as flexible as Mario Maker's, Zelda Maker could be something beautiful.
Hope for Zelda Maker
There's a couple signs out there that Nintendo might actually be considering a game like this. The biggest clue comes from the recent remake of Link's Awakening. When the remake was first announced, fans were really intrigued by the new Chamber Dungeons feature. Using this feature, fans could put together dungeons of their own using preset rooms from other Link's Awakening dungeons. However, it wasn't as free-form as fans were hoping for, and ultimately ended up being something of a letdown. Still, fans have never been closer to designing their own dungeons for Link to traverse. If Nintendo has tested this sort of dungeon maker out already, it might already be making plans for a more fleshed-out Zelda Maker type game.
Another less crucial but still compelling point in Zelda Maker's favor is Link's appearance in Super Mario Maker 2. Although it's a far cry from a game dedicated to Zelda dungeon making, adding the Master Sword as a powerup went a long way in Super Mario Maker 2. Fans have made tons of really faithful recreations of Zelda dungeons in 2D thanks to the powerup. It also could be a clue that Nintendo is interested in seeing what fans can do when the Zelda formula is in their hands. The community certainly didn't disappoint, so hopefully that makes Nintendo feel more optimistic about the prospects of a dungeon making game.
Celebrating Zelda Tradition
Perhaps the most important thing that Zelda Maker would do by releasing as a part of the anniversary is offer a retrospective for the franchise. Breath of the Wild is fantastic, but it's a very different look for The Legend of Zelda. It breaks tons of conventions by being light on dungeons and heavy on crafting, equipment, and open world exploration. If Breath of the Wild 2 releases this year, it'll surely preserve most of these new elements. It'd be nice to have another game besides Skyward Sword that fans can play to bask in some Zelda nostalgia. Being able to create dungeons that mimic the design of past games and use building blocks specifically from those older games would go a long way.
It may be that Zelda Maker isn't in the stars for fans this year. A new game of that caliber seems like something it would've addressed during the recent Nintendo Direct. However, there's still a chance that Zelda Maker is a game for holiday 2021 and Nintendo is waiting to address is until a special Zelda-themed direct. Alternatively, it's possible that this possible spinoff has been hiding in Breath of the Wild 2 all along as a 'minigame' like the Chamber Dungeons. If not, maybe Nintendo just needs a few more years to figure out how to make this kind of game. Whatever the case, the fact remains that Zelda Maker would be a fantastic way to mark the 35th anniversary. Creating art is one of the main ways fans celebrate their favorite franchises and IPs. It'd be a delight to see Nintendo enable Zelda lovers to get creative in the most Zelda way possible.