Look, I understand that time has lost all meaning. So, when I say, "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening came out in 2019," that may feel like eons ago or pandemic brain may make you think, "Oh, really, last year?" In reality, it's been three-and-a-half years since Nintendo released a new 2D Zelda game, and we still have no news about whether or not there's another one on the horizon.
Even that wasn’t really a new game – Link's Awakening was a remake of a game from 1993. It had gorgeous updated graphics courtesy of Grezzo, but the dungeons and gameplay were largely the same. Nintendo did partner with indie studio Brace Yourself Games on Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necrodancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda, but that was a Zelda-themed rhythm spin-off, not a full 2D Zelda game. So, if we bypass those two, the last new 2D Zelda was The Legend of Zelda: Tri-Force Heroes in 2015. And even that was a multiplayer co-op game, similar to Four Swords Adventures, not a traditional single-player Zelda. If we skip that too, the last new single-player 2D Zelda game was The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds in 2013. The 3DS title is wonderful — one of the best games in the series — but it's turning 10 this year with nothing in the wings to follow it up.
That's right. We haven't had a new single-player 2D Zelda in a decade. It's also been six years since the most recent 3D Zelda, but at least on that front Nintendo has let us know what to expect. The publisher announced Breath of the Wild's follow-up, Tears of the Kingdom, at the last in-person E3 all the way back in June of 2019. For 2D Zelda, there's been only radio silence.
So, what gives? At one point, it was reported that Nintendo was planning to release new Zelda games on a yearly basis. That was back in 2018, and even with COVID, Nintendo has largely stuck to that plan, launching Cadence of Hyrule and Link's Awakening in 2019, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in 2020, and the Switch remaster of Skyward Sword in 2021. But last year came and went without any new Zelda. Though we know that Tears of the Kingdom was originally slated for a 2022 release, we still have no idea when the next 2D Zelda will hit. Could a new 2D Zelda have been the annual title originally planned for 2023? Could we get two Zeldas this year? Or, hell, could we get four if the Switch finally gets ports of Wii U holdouts, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and Wind Waker HD?
Anything is possible, but I doubt Nintendo will just drop Zelda haphazardly. If Advance War 1+2: Re-boot Camp is any indication, the company is happy to sit on finished games if it means releasing them at a more opportune time. So, with Tears of the Kingdom launching this year, and rumors continuing to swirl about Wind Waker and Twilight Princess ports, could it be possible that we don't get a new 2D Zelda until 2025?
That would be a disappointingly long wait. But, here's what we do know: Grezzo — the team behind the Link's Awakening remake, three of the 3DS Zelda titles, and the DSiWare version of Four Swords — hasn't released anything since 2021. A job listing in 2021 suggested that the company was hiring for something "medieval" and "stylish," which was probably its Miitopia Switch port which launched that year. So, we have no real idea what the studio is working on, but since 2010, the studio has never gone more than two years without a release. If Grezzo is still on that timetable, it seems reasonable that they could be approaching the end of a project.
I've got my fingers crossed that it is and that that new project is a 2D Zelda. But, this is all speculation. Until Nintendo makes an official announcement, we'll just have to keep waiting and hope there's a new 2D Zelda at the end of it.