Game Boy LEGO Announced

This was announced by Nintendo and LEGO today with some very retro commercial. It's a good, old Game Boy with cartridges for Super Mario Land and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, all built out of LEGO. You can even insert the cartridges into the Game Boy and swap out screens, where the one for Link's Awakening shows the scene of Marin and Link sitting on the beach. And all the buttons are pushable.

It's neat and compared to the Deku Tree set not that expensive (but probably overpriced nevertheless, since we're talking about LEGO here, but I'm no expert). And I still have my old Game Boy with these two games, where it would be nice to display the originals right next to their LEGO counterparts. The scale is 1:1, so it has the exact same measurements as the real deal.

Well, let's see. I have yet to buy the Deku Tree, because it's quite pricey and I wouldn't know where to put it. So, this could be something I'd rather get instead...

The Next 3D Zelda – General Direction?

Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have been tremendous hits for the Legend of Zelda and for Nintendo as a whole, where they will shape the future of the series one way or another. We can be certain that the open world direction will be kept and iterated, where a high level of freedom has become the biggest selling point. Other than that, we really don't have a clear idea about the way forward, only Nintendo does.

The most interesting question is how the game will look like and whether we're going to see a new Link and Zelda. Breath of the Wild really has established a new brand for the series, one that has become very successful and recognizable, much like the Nintendo Switch itself. With the re-introduction of both titles as "Nintendo Switch 2 Editions", it also seems in Nintendo's own interest to push forward with this brand on their new system.

On the other hand, we have a series that has always been quick to reinvent itself, to experiment with different art styles and ideas. So, it is not out of the question that they might come up with something that looks completely new and fresh. It just doesn't feel necessary at the moment...

Overall there seem to be three different options going forward:

1. A third game in a Breath of the Wild trilogy.
2. Another game in the same style, but taking place in a different era.
3. A completely new version of The Legend of Zelda. 

The first option doesn't seem very likely, because Aonuma already said so in an interview with GameInformer from late 2023 – they were not keen about making a sequel to a sequel. And they had exhausted their ideas for this iteration of The Legend of Zelda.

However, it felt more like they were talking about this Hyrule specifically. And no one wants to return to the same Hyrule a third time (or a fifth time if you count the Hyrule Warriors games), where you may even be of the opinion that Tears of the Kingdom doing so already was a mistake. That's up to debate, but a third game in the same Hyrule would certainly overstay its welcome, no matter how much they are going to change this time.

If they are going to make another game with the same Link and Zelda, it will have to take place in a different land. That's actually a very common thing to do for sequels in the Zelda series. We have Koholint Island in Link's Awakening, Termina in Majora's Mask, the world of the Ocean King in Phantom Hourglass, or Hytopia in Tri Force Heroes. But this always gave the sequels the character of a side story and if they truly were to make a Zelda trilogy for the first time ever (with that I mean a story with the same Link and Zelda for three games in a row), then it would feel weird if it were to end on a such a note.

Still, the idea of a true trilogy is tempting and there is also quite some potential with such a sequel. While Tears of the Kingdom has brought back some classic ideas from Ocarina of Time, like Ganondorf, the sages and their temples, it never touched upon the most fundamental part of the lore: the Sacred Realm and the Triforce. Despite appearing in symbols and seemingly as part of Zelda's sealing powers, the Triforce still a forgotten mystery in this world of Hyrule and we have yet to learn why that is. And making this the topic of a third game would certainly be fitting.

There is also Princess Zelda herself. Ever since the first teaser trailer for the sequel to Breath of the Wild, where Link and Zelda went to explore Hyrule's underground together, there has been a lot of interest in a game where she is also playable, right next to Link. This didn't come to fruit with Tears of the Kingdom, but Nintendo made the princess the protagonist of a main game shortly after, with Echoes of Wisdom. Maybe also to test how such an idea would be truly received...

But after all the hardships the Zelda from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom went through, she really deserves to be in the spotlight of a 3D Zelda game where you play as both Link and the eponymous princess. It would be disservice if they were to replace her in such a scenario.

Well, there is still the problem of dealing with the same Hyrule for a third time. We don't want this, but there is no good reason for Zelda to leave this Hyrule, unless she gets forced to or this some sort of higher calling. However, this could connect quite well with a plot around the Triforce – the third game could lead both Link and her inside the Sacred Realm. And the Sacred Realm can take all sorts of shapes, maybe even reflect other Hyrules from the past somehow...

However, we are already getting Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment as an upcoming spin-off game, where you primarily follow Zelda's journey in the distant past of Hyrule's founding. So, this will already be a game where this Zelda is the playable main protagonist. And maybe, just maybe it will also explore the topic of the Triforce...

The third option certainly can't be dismissed, but it feels also not very likely. As already said, they have established a strong brand with Breath of the Wild and they are already continuing with this brand on the Nintendo Switch 2. The mix of realism and cel shading also has worked out quite well for the series, it's truly the best of both worlds. So, coming up with something completely new for Zelda at this point might not be what they want and might also not be needed.

This leaves us with the second option. Same art style, but new Link, new Zelda and a new land. This would be similar to Spirit Tracks, but it's also something that Nintendo has done very recently. Donkey Kong Bananza uses the art style of Super Mario Odyssey and shares that game's vibes, where it's easily recognizable as a spiritual successor, but it's also truly its own thing. It's a new 3D Donkey Kong with emphasis on destroying the environments. However, that game started its development on the Nintendo Switch, which won't be the case for the next big Zelda.

But staying with the current art style would make it clear out of the box that they are going to continue on the open world route, while placing it in a different era (and potentially even a different Hyrule) would allow for a number of changes. For example, such a game wouldn't have to bring back the exact same weapon system, where this never had so many fans to begin with. But that's a topic worth discussing on its own.

In any case, Zelda games always have been defined by their gameplay ideas and the next one won't be any different. The story usually gets developed around the core mechanics, not the other way around. And they choose whatever art style delivers their ideas the best. What those gameplay ideas will turn out to be, that's the million dollar question...

Zelda Movie: Casting for Link and Zelda Announced

Miyamoto announced today that in his upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie project, Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason and Link by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth. They are both British, 20/21 and 16 years old respectively, and you probably haven't heard of either one before.

And that's exactly what I was hoping for. To quote myself: "For Link and Zelda they really need some young, fresh faces. If you know the actors' names already, then they probably shouldn't be hired."

Well, on first glance Bo looks more like a Malon than a Zelda, where she will either get her hair dyed or wear a wig. I'm not exactly seeing her as the eponymous princess yet, but let's wait for what they can make out of her. And they will probably put some GCI sideburns onto Benjamin, but he seems to be a good fit overall.

In any case, both of these young actors will become quite famous from now on. Congratulations for scoring these important roles! 

My Switch Swan Song

The Nintendo Switch 2 launched last month, but I have never been a day-one-adopter, at least when it comes to new hardware generations. The Nintendo 3DS came close, but there I didn't even fall into the ambassadors and still regretted it... In any case, I usually wait until there is one game where I simply cannot wait any longer.

But this never has been so hard before. There may only be two interesting exclusives right now, with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza (the latter to be released in five days), but it's quite tempting to upgrade to a Nintendo Switch 2 nevertheless, because all your Nintendo Switch games will run and look better on it. And this concerns most games, not just the ones with a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition or a free update, because they might already profit from faster loading times and more staple frame rates, right out of the box.

Past Nintendo systems with backward compatibility didn't really offer the same incentive. Well, maybe the Game Boy Color with its coloring for Game Boy games did, where I bought that one very early as well (but technically this doesn't even count as its own generation, as indicated by the shared library on Nintendo Switch Online). And the backwards compatibility usually didn't stem from a similar hardware architecture, but from integrating the old hardware somehow. So, the Nintendo DS had essentially a Game Boy Advance built-in and so on, where you didn't really get any major advantage. That's different for the Nintendo Switch 2.

And this makes still playing on a Nintendo Switch quite unattractive, because most of it is best saved for the new hardware. I have yet to play Super Mario Odyssey, for example, but that would be better now with its free 4K update on the Switch 2. Exact same thing with Bowser's Fury. Or, I want to replay Echoes of Wisdom in Hero Mode, but that would be so much better with staple 60FPS. And I eventually want to play through Breath of the Wild a fourth time with its Master Mode on the Switch, but that's best reserved for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition...

This doesn't really leave much at the end, maybe only stuff like Tetris 99 or Nintendo World Championships, but I eventually found the game that will keep my current Nintendo Switch running until I finally upgrade: Hyrule Warriors - Definitive Edition. It already runs smoothly in 60FPS, at least in docked mode, and it has never been the prettiest game, where I don't expect it to get a meaningful visual update.

However, handheld mode is a completely different story... For some reason it also runs in 1080p there (downscaled to 720), which causes the frame rate to suffer significantly, but on Nintendo Switch 2 you can enjoy it in its full resolution with smooth 60FPS, without the need for any update. That's actually a big incentive for upgrading as well, but I don't play in handheld mode that often, so it's still okay for me. And if I were to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 now, I would probably play something else.

But it's a good attunement for the game that will likely get me to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 – Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. It's only fitting, since I had waited with the Nintendo Switch until Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity came out. But in doing so I completely skipped over the Definitive Edition of the first game. Well, it barely offered anything new, so it never felt like I will be missing out if I didn't immediately play it. After completing Hyrule Warriors Legends on the Nintendo 3DS, I was also burnt out on the game, understandably so, but enough time has passed by now for it to be fun again.

Though, I had started playing the Definitive Edition in early 2022, where I've already went through Legend Mode and most of the first Adventure Map. The plan was to play it regularly, maybe even a little bit every day, but that didn't work out... And I probably won't complete all of it in the next months, where I eventually will continue with it on Nintendo Switch 2. It's a long game.

PS: I will share some "Definitive Impressions" later on.

Nintendo Music: Ocarina of Time 3D Added

Another month, another Zelda addition to Nintendo Music, this time with Ocarina of Time 3D. I already had speculated that we might see this when they added The Wind Waker, but with no link from or to The Wind Waker HD back in January. The reason is that these remasters / remakes got their own soundtrack CD release, which is what many of the albums in Nintendo Music are based upon. And that's exactly what we are getting here.

The differences between the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo 3DS music are small, but you may notice some here and there, since the music for the Nintendo 3DS version was actually remade, as faithfully as that might be (Iwata Asks). The soundtrack does have less tracks (51 compared to 82), because it doesn't feature the "Get Item" melodies, for example, and also combines certain songs into one. But it comes with the orchestrated credits theme that was made for GREZZO's staff listing. That's from the good, old times, where these remasters still showed you the original development staff in their credits, as they should.

Anyway, it may feel a bit redundant, but this is nice to have nevertheless. I'm glad they added it to the library. Though, it's curious that they are prioritizing this over adding Majora's Mask. Maybe next month...