Daily Debate: Could a Turn-Based Zelda Game Work?
Posted on September 16 2020 by Heather Beard
When I think of turn-based video games, I think of Final Fantasy, and most recently Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The Legend of Zelda has been considered an RPG by some fans, but it has also made its mark as a hack and slash game via Hyrule Warriors. There are many different styles of video games and I recently began to wonder if a Zelda game would work in an adventure, turn-based style. After some consideration, I think it would.
Three Houses gave the player a choice at a set point in the game to choose a house to educate and lead into battle. I could see a similar mechanic working here, but instead of a “house” the player would choose a piece of the Triforce and they would follow that storyline. If the player chose Power, they would play as Ganon/Ganondorf. If they chose Courage, they would play as Link. And by choosing Wisdom, they would play as Princess Zelda. Each would progress in their respective storyline and all three would play together into one large overarching narrative. I could definitely see it working!
I haven’t played a lot of turn based games, but I really enjoyed Three Houses and the multiple options and paths I could take to complete the game. With the world of Hyrule and Zelda lore being so vast, I would be hard pressed to see a turn-based game not work. With Zelda spin-offs not being out of the realm of possibility (look at Cadence of Hyrule), I could hope for it happening one day.
What do you think? Could a turn-based Zelda game work? Sound off in the comments below!
Hi I’m Heather! I’m Senior Editor and Art Director at Zelda Dungeon and I’ve been a member of the ZD team since 2019. I am a graphic designer, artist, and nerdy mom to an awesome little boy. When my nose isn’t in a book, working on my novel or watching anime you can find me curled up with my cats Mandy-Lynn and Daisy Mae.
