Nintendo may not have tapped into this potential yet, but the time is now right. There’s a major void in Nintendo RPGs right now due to the apparent end of the Mario & Luigi series of RPGs, which were developed by AlphaDream until the studio’s closure in 2019. For years, Mario & Luigi showed that RPG adaptations of Nintendo IPs could be great fun, but Nintendo has yet to fill the void. The Legend of Zelda ought to step up to the plate in this case, since it already has tons of characters, enemies, and story threads that could inspire a solid RPG.
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A Zelda RPG’s Potential
A Zelda RPG wouldn’t have to dig deep for an interesting plot; instead, it could take inspiration from the first Hyrule Warriors game. In the non-canonical Hyrule Warriors, Link meets friends and enemies from various periods in the Zelda timeline and teams up with them to stop a threat to the entire Zelda universe. An RPG could do exactly the same thing, starring new incarnations of Link and Zelda while bringing Midna, Fi, and other familiar faces of Zelda into the story as party members. Link could be a standard damage dealer using various Zelda gadgets, Zelda could provide healing through her divine powers, and so on.
Playable characters aren’t all that a Zelda RPG could get out of borrowing Hyrule Warriors’ crossover concept. It would be great to revisit some of the most well-loved Zelda dungeons through an RPG lens too, throwing players into random encounters with classic Zelda enemies like Bokoblins, Moblins, Darknuts, and more. A Zelda RPG could also revive famous bosses from throughout Zelda history, using their original boss battle concepts to inspire new RPG movesets. Mario & Luigi used all of these strategies excellently, all while introducing original ideas, and a Zelda RPG could do the same.
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A New Take on Zelda Concepts
Nintendo certainly hasn’t indicated that it’s working on a Zelda RPG, but there are some possible causes for hope. Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an action-adventure game through and through, but it does contain the faintest hints of RPG elements, thanks to its heavy emphasis on equipment and player choice when increasing Link’s Health and Stamina. Nintendo has also been experimental in general lately, as indicated by Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and more. Its increasingly bold takes on its oldest properties could inspire hope for a turn-based Zelda spinoff in the future.
Breath of the Wild 2 is bound to remain the apple of Nintendo’s eye for the foreseeable future. After needing to delay Breath of the Wild 2, Nintendo has cause to focus intently on that game, rather than spreading out into other Zelda projects at the same time. If Mario & Luigi doesn’t return in the next few years, though, Zelda ought to fill its shoes. Monolith Soft’s rising Xenoblade Chronicles franchise may offer Switch users a solid Nintendo RPG franchise, but it’s not quite the same as a colorful spinoff of a classic IP. If it worked for Super Mario, then there’s no doubt that the RPG model will work for The Legend of Zelda.
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