February 21, 2021, marks the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series, as it was on that day years ago that the original game was released in Japan for the Famicom. The series’ anniversary has yet to be celebrated by Nintendo in an official capacity, and it may be some time before the company reveals what it has planned. The 25th anniversary of Zelda, way back in 2011, was not fully acknowledged by Nintendo until June of that year, during E3, but it became clear that Nintendo had not forgotten its fans. The Symphony of the Goddesses orchestra, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword were among the several other Zelda-related products and events that were a part of the celebration.
Artwork that celebrated The Legend of Zelda’s 25th anniversary.
Currently, Nintendo is in the middle of observing Super Mario’s 35th anniversary, a period that ends on March 31, 2021. The Super Mario series has been recognized in a variety of ways by releasing things like commemorative pins, Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and several online events. The company even had an entire Nintendo Direct presentation dedicated to the occasion. If Nintendo repeats this in a similar fashion for The Legend of Zelda, fans have a lot to look forward to. I am personally expecting Nintendo to officially announce something about Zelda’s 35th birthday (Happy birthday, Princess!) by summertime. but fans of the series do not need to wait for Nintendo to kick off the festivities to begin celebrating and anticipating what is next for the series.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD
In last week’s Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, a remaster of the Nintendo Wii game ported to the Nintendo Switch. The game is scheduled to be released on July 16, 2021. The original game heavily featured motion controls that will be replicated with the use of the Joy-Con, but this port will also include an alternate, more traditional control scheme for those who prefer it. Aside from this and some graphical upgrades, not much has been shown for Skyward Sword HD, but if it is anything like past Zelda remasters, you can expect several new features and quality of life improvements to be announced in the future.
Skyward Sword was released near ten years ago, and it was the last original Zelda game released on consoles before Breath of the Wild.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity DLC
Downloadable content for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, a spin-off of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, is on the way. This new content will be available with an Expansion Pass, with two waves of DLC and a purchase bonus, all of which is releasing sometime this year. The purchase bonuses include a weapon and a costume for Link, releasing on May 28, 2021. One can only speculate about the specifics of the DLC as we only have general details like new characters, enemies, and challenges. If Age of Calamity has anything in common with the original Hyrule Warriors, fans of the game can expect free patches that raise the level cap of characters and improve performance.
Their prominence in this artwork featured with Age of Calamity’s DLC suggests that Purrah and Robbie might become playable characters.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Manga Continuation
Akira Himekawa’s manga adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has been ongoing since 2016. The team has adapted several Zelda games into manga, but their Twilight Princess series is their most in-depth adaptation. So far, nine volumes have been released in Japan, and seven of those have serialized in the west, with the eighth volume due out next month. The manga is entering its final arc, and it will most likely wrap up soon. At this stage, it is hard to say if Akira Himekawa will continue adapting The Legend of Zelda manga. Fans of their work will have to wait and see.
The Twilight Princess manga is in part a recap of the game it is based on, but it contains many of its own plot threads.
The Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has recently stated that there will be more news about the Breath of the Wild sequel later this year. It is still only February, so when exactly that will be is an unknown variable. There is really nothing known about the sequel beyond what is shown in its reveal trailer from E3 2019. Nintendo has been characteristically quiet since the announcement, but it is good to know that more news is coming this year. Hopefully, the wait will not be too long.
The Breath of the Wild sequel trailer is intriguing, but it all that fans have to go on.
Unannounced Zelda Projects
Nintendo is sitting on unexpected surprises, and historically speaking, there is always something in the works for The Legend of Zelda series. Most recently, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was announced just two months before it launched. We never know what kind of new titles or remakes are in development. Rumors suggest that The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD ports are on their way to the Nintendo Switch; while these may be rumors, it would follow an ongoing trend of porting the Nintendo Wii U’s library of first-party games to the Switch, and there is definitely demand for such a thing. It does not all have to be games, either. Nintendo has been expanding into movies, and there is no telling if Zelda is a part of that venture.
The day of The Legend of Zelda’s 35th anniversary has come and gone, but fans still have an entire year ahead of them. The real party does not start until Nintendo walks in with whatever is in store. I think we have to wait until we are at least fresh off the Super Mario anniversary before Nintendo has anything to announce, but until then, we should look back on the series’ past and appreciate what it means to us while we wait for its future.
