The Legend of Zelda: Face of the Trials (Shrine Maker Concept 2.0)

Both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are going to be relaunched on June 5th with their Nintendo Switch 2 Editions. You can just pick up from where you have left on the Nintendo Switch or potentially even start all over again, using the second save files. Or maybe you will be playing them for the first time ever.

Whatever is the case, thanks to the power of the Nintendo Switch 2, both titles should be free from any limitations of their previous systems, so you can enjoy them with smooth frame rates even when there is a lot going on at once. And with that in mind, this opens the doors for new possibilities, which brings us back to the idea of a Shrine Maker, an idea as old as Breath of the Wild itself.

 

The Basics

First, let's run through the basics again, but with some refinements. This will be Zelda's equivalent to the Super Mario Maker, but instead of 2D platformer levels you will be making 3D mini-dungeons. This will set it apart from both the Super Mario Maker, but also something like the Super Dungeon Maker, which was inspired by traditional top-down Zelda dungeons. It will utilize a similar interface to the Puzzle Creator from Portal 2, where you carve out a 3D space via a voxel-based grid, while making good use of the different assets from Breath and Tears.

Each level has an entrance and you will have to reach the shrine at the end, which is essentially your flag pole. Both can be freely placed by the person designing the level, and whatever challenges await the player between is also up to that person, where they could design a puzzle, or have the player defeat enemies in a series of rooms (like the Trial of the Sword). But in order to upload a level you will need to beat it yourself first.

Clearing a shrine will reward the players with something akin to the Spirit Orbs or Lights of Blessing, let's call them "Hero Tokens", where four tokens can be traded for either a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel, just like in the main games. The maximum is the same as in Tears of the Kingdom, so 40 hearts and three stamina wheels, where unlike in the main games you can actually maximize both here, since there is technically an infinite number of tokes to obtain.

Designers can define a recommended value of hearts and stamina for their trials and they will have to beat the shrine with these prerequisites, but players are not bound to them, so they can try their luck with less or completely steamroll shrines that are meant for beginners.

As additional rewards, the shrines can contain optional treasure chests with Rupees in them. The system will be similar to the Chamber Dungeon from Link's Awakening, meaning that their value will be determined by the shrines theoretical difficulty. Of course, this system still can be cheesed somehow, e.g. by making a shrine full of strong foes that can be avoided, but you won't just be able to create a shrine that offers a hundred chests filled with Gold Rupees. Replaying shrines will also lower the value of Rupees obtained from any previously opened chests and you can't get a token from the same shrine twice.

Rupees then can be used to purchase and enhance armor, which the players can freely equip before a trial... given that the trial allows it. Tokens will also be required to enhance your armor, so that they still have a usage once you've maximized your stats. The available armor will offer anything from the main games that can be somehow useful in a trial, which is most of it. They can also be dyed, where applicable, for an amount of Rupees – you don't need to collect any other materials here.

So, unlike Super Mario Maker, this game will offer constant progression, which will allow you to overcome more difficult challenges. A number of default trials that come with the game could even give you a basic goal, without the need of dealing with player-created content.

There even could be an actual story, taking place after the events of Tears of the Kindom. Purah discovers a plethora of ancient shrines all hidden deep under the earth and sends Link to investigate them, by teleporting him directly into the shrines. Simple, but effective.

 

Inventory

As already mentioned, players are able to equip a set of armor before starting a trial, where they can pick whatever they feel is best suited for them, given that they have unlocked it, and can also mix and match pieces as they see fit. Set Bonuses still apply, so you could use an enhanced Flamebreaker set to avoid fire damage. But you won't be able to change armor in the middle of a trial, unless certain pieces are given to you as part of the challenge.

Players will also be equipped with the basic Master Sword and – unlike in the main games – it will not break, so you will always have a fallback weapon. There will also be plenty of mechanics to ensure that the players won't run out of necessary resources to beat a trial, where weapons can respawn or fruits will regrow. Potentially, you could even make select weapons unbreakable as well.

However, the creator still has the option to make limited resources part of the challenge. They can also make their trial a "Proving Grounds", in which case the player won't be able to choose armor and won't have the Master Sword. The creator can give them a set of pre-defined armor, however.

In any case, you will have access to the Paraglider, where all the different fabrics could return as another unlockable, whether that's from amiibo, from Rupees, or both. Potentially, you could also have the Earthwake as a fallback for when you have no weapons. And the other key item(s) may be determined by what type of shrine we're looking at...

 

Sheikah or Zonai?

The most important choice when creating a level is whether you want to build an Ancient Sheikah Shrine or a Zonai Shrine of Light. It's a choice made upfront, because this will not only alter the aesthetics, but also the different gameplay elements, where unlike in Super Mario Maker they won't be easily interchangeable. The main reasons for such a split are Fuse and the Ultrahand.

Fuse, in particular, changes heavily what kind of equipment you should have access to. Tears of the Kingdom only had very basic weapons and plain arrows, where you are meant to fuse them with materials or other weapons. It's not really compatible with all the advanced weapons you had in Breath of the Wild, which is why they got cut. What would happen if you were to fuse an opal to a Flameblade, for example? Would their elemental effects cancel each other out? Nintendo probably didn't want to bother with figuring out such questions, since Fuse is already insanely complex as it is.

So, when going for a Sheikah Shrine, you may not be able to fuse things any longer, but you will have access to all the weaponry from Breath of the Wild, including the different arrow types. Maybe there could even be new ones, like Water and Wind Arrows, just to give you a bit more of the versatility of Fuse without having Fuse.

Ultrahand on the other hand relies a lot on the different Zonai devices. Of course, they could simply make a Sheikah variant of everything, so it's not necessarily a limitation by style, but it would make sense from a lore perspective and also makes it clear right from the start what type you're dealing with.

Let's say that Link obtains some sort of Zonai bracelet, which gives him access to Fuse, Ultrahand, Ascend and Recall again. But it's only active within the Shrines of Light. Likewise, there could be a "Purah Pad 2" (as a nod to the Nintendo Switch 2), which by default gives you the Camera Rune and maybe the compendium. But within a Sheikah Shrine it draws power from them to enable Bombs and Stasis (in their enhanced form), as well as Magnesis and Cryonis. There could even be Bombchus as a third type of bomb and maybe you could use Cryonis on lava in this game to create rock platforms.

But throwing materials will work in any type of shrine, so finding a Sapphire would be actually useful in a Sheikah Shrine for some freezing blasts. In general, the quick inventory management will be based on Tears of the Kingdom, so you can quickly drop stuff and so on.

There also shouldn't be any limitations regarding enemies, other than what kind of weapons they are able to wield. But you could theoretically deploy a Guardian in a Shrine of Light, or a Gloom Spawn within a Sheikah Shrine. The only exception might be the Constructs due to their ability to fuse, but otherwise that's something where you could break completely loose from the usual shrine conventions, where you only ever face either Guardians or Constructs. Instead, you can have any type of enemy, even overworld bosses, similar to the Trial of the Sword. But Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity already has done this as well with its Coliseum challenges.

And this does not only concern the monsters, but other elements as well. You wouldn't normally find a cooking pot within a shrine, but this could be something that can be placed nevertheless. They could even go wild and include all sorts of recurring structures from the overworld, like trees or the skull caves... Again, the Trial of the Sword already did the same, even though it is not a real shrine, but a trial of the mind.

 

Themes

Well, if we really were restricted to only having the blue Sheikah Shrines and the green Shrines of Light, then the visual variety of the game would suffer quite a bit. It's already a major complaint about both Nintendo Switch games that their shrines all look the same. One way to avoid this would be a number of skins, which can be freely swapped during creation.

The first thing that comes to mind are the Divine Beasts as an alternative to your typical Sheikah Shrine. The Final Trial from The Champions' Ballad shows how those aesthetics can be used to create something that was essentially a larger shrine. There could also be a twisted Yiga Shrine variant, where everything is in red/orange and the Sheikah symbols are upside down.

As for the Shrines of Light, maybe let's reduce those lights and go for a "Zonai Mining Facility" variant, where they are placed within the Depths and give the same gloomy feel. There could also be a theme based on the ancient Zonai ruins, like the Lomei Labyrinths.

screenshot from ArchitectureOfZelda.com

If we wanted the fanbase to lose their minds, however, there could even be styles based on past Zelda titles. The most obvious example is something based on the Palace of Twilight from Twilight Princess, which feels like a predecessor to the whole magical technology theme from the later games. In such a case you wouldn't just want it to be a visual theme, however, but also something that alters part of the sound effects or potentially even some of the gameplay elements. For example, instead of the usual metallic orbs, you could have Sols. And the sockets that are activated by these orbs could get a corresponding reskin.

Technically, this could even warrant a third main variant of shrines – Shrines of Twilight essentially, or Twilit Shrines –, where they could take things even further, maybe even re-introduce enemies like the Shadow Beasts. But with such a project they would probably just want to focus on re-using the assets from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom one more time.

Another good candidate for a classic theme would be the Tower of the Gods from The Wind Waker. It also gives similar vibes of ancient technology and fits the whole "trial for the hero" concept that these shrines all go for. Naturally, such classic themes would have to be created within the engine and visual style of the new games.

 

Only on Nintendo Switch 2

This whole idea isn't new and Nintendo could theoretically already have done this on the current Nintendo Switch, as a direct follow-up to the two games that this based upon. However, like with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, there might be a number of advantages of having this exclusive to the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.

• Performance. That's the obvious reason, where both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom don't always ruin smoothly on the Nintendo Switch. Rest assured that things will be tested to the extreme with such a tool, where creators will certainly throw too many monsters at you. But at least you will have stable 60FPS when you fight those dozen Lynels all at once.
• Mouse controls. This new Joy-Con feature will certainly make it a lot more convenient to control a level editor in 3D. Pointer and touchscreen controls will still work as well, but won't be as comfortable.
  

If the next Zelda game continues the open world direction, then it will likely have shrines again, or at least something similar that works mini-dungeons. And if the next game were to continue the Breath of the Wild brand, then it would be possible to expand a shrine maker with everything new. Maybe it won't even come out before, so it will already feature the next game and its shrines as the basis, but also still supports everything from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

The Future of Zelda After Tears of the Kingdom

With The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild a new era began for the Zelda series, where by now the game got its own spin-off prequel with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and of course a whole sequel – The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, all set in the Hyrule established by Breath of the Wild.

But where will we go from here? Will Tears of the Kingdom shape the future of the series on a similar level as Breath of the Wild did? Or is it the end of the line for this era of Zelda, before we venture into a new Hyrule? Let's discuss potential follow-ups to the most recent entry in the series and what the future could hold for the series in the upcoming years...

This post is just meant to be an overview for a rough timeline, where all bullet points will get their own posts later on, discussing things in more detail.

The Next Zelda Games

Let's get the big topic right out of the way. Tears of the Kingdom was the 20th installment in the Zelda series and it most likely won't be the last, where it will be interesting to see what's next. And here we are looking at a variety of possibilities.

While the game's ending technically allows for another sequel with this Link and Zelda, we probably shouldn't expect that. In the very least, the next game won't take place in the same Hyrule, where producer Eiji Aonuma already has said as much (see GameInformer). And that's understandable. The Zelda development team has worked on the same world for over ten years, they certainly want to move on to something new and fresh. So, even if we were to get another story with this incarnation of Link and Zelda, they would probably adventure into some distant land.

The next Zelda game won't be for the Nintendo Switch, however, but for the next hardware generation. And with that comes new possibilities, which most likely will lead to a different art style and gameplay. The next The Legend of Zelda title will likely have its own identity, setting itself apart from the rest of the series, much like most 3D Zelda games before it. Sequels like Majora's Mask and Tears of the Kingdom always take place on the same hardware generation, re-using the previous game's engine and assets, which won't be the case here.

Whatever it will look like, after the massive success of both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom there is no reason to believe that they will abandon the current open world direction. They will certainly refine it even further and might even try to find more of a middle ground, but they will keep making Zelda games that put their emphasis on freedom first, because that's what selling. So, if you're hoping for the next Twilight Princess, you probably will be out of luck.

However, it will take a while before the next major 3D Zelda game will see the light of the day. We're in a similar position as twelve years ago, after the release of Skyward Sword on the Wii, which was nearing the end of its life cycle. It took five and a half years for Breath of the Wild to come out and it became one of the last games for the Wii's successor, the Wii U, and even the launch title for the Nintendo Switch. Zelda was essentially skipping a console generation in this case.

It won't be in Nintendo's interest to have a second Wii U, of course, but if it takes another five to six years for the next 3D Zelda game to be developed, we will be looking at 2028 or 2029 as a release, where the next Nintendo system already will be a couple of years old...

With that in mind, it makes sense for the Zelda team to release something in between, a smaller project that utilizes the top-down perspective. We haven't seen a new game like this since A Link Between Worlds and Tri Force Heroes on the Nintendo 3DS, which were released in 2013 and 2015 respectively. So, it's about time! Maybe it could even be something that makes creative use of the next console's features. For example, if the Nintendo Switch successor would offer a VR mode, then a top-down Zelda game would allow for a much more immersive experience, when you're looking down at a miniature world.

A smaller project would allow to get a new Zelda game out much earlier, as early as 2026, potentially even 2025, and also bridge the time until the next big 3D Zelda game. In addition, it would be the perfect basis for a sequel of its own, which was common for all the handheld Zelda games.

Shrine Maker

While the next Zelda games will very likely do their own thing, it's possible that Nintendo might explore the universe of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom in supplementary titles. One of these ideas could be a Shrine Maker, based on the Sheikah Shrines and Shrines of Lights from these games. It would be Zelda's equivalent to the Super Mario Maker, but instead of 2D levels you're making 3D shrines, similar to the Test Chamber Creator from Portal 2.

This idea came up with Breath of the Wild, but it makes sense that Nintendo hasn't done this already, because the Shrines of Light and abilities from Tears of the Kingdom are adding a lot to this now. And it would be a fantastic use of all the assets from both games, bringing everything together one last time before we move on.

We shouldn't hold our breaths, however, if we were to believe Aonuma's words from a recent interview with Polygon. There he says that they don't want to force the players to be creative when asked about this topic. But that's exactly what they did with the Chamber Dungeon in the Link's Awakening remake, even though you can argue that this was more of a dungeon puzzler than a dungeon maker. And you don't have to creative in order to play Super Mario Maker, since you can always just enjoy the creations of others or the preset levels. So, let's not rule this out just yet.

Hyrule Warriors: The Imprisoning War

If we're ever returning to the world of Tears of the Kingdom, then it will very likely be in the form of the next Hyrule Warriors game. With Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity they've explored the current Hyrule from 100 years ago, during the time of the Great Calamity, with some time travel shenanigans to get as much as possible in there.

The very same thing could be done with Tears of the Kingdom. Make the next Hyrule Warriors take place during the era of this Hyrule's founding and the Imprisoning War, but also bring in Link, Purah, and the Sages from the present to tell a different turn of events. There's a lot of potential with this and we will talk about this later in greater detail.

Now, Koei Tecmo has been releasing their Nintendo-licensed Warriors titles in a two year schedule, ever since Hyrule Warriors in 2014. We got Hyrule Warriors: Legends in 2016, Fire Emblem Warriors (and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition) in 2018, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in 2020, and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes in 2022. It's too early for another Hyrule Warriors in 2024 and the biggest contender for this year is probably a "Xenoblade Warriors", where it's the perfect timing after the conclusion of the trilogy with Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

This would put the next Hyrule Warriors in 2026, three years after Tears of the Kingdom, giving them enough time to make a Warriors game based on the most recent Zelda. Age of Calamity also came out three years after Breath of the Wild, so this would add up perfectly. This puts the game on the Switch's successor, but this would be for the best, seeing how Age of Calamity was already struggling on the Nintendo Switch. It's the Zelda-related title that would benefit the most from better hardware, where it would also be nice to see an update for it.

Remakes and Remasters

So far we've been looking at the games to come out on a potential Nintendo Switch successor, as if the Nintendo Switch is already done. But the Nintendo Switch isn't done yet and it might run a couple more Zelda titles in the end, even if those won't be exactly new.

The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD are eternally on the table, as some of the few Wii U titles that haven't been ported over to the Nintendo Switch yet. A remake of Oracle of Ages & Seasons, based on the one for Link's Awakening, also still feels like a logical next step. Any of these could still happen on the current system in 2024 and/or 2025.

And this is only the start, where the next Nintendo system will open the doors for a lot more: Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, and A Link Between Worlds are all good candidates to be remade (or remastered). And at some point they will likely even start over with remaking the 3D Zelda games, where Ocarina of Time 3D is already getting 13 years old in a couple of months... But placing a remake of the N64 classic on the Nintendo Switch still would create a similar situation to Metroid Prime Remastered, where you'd expect the sequel(s) to follow soon after, so it would be best to wait for the next system, where you have enough leeway for that.

Conclusion

One thing is for sure, we certainly won't get bored after Tears of the Kingdom. A lot of it depends on when the successor to the Nintendo Switch will launch and how this next Nintendo system will look like, but it's easy to come up with ideas to fill the years between the big Zelda releases.

A big point in this timeline might become the year 2026, where this could see the release of a new top-down Zelda, but also a new Hyrule Warriors based on Tears of the Kingdom. It's also the year of the 40th Anniversary, so there will be something to look forward to in 2026 in any case. And in the meantime there's a lot that Nintendo could do with remakes and remasters, given that they really don't to give use something like a Shrine Maker for both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

35th Anniversary of Zelda

Today 35 years ago was a very special day, where each and every one of us were sitting in their traditional Japanese houses and inserted their copy of THE HYRULE FANTASY ゼルダの伝説 into their Famicom Disk Systems for the very first time. A day we surely will never forget!

Well, to be fair, most Zelda fans (including myself) weren't even alive back then and probably also not living in Japan, but the Zelda series is celebrating 35 years of existence nonetheless. It's kind of an odd anniversary, though. The 25th Anniversary was special, because there you're celebrating a quarter century, which is important enough. And with 30 or 40 years you're entering another decade. 35 years on the other hand is just right in the middle of those anniversaries and probably only an excuse to celebrate.

But celebrate we will, if the 35th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros. is any indication. In the end these anniversaries are just a marketing ploy anyway, but we're usually getting some goodies out of this, which can be quite exciting. We Zelda fans sure do love us some merchandise.

There seem to be many people confused out there why Nintendo hasn't brought up the 35th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda already, despite the fact that they've just announced The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD and special Joy-Cons for this game. But this is actually quite normal...

For the anniversaries of Super Mario Bros., which take place on September 13th, Nintendo usually likes to start and announce things earlier in the year, while for Zelda they wait a couple of months, so that these two anniversaries don't clash and don't take the attention away from each other. In case of the 25th Anniversary of Zelda they started things at E3 2011, where they had the first big orchestrated concert for the series. And with the 30th Anniversary they didn't even bring it up until September 2016 with a couple of new amiibo and the Arts & Artifacts artbook.

When it comes to what Nintendo could do for Zelda's 35th Anniversary in 2021 and early 2022, it's really easy to just copy what was done for Super Mario Bros. in the last months:

• Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda
• The Legend of Zelda 35
• The Legend of Zelda 3D Collection
• Nintendo Switch Zelda Gold Edition
• Zelda Items in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• ...
  

But this would be lame and we already know for a fact that Nintendo likes to do something different for Zelda's anniversaries... That doesn't mean that none of these things will be happening, for example the Zelda items for Animal Crossing: New Horizons seem likely in any case. However, the vast majority of things will be something different and we're probably not getting that Zelda theme park anytime soon. A Zelda movie or TV series on the other hand? This would be really something else (even though we know that they are already making a new Mario movie).

Now, here's a number of ideas what Nintendo could potentially do for the 35th Anniversary:

 

1) The Wind Waker HD + Twilight Princess HD

Well, yes... this isn't really all too different from the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection, which came out last year. However, we would be dealing with true HD ports here, ports that might even see some new features, because the Tingle Bottles and Miiverse Stamps don't have their original use anymore.

If they were to add Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask to such a collection as well, they most likely would just be emulated, however, similar to Super Mario 64 in 3D All-Stars. But those games are probably best put towards a Nintendo 64 collection for the Nintendo Switch Online service, which is long overdue. In any case, Skyward Sword HD already proves that Nintendo would sell HD remasters of the Nintendo 64 Zelda games on their own, for sure, so don't expect them.

But to add a little spice to the collection, they could offer an HD remaster of Link's Crossbow Training. This isn't really something that Nintendo would sell on its own, where originally it was part of a bundle with the Wii Zapper. But in an HD collection together with Twilight Princess HD, where Link's Crossbow Training could borrow all HD assets from this title, it would fit really well. And ideally this wouldn't be a time-limited deal.

 

2) Golden Pro Controller

The above collection could go hand in hand with a nice custom Zelda themed Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, like this one:

Of course they could also do an entire golden Nintendo Switch, similar to red and blue Switch for Super Mario, but this might be a little bit too much at this point, especially since we're already getting the Skyward Sword HD Joy-Cons. A Pro Controller on the other hand? You can never have too many of those.

3) Armor Sets in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Items in Animal Crossing: New Horizons are cool and all, but the Zelda series does have its own platform to do something similar: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. The game will be updated via DLC in 2021, but it could also get some free goodies, like additional armor items.

Curiously, out of the 107 armor pieces in Breath of the Wild, only 60 of them made it into Age of Calamity. And out of those missing, the majority are cameo items from other major Zelda titles:

• Hero set
• Hero of Time set
• Sheik's Mask
• Phantom Ganon set
• Fierce Deity set
  
• Majora's Mask
• Tingle's set
• Hero of the Wind set
  
• Island Lobster Shirt
• Hero of Twilight set
• Midna's Helmet
• Zant's Helmet
• Hero of the Sky set
  
• Phantom set
• Ravio's Hood

All of these would be perfect for celebrating 35 years of Zelda and they could even add a couple more that weren't part of Breath of the Wild. For example there could be a Goron Link outfit for Daruk. They could give the Mask of Truth to Impa (like in Hyrule Warriors). Or Zelda could get outfits based on past princesses. And so on.

 

4) Dungeon Maker

In the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which came out in 2019, Nintendo and GREZZO have first experimented with what basically was a small dungeon maker. The "Chamber Dungeon" was very basic, but it was founded on the simple grid layout that was utilized by all the dungeons in the original The Legend of Zelda. The dungeon rooms have always the same square shape with their entrances placed at the center.

If nothing else, they could still update Link's Awakening and add a remake of the first Zelda dungeon with Aquamentus as a new boss to the game, as a small way to celebrate the anniversary. However, it will be two years by then and this was more than enough time to expand the idea into its own Zelda title, using the same engine and visuals as Link's Awakening.

This could lead to a sophisticated dungeon maker, where you can fully create your own chambers and so on. And as part of the 35th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, it should also feature various remade dungeons from the first game as an example or part of a single-player experience.

Such a title would also lend itself to multi-player support, where you could design dungeons for more than one player. This would hit multiple birds with one stone, where this could be a dungeon maker, the next multi-player Zelda and a way of celebrating 35 years all in one.

Link's Awakening Remake: Potential Follow-Ups

When A Link Between Worlds was first announced in April 2013, one of the first things that came to mind was a new Four Swords for Nintendo 3DS, which in a way became a reality two years later with Tri Force Heroes.

Now, after the announcement of Link's Awakening for the Nintendo Switch, we're looking at a shiny new style for 2D Zelda games and with that come many possibilities for future titles. While we haven't even seen much of the remake yet, it's already quite likely that this style will be re-used for at least one more release on the Nintendo Switch. So far every 2D Zelda game on a handheld has gotten at least one follow-up title with the same graphics...

• GameBoy Color: Link's Awakening (DX) → Oracle of Ages & Seasons
• GameBoy Advance: Four Swords → The Minish Cap
• Nintendo DS: Phantom Hourglass → Spirit Tracks
• Nintendo 3DS: A Link Between Worlds → Tri Force Heroes
• Nintendo Switch: Link's Awakening → ???

Whatever comes to our mind now could become a reality in a couple of years, so we shouldn't dismiss any ideas right now, even if it's quite early to think about the next games already. Let's go through some of those ideas here.

 

Oracle of Ages & Seasons Remakes

This is by far the most obvious thing to do after Link's Awakening. Both games follow the same graphical style, where everything is in the GameBoy "chibi" graphics. Remaking the Oracle games would be already worth it for Subrosia alone. This place was practically made for the new art style and would certainly look amazing in HD on the Nintendo Switch.

One major reason to remake the Oracle games, however, would be the outdated password system. Linking the games with the "secrets" had its merits, because you could manipulate the passwords or even use password generators, but it always has been an inconvenient way of linking both games. With new games on the Nintendo Switch, there would be no need for passwords. They could simply share a save file, where everything gets transferred automatically.

Ideally, both games would even get released together as one big game (on one cartridge), so you don't have to (physically) swap between both games all the time. This alone would make the remakes more than worth it.

This all sounds so good that there shouldn't be any reason not to do it... However, we don't have a clear picture of the legal situation here, since those games were made by Capcom's studio Flagship. There might be some issues with character and music rights that we don't know of.

We know that Nintendo has the publishing rights for the old games, since those are on the Nintendo 3DS. We also know that the Oracle games got featured like any other Zelda game inside the Goddess Trilogy books. But we also know that Koei Tecmo had difficulties with Vaati in Hyrule Warriors and that the Symphony of the Goddesses doesn't have any rights for music from the Capcom Zelda games. These cases might have something to do with licensing things to third parties, but right now we can't be sure that Nintendo can just remake these games without getting any permissions. We'll have to see.

 

Third Oracle Game

Let's say both Oracle of Ages & Seasons get remade and both games share a save file, where everything gets linked and shared automatically without the need of passwords. Without any of these "secrets", there would be one person in the game without a job: Farore, the Oracle of Secrets.

Well, she still could be responsible for giving you item upgrades from the other game or she still could reside inside the Maku Trees for a new feature, but it's also possible that she could finally star in her own Oracle game that gets added on top. It would have to be a standalone episode, however, because squeezing in a third game between the two existing ones would still be difficult, even without a password system. But the game could still receive item upgrades from the other two Oracle games and share the list of Magic Rings.

It doesn't even have to be anything out of the ordinary. It could be a short game that mainly focuses on some challenges for seasoned Zelda players. A fun bonus episode that explores some more possibilities within the era of Oracle of Ages & Seasons.

 

A New (Multiplayer) Game

Other than a new Oracle episode, they could do any new Zelda game, really. It's actually been over 14 years that we've gotten a new connected 2D Zelda world with the Hyrule of The Minish Cap. All the other top-down Zelda games either re-used some older 2D worlds (A Link Between Worlds, Link's Awakening) or segmented their world into smaller areas or levels (Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Tri Force Heroes).

It would be really refreshing just to get a new, normal 2D overworld at this point for us to explore. But at the same time it feels more likely that Nintendo and Grezzo will just do another multiplayer game like Tri Force Heroes, because multiplayer Zelda games have become a thing of their own and want something new as well. However, it's already possible that Link's Awakening might feature some sort of (coop) multiplayer in some form.

 

Zelda Maker

Well, if Nintendo is unwilling to make a new 2D Zelda world, they might be willing to give us the tools to make our own. The idea of a "Zelda Maker" has been in people's minds ever since Super Mario Maker made its debut. And if Nintendo doesn't want to make a Shrine Maker, they could go for a tile-based 2D Zelda Maker instead.

Of course this wouldn't end up as sophisticated as the "RPG Maker" for example. We probably wouldn't be able to write dialogues or even use NPCs in any form. Maybe even creating full Zelda games won't be an option. But it could go in the level direction of Four Swords and Tri Force Heroes, the multiplayer Zelda games, where you work with item sockets and the like.

Basically, they could even let this go hand in hand with a new multiplayer Zelda game that comes with a main campaign, but also with a level editor to create more stages.

Breath of the Wild: Trial / Shrine Maker Concept

In my latest Future of Zelda article I mentioned the idea of a "Trial Maker" based on Breath of the Wild, which was supposed to be an alternative to a "Zelda Maker". You would slip into the role of a Sheikah Monk and build your own trials, where it's worth it to wait 10,000 years for a chosen hero to arrive and make it through your creation.

Breath of the Wild meets Super Mario Maker meets the Puzzle Creator of Portal 2 - this is probably the best way to describe it. Players will be able to create their own Sheikah Shrines, share them online and play the creations of others as Link. Let's put some more thoughts into the concept!

 

The Basics: Goal, Rewards & Inventory

Similar to Super Mario Maker you would need to complete your own level, before you can upload it. Here the "flag pole" would be represented by the shrine that houses the Sheikah Monk, who would give you a Spirit Orb. So, that's really it. You create trials and play trials, where you can rate the Sheikah Shrines made by others.

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The Spirit Orbs earned by playing other trials could be used for some sort of progress in the game. Like in Breath of the Wild, you would be able to trade Spirit Orbs for either Heart Containers or Stamina Vessels. There would be a maximum, of course, but even if we keep it on the same level as in Breath of the Wild with 30 Heart Containers and three Stamina Wheels, you could still go for a total of 148 player created shrines (not your own), before you would have maximized everything. And Spirit Orbs as a reward would be a good incentive for you to actually try as many trials as possible.

At default the player only always has the Paraglider and the Sheikah Slate available, where a series of tutorial shrines could be used to introduce and activate the four basic runes - Bombs, Cryonis, Magnesis and Stasis - much like on the Great Plateau. Upgrades for Stasis and Bombs could be unlocked via Spirit Orbs or other means later on.

The rest of the inventory is predefined by the trial itself. So, the trial creator can hand the player a number of (already equipped) armor, weapon, bow and shield items from the start, as well as some food, similar to how it was done in the "Realm of Memories" in The Champions' Ballad. Alternatively all available items can be put into treasure chests somewhere in the trial as well.

To simplify things, the game would probably go without the materials. There's no need to collect them and the things you can do with them are rather limited, where using materials was never required to beat shrines of the main game. Armor would probably be reduced to one page, so the inventory here always only has five pages, where the need of a key item page is questionable as well.

Spirit Orbs could even be used to upgrade your weapon, bow and shield stashes in the inventory as a replacement for Korok Seeds. This probably shouldn't be exponential, where four Orbs for one slot seems fine, but the usefulness would depend heavily on trials, where you get and need many weapons. Otherwise the basic stashes should probably be enough for everything...

 

The Editor

Portal 2 has an excellent Puzzle Creator built into the game, which stands out with its simplicity. And since the test chambers of Portal are very similar to the Sheikah Shrines in Breath of the Wild, Nintendo could learn a lot from this tool, if they ever wanted to offer a 3D level editor of their own. 

In the Puzzle Creator of Portal 2 everything is organized in a cube grid. Like with most 3D level editors you carve out a room in a space, but here you do it via cubes only, which would fit the Sheikah Shrines well enough, because often they use giant cuboid rooms as a basis. Anyway, on the grid you can then place elements like buttons, jump pads, laser emitters, turrets, stairs and more: 

Some of this is even similar to what we would have in a Breath of the Wild trial creator. There would be droppers for orbs, bowls for orbs, crystal switches, bottom switches, gust emitters, Guardian enemies and even laser beams. Add treasure chests and torches on top of that and you get yourself a nice Zelda editor already.

You can connect elements, e.g. a bottom switch with a locked door, where the editor takes care of the mechanics for you. All you have to do is selecting the two elements that should be connected. Some connections might even be made automatically, e.g. while placing electric conduits.

Some features of the Sheikah Shrines from Breath of the Wild might be too complicated to be realized in such an editor, mainly the various versions of motion-controlled "Apparatus". But those were a nuisance anyway. Overall things should be kept as simple as possible.

The editor itself would be controlled with a mix of touchscreen controls and button inputs. Analog sticks could be used to turn the camera. However, this raises the question, how the game ultimately would work on a Nintendo Switch. For an editor like this, the touchscreen is a necessity, but this way the game would only be playable in handheld mode. To try a level on your TV, you would need to place the Switch back in its dock. It seems a little inconvenient. But we can also wait and see, how Nintendo will handle Super Mario Maker, if that game ever makes it to the Switch.

 

Survival Trials?

Technically, the "Trial of the Sword" was also just a larger shrine with many floors, where on each floor you have to defeat all enemies in order to proceed. On the one hand it could be interesting to offer something similar in a Trial Editor, but it certainly would make things already more complicated on the other hand, because you would create a series of rooms connected via travel gates, instead of one single room.

It's also questionable, whether such an editor would provide the same level of detail. This starts with creating terrains for the environments, where you don't want to have just flat surfaces. There are simple terrain editors out there, so it's still a possibility, but again it makes things more complex and would go beyond the scope of a cube grid

At least the editor could offer certain elements from the environments like enemy towers or skull caves, which you could place according to the grid. And of course it could offer the option to add enemies other than the various types of Guardian Scouts, like Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfos and even Lynels.

 

Release

Nintendo could release this as an add-on DLC to Breath of the Wild, but it's more likely that they would release this as a separate game similar to Super Mario Maker. It could still have "Breath of the Wild" in the title, like "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Trial Creator". Or they could go with something simpler to emphasize the spin-off nature.

Anyway, if they were to release this as DLC, then Nintendo would need to update the Wii U version of Breath of the Wild as well. But they most likely would like to put the Wii U behind them as soon as possible and therefore be done with updating Breath of the Wild at some point.

A Wii U version would also bring the advantage of using a touchscreen for the editor while playing the game on TV. That's something the Switch currently can't offer, but Nintendo wouldn't want to put a superior version on the Wii U in any case. So, ultimately this would probably turn out to be Switch only.

The Future of Zelda on Nintendo Switch

Five years ago, in January 2013, Eiji Aonuma announced that Nintendo is working on a new big Zelda game and that they want to rethink the conventions of the series with this title. The Wind Waker HD was announced at the same day and ever since we got many different Zelda titles on both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS to keep us entertained, until Breath of the Wild finally came out four years later. There were A Link Between Worlds, Hyrule Warriors, Majora's Mask 3D, Tri Force Heroes, Twilight Princess HD, Twilight Princess Picross and Hyrule Warriors - Legends. Spin-offs, remasters, as well new top down Zelda games, including a multiplayer-centric episode. There has been a lot to play for Zelda fans in those four years.

Now, Breath of the Wild has been released together with all its DLC, where the Master Works artbook confirmed that a sequel is already in the works. That shouldn't be surprising and with the success of Breath of the Wild it's only natural to assume that we finally get a proper sequel on the Nintendo Switch using the same engine, much like Majora's Mask following Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64.

However, such a sequel probably won't be finished in two years time. It's more likely that a sequel will appear somewhere between the end of 2020 and early 2022, maybe even nearing the end of the Switch's lifespan, though the Switch might be around much longer than the Wii U. So, there's again some time to gap and to keep Zelda fans busy in the meantime. We still might see another title on the Nintendo 3DS this year and we might also get something for Zelda on iOS/Android, but the focus will certainly lie on the Nintendo Switch in the upcoming years.

And it already started with the Hyrule Warriors - Definitive Edition. This combines the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions of Hyrule Warriors into one neat package and gives everyone the opportunity to (re)play the game on the Nintendo Switch. So, there's already that, but what else can we expect from the Nintendo Switch in the future? What ports, remasters and even new games could be on the horizon, before the big sequel to Breath of the Wild finally arrives? Let's make a list!

Hyrule Warriors 2

While there's already the Hyrule Warriors - Definitive Edition coming to the Switch, we shouldn't expect any new contents for this release, other than the Breath of the Wild costumes for Link and Zelda. It's more likely that Koei Tecmo will soon begin working on a proper sequel, after Fire Emblem Warriors got its DLC done with the "Fire Emblem Awakening Pack" in March 2018, which is around the same time when the Definitive Edition of Hyrule Warriors gets released.

Since the Nintendo Switch kicked off with Breath of the Wild and it became an overwhelming success, it's clear that Hyrule Warriors 2 will set its focus on the new Zelda game. The four Champions will likely be introduced as new playable characters, alongside other characters from the game. And of course there still plenty of interesting characters from previous titles left for lots and lots new content.

Interestingly, the upcoming Dynasty Warriors 9 will for the first time in the series try an open world formula. Maybe that's something that they will adapt in Hyrule Warriors 2 as well? More thoughts about the sequel in later post!

Skyward Sword HD

After the Wii U got both the Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD in its library, it's only a matter of time until Skyward Sword will get an HD remaster as well. And the Nintendo Switch seems like the perfect system for the job, where the joycons are predestined to bring back the motion-controlled sword battles of the Wii Zelda. It's a no-brainer, really.

It wouldn't need extensive work, in fact the graphics could be upscaled in a similar fashion to the Wind Waker HD, where only few Nintendo developers worked on the project. They could also hire Tantalus, the studio that made Twilight Princess HD, for the job. Fixing the bug, where you get the explanations for all treasures and insects again after rebooting the game, would make it automatically a hundred times better. Add another trial cave and some amiibo support on top and they got themselves an easy HD release.

However, after Nintendo admitted that they developed Breath of the Wild around the shortcomings of Skyward Sword, it will leave a potential HD version in a bad spot. So, they'd probably wait one our two years, when that's water under the bridge. Or they could advertise this as a "classic" Zelda experience for those, who didn't like Breath of the Wild as much. There are always two sides to each coin.

The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD Ports

Why only release Skyward Sword HD? Why not create a "Zelda HD Collection" with the game and the HD remasters from the Wii U? That's certainly a question that some readers might have at this point, but it's more likely that The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD will stay on Wii U for now. And there are three good reasons for this:

1) The Wii U needs some exclusives after all. Many of its interesting games have been ported to the Nintendo Switch already and Nintendo has to draw a line somewhere, where we're talking about ports of ports now. And these games were mainly filler-material to keep the fans entertained before Breath of the Wild, which was available from the start on the Nintendo Switch.

2) Both titles heavily advertised the usage of the Wii U GamePad while playing the game on the TV. And such comfort features as looking on your map while salvaging treasure or switching items on the go wouldn't work on the Nintendo Switch. Of course both games were playable with the Wii U Pro Controller only, so this won't exclude a Nintendo Switch port, it just makes the thing less likely.

3) Both games added actual ingame items based on Miiverse, which is now dead. The Tingle Bottles in the Wind Waker HD were already a replacement for the Tingle Tuner and used to incorporate Miiverse messages in a beautiful way into the game. And the Miiverse Stamps in Twilight Princess HD replaced the contents of chests that only contained lots of useless Rupees in the original. Both were excellent additions and both would have to be replaced yet again for potential Nintendo Switch versions. So, we'd have replacements for replacements in ports of ports.

With all of this in mind, it's more likely that Nintendo will stick to Skyward Sword HD on the Nintendo Switch for now, instead of adding more to the grand Wii U port tide. But of course it's not impossible, just don't expect these ports any time soon.

Side-Scrolling Zelda

While Zelda games are for the most part are either played from a 3rd person or top down perspective, it also used side-scrolling in its past, mainly with Zelda II - The Adventure of Link. It's often considered as the black sheep of the series, but it doesn't have to be. Nintendo could revisit this title and maybe create a remake or "requel" of the NES classic on Nintendo Switch.

The thought has been around for quite some time (see this post for example), but it's getting more likely, after Grezzo started "hiring for a legend 2", where the job offers are asking for experience with the Unreal Engine, which is quite versatile and can be used to make side-scrollers like Shadow Complex.

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Games like Ori and the Blind Forest or Trine 2 also show how amazingly beautiful side-scrollers in a fantasy setting can be, where Nintendo could create its own outing based on Zelda II - The Adventure of Link. And if they bring back that game's music, it will already be a win.

Multiplayer Zelda

Aonuma stated at E3 2016 that he would like to try another multiplayer Zelda game based on what they learned with Breath of the Wild (source). And with the upcoming online service for the Nintendo Switch, as well as local multiplayer support of the Switch it seems rather likely that Zelda will be getting another multiplayer-centric episode on the system.

But right now it's hard to estimate what this would mean. It could be an online experience based on the world of Breath of the Wild, where something like a MMORPG would be a possibility. It could also mean that they might create another top down multiplayer game like Four Swords, but use an open world approach for the game instead of letting you play linear levels. We could even get both or something else entirely.

Anyway, for local multiplayer a top down experience seems like the best choice, because this perspective comes off more natural while playing with a handheld, which is the exact same reason why they used this style for A Link Between Worlds, the new Zelda game on the Nintendo 3DS. So, something similar to Four Swords or Tri Force Heroes, but maybe in a bigger scale, where you have larger worlds and player counts, is more likely, if they want to push the local multiplayer mode of the system.

Apropos Four Swords, it's notable how both games were basically lost in time in the last generation. At least the Four Swords Anniversary Edition was available for a brief time on Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS, but Four Swords Adventures was only ever supported by the GameCube (and Wii backwards compatibility) and was never re-released ever since, unlike all the other Zelda games. And seeing how much Nintendo advertises the local multiplayer features of the Nintendo Switch it comes to mind that they could port the game to the system somehow. However, Four Swords Adventures was played on multiple handhelds and a TV at the same time, which the Nintendo Switch currently doesn't support. The TV screen also used to cover large areas, which won't translate to smaller screens that well. So, it might be that this game will be lost in time forever.

Classic Game Selection

It doesn't seem like the Nintendo Switch will get its own Virtual Console any time soon. Of course they could simply re-release The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II - The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask on the Switch for fifth/sixth time, but instead Nintendo seems more interested in putting its Virtual Console on the "Nintendo Classic Minis", where versions of the GameBoy and the Nintendo 64 will most likely follow,

The Nintendo Switch on the other hand will face a new approach with its upcoming online service, where the focus seems to be on adding online multiplayer to classic games like Balloon Fight or Super Marios Bros. 3. This could finally lead to an online version of the GBA Classic Four Swords, but also maybe Four Swords Adventures, if they're willing to put in some more effort.

Zelda (Shrine) Maker

Well, this isn't the likeliest candidate and at first we'd have to see, if Super Mario Maker even makes its way on the Nintendo Switch, where you can only use the touchscreen in its handheld mode. And even then a "Zelda Maker" would probably be not as attractive. Zelda is more complicated than your typical Mario level and would probably even need "programming" similar to the RPG Maker, unless they stick to the classic NES style of the first game. But then it would lack the variety and many features of modern Zelda games.

An alternative could be a "Shrine Maker" or "Trial Maker" based on Breath of the Wild, which works similar to the easy-to-use Test Chamber Creator in Portal 2. Players could create and share their own Sheikah Shrines, where the goal would be to reach the end with a given equipment. This could lead to many interesting ideas and lots of fun for Zelda fans.

Summary

Breath of the Wild will certainly get a sequel on the Nintendo Switch, where in the meantime Nintendo could entertain us with various side projects. Breath of the Wild itself could lead to a new multiplayer experience and/or a Shrine Maker spin-off, as well as heavily inspire a potential Hyrule Warriors 2. Otherwise we can look forward to more ports and maybe even a return to side-scrolling Zelda. While this is all speculation, we do know for sure that the Switch hasn't seen the last of Zelda.