The Zelda Series Shouldn't Fully Drop BOTW, TOTK Until It Does One Thing

Across the Nintendo Switch’s lifespan, the Legend of Zelda franchise has enjoyed a new era of prosperity thanks to a pivot towards open world design. The resulting mainline titles, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, have both become award-winning games that each sold tens of millions of copies, and have both directly contributed to the Nintendo Switch remaining as relevant as it has across its seven-year-long life. Whether a given fan agrees with Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's approach to the Zelda formula or not, none can deny their impact on the franchise's history.

Now that a Nintendo Switch successor is expected at some point in 2025 and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has been announced, it feels like these open world Zelda games’ era has ended. Judging by Nintendo developers expressing that the potential of this Hyrule has been exhausted, it seems like whatever the Zelda franchise offers next will involve a change of scenery. Aside from rumors of potential BotW or TotK remasters demonstrating the Switch 2’s jump in power, fans could have seen the last of their world, though that doesn't need to be true. While the next 3D mainline Zelda title moves on, a top-down spin-off could give Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom one last adventure.

How Top-Down Gameplay Could Work With BotWs Setting

Going top-down with these Zelda games might sound like a long shot, but there is precedent for it working. After its release, The Wind Waker lent its cell-shaded art style to plenty of spin-off titles, including its portable sequels, 3D spin-offs like Tri Force Heroes, and even the sprite-based The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and The Minish Cap. Thanks to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom's stylized character models, both of them could be easily converted into a more palatable, and potentially A Link Between Worlds-like, chibi appearance that works with the perspective.

Open World Zelda Scales Down To Classic Zelda Nicely

Translating BotW and TotK’s open world as well as their visuals would be tough, but the fortunate thing about classic top-down Zelda games is that they were always a touchstone for Breath of the Wild's Hyrule. A map with Hyrule Castle in the center, a village nearby, and elementally themed dungeons in its furthest reaches describes A Link to the Past as well as it does TotK, and would be what a top-down Zelda spin-off in this Hyrule would most likely resemble. Throw in some classic top-down dungeons and possibly a new gimmick like Ultrahand or the 2D mechanic in A Link Between Worlds, and the game practically designs itself.

Why Zelda Should Make A Top-Down TotK Game Now

As for why the Zelda franchise should make this move, there are several reasons to choose from. One easy justification is that seeing The Legend of Zelda's latest character and monster designs rendered in a classic style would be interesting. Another reason is that, with Echoesof Wisdom putting Princess Zelda in the spotlight for once, Link might not lead a new Zelda game for several years, so a smaller title could keep him busy. There's even still room after Tears of the Kingdom to explore what happened to the Zonai race as a whole.

The Legend of Zelda Could Use Another Nostalgic Entry

However, one reason stands head and shoulders above the rest, and that is to give classic Zelda fans what they’ve been asking for. Complaints about Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom embracing the sort of open world that’s found in Assassin's Creed haven't been frequent just because these games are different, but because there's value in the compact worlds and linear dungeons of past Zelda titles. Seeing modern Nintendo’s take on classic Zelda design would be fascinating, and the Hyrule from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom is the perfect stage to test it out.