Nintendo can’t be blamed for being very particular about who gets to work on its most influential franchises. Games likeThe Legend of Zeldaare by and large the reason that Nintendo is so successful, so naturally, it wants to preserve its vision for those franchises. Still, keeping a franchise likeThe Legend of Zeldain the family forever leaves one to wonder what it’d look like if a different studio got to try their hand at the franchise. It seems that other companies have thought about that themselves. Recently leaked concept art from aZeldagame that Retro Studios wanted to develop shows the kind of bold ideas that could come from setting new eyes onZelda.
Although Nintendo usually keepsThe Legend of Zeldaclose to the chest, that’s been changing recently.Breath of the Wildoverhauled theZeldaformula, and games likeHyrule Warriorsfurther show that Nintendo is open to experimenting with theZeldaformula. If Nintendo wants to outsource development of a majorZeldatitle to someone else, then Retro Studios is the ideal candidate. It clearly has creative ideas forThe Legend of Zeldain mind that could be a huge boon to the franchise’s future. What’s more, Retro Studio’s long history of doing justice to beloved Nintendo franchises makes it worth trusting with the world of Hyrule.
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Retro Studios' Impressive Resume
Retro Studios has already been working with Nintendo for a really long time. It first made a name for itself working on theMetroid Primeseries. The firstMetroid Primereceived critical acclaim, earned many awards, and is often called one of history’s greatest video games by critics. Its sequels received similar overwhelming praise, so it’s no surprise thatMetroidfans are so happy to haveRetro Studios working onMetroid Prime 4.
Metroidisn’t the only Nintendo franchise that Retro Studios has done justice to. It was also responsible forreviving theDonkey Kong Countryfranchisewith 2010’sDonkey Kong Country Returns,which was hailed as a long-awaited return to form for Donkey Kong’s platforming franchise. Retro’s work onMario Kart 7,one of the 3DS’s best selling games, also has to be acknowledged. Clearly Retro has the experience and faith from Nintendo necessary to make big hits with its most famous IPs.The Legend of Zeldaseems like a logical progression. Retro Studios proves time and time again that it’s full of skill and big ideas that can really help a franchise grow, and so it could do the same forZelda,which is already in a period of growth and change.
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New Perspectives on Old Stories
TheZeldaconcept art from Retro Studiosthat leaked recently really makes fans wonder what could have been. Retro’s dark branch of theZeldatimeline – possibly without Link at all – would’ve been a totally new way to experience the franchise and could’ve injected some really interesting new characters, concepts, and design elements. If Retro Studios were to get its hands on theZeldaIP, it wouldn’t have to stick to those old ideas, and probably wouldn’t need to either. Retro’s success on bothMetroidandDonkey Kong Countryshow some incredible range that suggests it could come up with some great possibilities for their ownZeldagame.
If Nintendo’s vision forZelda’s future and its timeline are too particular to let Retro Studios get free reign on an installment, that’s understandable.The Legend of Zeldaseems too importantto Nintendo’s success to take a lot of risks – but then,Breath of the Wildwas a huge risk with its survival and RPG angles, and it paid off. At the very least, it would be great to see Retro Studios get a chance to make a spinoff ofThe Legend of Zelda.Whether Retro’s hypothetical game became canonical or not, it would definitely give Nintendo some food for thought as it figures out what to do with its action-adventure cornerstone.
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