Gossip Stone: Do you want more Zelda products from USAopoly?

A while back USAopoly struck a deal with Nintendo to license out Zelda and Mario games. Surprisingly, the products that came out of it didn’t seem to just be quick cash grabs but actually well thought out products. They have created a few Zelda products already that have turned out to be quite nice collector’s items. I myself am not a huge Monopoly fan, but I couldn’t get over how impressive Zelda Monopoly was. With a few Zelda puzzles already in stores and a treasure-chest styled Yahtzee game on the way, I find myself wondering what other fun games could come out of this partnership.

Many Monopoly games are a very poor use of the license they deal with. With Monopoly being a game about real-estate, it’s weird to get a game-themed Monopoly board where you simply buy characters from that game. It seems cheap, rushed, and simply an excuse to get money. With Zelda Monopoly however, I found myself very impressed with how well thought out the game was. Not only do you get to buy various properties from Hyrule (such as Lon Lon Ranch, Clock Town, and the Minish Village), but each of the colored sections are organized by game. For instance the first three brown spots are all from the Minish Cap while the final, most expensive, blue spots are from Ocarina of Time.

Instead of railroads, you get to purchase Hylian forms of transportation such as the King of Red Lions, Epona, the Spirit Train, and event a Loftwing. The utilities are  a bomb shop and potion shop, even the money you used to purchase all these properties is labeled as rupees. As if that wasn’t enough, the game pieces are well crafted items and weapons, including the Triforce itself. I must say that my favorite part is the use of the Community Chest and Chance– called Treasure Chest and Empty Bottle respectively. When flipping over a Treasure Chest card you find things like “Four Swords Quest: Collect 10 rupees from every player” while the Empty Bottle has hilarious cards like “Attacked by Cuccos. Go back three spaces.” It is just a great game that easily shows a lot of time and care went into the process.

The same could be said for the gorgeous puzzles that have already been put out by USAopoly. The ancient looking map of Hyrule and the beautiful stained glass window from Wind Waker are hard to beat. I’m also incredibly excited for the awesome Yahtzee game coming out next month. I loved Yahtzee growing up and having this little chest with rupee-colored dice will just make it all the more special.

But what other games could come out of this USAopoly license deal? Winning a game of Zelda Clue by guessing “Ganon, in the Forest Temple, with the Boomerang” could be fun. I would also love to wage war across Hyrule in “Legend of Zelda Risk,” with Hylian Knights vs. Ganon’s army. Even the “Game of Life in Hyrule” could be very interesting. Instead of choosing between a degree or work, you could choose between staying a kid or going forward in time as an adult. You could pick out a horse instead of a car and collect fairies instead of children. I also wouldn’t mind a nice Legend of Zelda trivia game. Of course all of this is dependent on your love of themed board games to begin with, but I know I’ve been really impressed with USAopoly’s choices so far and wouldn’t mind seeing them do more.

What games would you like to see with a Legend of Zelda theme? Does it bother you to see non-related games make use of game’s likenesses? Share your thoughts in the comments!