Underestimated Demand for the 40th Anniversary Collection

Happy Halloween! If you want to go through the thrill of a harmless nightmare, then when not try to get your hands on one of the above products? I double dare you! The promised restocks by Nintendo on launch day were sold out within seconds again and scalpers are having a pay day. Nintendo has completely underestimated the demand for this 40th Anniversary collection and even admitted in doing so (see GamesRadar), so what exactly went wrong?

Well, special edition hardware pieces around The Legend of Zelda have been problematic in different ways for over a decade now, which has created this weird sine and cosine curve relationship of what Nintendo anticipates and what fans actually want. And I'm not sure they will break out of this cycle any time soon.

It basically started with the Nintendo 3DS, where they overdid things. There were more Zelda-themed editions for the Nintendo 3DS family than actual Zelda games. At first, each of these provided a meaningful upgrade, from a Nintendo 3DS to a Nintendo 3DS XL and then to a New Nintendo 3DS XL. But things got weird and even nonsensical with the "Hyrule Edition" of the New 3DS XL and the "Hylian Shield Edition" of the New 2DS XL. Nintendo did not stop making these Zelda editions, creating a bubble that would burst.

Naturally, the demand became lower and lower, but Nintendo took this "insight" into the Nintendo Switch era. Well, whatever their reasons were, they refused to make another Zelda edition for years, which has caused some confusion and internal conflict amongst the Zelda fans who were anticipating such a thing. You can even find an article about this topic here on this blog, from the time when the Link's Awakening remake was about to be released:

Where is the Nintendo Switch Zelda Edition? (September 2019)

You had to wait a total of six years for a Zelda edition to arrive, which was the one for Tears of the Kingdom in April 2023. I know only of a single Zelda fan out there who has actually been this patient; everyone else already bought a Nintendo Switch. At least the OLED model provided an upgrade of some sorts, but it still didn't sell as much as Nintendo had hoped.

And this shouldn't be a surprise. The target audience for Tears of the Kingdom was players who have enjoyed Breath of the Wild to its fullest and who wanted more of that. And while the game also had a Wii U version, 95% of that player base was on Nintendo Switch already. So, as a result, these Tears of the Kingdom Editions sat on shelves for months. And that's not something Nintendo likes to see, that's for sure.

But things became even worse with their next "Hyrule Edition", which was about as pointless as the first. One year later, for the launch of Echoes of Wisdom, they released a golden Nintendo Switch Lite... Because that's the thing Zelda fans really needed in the final year of the Nintendo Switch. I'm not joking when I say that I can still go to a media store today and potentially find one of these. They have been that unpopular.

And that golden Switch Lite is not even bad, just too little, too late. If this had come out together with Link's Awakening back in 2019, then this would have seen the proper demand. Heck, I probably would have used this as my primary way of playing Switch games for a little while, until Age of Calamity at least.

Now, the best course of action was to release such a special edition earlier for the Nintendo Switch 2. And they did. They made one for the 40th Anniversary, which even could be anticipated by the fans, right before the launch of the remake of one of the most beloved Zelda games, and one of most beloved games of all time. It wasn't entirely ideal, because they also released a new Hyrule Warriors game last year, but it's somewhat understandable that they wanted to wait for Ocarina of Time, especially with how popular this remake has become.

However, this was not the only conclusion Nintendo had here after the Nintendo Switch. They also saw a shrinking demand for Zelda-themed hardware in general and may have adjusted their projections accordingly for their 40th Anniversary collection. If they have produced 500,000 of the Tears of the Kingdom OLEDs back in 2023, then they might have reduced this to 200,000 for the 40th Anniversary Edition. These number are just freely made up, of course, but it's the mindset of "better have a sellout than to overproduce". They don't want to see "Latest Zelda editions collecting dust on store shelves" in the headlines again. 

But if there is too much of a shortage, then the headlines won't be positive either. If you are fan who really wanted the 40th Anniversary Switch 2 for the Ocarina of Time remake, then you might be out of luck. And now you have to make a choice between getting a plain Nintendo Switch 2 or buying from a scalper on ebay. Either way, you lose. Or you wait until the new, big 3D Zelda game gets released in two to three years, because that's likely where the whole cycle repeats itself for a turn.

Nintendo has now learned that there is still a big demand for these Zelda editions, much to their own surprise... So, they might decide to release another one for the next Zelda game and adjust the projections accordingly once more, only then to overproduce again, because they didn't think about all the Zelda fans who have bought such a system for the 40th Anniversary already and are not in need of another.

Funnily enough, with these Zelda editions there is only really one system where Nintendo did it right: the Wii U, their most unsuccessful home console. But you got a Zelda edition in its first year for the first Zelda release – The Wind Waker HD, it was easy enough to find one of these, and it was the only Zelda edition for the Wii U. It wasn't the prettiest, but it was handled in the right way.

That's not going to happen with the Switch 2, because it's potentially going to receive other models in the future – a Nintendo Switch 2 Lite, or a Nintendo Switch 2 OLED model, where each of these could see a Zelda edition of their own at the end. And this may even produce another "Hyrule Edition" nobody asked for, starting the cycle all over again.

Got the 40th Anniversary Nintendo Switch 2

This has arrived yesterday. Luckily, the console came in one piece and fully functional, where apparently that's not something that you should take for granted. Not only was it difficult enough to pre-order one of these – you also have to go through an additional lottery that's up to the whims of the retailers and delivery guys.

For example, I saw horror stories from people who had preordered from Amazon, where they thought it to be a good idea to ship these limited edition consoles in paper bags to save costs. Naturally, some of these arrive completely demolished, where your only options are to return them or to ask for a discount. It's always amazing how incredibly stupid companies can be. In one case only the box was damaged (see ntower) and the person has received a 78€ discount as compensation. So, they tried to save a couple of cents by not properly packaging a collector's item and lost the hourly wage of one of their overpaid managers as the result.

Also keep in mind that the Switch 2 system sits at the very top of its box's inside. So, in worst cases you end up with a broken screen. That's Nintendo's design flaw, really, but at least they know this and deliver their systems with proper paper cushioning. You also get a nice 40th Anniversary shipping box, at least in Europe:

As someone born in 1986, I totally love the "Since 1986" on the bottom print. Though, this is so nice that I can't just throw it away. They did the same thing for Tears of the Kingdom three years ago (see here) and I still have all those boxes, because I have yet to cut out the good parts and do something with them. 

Now, I would praise Nintendo for the safe delivery and packaging if it weren't for the fact that I have yet to receive my Pro Controller. The post sent it back to Nintendo, because the shipping box got torn open... Not sure whose fault it is, but currently I have to worry if I will get this at all due to the accident.

Well, it would be nice to play the new Ocarina of Time with that controller, but for now I'm just happy that everything went well with my new Switch 2. I was somehow able to install the single screen protector near flawlessly, where it probably was good to have had some practice already, exactly one year ago with my "old" Nintendo Switch 2. (My partner will adopt this one, so she can play Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave.)

The system transfer also went well and without any efforts. I've said this before, but this is a huge improvement over the original Switch, especially when it comes to your Animal Crossing: New Horizons island data. It's one less thing to worry about.

And I also really like how it looks in the flesh... or in the plastic. It's hard to see on the photo, but the front of the dock actually has a glossy finish to it.

The right Joy-con has a pixel art of Zelda from the original The Legend of Zelda on its back. And when you open the dock on the backside, you will find a pixel arts of Link and Zelda holding up their pieces of the Triforce, as well as 16 full Heart Containers. And this is something I admire, because nobody will ever see this except when they change the wires of the dock. It's a completely pointless detail, but it's there anyway. And details like this really run through the entire collection.  

The carrying case is quite pretty as well. But there isn't any new art here, believe it or not, because there is a lot of stuff that they have re-used from around the 30th Anniversary. That map on the backside of the carrying case can be found on a lot of things, e.g. the flyleaves of Hyrule Encyclopedia or the official Zelda Monopoly. So, you've probably seen it before somewhere. Same with the Triforce logo that has the goddess symbols on it.

But it also adds to the list of hidden pixel arts, where there is one on the inside for the cartridge slots:

That's actually even useful. If you slip in the game cards, you won't be able to see what's what without pushing them up a bit. But here you can sort them via the symbols somehow, if that makes any sense. Put your copy of Ocarina of Time under the heart, because you love it so much. Anyway, the hidden details don't stop there:

The cleaning cloth has pixel art on it as well. The cleaning cloth! This is adorable. And it recreates the "IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS" scene, which is perfect for this item.

And I really like all that attention to detail. Compare this to the carrying case for Tears of the Kingdom, for example, which just came with a basic black cloth, which you can't even tell apart from any other of these cloths that are always bundled with screen protectors. Or its inside was just a basic black. So, all this 40th Anniversary gear got that little something extra, that little something special, and I can only appreciate that.

Now let's hope that my Pro Controller isn't lost, so that I can enjoy the whole collection when Ocarina of Time comes out. Let me know in the comments how it went for you!

The 40th Anniversary & Nintendo Switch Online

Majora's Mask might be the first of various Legend of Zelda titles that are going to be highlighted throughout the 40th Anniversary via Nintendo's different online offerings. This could even be tied directly to those collectible cards in Nintendo Today, where for each new set they might have something else for that game in the various Nintendo Switch Online offerings, like user icons, or soundtracks.

This is supported by the fact that the current Majora's Mask user icons and collectible cards are available for the exact same time frame, until October 23rd. Afterwards they will likely switch to a different Zelda game for both, and this could ultimately fill a number of gaps. And here it's interesting to look at what's still missing.

These titles are still absent from the current NSO game libraries:

• Ocarina of Time - Master Quest (N64)
• Four Swords Adventures (GCN)
• Twilight Princess (GCN) 

These titles are on NSO, but have yet to receive user icons:

• Oracle of Ages & Seasons (GBC)
• A Link to the Past & Four Swords (GBA)
• The Wind Waker (GCN)
• The Minish Cap (GBA) 

These soundtracks are still missing in Nintendo Music:

• Link's Awakening (DX and Remake)
• Majora's Mask 3D
• Oracle of Ages & Seasons*
• A Link to the Past & Four Swords*
• The Wind Waker HD
• Four Swords Adventures 
• The Minish Cap*
• Twilight Princess
• Twilight Princess HD
• Spirit Tracks
• Tri Force Heroes
• Echoes of Wisdom

As for the soundtracks marked with an asterisk: here the situation with the music rights remains unclear. While Nintendo has the scenario rights for all the Capcom Zelda games, which allows them to re-release and potentially even remake these games as they please, the music rights are a different topic, especially in Japan. There has yet to be an instance where they have used the music elsewhere, e.g. in Super Smash Bros. or at the Symphony of the Goddesses. So, keep that in mind.

Not everything here is going to be covered anyway, but there is a good chance that we might see some of it. The collectible card sets vary in size, so there might be some filler here and there. After Majora's Mask they could for one of the NES classics, for example, which already have been thoroughly featured, but they can just bring back the user icons for the time being (and maybe add some more).

Afterwards they will likely feature the Ocarina of Time remake with cards and icons based on that. They may even release its full soundtrack on Nintendo Music, even though they usually wait very long after these "special releases", which feature some selected tracks from a newly released game. We have yet to get the full soundtrack for Metroid Prime 4, for example... But there is already a special release for the Ocarina of Time remake, with only the title theme.

Anyway, what most Zelda fans are waiting for is Twilight Princess. And there is a decent chance that they will add the game to the GameCube library while they are at it, alongside its original soundtrack on Nintendo Music. But I wouldn't hold my breath here... Nintendo knows that the fans are waiting for this, where they don't want it to collide with the Ocarina of Time remake. So, it is more likely something for 2027.

Since they have announced there to be more than 300 collectible cards, this campaign will last long into the 41st anniversary up until July 2027, so we could be getting Twilight Princess in May or so...

Another game that could receive such a full package is Four Swords Adventures, where this would be the first time Nintendo ever re-releases it. But this will require that they can emulate the Game Boy Advance connectivity within the GameCube library, which is not a feature so far. Alternatively, they could be making a special version of Four Swords Adventures for the 40th Anniversary. How about "Forty Swords Adventures", where up to 40 players can go on an adventure together? That would be such a silly Nintendo thing to do.

Some games won't be featured on the Nintendo Switch (2) at all, but still could get at least a soundtrack release, like Spirit Tracks or Tri Force Heroes. And with certain games it might be the other way around, like the aforementioned Capcom titles. In any case, it's going to be interesting to learn how this continues on October 24th.

Nintendo Switch Online: Majora's Mask Icons

It's Majora's Mask Month. Okay, I just made that up, but the collectible cards in Nintendo Today weren't the only news related to the Nintendo 64 classic. The Nintendo Switch Online service is now featuring the game for its rewards and missions, replacing Pilotwings 64 a few days early. You can earn 50 Platinum Points by playing the game once and spend 100 Platinum Points on ten different icons.

Curiously, this was put under the 40th Anniversary banner, which may suggest that they will keep doing this for other Zelda games in the next months. The ones that didn't get any icons yet are Oracle of Ages & Seasons (GBC), A Link to the Past & Four Swords (GBA), The Minish Cap (GBA), and The Wind Waker (GCN), so mainly the Capcom titles. But they could also make more icons for the existing games, especially those that only got five so far.

In any case, Nintendo wants you to play Majora's Mask this month. And it's without a doubt the best Zelda game for the Halloween season, but you might also want to play this one last time before the Ocarina of Time remake gets released next month. Why? Well, the remake could make it very hard to return to these Nintendo 64 classics, once you've experienced its smoothness and modern visuals. Originally, my plan was to replay Majora's Mask afterwards, so I can take notes about what can and should be done with a similar remake by the same team, but I'm afraid that the new Ocarina of Time will spoil me so much that this won't be much fun.

Also, they should add Majora's Mask to Nintendo Music while they are at it... (Update: they actually will! The soundtrack is going to be included on October 9th.)

And I'm really expecting them to close some gaps here during the remainder of the 40th Anniversary, which includes making Four Swords Adventures and Twilight Princess playable at a later date.

All Zelda Games on Nintendo Switch 2

Image Source

For the 40th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo has shared the above infographic. This simply shows you what Zelda games you will be able to play if you own a Nintendo Switch 2 (with an expanded Nintendo Switch Online subscription, of course). And it reminds me of a similar list I had compiled ten years ago for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

They have also shown this in the Zelda Direct on Tuesday. And while it's a pretty way of communicating what's available, this infographic is triggering some Zelda fans so hard that it feels like Nintendo is intentionally trolling them. While it's certainly impressive that you can play 15 out of the 21 mainline titles in some form, the focus quickly shifts from what's there to what's missing, first and foremost Twilight Princess. And it certainly leaves a big gap there, no doubt about that.

Twilight Princess is right now the only 3D Zelda game you are unable to play on Nintendo Switch 2. It's also one of three GameCube titles that haven't become available yet on Nintendo Switch Online, the other two being Ocarina of Time - Master Quest and Four Swords Adventures.

Though, Master Quest should probably be just added to the Nintendo 64 library, since it always was just an N64 ROM running in an emulator. And with the Ocarina of Time remake coming, this won't be happening anytime soon, maybe even never.

The latest remake might also be the reason why they haven't added Twilight Princess to NSO this week, and instead went with Star Fox Adventures. They do not want to distract from Ocarina of Time right now with any other Zelda game, especially one so similar. For the same reason you shouldn't hold your breath for ports of The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD any longer. I feel like this ship has finally left the harbor with the Ocarina of Time remake, where now we've went from remastering all the 3D Zelda games to full-on remaking them.

Well, it would throw a big bone to all the Nintendo Switch owners out there, who aren't even able to play The Wind Waker via NSO. But would Twilight Princess fans really be content with getting a rehashed remaster after seeing how pretty a Zelda game can look like? I think not. And I'm sure one day we'll be getting a Twilight Princess remake in the same quality – or even better looking, because this won't be happening on the Nintendo Switch 2. Maybe on the Switch 3.

Right now the best you can hope for is Twilight Princess on NSO, but Nintendo might wait a little longer with that, even skipping the game's twentieth anniversary on November 19th. If we were going by order, then Four Swords Adventures would also be next, but for this game Nintendo will have to solve the issue of emulating the Game Boy Advance connectivity. They haven't done it for The Wind Waker, so things aren't looking great right now. Alternatively, they might opt for a special re-release of the title, just like what they have done with Four Swords for the 25th Anniversary. That is certainly an option.

Of course, the list is also still missing the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS games. And libraries for those might be added to Nintendo Switch Online in the future, but the touch screen functionalities will prove to be a challenge. While the Nintendo Switch 2 has a touchscreen, you can only use it in handheld mode and it won't give you the same accessibility as the original dual screen systems, where the touch screen also often was used for additional buttons, e.g. quickly swapping items in A Link Between Worlds or using the emoticons in Tri Force Heroes.

The best chance for some of these games to return might be remakes, but there are more than enough Zelda games waiting in line to be remade already. So, we may not see any of these on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Update: They could also offer a peripheral where you attach the Joy-Cons and insert the screen of the Switch 2 vertically. This would emulate the overall setup of the dual screen systems, though be it much larger and heavier.

Nintendo Today: The Legend of Zelda Collectible Cards

Nintendo wants you to use the Nintendo Today app. They really do, and they are trying all sorts of things to motivate people to click on this app on a daily basis. One of these strategies are digital collectible cards. And I would be lying if I said that this trick didn't work on me, because I have all the ones for the Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

As part of the 40th Anniversary initiatives, they are now doing the same thing for The Legend of Zelda, with more than 300 cards based on the entire series. Every day you can collect one predetermined card, but there is more to this: each card you claim will come with a quiz question. And if you answer correctly, you will earn a medal. You can use these medals to obtain the cards you've previously missed.

So, if you've missed the one from yesterday, because you were too busy screaming at the Nintendo Store, then you can use the medal from today to obtain it. But this one won't give you the quiz question, so you won't be able to earn another medal from it. You can only get one medal per day.

There are also four phone wallpapers to unlock, which cost 130 medal in total, which is nearly half of what you can earn over the course of all 300+ cards. But they will add more of these wallpapers, one for each card set, where those seem to cost 10 additional medals per set. It's unclear how many sets there are in total, where in the end you should not be missing a single day if you truly want all the things. Of course, you can just get these wallpapers elsewhere, but even if you ignore them, you still need to be there every second day and get all of the quiz questions right if you want a full collection of cards. It's quite strict.

With the Super Mario Galaxy Movie this wasn't the case... I kept forgetting about it, but there weren't as many cards and the event was running for quite some time, so it had a lot of leeway.

At least, the 40th Anniversary also solves one of my biggest issues I had the with the app: the Zelda theme so far was purely based on Tears of the Kingdom, and I'm sick of seeing that game. Now the theme is based on a different Zelda game every day. Yesterday it was Oracle of Ages, today it is A Link to the Past + Four Swords. And that alone already makes a big difference. I want to see what art they are using, it's like a daily Zelda sheet calendar.

I also love Zelda quizzes, because I'm good at them. There is so much knowledge about the Zelda games stored in my brain, but it's only really useful for two things: this blog and answering questions about the games. But there is no timer there, so you can also look up the answers just in case.

Nintendo Store Catastrophe

In the past I have been an advocate of the Nintendo Store. But not anymore. Not after today. Everything went wrong for me from start to finish and I'm so very pissed, so get ready for some venting.

Usually, they will list their articles days after the other retailers, like Amazon. So, by the time you can preorder in the Nintendo Store, most people will have already preordered elsewhere, and there isn't much of a crowd, unless they have some weird exclusive, like the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Collector's Edition. But today the Nintendo Store actually had their products available right in the morning. Combine this with the store-exclusive stand for the Pro Controller, which people seem to want really bad, and you're in for trouble.

In the past they have done this thing where you could register your interest for an upcoming product and then they would send out e-mails in waves to prevent their store from crashing. Which had worked for the most part. But this isn't the case anymore, it's "first come, first serve, all at once."

You would think that I was lucky to already be on the store page when the articles got listed, but this wasn't the case. This had first put me inside some weird limbo, where their awful Vercel / Next.js would block my many login(?) requests. By being patient enough I could eventually get into the basket and even place the order, but then the application crashed as a whole. I had the Switch 2, the Pro Controller and the carrying case all there, it was processing the payment... and then boom. All I got was an error page and nothing to show for.

Eventually, I was put into the waiting line, with 45,000 people ahead of me. When I finally got back into the store after one whole hour, I made the crucial mistake of also adding the game. At first I wanted to preorder this separately, but with so much trouble I thought it best to buy it just all at once. Now, I picked the edition with the ocarina pin. Costs five Euro more, but who is counting at this point? Things went even downhillier from there, because when I then tried to place my order, it told me that it was unable to ship to my address.

I was stuck there. I was using my saved address from previous orders, which worked fine, but for some reason it was now unable to ship there. And before I could figure out what was going on, both the Pro Controller and the Switch 2 went out of stock. The culprit was the game + pin edition, which somehow couldn't be ordered. It was a bugged product, but the shop software didn't communicate that this error is caused by that product. The game without the pin then worked for me, but now I only have that and the carrying case.

Update: The Switch 2 was briefly available again, but I have yet to get my hands on the Pro Controller. And I really wanted that stand... So, my disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined. They could stream the best Nintendo Direct ever in two hours... I'm really not in the mood for more Nintendo stuff right now.

Update 2: Luckily, I just stayed on the store page and kept refreshing it, because I also was able to get the Pro Controller now. Had to place three orders in total for everything, with what could have been achieved in one, but at least I got all the items (except for the silly pin). And now I can watch the Direct in peace... I swear if they announce some Collector's Edition for the new Metroid, I'm going to riot.

40th Anniversary Edition Nintendo Switch 2 and Pro Controller Announced

Finally, I can talk about this without worrying about spoilers... This was one of the biggest reveals in the 40th Anniversary Direct today, with all certainty the priciest, but it already got leaked last month, which stole the surprise. Well, at least the carrying case is news, where it's nice that we will get a matching one.

So, overall this is the exact same set that we have gotten for Tears of the Kingdom three years ago, but for a Nintendo Switch 2 and with a very different style. But I like it a lot and will definitely get it all, where I already have someone willing to adopt my current Nintendo Switch 2.

However, I don't think you can do a system transfer between two Nintendo Switch 2 systems yet, but hopefully this will be implemented before the launch on this system on October 29th. It's nice that they are releasing this ahead of the game (also like they had done with Tears of the Kingdom), so you can take all the time you need to prepare everything. Of course, this has the downside that the game isn't included, but I prefer to get the physical edition anyway.

What I'm also going to do is preorder this in the Nintendo Store, because the Pro Controller will come with a neat display stand as an exclusive extra. But I was going to do this anyway. In the last years I made very good experiences with preordering everything in the official Nintendo Shop, especially when it comes to limited offers. Thanks to how they handle things, I never missed an item I wanted. And if something is amiss, they actually have spares, unlike Amazon and alike. Well, you won't be getting any discounts in the Nintendo Store, but to me that has been worth it.

Source 1, Source 2

Update: system transfers between two Nintendo Switch systems were added via a system update two days later, version 23.0.0. And the Nintendo Store experience was an absolute mess this time. See follow-up posts:

Nintendo Store Catastrophe
System Transfer Now Possible

40th Anniversary Concert

The 40th Anniversary Direct today began with a beautiful Triforce Medley, performed by an orchestra. It's a fantastic edit, focusing on Zelda, Ganon and Link, while including footage of all 21 mainline Zelda games.

If you're now hooked and want more, then Nintendo had some good news for you: they are doing a new tour of symphonic concerts, simply called "The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Concert." It has an official website with tour dates, where ironically it will reach North America on the very last day of the actual anniversary time span, February 22nd. And when it arrives in Europe, the series will be already 41 years old. But that doesn't matter, because it's the 40th Anniversary which has led to this event.

Sadly, Germany is not yet on that list, but they will announce additional dates and countries later on, so there is still a chance for me to visit it potentially.

40th Anniversary Direct Roundup

This was it, the first ever Zelda Direct, going for 30 minutes. You can watch the whole show on Youtube and you probably should, before you keep reading this blog... Though, there is not much to spoil here, really. In fact, even after yesterday's expectation management from Nintendo, I'm personally somewhat underwhelmed.

The beginning with the orchestra was very beautiful and certainly getting me in the mood, where I especially liked that they showed a clip of every single mainline Zelda games, all 21 of them. Now, they are bringing back the orchestra concerts all over the world, which is good news. The last ones have been over ten years ago and I'm looking forward to visit such an event again, given that there will be one in a city close enough. But we had this before with the 25th Anniversary, so this wasn't some mind-blowing reveal.

Then they just briefly talked about the movie, which surprised me probably the most, but not in a good way. I fully expected to see some casting news and a first real trailer, likely as the ending of the Direct, but we will have to wait a little longer. Of course, the movie will miss the 40th Anniversary, but I still think that the anniversary will mainly serve to hype both it and the Ocarina of Time remake. The only real news here was that it's just going to be called "The Legend of Zelda", which most had assumed anyway.

Don't care about the museum and café announcements. Maybe one day I will go to Japan, where this will be relevant, but I have no plans for that. And afterwards they've quickly skipped over some new merchandise, but most of it was just a bunch of collaborations with a variety of companies:

• a new LEGO set, another smaller one for Ocarina of Time 
• an electric Ocarina by Hori
• some Tears of the Kingdom figurines by Hasbro, called "Heroes of Hyrule"
• an electronic Master Sword by Hasbro
• A Hylian Shield statue by Huzzle
• The Legend of Zelda trading card collection by Panini 

The only two things from the Nintendo in this reel were the already announced Mineru amiibo and a playable Ocarina, which is going to be exclusive to the Nintendo Store.

Aonuma then took the time to play some Ocarina of Time. There have been lots of discussions about whether this is going to be a 1:1 remake or a re-imagining, but somehow it's neither. It's quite faithful, but they have changed and expanded the environments to a degree where they are almost unrecognizable at times. There will be also more character interactions, but for the most part it looks to be the same game, with the biggest change being that Link now can sprint and jump at any time.

The visuals, however, are certainly divisive. Some will love them, but to me this looks exactly like one of those ambitious Unreal Engine fan projects. It is impressive on first glance, but it lacks the soul that you would expect from a Nintendo game. It just doesn't have the same charm and some of the characters look awfully artificial. But more on that later on.

Something that probably no one saw coming is that the game will make use of the Zelda Notes app, just in a different way than Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. It will automatically take photographic evidence of all your Game Overs, because that's what everyone always wanted. There is also some Hyrule Guesser thingy (which would have been a lot more interesting with the open world games), as well as an actual quiz about the game, and a guide for playing your real life ocarina.

As already mentioned, they will release a physical ocarina, though they haven't given it a date yet. There will also be two new amiibo, for Young Link and Young Zelda, which do actually unlock new masks in the game. And we also finally got the official reveal of the 40th Anniversary Edition Nintendo Switch 2 and Pro Controller, which both got leaked a month ago.

This hardware gets released on October 29th, one week before Ocarina of Time on November 5th, which is similar to how they did with Tears of the Kingdom. This way you have one week to prepare your shiny new Zelda system for the game. Fortunately, Nintendo has abstained from also releasing a special Collector's Edition of Ocarina of Time, because our wallets will bleed enough as it is.

Finally, the Nintendo Direct ended with a first real trailer, which was really awesome and showed a lot new details, where I probably could spend the rest of the week analyzing it all if I had the time. But individual posts about all these topics will follow in the next days.

All in all, the 40th Anniversary feels like a lite version of the 25th – it's the same ideas without the fanfare of a new Zelda game. There is going to be another Ocarina of Time remake, we will get a new live orchestra tour, and you can buy some special edition hardware. Now all it needs is an Anniversary Edition of Four Swords Adventures, but maybe we will get that later in early 2027.

Expectation Management for Tomorrow

So, Nintendo announced their upcoming Double Trouble Directs already last week on Friday, giving us the entire weekend to run wild with speculations. And now they must have realized that these speculations are getting out of hand, at least when it comes to the Legend of Zelda Direct. Who would have thought?

To be fair, I'm guilty of this as well, always drunk on the possibilities. In case you haven't seen it: I have updated my initial speculation post with some additional ideas. This includes a free Switch 2 update for Skyward Sword HD, some Hyrule Warriors news (either a Ganondorf campaign for Age of Imprisonment, or a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for Age of Calamity), or something wacky for Nintendo Switch Online, like "Forty Swords Adventures".

None of this is likely to happen, however. Nintendo of Japan has elaborated in an additional tweet this morning of what to expect from the The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct:

We will share non-game initiatives related to the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, as well as details on the Nintendo Switch 2 software "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time."

They wanted to make it clear that there won't be any additional game announcements. Don't expect to see the next 3D Zelda from Nintendo, don't expect to see the next 2D Zelda from GREZZO. The focus will be on Ocarina of Time, and that's understandable. They don't want to distract too much from their big holiday release. Aonuma will probably confirm that a new Zelda game is in development next to this remake, but they won't show it yet.

Still, even with other game releases taken out of the equation, we have a good idea of what could await us. We know that the movie is coming and will play an important role in the Direct, even though it's not a direct initiative for the 40th Anniversary.

The leak from last month is basically confirmed, in case you still had any doubts, because Nintendo of Japan is using the exact same Triforce pattern for their Direct announcement. So, we will certainly see all that limited edition hardware for sure.

And I'm fully expecting there to be a new line of amiibo as well, one for the 40th Anniversary. This could include some figures based on the classic Ocarina of Time, or the remake could get its own collection of amiibo, using the new character designs. Either way, the new Ocarina of Time will likely support amiibo in some form, e.g. to unlock special masks, so that there is a direct use for them, other than more fabrics in Tears of the Kingdom.

There is also a good chance that we will see a new LEGO set, maybe the biggest one so far, e.g. some changeable iteration of Hyrule Castle. Imagine a build where you can swap between Twilight Princess and Tears of the Kingdom, or something like that.

And after listening to the Breath of the Wild vinyl record collection this weekend, I think doing something similar for the 40th Anniversary would be a neat idea, where the records cover fan favorite tracks from all over the series, from the original The Legend of Zelda to Echoes of Wisdom (excluding the four Capcom games).

Of course, there are lots of other things that they could do a second time, like reviving the live concerts or releasing more art and lore books. They could also announce a Legend of Zelda addition to their Universal theme parks, which could be exciting to some people, or an equivalent to the "DK Challenge" for Nintendo Switch Online. But overall I'm hoping for something fresh, something that they haven't done before in any way before with Zelda or Super Mario.

Part of me still hopes that we're going to see some top-down Zelda release tomorrow, even if it's just some crazy remix of the first game or of Four Swords Adventures. But I'm not expecting it any longer and I simply hope that the Ocarina of Time remake and the movie will blow our minds so much that we don't care about anything else.

The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct Announced

Nintendo is always good for a surprise. For the first time ever, we're getting a dedicated Direct presentation for The Legend of Zelda, for its 40th Anniversary no less. I would have expected this to be part of the general Nintendo Direct, which is scheduled for the day after (on September 9th), because this is how they did it for the 40th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros. a year ago. Both Super Mario and Zelda are the big crowd pleasers that draw in attention, but with a total runtime of 30 minutes they probably wanted to keep this separate and not overshadow the other Nintendo news.

It's also surprising that they are announcing this on a Friday, giving us the weekend to digest the news and speculate as much as we can. Normally, they would have announced this next Monday, leaving you with little time to mentally prepare.

Anyway, with 30 minutes this sure is going to be beefy, where people are wondering what else could there be next to the Ocarina of Time remake. A deep dive into the already announced title will most likely be the start of the Direct, where I'm still hoping for this to be a true re-imagining co-developed by Monolith Soft.

With all certainty, they will give us the exact release date, probably in November or December. Maybe they will also announce some sort of Collector's Edition for the game, or even a series of new amiibo.

Speaking of, people have been speculating that it will release November 12th, mainly because Nintendo is presumably shipping some Kirby Air Riders amiibo on that day. But we also got the Chef Kawasaki just yesterday, with no new Nintendo game to coincide, so this is rather weak evidence. It still could be November 12th, or maybe it's November 19th or later. Unlike the rest of the gaming industry, Nintendo doesn't care about Grand Theft Auto VI. They are doing their own thing, like they always did, and the nostalgia for Ocarina of Time is so strong that it can beat anything.

After said nostalgia trip, Nintendo will have to talk about the 40th Anniversary itself. There already was a leak about some upcoming merchandise, where this could become an expensive Christmas for any Zelda fan. Other than that, we could be looking at more amiibo, a new LEGO set, or other goodies...

A 40th Anniversary amiibo line could lead to updates of some existing Zelda games to support them, in the very least new paraglider fabrics for Tears of the Kingdom. But wouldn't it be lovely to get some more outfits for Zelda in Echoes of Wisdom, or new special chambers for the Chamber Dungeon? 

And I also see the middle segment as a strong chance for another game announcement. Yes, I'm convinced that this Nintendo Direct will bring more on the release table than Ocarina of Time and I'm not talking about the next 3D Zelda. That one is likely still a couple of years away, where they might want to wait with an announcement until after the movie hype, so June of next year or later.

Instead, I'm hoping that we will also see GREZZO's next project, where we have a number of options for a new top-down title. This could be a multiplayer sequel to Echoes of Wisdom, or it could be another remake. Unlike Ocarina of Time, however, this one would be more faithful, based on what they did with the Link's Awakening remake. This could either be the Oracles, scheduled for 2027, or maybe even a remake of the original The Legend of Zelda, which could even come out as early as next week.

Alternatively, I could see Nintendo do something with the original game in some other form, like some remixed version of it, a multiplayer variant, or even a whole Zelda Maker. I've already went over these ideas in more detail in past blog post, so check them out if you're interested to learn more about them:

• New Multiplayer Zelda
  
• Oracle of Ages & Seasons Remake
• The Legend of Zelda Remake
• The Legend of Zelda - Anniversary Edition

But one of these could be a strong possibility for next Tuesday, where I'm personally hoping for the Oracles to come out next year. This would be the most interesting scenario and also the strongest option, as this would give us two Zelda games in one.

Of course, remaking games is not the only way to bring back classic Zelda titles. Twilight Princess will celebrate its 10th anniversary later this year, where this will be the perfect timing to bring it onto the Nintendo Switch 2 via the GameCube Nintendo Switch Online library. Sure, getting the HD remaster onto Switch and Switch 2 would be even better, but this would distract too much from the new Ocarina of Time, so I'm not expecting this at the moment.

screenshots by u/EruditeWho

Another interesting NSO title could be Four Swords Adventures, especially if we were able to finally play it online. This was a big deal with Four Swords two years ago, where I'm hoping that Four Swords Adventures will get the same spotlight eventually, because this is the oldest Zelda game to never come back in any way or form. They could even try to localize Tetra's Trackers for the first time ever, or at least make it accessible in all regions.

Update: They could also go crazy with Four Swords Adventures and do a special Anniversary Edition of the game, like they had done with Four Swords fifteen years ago. How about a game called "Forty Swords", where up to 40 players can play together? (Kudos to u/Adept-Butterfly642 for the idea.)

As for the HD remasters, Skyward Sword HD might receive a free update for Nintendo Switch 2. This should be a "simple" thing, because the game's art style is always ready for an upscale. But it would offer a nice headline in between.

Update: the Zelda Direct could potentially also show some love for Hyrule Warriors, even though there won't be coming a new game any time soon. There probably also won't be any conventional DLC for Age of Imprisonment, because the free updates made things very much final. They could, however, add a whole other game mode in form of a Ganondorf campaign, where you play as the Demon King and only the Demon King.

Alternatively, we might be looking at a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. The game could really use the upgrade and there is some potential for additional content and improvements.

The 40th Anniversary Direct will likely be concluded with a first trailer for the upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie, which technically won't really be part of the 40th Anniversary any longer, because the series will already be 41 years old when the movie launches on April 30th... But Nintendo probably doesn't care and will want to use the anniversary to hype up the movie, because that's the biggest thing for Zelda in the next years – not the Ocarina of Time remake, not the next open world Zelda game, and certainly not some other remakes or goodies. This movie will be the largest investment around the franchise in its entire history and they will want this to be a huge hit, ideally the next Lord of the Rings, maybe even spawning two sequels.

If the recent casting rumors are to be believed, things are already looking quite promising. They will likely announce all of that cast and then leave us with a trailer that will hopefully blow everyone's mind.

Both the movie and the Ocarina of Time remake are in a similar position here. They already have been announced and we have seen very little about them. Both of them have the potential to be really good, but there is also the worry in the air that they might not be. Next week the curtains will fall.

PS: I just came back from a vacation, so I'm a bit overwhelmed by today's announcement and had some catching up to do with this blog. But there are worse reasons to be overwhelmed. 

The Legend of Zelda: Anniversary Edition?

In the recent leak about the 40th Anniversary you can see how Nintendo made prominent use of the 8-Bit Link from the classic The Legend of Zelda, featuring the above the sprite art. Considering that Ocarina of Time will likely become their biggest hit for the later year, this is rather curious and has me thinking that they may also want to do something special with the first game.

Back in February, I discussed how a remake in the style of Link's Awakening could look like, but maybe they want something in the game's original 8-bit style. And one of the most interesting things would probably be the "2D Zelda prototype" that was made during the development for Breath of the Wild:

They could realize this as a full game, or remake the original The Legend of Zelda with the same physics systems, where you can burn down entire forests or swim freely across the rivers with a self-made raft. Something like that.

Alternatively, they could take the NES classic and turn it into some kind of multiplayer experience. Nintendo loves doing quirky stuff for their Nintendo Switch Online service, sometimes even time-limited, like Super Mario Bros. 35.

Or we might be looking at a basic "Zelda Maker", which only supports the classic 8-bit style, but let's you freely make entire game worlds with a number of dungeons. You may even be able to recreate the BS-X Zelda maps in this one.

These are just some ideas, but I have the feeling that the 40th Anniversary will have one surprise in the stores for us, which the majority of the audience out there isn't expecting right now. Everyone has their eyes on the Ocarina of Time remake and the Zelda movie, where I have high hopes for both of these, but this leaves room for something unusual in the middle of all the hype.

The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Leak

There have been quite some worries all around the internet whether Nintendo has forgotten / skipped the 40th Anniversary of Zelda, despite the fact that the 30th Anniversary wasn't initiated until September 2016 either. Well, if you have followed this blog, then you will know that there never have been any doubts, especially with the remake of Ocarina of Time coming later this year.

However, just like with this remake, things got leaked in advance, before Nintendo could give us an official announcement. There are photos floating around of upcoming merchandise, which includes a logo for the anniversary on the package. This looks to be 100% legit with several sources confirming this. Apparently, there already have been leaks last month about this topic, which somehow eluded me... But it all lines up. Don't read the rest of the article if you still want to be surprised.

Nintendo Direct June 2026 Predictions

This blog awakens from a week-long slumber. But starting tomorrow, there will be a lot more to talk about, because Nintendo has announced a Nintendo Direct and a Treehouse Live for June 9th. This was once more predicted by NateTheHate, who has been quite certain about there being an Ocarina of Time remake, coming to Nintendo Switch 2 this Christmas.

In any case, the Nintendo Switch 2 is one year old now and in desperate need for some news, where it's likely that Nintendo has waited for this particular anniversary to make further announcements. We will be getting the Star Fox remake later this month, which likely will be showcased in the Treehouse Live session. And there is one title from the last Nintendo Direct left, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, which is probably going to be the Direct's opener. Luigi's Mansion 4 could be another big title for this fall, but the biggest topic of the Nintendo Direct will be...

The 40th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda

It is now time. The 40th Super Mario Bros. anniversary is fading out and the Super Mario Galaxy Movie was a big hit, where Nintendo will shift their attention towards Zelda for the rest of the year and the first half of 2027, until the launch of the Zelda movie. "Same thing in green," as we like to say in German.

They have wrapped up filming and even moved the movie's launch date one week ahead, to April 30th. So, they might show us a first teaser trailer, like they did for the Super Mario Galaxy Movie in the last Direct. In the very least, Miyamoto will remind us that this movie is coming and that we can look forward to it.

With that in mind, I wouldn't expect any news about a new 3D Zelda for now. Aonuma will likely mention that one is in development and that they are working very hard on it, but they probably want to transition from the movie into the new, big Zelda game in one year, in the June 2027 Direct.

This doesn't mean that we won't be getting anything else, but for the 40th Anniversary we will be looking at remakes and other side projects. And there are a couple possibilities, all coming from different development studios:

• Ocarina of Time Remake / Re-Imagining (Monolith Soft)
• The Legend of Zelda (NES) Remake (GREZZO)
• Shrine Maker (Nintendo EPD)
• Age of Imprisonment Expansion (Koei Tecmo)

The Ocarina of Time remake, as already mentioned, is looking to be the hottest candidate for tomorrow, based on all the recent rumors. This would certainly make some waves, because you have all those middle-aged people out there, who used to love Ocarina of Time in their childhoods, but who have lost interest in Nintendo or gaming due to different reasons. Such a remake, in combination with the Zelda movie, could rekindle that interest. No other Zelda game holds this much power in nostalgia, not even A Link to the Past.

It's also possible that the movie will be somewhat based on Ocarina of Time, because that's where Miyamoto was still heavily involved with the series and he is calling the shots for the movie. And if it's true that Monolith Soft has been developing this remake (or re-imagining), then we could be getting something truly special here, not just some warmed up Ocarina of Time 3D for the sake of it.

As for Grezzo, they are certainly working on another top-down Zelda game, where this still a lot of juice left with their current toy-like style. This could lead into a new coop title, following Echoes of Wisdom, or a remake of the Oracle games. In either of these cases, I wouldn't expect this to be revealed and released before 2027, maybe even 2028, but there is one possibility where they could have cooked up something for this year: a remake of the first Zelda game, also in the Link's Awakening style.

If all those Ocarina of Time rumors turn out to be a bust after all, then I will put my money on this idea, because this is the best fit for the 40th Anniversary. Of course, both these remakes can co-exist, especially if they are made by completely different teams and if Ocarina of Time is more of a re-imagining.

A remake of the first game could even be shadow-dropped right after the Nintendo Direct, similar to Metroid Prime Remastered, so we already have something to play until Ocarina of Time comes out later this year. It could also still be available on the Nintendo Switch, with a prettier version for the Nintendo Switch 2, so that the Zelda fans who haven't migrated yet aren't left out entirely during the anniversary.

It could also be a free download, as a gift for the anniversary (Nintendo could still make money from selling physical copies via the Nintendo Store). A remake of the first Zelda game makes a lot of sense for this occasion and in the current top-down style, but it's not exactly a crowd-pleaser, unlike Ocarina of Time.

Now, the modern Breath of the Wild brand also wants to be served as a slice in the 40th Anniversary birthday cake, where this could go into different routes. The Super Mario Maker was originally made for 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., where now it could be Zelda's turn with an equivalent in 3D.

Alternatively, Age of Imprisonment could be getting some paid DLC. Keep in mind, though, that the free updates have made the game very much definitive, where there is even a special reward for clearing every mission in the Forbidden difficulty mode (see here). So, the probability that Koei Tecmo will expand the base game even further goes towards zero. However, they could add a whole new game mode for a Ganondorf campaign, where playing as Ganondorf has been a very common request from fans (and they listen). Call it "Rise of the Demon King", or something like that, which would be entirely separate from the main game.

Finally, the 40th Anniversary itself may come with some other goodies and events. They could revive the Zelda concerts, release more amiibo, reveal some new merchandise, or even a special-themed Nintendo Switch 2. And the anniversary itself should get a fancy logo, which is something they had skipped with the 35.

 

Better on Nintendo Switch 2 

In other news, an ever-green topic are always free updates of Nintendo Switch games and Nintendo Switch 2 Editions. There could even be some ties to the 40th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, where Skyward Sword HD hasn't gotten an update yet. But similar to Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, they could drop this at any time, so I wouldn't necessarily expect any news tomorrow.

Age of Calamity is left as well, where Koei Tecmo may have been working on a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game, instead of an Expansion for Age of Imprisonment. Or maybe we will be getting both...

But as for other Nintendo franchises, the biggest candidate is easily Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Sakurai's team at Bandai Namco has finished working on Kirby Air Riders last year and is likely working on a new Smash Bros. game next, but it will take years for this one to come out. And a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Ultimate could keep things afloat until then, which is a similar situation to Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Don't expect any major new contents with that one, however, because they will need to keep the online multiplayer backwards compatible with the Nintendo Switch playerbase. Maybe they will add some more stages and/or Echo Fighters, but those should be part of a free update. A Switch 2 Edition on the other hand could add a new game mode exclusive to the new hardware.

 

Metroid?

Let's not forget that Metroid will be getting 40 later this year as well. However, Nintendo has yet to celebrate an anniversary of this franchise, so I wouldn't hold my breath, especially when they are busy with Zelda. It's also too early for Metroid Prime 5, though I'm sure the rumors about it being in development are true, despite the lack of success of Metroid Prime 4.

But MercurySteam may have been cooking in the meantime. They are not doing so well, with lay-offs announced just some weeks ago (see LinkedIn), where they could certainly use another hit. And Metroid Dread was one of their biggest hits. We could be looking at a Super Metroid remake, where this would be a lot of remakes in 2026, or potentially even Metroid 6. Even an HD remaster of Metroid: Samus Returns would be fine at the moment.

 

Retro Challenges 

Instead of releasing another "Nintendo World Championships" title, it looks like Nintendo will update the Nintendo Switch Online apps to include similar, NES Remix-style challenges (source). Select titles in the NES, Super Nintendo, and Game Boy collections will receive such challenges, which already got installed with the latest update of these apps. And this will probably unlock tomorrow, after the Nintendo Direct.

 

Conclusion

There have been boring Nintendo Directs in the past, but this won't be one of them. I haven't been as excited about a Nintendo Direct in years and I'm 100% positive that Zelda fans will be feasting good tomorrow. Stay tuned for a busy month on Hyrule Blog.