Zelda fans have eaten well these past few years, we had the long awaited release of Tears of the Kingdom in 2023 and that was followed up with the surprise release of Echoes of Wisdom in 2024. But what are we going to get next? That is precisely the question I’d like to throw out there in today’s video, have a look at what comes next for the Zelda franchise, look at what type of Zelda game we’re going to get next, plus also highlight what you want too.

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2024 is coming to a close, and it has to go down as one of the most memorable in rceent years for Zelda fans, as we had a surprise Zelda game announced and then released this year with Echoes of Wisdom. That’s a big difference from what we’ve seen before, with Tears of the Kingdom originally announced in 2019 with Nintendo’s “one more thing” during it’s E3 presentation. That led to 4 years of build up, which is quite frankly too much. It’s been refreshing hearing about the game, and then only a few months later playing it.

Legend of Zelda games take time to develop, especially these days with development time and costs spiraling. Breath of the Wild development was about 4 years, although there’s conflicting reports of when it started, some say 2013, some say earlier. In 2016 there was significant rework due to the Switch release and it releasing both for the Wii U and the Nintendo Switch at the same time. Then Nintendo got started on Tears of the Kingdom, given it was originally going to be DLC. That puts development of a modern day Zelda game between 4-6 years. Therefore, we may have some time to wait for the next game, unless Nintendo has something up their sleeve for the Switch 2.

Sequel to Tears of the Kingdom

First of all we have the prospect of a 3rd game within the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom mold. We already have two games, why not complete the hattrick? This is probbaly the least likely of all the options here today, even Eiji Aonuma (Series Producer) has confirmed that there will not be a direct sequel to Tears of the Kingdom by saying

“That would be a sequel to a sequel, which is getting a little bit wild when you think about it! But as I’ve mentioned previously, with Tears of the Kingdom, we were seeking to build on top of the world we created with Breath of the Wild and really exhaust the possibilities of what we could put into that world. I think it is the final form of that version of The Legend of Zelda. In that regard, I don’t think that we’ll be making a direct sequel to a world such as that that we’ve created.”

Ocarina of Time Remake

The next option is a remake to fill in the gaps between major releases, and that could be an Ocarina of Time Remake. Yes, we’ve already had an another version of Ocarina of Time, released on the 3DS in 2013, but the Switch 2 could be the perfect place to re-introduce the millions of Zelda fans that have come into the franchise since 2017. It is possible to go back to the original via Nintendo Switch Online, but compared to the modern experience it can feel a little rough, the Nintendo 64 hasn’t aged as well as the Super Nintendo and those controls are clunky.

Bringing Ocarina of Time up to modern day standards and giving it a lick of paint could be just the thing, and it could be the perfect Switch 2 release game, given that’s likely in the first half of 2025. Samushunter2, a renowned industry insider, shared a tweet on November 8th teasing something related to Ocarina of Time, with a photo of Link playing the Ocarina. Time has pretty much run out for a Switch 2 announcement this calendar year, so hopefully Nintendo come back in January with the goods.

2D Zelda game

The next option is another 2D Zelda game. This again seems unlikely because of the release of Echoes of Wisdom this year, Nintendo and Grezzo have most likely exhausted their stocks for the time being. Nintendo themselves could be working on a 2D Zelda game, but I think it’s much more likely for them to be working on the next 3D installment of the Zelda franchise. Eiji Aonuma did confirm Nintendo would continue to work on very recently in a developer interview just before the release of Echoes of Wisdom

“I’ve always wanted to establish a 2D top-down Legend of Zelda series that’s separate from the 3D entries like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game style and how it feels are completely different when the world is viewed in 3D from behind the character to when the world is viewed from a top-down perspective. We wanted to cherish that kind of diversity in the Legend of Zelda series.”

Breath of the Wild Remaster

Another option is a remaster of Breath of the Wild, running at a higher frame rate and higher resolution. It would be amazing to see Breath of the Wild running at 60 frames per second in 4k on the Nintendo Switch 2, but we don’t know the tech specs just yet, or whether that would be possible.

It was reported in September 2023 that Nintendo went to Gamescom, the largest gaming show in Europe, with a Switch 2 prototype and a version of Breath of the Wild running at a higher frame rate and resolution, although there was no confirmation this would be coming to the Switch successor. Outlets like Polygon and Eurogamer openly reported on the existance of the demo. Personally, I think it’s too soon to have a Breath of the Wild Remaster, even though by 2025 that will be 8 years since release. While I personally don’t want to see this happen, I think it coudl be the most likely option given Nintendo’s short time frame for the release of the Switch 2 and wanting to have something release in the Zelda franchise next to the new flagship console.

A brand new 3D Zelda game

Next we have a brand new 3D Zelda game. This is likely to be years away at this point, perhaps even more so given it’s likely to use a new art style, and run on a new platform, meaning the developers will have to start from scratch. Tears of the Kingdom had the advantage of being built on Breath of the Wild and that still took 5-6 years to develop. Nintendo are likely to take their time with their next 3D Zelda game.

Nintendo have alluded to open-world being their game of choice for 3D Zelda games, although we have seen a lot of criticism of Dungeons, breakable weapons and a lacklustre story in the past 2 entries with Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild. Can Nintendo pull off an open-world Zelda game with classic style dunegons and a better story? It seems like that’s what people want, but is that even possible? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Majora’s Mask Sequel

Finally, I’d like to throw out the prospect of another sequel, this time to Majora’s Mask. It doesn’t have to be a direct sequel per se, just capture the spirit of Majora’s Mask. I am currently playing through the game and it has to be one of the weirdest, yet most wonderful Zelda experiences out there. I would love to see the return of the characters from Termina, plus capture that feeling of the moon falling and the menacing Skull Kid or the Happy Mask Salesman. If you haven’t played Majora’s Mask, maybe you’ve come into the Zelda franchise recently, then I would 100% recommend going back to play, plus let’s hope Nintendo creates a spiritual sequel in the not too distant future.

Next up, I asked you, the Triforce Times community what you wanted to see from the next Zelda game and you came back to me with your comments.

@mattpatasnik1195
The actual Imprisoning War would be nice

@solidmeboi5487
Open world, classic dungeons, and story that cant spoil itself just from exploring the world

@codster279
Classic Dungeons that don’t repeat the same design.

@Astutindocumentat
The best graphics, best gameplay, best story. Like Oot was in its moment.

@zomgoat5333
Open world with classic dungeons

@ggbetz
More interaction between races and cities/outposts. Mentions of other lands, language barriers

@darkdragonmedeus705
Bigger world maps yes, but also bring back classic old school style dungeons. And add more than 4, like 8 at least would be good.

@calvinbrinenestoris2357
What I REALLY WANT is a Zelda Timeline Convergence game, or BOTW 3 starring Demise as the antagonist. Barring that though, I’d like:

• Not be set in Hyrule, its gotten super stale at this point. I’d understand if they wouldn’t just want to have the characters randomly waltz over to some other kingdom and deal with their problems instead, though, so I’d be fine with it if they just opted to have the characters end up in an alternate world (like MM and PH), or if they set the entire game in the sky/depths, or if they pulled a Wind Waker and have something TERRIBLE happen where Hyrule used to be.
• Ganon is also starting to feel stale so give us another villain. The return of someone like Majora or Null would be awesome, and I feel like Demise should return fully at some point somehow, but if they invented someone brand new entirely I’d be equally stoked.
• Respect the lore and the timeline. This game can do its own thing, but it shouldn’t trash what came before.
• Linear storytelling. Even if the game isn’t linear, the story should be. No more weird memories, keep things in the here and now, and give us everything in the proper order. And while we’re at it, make the lore and story actually good.
• Proper items. Just because your game is open-air doesn’t mean it would hurt to have more special key-items that can help you in certain regions (The Zora Armor comes to mind. More stuff like that).
• Proper dungeons. Classic style of lock-and-key progression, and puzzles that don’t have a million solutions and ways to cheese and ignore them.
• Reasonable game progression. I love the big open world, but maybe don’t let the player unlock the final boss right at the start. Maybe have dungeons unlock in groups like in EoW and ALBW rather than having them all available from the start.
• Still have a lot of the awesome stuff they did with BOTW and TOTK. Even if I did just ask for something quite different with all my other requests, those games were awesome, and I want a lot of the feeling of discovery and freedom to continue on to the next game.…Read more

@Klatubarada1979
Better dungeons with dungeon items.

Let me know what you think in the comments.