Dawn of a New Year – 2015

Happy New Year, everyone!

This time there's actually not much to speculate about the upcoming year, since Nintendo already laid out the Zelda road map for 2015. Fans of Majora's Mask will be happy that their favorite game will finally receive full attention in the first half of 2015 with its remake, DLC for Hyrule Warriors, and the Symphony of the Goddesses.

The start makes the Majora's Mask Pack later this month. The DLC pack will contain two additional characters, who are still unknown, as well as an Adventure Map with the music of Clock Town, as well three new costumes. In February we will then see the final DLC, which contains two new game modes. There's also the question whether Hyrule Warriors will receive a 2nd wave of DLC or not, e.g. Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time packs. It's doubtful, where the next step will probably be a sequel, but it's still a possibility. In any case, Hyrule Warriors will entertain us for a while longer.

Ever since Ocarina of Time 3D was introduced, Zelda fans were longing for a similar remake of its dark and mysterious sequel. There was even the "Operation Moonfall" petition to show the strong fan interest. In reality, the development of Majora's Mask 3D had actually started right after Ocarina of Time 3D, where it will now find its way into stores, even with a Special Edition.

GREZZO is again the developer behind the remake, which will see some improvements and novelties. We don't know much yet, but we do know that there are two new fishing ponds, which will make the end of the world more relaxing. The team also wants to make the game more accessible, without making it less difficult. And we will see if they succeed once it release this Spring.

There will also be new songs from Majora's Mask in the "Master Quest" program of the Symphony of the Goddesses, which returns in 2015 to North America and Europe (I'll be in Dusseldorf). Certainly an event to look forward to.

The 2nd half of 2015 will revolve around the new Zelda game for the Wii U. This year they already showed us the visual style, the open world, and a battle against a giant hybrid of an Octorok and Beamos. There's a lot more to learn at the next E3 and the game is still slated for a 2015 holiday release, so in exactly one year we might all be playing the new game!

We also know that there's a new 3DS Zelda game in development, probably based on A Link Between Worlds. However, I suspect this game will be shown and released in 2016 to not steal attention from the new Wii U game. Or it may be the other way around if the Wii U title is long in coming.