The 2021 Game Awards are right around the corner, with a presentation taking place on December 9 to celebrate the best of the best from the past year. With titles likeDeathloopandMetroid Dreadup for top prizes, it sure has been a solid year for interactive entertainment. Aside from passing out awards to games that have come out, these kinds of showcases usually have surprises for what’s in store for the future, in the form of quick sneak peeks and jaw-dropping reveal trailers. Rumors leading into the event have suggested that Nintendo may have new forThe Legend of Zeldafranchise.
The series is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, with many otherThe Legend of Zeldathemes goodies having already been released. It remains to be seen what Nintendo has planned for the Game Awards, and if this rumor is even true to begin with. However, based on other rumors, fan requests, and general release patterns from Nintendo, some educated guesses can be made for what’s to come in the next couple of weeks. It is worth emphasizing that none of these have been hinted at or confirmed by Nintendo and are pure speculation.
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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons Remake
In 2019, Nintendo revealed a remake of the original Game Boy classicThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. This joyfulNintendo Switch remakewas developed by Grezzo, and the team did a great job at bringing this beloved installment up to snuff for modern standards. The “toybox” visual style is immediately charming, and the added tweaks made to the controls and extra content only helped improve upon an already complete package.
Earlier in the year,Grezzo was hiring for a new project, which was apparently medieval in its themes and presentation. While it’s best not to jump to conclusions,The Legend of Zeldafranchise can fit under the description of being medieval, due to the swords, sorcery, and other high fantasy elements. It wouldn’t be a shock if Nintendo put the team to work on remaking another game in the series, or in this case, two.
GameCube Zelda Collection
Bundling older titles with some visual improvements is all the rage nowadays. Just last year, Nintendo gave Mario this exact treatment withSuper Mario 3D All-Stars, and there have been persistent rumors that a collection for theMetroid Primetrilogyis also on the way. Naturally, fans have clamored for the luxury of older games inThe Legend of Zeldato be made available on the Nintendo Switch as well, as being able to play these games on the go would be a fantastic novelty.
Recently,Nintendo Switch Online added N64 titlesto its service, which includes the critically acclaimedOcarina of Time, with confirmation ofMajora’s Maskarriving at some point in the future. It may be a stretch to expect Nintendo to add GameCube titles to this service as well, which is why games likeThe Wind WakerandTwilight Princessmay be better suited to just have a standalone release. All Nintendo would have to do is port the already visually dazzling Wii U versions of these titles onto the Switch and it would practically print money for the company.
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Breath of the Wild 2 Trailer
Even with two brief and cryptic trailers to date,Breath of the Wild 2is still easily among themost anticipated games of 2022. Nintendo is keeping a lot of information for this sequel under wraps leading up to release, but purely for marketing purposes, the veil should start to be lifted on this mysterious title. The Game Awards will have a lot of eyes on it, something surely Nintendo can use as an opportunity to advertise what is arguably its biggest upcoming game.
Nothing is confirmed, but based on the rumor thatThe Legend of Zeldamay appear at The Game Awards in some fashion, the safest bet may be atease forBreath of the Wild 2. Plot details can still be kept under wraps, but glimpses of gameplay footage to give players an idea of what to expect from the game would be incredibly exciting. Depending on how far along the project is, the cherry on top would be to confirm a release date that fans can begin counting down towards.
Left Field Announcements
Nintendo has been known to pull reveals completely out of left field. Just when players think they have the company figured out, the most unexpected things will be dropped like a bomb on fans around the world. With that in mind,Nintendomay be aware that gamers are expecting any of the options listed above, and for that reason, may have something else entirely planned for the Game Awards showcase.
Whatever this could be is anyone’s guess, but stranger things have happened, and even the most outlandish ideas may become reality. There was once a rumor that Netflix was developing aTV series based onThe Legend of Zelda, but that allegedly never came to pass. Nintendo is very protective of its IPs, but considering its willingness to team up with Illumination for aSuper Mario Brosmovie, perhaps there is a chance Link and company could receive a similar treatment. Hopefully, December 9 brings with it some exciting news for fans ofThe Legend of Zeldafranchise.
