Daily Debate: Could Zelda Ever Work as a Multiplayer Battle Royale?

HEAR ME OUT – Imagine an online Zelda game where you battle it out against other players to see who is the true hero of Hyrule. It may not be very Link-like to particpate in such a battle royale, but it could certainly add unique experiences to the Zelda universe.

Zelda has lent itself to other genres of video game in the past. The Hyrule Warriors series puts characters from the series into a hack-n-slash game. Link’s Crossbow Training is another example of putting the series into a new genre’s context. Even Link’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros. series is a way Zelda has expanded towards new horizons.

Here is how I envision the concept. A Zelda-Royale could use the Breath of the Wild engine. Pull pre-existing weapons and assets into a new smaller map based on the original map. Players drop into the map from Vah Medoh and glide down using their gliders. Once on the ground the Hunger Games/Fortnite/Lord of the Flies battle truly begins as players scavenge for supplies and weapons scattered around the map. From there it can go many ways, there could be teams and objectives, or simply just a last man standing win condition.

The Breath of the Wild engine permits for some personal customization as well. We know that the NPCs are generated from Miis, so players could potentially create a mii to be their character. Gliders and costumes could even be made with a clothing editor for players. Then again, Nintendo could nix the personalization in favor of selling us premade costumes that we all know we’d end up buying.

Sure, it’s outlandish and completely out of line for the rest of the series tone and gameplay. As aforementioned, Zelda is not stranger to trying out new genres.  Besides, one must remember that Nintendo has found their way to some outlandish choices in hopes of innovation. The Nintendo 64 controller design and Wii U come to mind…

Am I completely bonkers or does this sound fun to other people too? Am I speaking blasphemy at merging these two concepts? Let me know what you think down below.