We’re coming off the back of another Nintendo Direct, the first one in a long while to have been a full-length Direct at that, and as always, we’re spending the aftermath assessing how the Switch’s line-up looks over the next couple of months to a year. There’s certainly a lot to look forward to, with games like Mario Golf: Super Rush (yeah, I like golf games, what of it?), Fall Guys, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection and, in the far future, Splatoon 3, but Nintendo have also made some decisions that can only be described as strange.
The decision to bring The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD to the Nintendo Switch has largely been met with shrugs and furrowed brows. This year is the 35th anniversary of the Zelda series, so fans were naturally expecting some kind of announcement regarding the franchise, likely in the form of a port considering that Breath of the Wild 2 is still a long way away.
Unfortunately, hype for the event began to dissipate before the Direct had even started, as part of the line-up had leaked online from a credible source, who revealed that Skyward Sword HD would be coming to the Nintendo Switch. Though it was only a partial list, many assumed the fact that no other Zelda game was mentioned meant it’d be the only port, and they were correct. Disappointments and Directs seem to go hand in hand, and this time was no exception, but it feels like Nintendo missed the mark on this announcement, especially when there was an open goal right next to it.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want this to turn into a “let’s dunk on Skyward Sword” article, because I’ve never played it, and honestly it looks like it could be a lot of fun. Now that I’ve finished Hades, I could do with another single-player adventure on the Switch. I can also see why Nintendo would opt for Skyward Sword, due to its heavy use of motion controls. What better way to showcase the Joy-Cons capabilities than with a game like Skyward Sword? That’s likely the theory anyway. I’ll probably just stick with the button layout.
What I am saying, however, is that people are way more interested in seeing games like Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess being brought over to the Nintendo Switch. Considering the fact that all four of those games were playable on the Wii U, and Nintendo have been quite prolific when it comes to porting older games to the Nintendo Switch recently, with Mario especially receiving the bulk of these ports, fans were hoping that Zelda would get the same treatment.
VGC founder and journalist Andy Robinson did take to Twitter after the Direct to state that Wind Waker and Twilight Princess ports are “100% coming” this year, meaning plans are already in motion to celebrate the franchise in a big way on its anniversary. Perhaps Wind Waker and Twilight Princess will be bundled together with Ocarina of Time and (possibly) Majora’s Mask for some kind of Legend of Zelda 3D All-Stars bundle. Considering the Mario one sold like gangbusters, possibly due to Nintendo’s weird timed exclusivity, another collection seems inevitable.
It’s not so much the fact that it was Skyward Sword which was announced, it’s the fact that it was the only Zelda port announced. Had Nintendo dropped a little tease to say “oh, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess are coming, but we’re not ready to show them off yet”, no one would have been disappointed. I know it sounds entitled to say “you should have announced this sooner”, but Nintendo have to be aware that the fans would rather see another Zelda game be ported, right?
Maybe I’m just bitter because another Direct has been and gone with no news regarding F-Zero. If Nintendo did what I wanted, F-Zero GX would have been ported to the Switch already with full online play support, so perhaps what I say isn’t important. I just feel like Nintendo had a chance to leave Zelda fans of all ages and preferences feeling good about the future, but right now, not everyone is excited.
READ MORE: Should I Give Breath Of The Wild Another Shot?
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