A new year has arrived and with a new year come new possibilities. And 2019 looks really promising for both the Zelda and the Metroid series. It will probably be the year to finally get a Nintendo Switch for whoever doesn't own one yet (like me), because we could be looking at some major new contents, which weren't already available in some form on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS... Let's go briefly through the potential Nintendo Switch titles:
Skyward Sword HD
When you have the producer of the Zelda series on stage, teasing the audience with "Skyward Sword for Switch", the game better should be ready to be announced soon, maybe even in the next Nintendo Direct. It could be an early title for the year, similar to Hyrule Warriors - Definitive Edition in 2018.
It will be interesting to see, how it handles the topic of motion controls, especially with the handheld mode of the Switch being a thing. And it will be nice to see what contents and improvements the game will receive, e.g. a trial cave dungeon.
It's also possible that this game (or any new Zelda release in 2019) might finally come with a special Zelda Edition of the Nintendo Switch. Imagine a bundle with a golden dock and golden Joy-cons. That's how Nintendo gets even the last Zelda fans without a Switch (like me) to finally buy one.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC
While we shouldn't expect anything from the Zelda series in the Fighter Pass for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, they still might add some more contents to the game, like some additional Echo Fighters. In that case Impa from Skyward Sword would have a solid chance and together with the release of Skyward Sword HD could become an important face in 2019 for the Zelda fans.
A New 2D Zelda
Grezzo has been hiring personell to "make a legend 2" in 2017, where the fruits of this labor could be harvested in 2019. It could be another remaster, but probably not Skyward Sword HD, because this is a game that would be handled by either Tantalus or the main Zelda team, since for the most part it will only require upscaling of its graphics.
It's more likely that Grezzo has been working on some new Zelda game entirely, like with Tri Force Heroes in 2015, unless of course they meant Ever Oasis with that "legend" in their job postings... But this could lead to another game using the classic top-down or even side-scrolling perspectives in the series. It could be a new take on Zelda II - The Adventure of Link. It could be a new take on Link's Awakening. Or it could be something else entirely.
It's also possible that the game might utilize multiplayer in some form, where the trend so far was going for less. After the Four Swords titles that focused on two to four players, Tri Force Heroes became a thing from Grezzo with a strict three player count, which didn't really work out so nicely. Maybe a focus on a two player coop will be a good idea for the next multiplayer Zelda game, where one plays as Link and the other as Zelda, similar to Spirit Tracks, just with two players this time (the singleplayer mode could work like in Spirit Tracks, though). This would be interesting and be ideal for any pairs playing Zelda.
Hyrule Warriors 2
Hyrule Warriors was a great success for Koei Tecmo and a sequel will happen eventually. They've finished their work on Fire Emblem Warriors for both Nintendo 3DS and Switch last year with its DLC, around the same time when Hyrule Warriors was released on Switch as well. And with all certainty they have moved on to the next Nintendo Warriors project afterwards. But this doesn't necessarily have to be the next Hyrule Warriors, seeing how the first game is already on the Nintendo Switch. It could be something else entirely, like Xenoblade Warriors, which would be cool as well.
However, if Koei Tecmo is indeed working on Hyrule Warriors 2, chances are that we will hear about the game for the first time in 2019. But I wouldn't expect a release in this year, maybe a first teaser at the end of year, like it was done for Hyrule Warriors in 2013... So, overall this feels more like a title for 2020.
Metroid Prime 4
Not a Zelda game, but still a Nintendo Action Adventure game of big interest to this Blog would be Metroid Prime 4. So far we haven't seen anything from the game yet and this will hopefully change at E3 2019. How will the game look like? How does it play? What's Sylux like? Will we be also getting a Metroid Prime Trilogy HD release? All those questions may or may not be answered in 2019.
Smartphone Zelda?
Last but not least, there is still the open question of a potential Zelda game for Smartphones. This was expected for 2018 already, but we got Dragalia Lost instead. And 2019 will start off with Mario Kart Tour, where it will be interesting to see, how this game will be handled on smart devices. Maybe Zelda will be coming afterwards...
No comments:
Post a Comment