Is Zelda Wind Waker Coming to Switch?
Since Tears of the Kingdom dropped, people have been claiming it to be one of the best games of all time, and I can’t blame them. While overwhelming initially, the number of options and solutions you can use when solving puzzles is incredible. The game gives you the power of choice. There’s no right or wrong way to do things, which I wish other titles would emulate. Let’s not forget that we finally have temples this time, either.
We now have three Zelda games and two spinoffs (the Hyrule Warriors series) in the Nintendo Switch’s library. Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and the Skyward Sword remaster are all good titles, and the Hyrule Warriors games aren’t too bad, but when will we get Wind Waker?
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The Makings of Wind Waker
Change is the only constant thing in this world, but funnily enough, our brain hates change. When faced with unexpected happenings, our brain sends fear, fight, or flight signals. This survival mechanism has been with us since pre-historic days. Maybe that’s why some fanboys go nuts whenever their favorite tries something new or different. Such was the case when Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker 20 years ago.
It’s hard to imagine the Zelda franchise being met with anything other than adulation these days. But back then, when the target audience for games was shifting from kids to young adults and teens, there was an increase in “dark” and “serious” titles.
Eiji Aonuma—the director of the beloved franchise then—thought that a new console meant an opportunity for his team to try something fresh. In this case, the console was the Gamecube. Instead of milking the grimdark Zelda vibe, they decided to try other styles. The result? They’ve created a cartoony style thanks to new technology—cel shading.
Mind you, cel shading wasn’t the norm in 2003 like it is now. Gamers wanted “realistic” games thanks to the sophisticated hardware that made rendering 3D worlds possible. But Aonuma defied these industry trends and even legendary Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto himself. Wind Waker’s debut at Space World 2001 resulted in tremendous backlash, and the fact that the game only sold under 5 million units didn’t help. This was less than Majora’s Mask’s lifetime sales and a little more than half of the record set by Ocarina of Time.
Wind Waker Gained An Extra Life On the Wii U, Why Not on the Nintendo Switch?
Despite the meager amount of copies sold, Wind Waker’s press reception was positive, which is a surprise given how critical the media was when it was made available to play as a demo during Spaceworld. It boasted a score of 96 on Metacritic and even gained perfect scores from other reputable outlets like Famitsu.
More importantly, Wind Waker is entertaining to play. Thanks to Miyamoto’s suggestion of lowering the difficulty of the game, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker has an easygoing vibe that paired well with its island setting and art style. So despite its disappointing sales, Wind Waker gained an extra life—or heart container, in this matter—when an HD version was released in 2013 for the Wii U. Going off from that logic, is it possible it would get a port on the Nintendo Switch?
The Nintendo’s Switch Lifespan is Coming to A Close
Countless rumors about either Wind Waker or Twilight Princess coming to the Nintendo Switch yearly have existed for a while. These two titles are some of the Wii U’s most successful games, but let’s be honest—it won’t happen anytime soon. And frankly, I won’t be surprised if we don’t see Wind Waker on the Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo wouldn’t usually release two Zelda games within a year. For example, 2017 saw the release of Breath of the Wild, and the DLC packs—The Champions Ballad and The Master Trials—helped push sales and interest well into 2018. Then, in 2019, we saw Cadence of Hyrule and the remake of Link’s Awakening. This was also when Nintendo announced their sequel to Breath of the Wild. Fast forward to 2020, there’s Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity—a prequel that tells the events of the great war 100 years before BotW. Finally, we got Skyward Sword HD, a remake of the original Wii title that used motion controls.
2022 was a weird time since it was the only year we didn’t receive any Zelda-related content from Nintendo, which made people think that was the time we’d finally get a Wind Waker port. But here we are in 2023, Wind Waker-less.
If there was ever going to be a release date for the Gamecube/Wii U game, 2022 would have been it, and with Nintendo being silent on the matter, it’s looking very likely that The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker isn’t coming to the Switch anytime soon. Still, I’m holding out for that “one more thing” from Nintendo.
