Summary
The Legend of Zeldahas managed to keep pace with virtually every major gaming IP of the past three decades, due in large part to the strength of its pedigree. Though the franchise is constantly moving forward with ambitious and inventive releases likeTears of the Kingdomand therecently announcedEchoes of Wisdom, it’s important to note that its new entries don’t usurp its old ones. Rather, they provide novel experiences and different twists on established formulas, keeping them relevant over time.
This aversion to strict timelines, tropes, and an overarching plot has allowedThe Legend of Zeldato stay fresh and aggressive throughout its lifetime—no easy feat for such a long-running series. Perhaps most emblematic ofZelda’s loose commitment to specific design philosophies is the contrast betweenThe Legend of Zelda: Wind WakerandThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, two games with nearly opposite approaches to art design, combat, and exploration. But althoughWind Wakeris cartoonish and open-ended andTwilight Princessis edgy, dark, and linear, both games have fostered equally passionate fanbases within the broaderZeldacommunity. This makes it all the more puzzling why both are missing from Nintendo’s modern lineup.
Wind Waker and Twilight Princess On Switch Are Nowhere To Be Found
Twilight Princess and Wind Waker Rumors Have Persisted for Years
Rumors aboutWind WakerandTwilight Princessabound, with some fans expecting games to beannounced at Nintendo’s June 2024 Direct. But that Direct has come and gone, and there is still no sign of either game. This is a bit puzzling, as there is certainly no shortage of demand for these titles—there’s even a fairly successfulChange.org petitionto bringTwilight Princessto the Switch. Moreover, Nintendo has remastered both of these titles before, for the Wii U. With the Wii U having similar hardware as the Switch,Wind Waker HDandTwilight Princess HDports seem like easy layups that Nintendo is choosing not to take, for whatever reason.
It should be noted that most fans aren’t asking for a full-blown remake of either of these games, just a straight port, perhaps with a few minor visual updates and quality-of-life features.
Every few months, it seems likechatter aboutTwilight Princess HDorWind Waker HDgets stirred up. Leakers have many times posited that one or both of these titles would be coming to the Switch, and while many of these leakers have solid track records, the fact that such ports have yet to see the light of day suggests that they may not quite be on the money.
Possible Reasons Why Nintendo Is Holding Off On Twilight Princess and Wind Waker Ports
Nintendo is no doubt aware of consumer demand for these projects, cognizant of the potential for profit and positive optics were they to be released. So the company must have a strong reason for not releasing them just yet. One possible explanation for this could be relatedto the much-discussed Switch 2: perhaps Nintendo is positioning either remasters or full-blown, ground-up remakes ofTwilight PrincessandWind Wakeras launch titles for the next-generation console. These wouldn’t be headline offerings, of course, but they could certainly pad out the lineup, andTwilight PrincessorWind Wakerwith modern features like 60FPS would be a hot selling point.
