The Legend of Zelda has been one of Nintendo's flagship franchises essentially since its 1986 debut. Over the last 39 years, there have been 20 mainline Legend of Zelda releases spread across at least 10 different Nintendo consoles, accompanied by eight HD remasters or ports. But despite these numbers, fans are often left wanting more from The Legend of Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda franchise tends to release at least one new game every two years or so, occasionally with a remaster or port coming in between. While some fans enjoy the breathing room between Zelda releases, others would prefer the series' releases to be a bit more frequent. Nintendo might be able to strike an even better compromise between these two parties by doubling down on non-canon Legend of Zelda spinoffs in a similar vein to titles like Cadence of Hyrule and Hyrule Warriors.
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The Argument for The Legend of Zelda to Receive More Non-Canon Spinoffs
More Spinoffs Would Continue to Cement Zelda as a Flagship Nintendo Franchise
While The Legend of Zelda is very much a flagship franchise for Nintendo, and has been for decades, it's not quite as prolific as Mario. While the gap between mainline Mario entries can occasionally be upwards of five years, there are so many Mario spinoffs in the works at all time that it's almost guaranteed that at least one new Mario game of some kind will be released every year.
Whether it's one of Mario's multiple different sports series, a new Mario Kart entry, a new 2D or 3D Mario, or something even more disconnected from the rest of the franchise like a Luigi's Mansion or WarioWare, there's always a new Mario game on the horizon to look forward to. Though the Legend of Zelda franchise is very popular and many of its characters are well-known in the gaming world, the series might still benefit from more consistent exposure.
The Legend of Zelda Franchise is Ripe for More Diverse Experiences
The Legend of Zelda is a sprawling fantasy franchise that's worn many different faces over the years, being a top-down dungeon-crawler, a 3D action-adventure game, a revolutionary open-world title, and so much more over the years. But that's just the tip of the iceberg of what The Legend of Zelda could be.
Previously released Zelda spinoffs like Cadence of Hyrule, Hyrule Warriors, and even Link's Crossbow Training have all shown just how diverse the Legend of Zelda franchise can be when it's allowed to explore different gameplay genres, and when its developers don't need to worry about keeping all of its content 100% canon.
Some of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is technically considered canon, though its story is generally taken with a pinch of salt by fans.
There's no shortage of possibilities for Zelda spinoffs. Nintendo could experiment with a Zelda fighting game or a side-scrolling beat-em-up. Even a Zelda-themed sports game could work if it was given enough in-universe context. There are also plenty of developers under Nintendo's umbrella that could be given the Zelda IP to experiment with, such as ArtePiazza, the studio behind 2023's Super Mario RPG remake, or WarioWare's Intelligent Systems.
It Would Probably Be Financially Beneficial for Nintendo to Release More Zelda Spinoffs
A surprisingly low number of Zelda spinoffs have been released over the last few decades. Aside from the infamously terrible Zelda CD-i games and a few Tingle-led DS games, the only spinoffs have been the aforementioned Cadence of Hyrule, Link's Crossbow Training, and the two Hyrule Warriors titles.
But all of these spinoffs have performed fairly well, at least as far as the gaming public is aware. Link's Crossbow Training is believed to have sold around 5.7 million copies, Hyrule Warriors and all of its various definitive editions and ports sold almost 2 million copies, and the most recent Zelda spinoff, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, is confirmed to have sold over 4 million units. These spinoffs aren't pulling in Zelda: Breath of the Wild numbers (32.29 million as of September 2024), but they're nothing to scoff at either, being about on par with many of Mario's sports spinoffs.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 79%
- Released
- November 20, 2020
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Koei Tecmo, Omega Force
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
WHERE TO PLAY
Join the struggle that brought Hyrule to its knees. Learn more about Zelda, the four Champions, the King of Hyrule and more through dramatic cutscenes as they try to save the kingdom from Calamity. The Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity game is the only way to see firsthand what happened 100 years ago.
Battle hordes of Hyrule’s most formidable foes.
From barbaric Bokoblins to towering Lynels, menacing monsters have emerged in droves. In addition to Link and Zelda, take control of characters like the four Champions and a young Impa. Use their distinct abilities to carve through hundreds of enemies to save Hyrule from the impending Calamity.
