Candidates – Light Fantasy
While not necessarily part of the traditional Zelda formula, the light fantasy setting is a hallmark of all Zelda titles. It is also common among Zelda clones.
Here are a few franchises that Nintendo could use if they stick to the fantasy plan:
Little Icarus
Let’s start this list with perhaps the most obvious and viable option.
Kid Icarus is a criminally underused arrow in Nintendo’s quiver. Despite the series only having three games (for NES, Game Boy and 3DS), Pit is a recognizable video game icon who could comfortably step into Link’s shoes. Kid Icarus: Uprising breathed new life into the franchise as an exciting arcade action title, but it doesn’t take much imagination to imagine a Zelda-like entry into the Kid Icarus universe.
In fact, the biggest challenge Nintendo would face is finding a way to distinguish a Zelda-like Kid Icarus from Zelda itself. And who knows, the prospect of reinventing Kid Icarus might be enough to make Masahiro Sakurai come out of early retirement. That is if Nintendo hasn’t already tied it to ‘Smash Infinite’.
Glory of Heracles
Believe it or not, Kid Icarus isn’t Nintendo’s only Greek-themed series. In 2010, Nintendo released Glory of Heracles for the DS, a JRPG developed by Paon DP.
To this day, Nintendo retains the copyright, although we haven’t seen any of it since the release of the DS. It seems unlikely, but maybe old Herc could be convinced to star in a Zelda clone. After all, those seven labors will not come true by themselves.
Fire emblem
Kid Icarus gets our vote for purely nostalgic reasons, but Fire Emblem wins on name recognition alone. If Mr. Iwata were here, we think he would side with Pete, but [straightens tie] a spin-off of the Fire Emblem series would be a solid business decision.
Not only has the franchise already branched out into other genres, including JRPG (Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE) and hack and slash (Fire Emblem Warriors), but Intelligent Systems has proven time and time again that it’s capable of creating cool classics. in whatever genre they want. Check out Mario Paint, Panel de Pon, Paper Mario, Pushmo/Pullbox, and the underrated Battle Clash for a few examples.
Plus, imagine the puzzles Intelligent Systems can come up with for their Zelda clone!
Table of Contents
