Shack Chat: What Legend of Zelda game would you like to see remade?

We're at it again, and this time we're taking a round trip back around to classic Nintendo land. With The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening receiving so much love with the Nintendo Switch remake, it kind of got us all thinking. What other Zelda games would we love to see with updated graphics on the Nintendo Switch? So, in typical Shacknews fashion, we all slinked off to our little corners of the Shacknews virtual office and plopped on our thinking caps. The result? A list of several Zelda games that we'd love to see make the jump to Nintendo Switch with updated visuals and more.

Make sure to check out our full review of Link's Awakening on Nintendo Switch to see how well Nintendo did on the latest Zelda remake.

What Legend of Zelda game would you like to see remade?

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures - Asif Khan, CEO and Leading Zelda Expert

What’s better than the hero of time? Four of him! Join Link, Link, Link, and Link in coop Zelda fun. This GameCube era title would be a fun and unexpected remake that would be totally fun on Switch. If only Nintendo could figure out its netcode to make the game playable online. Either way, anyone who hasn’t played Breath of the Wild on staff’s opinions are pretty much invalid, so just agree with my take.

The Legend of Zelda: Original Recipe - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Editor

There's so much chatter about which of the Zelda sequels deserves a remake or which should be remastered or which should be reimagined. But why are we looking at the sequels? Why are we not looking at the NES original that started it all?

The NES was a primitive gaming platform in many ways, but there are so many aspects of that original Legend of Zelda game that still holds up and are still used in not only the sequels, but the various adventures inspired by it. The dungeons still hold up, the overworld is still a blast to explore, the level design is still marvelous, and the puzzles are as mind-bending as they were back in 1986.

So now picture a Link's Awakening-style reimagining of this original story. Sprinkle in a few dialogue trees and maybe one or two cutscenes to flesh out the story, but outside of that, the first adventure still has all of the ingredients of a great modern game. As a bonus, we can picture the narrative branch that Nintendo would use to connect the first quest and the hidden second quest.

If Link's Awakening reminded everyone of the Game Boy's best, let's go back further and remind everyone of what the NES was capable of putting out there. And also, remind everyone of how this series got to be so iconic in the first place.

 Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Greg Burke, Lives in the mines

The Zelda franchise has had its share of Remakes and HD Rereleases. I’m still waiting for my favorite childhood Zelda to come onto the Switch. I get the concept that Nintendo is rolling out its classic games through their online service slowly, with NES, and most recently the SNES library of games. I think this is the 5th time The Man with the Briefcase has purchased F-Zero for the Super Nintendo. I’d be fine with a direct port of the N64 game, or the Remastered one we got on the 3DS. I just don’t understand why it’s taking so long. Nintendo do you not like money? Cause I’ll give you money to make Ocarina for the switch. *Holds out wallet.

Zelda II - David L. Craddock, Longreads Editor

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is considered the black sheep of the franchise. Here’s the thing.  Stirring RPG elements--namely XP and level-up--into the Zelda formula shouldn’t have been considered taboo, because, really, there was no “Zelda formula” in the late ‘80s. One game does not a formula make, regardless of how groundbreaking and successful that game became, although I will admit that Zelda II’s XP grind weas on me every time I replay it.

Look past that one glaring flaw, though, and what remains is one of the most complex sword-and-board games of its time. With only two primary buttons and a d-pad, Link had to defend himself while baiting enemies such as Darknut knights into lowering their guard and getting in hits. The system was so finely tuned that it inspired Miyamoto to renew the series’ focus on swordplay for 1998’s Ocarina of Time (maybe you’ve heard of it?), and was one of the primary motivators for 2014’s Shovel Knight by Yacht Club Games.

As big a fan as I am of any 2D Zelda, I’d love to see Zelda II reimagined as a third-person, 3D action-adventure game in the vein of Breath of the Wild--not as an open world, per se, but as a sprawling game with traditional Zelda dungeons and the most complex swordplay yet devised by Nintendo’s ace designers.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Bill Lavoy, Bounty Hunter

My experience with The Legend of Zelda franchise is limited to a partial playthrough of Breath of the Wild. As I’ve noted in several Shack Chats previously, I simply didn’t play a wide variety of games growing up. I was aware of Zelda and had friends that played it, but there was never any draw for me. I just wanted my annual NHL game.

Whenever I’m looking for advice on something in games, I turn to Josh Hawkins, who I’ve played many games with and who understands my interests. His advice was that I wanted The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on the Nintendo Switch. Since I’m not one to phone it in, I took this bit of information and did some research, which means I headed off for Wikipedia.

Okay, so I have to admit that Majora's Mask sounds awesome. The three-day cycle and use of music intrigue me. The idea that Link must play a song before 72 hours goes by to return to the morning of the first day, and most characters will have no recollection of meeting Link, really has me hooked. This week’s Shack Chat went from me needing to find a suitable answer to me now wishing The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was on Nintendo Switch. Well done, Josh Hawkins.                                        

Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons - Brittany Vincent, Senior Editor

I enjoy the Zelda games I do for a reason, and I like them the way they are. For that reason, I don't think remaking any of them is an especially good idea for me, even though Link's Awakening worked well. There just aren't any I'm itching to see redone. If I had to choose, I'd just request an Oracle of Ages or Oracle of Seasons update with different graphics than Link's Awakening, because nothing about those games lend themselves well to cartoony, silly graphics, while that game did. It would be nice to have a re-release on one cartridge on Switch or something to that effect, though I would have preferred the games on 3DS and not a system that I don't like to carry around with me. Nicely updated graphics would be appreciated, without changing the core mechanics.

Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons - Josh Hawkins, ‘You don’t have enough Rupees!’

Despite the fact that Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask stand as my two favorite Legend of Zelda Games, I can’t help but wish that we could get the Link’s Awakening treatment on both Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. I can remember many a night huddled under my cover with my Gameboy, one of those dumb reading lights clipped to the cover, beating dungeons and exploring the worlds of both games.

While it’s been literal years since I’ve played either of them (I did pick them up on the Wii U’s virtual console at one point), I’d love to be able to dive into them again with updated graphics like Nintendo has done with Link’s Awakening. As I’ve been playing through the Switch version of Link’s Awakening, I’ve been reminded of just how much I love the formula for the older Zelda games and any excuse to explore those iconic worlds is one that I’m more than willing to throw my money at.

None of them - Chris Jarrard, A person

The Switch and every other modern platform are already rotten with remasters and remakes. I’d prefer all-new games instead of constantly trying to relive the glory days. A follow up to Breath of the WIld with a world that didn’t feel so sparse and empty would be a good start. I’d even be happy with a fresh top-down or side-scrolling Zelda adventure. The never-ending fountain of excellent indie PC games in the same genre are proof that you can always breathe life into older ideas without having to aim for nostalgia cash-ins at every opportunity.

Twilight Princess - Sam Chandler, Guides Editor

Admittedly, I’ve not played a lot of Zelda titles. My experience is limited to what came on Nintendo 64, and now Breath of the Wild. For this reason, I’d love to see a title I’ve never played (and likely never will) on the Nintendo Switch.

Twilight Princess looks incredibly appealing. From my perspective, it’s a darker Zelda story. Coming off the back of a Majora’s Mask playthrough, this is exactly the type of title I’d like to play. And as I said, I likely won’t unless it makes its way to Switch.

Majora’s Mask - Donovan Erskine, Intern

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild is the only Zelda game I’ve played. Yeah. I can appreciate and recognize the importance the Zelda franchise has had on gaming, although I’m not too familiar with it myself. That being said, I’d love to go back and play through some of the most acclaimed entries in the series.

Many talk about Majora’s Mask but quite honestly, the graphics and controls are just a bit too dated for me to go back and play through it. Remastering Majora’s Mask for the Switch would help me take a small first step in rectifying one of my largest gaming sins.

Agree with us? Think that we've lost our marbles? Let us know what Zelda game you'd love to see remade in the comments below!

Josh Hawkins

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.