With the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening now out in the world and on Switches everywhere, it got us to thinking: what other Zelda game deserves a remake (or, at the very least, a remaster)?
From the original Legend of Zelda to the more obscure 2D side-scrollers, here are our picks for which of Link’s adventures should be next on Nintendo’s to-(re)do list.
The Legend of Zelda
Sure, we’ve got the original Zelda adventure on NES Classic and Switch Online. It’s readily accessible, 35 years later (which rocks!). And yes, some people might find a remake of this classic blasphemous.
But I’m willing to give Nintendo a shot here. Link’s Awakening, after all, is gorgeous while being incredibly reverential to the Game Boy source material. Let’s see Nintendo come up with a new art style with which to visually refresh the Zelda that started it all. I’d be eager to see what Nintendo’s talented artists come up with.
– Ryan McCaffrey, Executive Editor
The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II was way too hard for little kid me, but playing it again on the Collector’s Edition bonus disk that came with Wind Waker, I really fell in love with the RPG elements added in. A sucker for a good grind, I liked mowing down every enemy I came across in the hopes of getting that sweet, sweet “P-Bag”! The Adventure of Link is perfectly prepped for a from-scratch re-make, as Breath of the Wild already made huge strides in adding more modern RPG elements to the Zelda formula. I’d love to see this tale of slumbering OG princesses, giant Thunderbirds, and Ganon’s blood-soaked ash in the “The Last Hero” timeline be told in a more gothic, Castlevania-esque art style. I’d even be fine with a 2D perspective at times since Neir Automata showed how seamlessly that can be done. Hopefully, this will become a reality before 2030. In the meantime, I’ll take an “I am error” reference in the BotW sequel.
– Daniel Ervin, Producer of Brand Content and Devleopment
Give me a hard as hell, open-world Legend of Zelda that cribs notes from Dark Souls in the way the original Dark Souls cribbed notes from The Legend of Zelda. Brilliant.
– Zach Ryan, Director of Social Content
Zelda II gets big props for trying to create a very different experience from the original, but it’s also frustrating and pointlessly difficult at times. A remake could give us a version of the game that’s actually fun to play.
– Jesse Schedeen, Staff Writer
Wind Waker HD
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker has already received the HD treatment on the Wii U. But since only myself and seven other people, three of whom work at IGN, owned a Wii U, the world deserved to play one of the most beautiful, serene Zelda adventures.
Nintendo’s already done most of the work — it’s in HD, they fixed the sail speed problem, and the art style still holds up. What I’m saying is…just re-release Wind Waker HD on Switch. Please. I’m begging you.
– Jonathan Dornbush, Senior Editor
A Link to the Past
Link to the Past is pretty much already perfect in every way. Now that I’ve gotten that statement out of the way, I’d love to see the game reimagined in a different art style like Link’s Awakening was. Imagine if Link to the Past could be realized in the anime/cartoon art style of its concept art at the time?
This could also mean that, like the Link’s Awakening remake, Link to the Past could break free of its boundaries of confining the view from zone to zone, and allowing a more free-form seamless exploration of both Hyrule and the Dark World.
– Brendan Graeber, Editor
Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
The Oracles games were innovative at the time for being two distinct yet similar Zelda games that offered a complete standalone experience, yet also had a “secret” endgame (read: you fight Ganon) that you unlock only if you complete both. This is exactly the type of mechanic that can be updated with some modern bells and whistles for a similarly engaging experience in the age of online gaming and social media. Plus, just imagine an adorable reimagining of the art style in the same vein as what’s been done with Link’s Awakening and tell me you’re not sold.
– Terri Schwartz, Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment
The Oracle games may have been made by Capcom, but they are more than worthy of the Zelda name. Combine the puzzle-heavy Ages and the action-heavy Seasons together and you get a full, rich Zelda experience that will keep fans occupied for some time. Better yet, now that you won’t have to use codes to connect the two, Nintendo could go even further in the integration between both wonderful games.
– Colin Stevens, Social Coordinator
Twilight Princess
An unbelievably fantastic Zelda game with some of the most imaginative weapons and excellent storytelling. This game got such a bad wrap because most gamers experienced it on the Wii U which was the biggest mistake and tragedy for this game.
Gamecube let this beauty shine bright and I hope a Switch remake would allow the haters to give it another chance. (Link snowboarded on his shield WAY before Breath of the Wild in this game)
– Amanda Flagg, Editorial Designer
The Minish Cap
A criminally-underrated Capcom-developed Zelda for the Game Boy Advance, Minish Cap’s core mechanic let Link shrink in size to explore a secret world of tiny Borrower-like people who lived throughout Hyrule. In addition to being an adorable and charming game, the shrinking mechanic opened the door for tons of cool puzzles and setpieces. After all, when Link is only a couple inches tall, an ordinary enemy like a ChuChu or an Octorok can be a formidable boss fight. A remake of this game would be great, but a brand new game that utilized the shrinking mechanic would be even better. How do you top the Breath of the Wild’s massive, sprawling version of Hyrule? Show us a tiny world hidden in the margins.
– Max Scoville, Balloon Animal Engineer & Host
Likely brushed aside by many because it was a Capcom developed Zelda game released off the heels of the Wind Waker, I can think of no better Zelda game to be considered for the next inevitable classic Zelda remake. The unique mechanic of shrinking to a tiny elf-sized Link in order to solve intricate puzzles coupled with some of the series’ best music, everyone’s favorite talking hat, and some awesome dungeon design make The Minish Cap a no brainier. The stunning visuals and fresh ideas implemented in this entry are very deserving of a modern retelling.
– Brian Malkiewicz, Senior Producer
Ocarina of Time
Sure it’s been upgraded a bunch since its original N64 release, but it’s damn time that Ocarina of Time gets the full Breath of the Wild treatment. I want an expanded map, expanded weapons system, more dungeons, and updated gameplay mechanics to make this game the ultimate dream that it could have been if the tech had been there in the late 90s. Much like the Resident Evil 2 Remake went, rebuild this epic game from the ground up and let re-live it all over again please and thanks.
– Brandon Hunt, Branded Social Producer
… and Majora’s Mask
Both of these remasters looked and played great on 3DS. Why not put them on the switch? I assure you I did not buy those games for the umpteenth time for the 3D. You’ll get my money again Nintendo.
– Daniel Ervin
Faces of Evil & The Wand of Gamelon
These Philips CD-i Zelda adventures have been ripped on for years on account of their shitty, bootleg animation cutscenes, but what if there’s something really good in there that we all missed? The actual gameplay in both these titles was sort of similar to Zelda II, but with totally insane backgrounds and enemies. Imagine how cool this could be as a 2.5D Metroidvania-style game! Update all the dialogue and animation to at least a Netflix anime standard, and you’ve got something unlike anything else in the series.
– Jeremy Azevedo, Senior Director of Games Video
ALL OF THEM
I mean why not? They’re all great.
– Ginger Smith, Product Manager
Those are our picks for the Zelda game we want to see re-done next by Nintendo – what about you? Let us know your pick in the comments or on Twitter @IGN!
