The battle royale genre is everywhere. For many, there is something fun about landing on an isolated map and attempting to be the last one standing among other players. Although technically not a recent concept, the battle royale genre really kicked off with PUBG, and rose to prominence with the release of Fortnite Battle Royale. Since then, companies have been jumping on the battle royale bandwagon. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V contain battle royale modes. EA published its own battle royale title called Apex Legends, which was huge during its first week.
Now, with games implementing their own battle royale modes, some fans are probably considering how interesting it would be if Nintendo jumped into the craze. Nintendo has developed plenty of games with online multiplayer battles, but haven't really dabbled with the battle royale genre. However, this might be changing. Nintendo released Tetris 99 earlier this year, a game incorporating classic Tetris gameplay with a battle royale twist. With how popular the game still is, Nintendo could perhaps take a look at its flagship franchises to see if it can incorporate a large-scale battle royale mode in them. Many fans would jump at the chance to play battle royales with a Nintendo touch. Here are three franchises that could do well as a battle royale.
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Royale
Typically, The Legend of Zelda is a single-player adventure series. The franchise does feature multiplayer, but it's almost always cooperation, such as in Four Swords Adventure and Tri Force Heroes. Multiplayer battling would be a welcome change of pace. While this can come in the form of overhead Toon Link battles, Nintendo can aim bigger, and bolder. In fact, Nintendo has a way to even rival the popularity of Fortnite. Of course, we're talking about battles taking place on the Breath of the Wild map.
Obviously, Breath of the Wild's map is too big for a battle royale, so Nintendo would have to grab portions of it, and perhaps even remix it. Imagine fighting it out with others on the vast field, or at the atmospheric Hyrule Castle. As for how battling would work, instead of gifting every player a Master Sword, players would have to search for it on the map. The sword (similar to the Infinity Blade in Fortnite) would grant the player massive melee power, so there would be incentive to acquire it first. However, every Link could be given a boomerang to start, as well as a bow and maybe a weak, breakable sword.
The map could have some Moblins, who Link could beat to claim some arrows or other weapons. So, there would be strategy in trying to find the Master Sword, but also picking off players with arrows or other weapons found on the map would add a layer of depth to the combat. To make things more cosmetically pleasing, Nintendo could offer all the various incarnations of Link as playable.
Metroid Prime: Space Royale
There are numerous battle royales out there, but few, if any, take place on alien worlds. This would be Nintendo's chance to venture into a largely unexplored area, and what better way than with Metroid Prime? Metroid has received multiplayer battling in two games: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid Prime Hunters.
A potential Metroid Prime battle royale mode doesn't have to be complex. It should be an expanded version of the multiplayer seen in Hunters, where each playable character has a different weapon. There could be different map areas based on certain Metroid points of interest. Of course, the mode would be first-person, unless Samus uses her Morph Ball form. A battle royale would be a fun side-mode for the release of Metroid Prime 4, whenever that game comes out.
Pokémon Battle Royale
Pokémon has been enjoying massive worldwide popularity (again) thanks to Pokémon GO, Detective Pikachu, and more. The series is associated with both single-player adventures and intense Pokémon battles with friends. There is something engaging about testing your Pokémon lineup against someone else's, and seeing ways for improvement upon finishing a round. For fans, Pokémon battles are some of the most fun to be had. This is why a large-scale Pokémon battle royale could be an interesting idea.
How would a large-scale Pokémon battle royale work? To answer that, one should look at another famous franchise dealing with monsters: Yu-Gi-Oh! During the Duelist Kingdom arc, a character called Pegasus held a tournament where a number of characters wandered an island. Upon meeting with someone, a duel, turn-based style, would commence. Pokémon can do something similar.
There are a few things to iron out, but a massive Pokémon battle royale could work in this way. There are other ways as well, such as expanding on the four-way Pokémon battles in Pokémon Sun and Moon. A bold take on the battle royale genre using Pokémon trainers would be immensely popular.