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.

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. 

Zelda Movie: Casting Rumors

There have been some rumors from Deadline about the cast of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie and they are quite interesting. First of all, Dichen Lachman will indeed play Impa, where we already have seen leaked photos of her next to Bo Bragason, the actress of Zelda, during filming.

Uli Latukefu will apparently play Ganondorf. He is best known for Young Rock, but also starred in Alien: Covenant, or Black Adam.

Then we have Yvonne Strahovski in the role of some queen. Maybe it's the queen of Hyrule, where she has a similar role to Sonia, or possibly she could play the queen of the Zora. In any case, I'm a big fan of her, where I liked her in Chuck, Dexter, and The Handmaid's Tale. These would be exciting news if they were true.

Not as exciting as the biggest star in this list, however. According to the reports, Sam Neill will be in the movie, which would be tremendous in a sorrowful way. Sadly, he has passed away last month, on July 13th, which could make this his final role. He would probably play the king of Hyrule if these rumors were true. Alternatively, he could play an elder sage, like Rauru.

On a site note, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth can currently be seen in the third season of House of the Dragon. And his performance there really sold me on the idea of him playing Link. He is such a good casting choice that this already making me a lot more confident on the movie.

We will probably get a first trailer, where all of these casting rumors could be confirmed or debunked, next month in a September Nintendo Direct. It's likely going to be as with the September Direct from last year, where they have done the same for the Super Mario Galaxy Movie with the 40th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros.

Dawn of a New Year – 2026

While it's technically just a change in date, there is something magical about looking forward to another year and what exciting things it may bring for your hobbies and passions, like The Legend of Zelda. And with the 40th Anniversary taking place from February 21st onward, there will certainly be something to talk about.

 

Expanding Worlds

The year starts with a small collaboration between The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The 3.0.0 update for the game will launch on January 15th, in exactly two weeks, and contain a number of new features, including new amiibo-induced crossovers.

You will be able to obtain outfits, items and furniture based on the Zelda series, as well as two new villagers: Tulin and Mineru from Tears of the Kingdom. Sadly, the Zelda-themed villagers from New Leaf are not returning for this, but it's still better than nothing and will allow Zelda fans to make their islands feel a lot more special.

In general, updates and expansions like this one could become a strong point of interest in 2026. For example, Hollow Knight: Silksong will get its first free expansion, Sea of Sorrow. And it's possible that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment may get further DLC. There are no shared plans so far, but there is certainly demand for playable Ganondorf and Sonia, where Koei Tecmo may follow up on that. It wouldn't be the first time.

Another game that sees a lot of demand for DLC is Mario Kart World. 200cc, more costumes, the Koopalings, or contents based on Donkey Kong Bananza are what first comes to mind, but for a major expansion they could return to the crossovers with other Nintendo franchises. Bring back Link and the Master Cycle (Zero), introduce Zelda as a driver, and have an island that represents Hyrule. And Samus is practically begging to make a guest appearance in Mario Kart with her newest toy, Vi-O-La.

 

40th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda

Super Mario Bros. was celebrating its 40th Anniversary last year, which was mainly used to advertise the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie, where at the forefront was a two-in-one "port" of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Nintendo Switch.

Well, there is also a Zelda movie coming up, but it won't be part of the anniversary, since it's scheduled to launch in theaters on May 7th next year. Still, they will get the ball rolling this year and in the very least present us with a first trailer, while potentially using the anniversary to create some hype.

But a glimpse is also the best what we can hope for when it comes to a new Zelda game. The latest installments, Tears of the Kingdom (2023) and Echoes of Wisdom (2024) are still too recent for anything to be even close to finished. The next 3D Zelda game should be right in the middle of its development, where maybe Nintendo will present us a first teaser trailer.

So, we should not expect another 25th Anniversary, which was huge and revolved around the launch of Skyward Sword. The 30th and 35th anniversaries didn't coincide with a new Zelda game and therefore haven't brought much on the table (only some amiibo, an artbook, and a Game & Watch system).

Maybe this will repeat here. Or maybe they have something else in store, where the likeliest candidate is another remake. And you may already know where this is heading, since the rumor mills have been running for a while: Ocarina of Time.

It simply makes sense. They have remade or remastered all 3D Zelda games at least once, where now they can start it all over again. And this could also get fans of traditional Zelda excited for both the Nintendo Switch 2 and the movie.

If this is really a thing, the only question is who has been working on such a remake. The folks at Tantalus, the developers of Twilight Princess HD and Skyward Sword HD, are good with ports and texture updates, but not necessarily remakes. And the folks at GREZZO, who had developed Ocarina of Time 3D, have effectively taken over the top-down Zelda branch.

Speaking of, instead of Ocarina of Time, we could also be looking at a remake of Oracle of Ages & Seasons. This could have been developed in parallel to Echoes of Wisdom, where there are even some indications that this might have been the case, or at least that they were remaking the Oracle games at some point. The accessory system was clearly based on the Magic Rings and the return of Smog as a classic boss was rather curious... Make out of that what you will.

Alternatively, we could be looking at something else entirely, like a Shrine Maker based on Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. They have already been pushing both games with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, where they got the first Nintendo Switch 2 Editions, and such a project could be the next step. However, it probably wouldn't be an official part of the 40th Anniversary.

In any case, they could release a 40th Anniversary Edition of the Nintendo Switch 2, just to annoy all the Zelda fans who have purchased a Nintendo Switch 2 already. That's a classic Nintendo move. 

 

40th Anniversary of Metroid?

Nintendo has yet to celebrate any of the anniversaries of their other Action Adventure series, but there is a first time for everything. To be fair, they had the perfect opportunity in 2021 with the release of Metroid Dread, but didn't seize it. In any case, it will have been five years since the last 2D Metroid release, so it's time for another remake or even Metroid 6. And theoretically it would have been possible for MercurySteam to cook something if they hadn't been busy with their latest 3D game, Blades of Fire... So, it's probably best to not expect anything.

Zelda Movie: First Look at the Filming

Last week there has been a leaked footage of the live-action production for the upcoming Zelda movie. Today Nintendo has reacted by confirming the whole thing on social media.

Filming is underway for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda in a lush, natural setting, with Bo Bragason-san who will play Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth-san who will play Link. Filming is on track for the film’s release on May 7, 2027. It will take a while until the release, so we would be grateful if you would wait patiently and look forward to it.

Yes, please wait patiently and don't disturb the film shootings!

In the leak you can also spot Dichen Lachman as Impa, which is an awesome choice. I liked her a lot in Dollhouse, if anyone still remembers that show (I do barely). But she's also in the cast of Severance, which is on my watch list.

And so far this is looking quite nice. The landscapes in New Zealand are very beautiful for this. They have made for a good Middle Earth, and they will make for a good Hyrule.

What I'm most curious about is how they will handle the different tribes, like the Gorons and the Zora, but I'm not expecting to see any of that in the near future. Maybe we will see a first trailer by the end of next year...

Zelda Movie: Casting for Link and Zelda Announced

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

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

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

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

Zelda Movie Launches March 26th 2027

After the latest Nintendo Direct came the launch of Nintendo's newest app, Nintendo Today, which they are going to use as their own news platform. And the first major news was the announcement that the Zelda film is coming to theaters in exactly two years, on March 26th 2027. Well, I can wait...

They should have ended the Nintendo Direct with this message, maybe even give a small teaser or glimpse. Instead they made Miyamoto announce a news app, which then told us about the Zelda movie one day later. It feels a bit unnecessary, like they are just doing this to push the new app. But in reality it's simply inconvenient, especially since they chose to make these news app-exclusive.

With the Nintendo Music app I can fully understand the reasoning behind it and I like using it, but I also understand the people who want to have everything on Spotify or other music platforms instead. It's effectively how I feel about Nintendo Today, though the main difference is that Nintendo has already used platforms like X (sadly not yet Bluesky) or Youtube to reach their audiences "directly". And they will still do, but if you want all the news and tidbits, you will have to check their app in addition.

Anyway, as for the launch date of the Zelda movie, there isn't much to say here. I'm wondering if they are also targeting 2027 to launch a new Zelda game, but that's only four years after Tears of the Kingdom. 2028 feels more likely, but they could move from the Zelda movie into marketing the new game.

More Thoughts on the Zelda Movie

With last week's announcement of a Zelda movie I was left skeptical, probably like many other Zelda fans out there, who would prefer to see something like a Studio Ghibli movie or nothing at all. Now, a video by Zeltik gave me a new perspective on the matter, which turned my stance from a cautiously pessimistic view into a cautiously optimistic one.

It all starts with a tweet by Wes Ball, the director of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda film, which he made back in January 2010. You've probably seen this already, but here is what it states:

Since I could never even hope to have the chance to direct it... the next big mo-cap Avatar-like movie should be... THE LEGEND OF ZELDA.

So, not only was he both passionate and humble about the prospect of a Zelda movie about 14 years ago, he already had a vision for it: extensive use of motion capture.

And this makes a lot of sense, because with all the different tribes in Hyrule, like the Gorons, Zora, or the Rito, you don't want to put actors under silicone masks. Even with larger-than-life characters like Ganondorf you most likely want them to be computer animated.

There is a reason why many Zelda fans, including myself, would have preferred an animated movie, because in a live-action film many things could end up being very uncanny. But Nintendo has chosen a director, who became an expert in using motion capture and computer generated imagery, where we probably can expect the Zelda film to make heavy usage of CGI.

At the same time, by making this based on live-action, it has the chance to become really different from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is what you want for Zelda. The original The Legend of Zelda was the anti-thesis to Super Mario Bros. in gameplay and likewise you want the Zelda movie to be a very different experience from the Super Mario movie.

And while an anime production by Studio Ghibli or alike would have been beautiful, it's also a bit more niche and therefore wouldn't have the same impact as a big Hollywood production. This announced live-action Zelda movie, if done right, could become absolutely epic, something that amazes the audiences, like the Lord of the Rings movies once did. It could even fill this gap today, because Nintendo has proven that they don't want modern politics in their productions with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, while they still want all their characters to shine in a way.

As for the actors, it completely depends on the role. For Link and Zelda they really need some young, fresh faces. If you know the actors' names already, then they probably shouldn't be hired, where you certainly don't want Tom Holland and Anya Taylor-Joy to play Link and Zelda, for example. They are simply too established, which can take you out of the immersion, and they probably would be too old anyway. However, with the characters that get entirely motion captured, it probably doesn't matter as much. They could have Dave Bautista play a Goron or whatever...

As for the story, they should just make their own thing and not retell the story of a specific game. Those stories got all developed around gameplay anyway and therefore wouldn't be the best material for a movie. It should cover the basics, like the Triforce and such, but really explore its own interpretation of Hyrule, like every second Zelda game does. This would also keep things fresh for the fans. You should want to explore the movie Hyrule as much as you want to explore a new Hyrule in a new Zelda game. It should be a fresh experience, not a conversion of something that we already have seen.

But I'm already getting too hopeful here, so it's best to wait and see what they are cooking up. In any case, we can look forward to a big year for Zelda when the movie comes out... Just look at this year, it was supposed to be huge for Zelda with the release of Tears of the Kingdom and it certainly was, but Mario has been completely stealing the show after the release of his movie. They are throwing out new Mario games left and right, where the movie has driven sales according to Nintendo. And maybe it will have such a positive impact on Zelda as well (not that this is needed at the moment).

Zelda Live-Action Film Announced

Nintendo has just published a news release stating that a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie is in the works. It will be produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad, directed by Wes Ball, and distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Other than the irony that a Nintendo film gets co-financed by their biggest competitor, I can't help but feel skeptical about this. Avi Arad and Wes Ball don't have any movies to their name that I like and I don't like the idea of a live-action film in general. I would be much more comfortable with an animated movie...

The Super Mario Bros. Movie was fantastic and I had a lot of fun watching it, where I give Miyamoto the benefit of the doubt that he knows what he's doing here. As a fan of One Piece, I was also positively surprised by its live-action adaption on Netflix, even though it's a bit "cringe" in certain aspects. So, I'm not throwing my hands up in horror just yet, but still I'm cautiously pessimistic here. Better expect nothing than to be disappointed...

My personal dream scenario would have been a Studio Ghibli film. Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were heavily inspired by their works, where this could have gone full circle. Getting a Hollywood production instead has me more worried than excited, because I'm having a hard time imagining anything good coming out of this.

It's also interesting how Nintendo announces this in such a dry and businesslike manner. I suppose they know that this will get leaked the second they start filming, so they might as well just be upfront about it and don't even wait for the next Nintendo Direct. But maybe they are also looking for reactions here... And I'm not willing to give this my thumbs up just yet.

The Ganon All the Time

So, I've watched The Devil All the Time last evening, which is an excellent movie on Netflix starring Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, and woke up to the news that Netflix might be have another role for Tom Holland in mind: Link from The Legend of Zelda. (Source)

There have been rumors about Zelda on Netflix for a while now and they arguably have done a great job with both The Witcher and Castlevania. Well, sometimes I feel like such rumors are thrown out there into the wild to see how the potential audience would react. And I'm not sure I like the idea...

Of course when they first had announced that Henry Cavill would be playing Geralt of Rivia, I wasn't convinced either and he ended up being the perfect choice. But the problem isn't so much the casting choice, but the format of a live action movie or series in general.

It worked well for The Witcher, but with Zelda you're dealing with a lot more fantastical characters thanks to the different tribes, like the Gorons, the Zora, the Rito or the Korogs. So, you would be dealing with a silent protagonist, who's "interacting" with lots of CGI beings. And I'm not convinced that this would work all too well...

Until recently I even thought that an animated movie for Breath of the Wild would be the way to go, but it seems like the backstory of that game will be heavily explored in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which will certainly be the more entertaining medium for me personally. But I still think that an anime would be the right way to go for putting Zelda on the big screen or making another Zelda series.

Breath of the Wild: Anime Movie?

This is something that came up about one year ago (see this post about a potential Zelda movie), but now that we were able to experience Breath of the Wild it became clearer for how this could work.

It all goes hand in hand with the new way of story telling in Breath of the Wild, where the majority of animated cutscenes take place one hundred years before the events of the game in the form of lost memories that you can find all over the world. You never get the full picture, though.

A Breath of the Wild anime movie could tell the story of what happened 100 years ago in greater detail, maybe even set the main focus on them, while the events in the future are treated as "flash forwards". The movie could even begin with Link fighting Calamity Ganon in the ruined castle as the build-up and from there on explore, how it all came to this dire situation.

A movie for a Zelda game wouldn't work, if it just followed the main game's event. This is what you can already experience in the game as the player and there's usually a too predictable pattern, as you do all the dungeons. It would be boring to watch Link free one Divine Beast after the other. But it would be interesting to learn more about the characters, which used to be your allies in the past, the Champions of Hyrule. And this is why a Breath of the Wild anime movie would probably set the events in the past as its main plot, while the events of the game will be mere flash forwards that deliver the pinnacle and the story's outcome.

And this way a movie would still be quite interesting for players of the game, while it the same time it's enjoyable for people, who haven't played the game yet, and might even motivate those to try it.

Good Bye, 30th Anniversary

(image by Rasheed)

This was to be expected after the announcement that Breath of the Wild wouldn't be released before March 2017, but now that the E3 is over, we can safely assume that Nintendo doesn't have any plans for the 30th Anniversary of Zelda.

We basically got our unofficial anniversary celebration in March, where Nintendo released many new Zelda things right after the anniversary date with Twilight Princess HD, the Wolf Link amiibo, the Twilight Princess Picross and Hyrule Warriors: Legends. And especially the latter will keep me entertained throughout the entire year with all its DLC.

But with the delay of Breath of the Wild, any other anniversary plans probably got cancelled. Anniversaries are always marketing moves and with the new big game from the table it probably didn't make sense for Nintendo to celebrate. Instead they will focus on Pokémon, which is celebrating 20 years and is going to see new big releases this year with Sun and Moon.

If Nintendo really did anything for 30th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, I would have expected two things mainly: the announcement of a Zelda Anime movie and more DLC for Tri Force Heroes.

Kimishima already implicated that something like a Zelda Movie will be possible for the future and I suppose that we're going to see first announcements after the release of Breath of the Wild. Some fans might not be too happy about the focus on exploration, instead on cutscenes and story, and a Zelda Movie could just give them what they want, while Zelda returns to being a real game. And some anime in the artstyle of the new game really could be lovely.

About Tri Force Heroes, I already said my piece two months ago: the game is dead and the only hope would have been the release of more content. Data miners found place holders for four more costumes and one more area, but sadly we never got those. And it might be possible that Nintendo planned some special anniversary content, similar to the Four Swords: Anniversary Edition, but they cancelled it with the delay of Breath of the Wild. GREZZO is now working on a new game, so Tri Force Heroes is probably done for good. Too bad, some additional content would have been great and I was hoping that they would improve some parts of the game, especially the singleplayer... But that's probably not going to happen. At least not until they remake this game in ten years.

I'm also not expecting anything about the 30th Anniversary of Metroid. Federation Force will be released right after the anniversary, which is on August 6th, but they'll probably just release this game quietly, instead of angering the fans any further. I don't think, it was even showcased at E3, now was it...?

Zelda Movie a Possibility

Nintendo's new president Kimishima spoke to Asahi Shimbun about Nintendo's smartphone and movie plans. See all the details on Perfectly Nintendo.

With the NES and SNES eras Nintendo used to be absolutely everywhere. Yes, there was the bad Super Mario Bros. movie, but they also had TV shows, lots of commercials, even Super Mario cereals. The point is to get attention for Nintendo's actual products: their video game systems and games. It certainly worked for me as a kid. And today smartphones have become an important medium and Nintendo is using this to get attention back to their core systems by releasing free software on Smartphones to lure people back into the real fun. And movies and shows will always be popular, where it could be a good move to do something with their franchises in order to advertise. "Seen this amazing new Zelda movie? Liked it? You have to play the game, then!"

Now, Kimishima doesn't confirm that any Zelda movie is in the talks, but he acknowledges that The Legend of Zelda is in popular demand for such a thing. He also acknowledges that a live action movie didn't really work out so well, which essentially points in the direction of an anime (or animated movie). And this takes away my concerns. I couldn't picture a live action movie for Zelda. Even if it would have Lord of the Rings quality, they won't ever be able to get actors that are a perfect fit for the roles. It would just feel wrong.

An anime in the beautiful style of the new game, however, that is something I could easily picture:

I wouldn't be overly excited, but I certainly wouldn't be worried. It's not the 90s anymore and the Zelda Animated Series from that time is long in the past (though it can be a lot of fun and I might go through all episodes on this blog sometime). An anime worked really well for Bayonetta and if Nintendo can find the right studio (Ghibli may come to mind), a Zelda anime could become a great thing.

This was even something I considered for possible 30th Anniversary surprises, though right now it seems like I was too early with that. The 30th Anniversary might be off the table and all they do at E3 is doing an unscripted live show of the new game. No Zelda Direct or anything, where they could announce something like a Zelda anime in big fashion. But it's still possible that they might reveal something during this year. We'll see and this will certainly be an interesting topic in the future.