Nintendo Has Good News for Fans of Classic Zelda Games

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 13, 2024 14 Views 6 Min Read
Nintendo Has Good News for Fans of Classic Zelda Games



Key Takeaways

  • The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma wants to keep making classic Zelda games with a top-down perspective, in addition to “dynamic 3D” titles like BOTW and TOTK.
  • Echoes of Wisdom convinced Aonuma that top-down Zelda games still have a lot of untapped potential.
  • A new Zelda game might be announced in February 2026, which is when the series will celebrate its 40th anniversary.



The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma wants to keep making classic Zelda games with a top-down perspective. The industry veteran shared this ambition as part of a recent interview, while reflecting on his overall vision for the future of The Legend of Zelda franchise.

Not accounting for spin-offs like Hyrule Warriors, the Switch has received five new Zelda games since its 2017 release. Two of those adopted the top-down perspective of the classic entries in the long-running series. The 2019 Link’s Awakening embraced this style because it was a remake of the 1993 game of the same name, whereas the recently released Echoes of Wisdom did so simply because its developers chose to.


Echoes of Wisdom Zelda in sepia color and black and white

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Fans of classic Zelda gameplay should eventually have even more new titles to enjoy, as Nintendo wants to keep making such games moving forward. Eiji Aonuma said as much in a recent interview with the BBC, where he was asked about Nintendo’s next console. While he unsurprisingly didn’t reveal anything about the much-anticipated Switch 2, this line of questioning did lead to him sharing his vision for the future of the series, which includes more “dynamic 3D” games in the vein of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kindom. “But in addition to that, we’re also hoping that we can continue with these 2D top-down Zeldas,” the industry veteran said.



Echoes of Wisdom Proved Something Important to Zelda Series Producer

The interview also saw Aonuma reveal that he was initially skeptical about the prospects of making another top-down Zelda game, not least because he thought it could be “close to impossible” to do something different with the series’ classic gameplay formula. But Nintendo and Grezzo ultimately found a way to innovate by designing Echoes of Wisdom around summons—the titular Echoes. Aonuma says this experience convinced him that top-down Zelda games still have plenty of untapped potential, which is part of the reason why he now wants to do even more of them.

We’re also hoping that we can continue with these 2D top-down Zeldas.

Nintendo Might Announce a New Zelda Game for the Series 40th Anniversary

No new Zelda games are expected to be announced in the immediate future, at least not until Nintendo finally reveals the Switch 2. The Japanese gaming giant said it intends to do so before March 31, 2025. The console itself isn’t expected to hit the market until Q2 2025 at the earliest.


Afterward, it’s possible that Nintendo will announce at least one Zelda game in February 2026, which is when the series will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Assuming development on another open-world 3D entry began around the time Tears of the Kingdom was completed, this game likely won’t release before 2028, given the length of modern AAA development cycles. As a result, the next Zelda title Nintendo reveals could be another top-down experience closer to the series’ classic gameplay formula.

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