The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

This name is conjectural, decided by fans in lieu of an official source.

Zelda 3DS

Release
Platform	Date
Nintendo 3DS	Holiday 2013

The upcoming currently unnamed Zelda game for the Nintendo 3DS is a new game in the style of A Link to the Past. Development started in early 2011, and the game is currently set to release Holiday 2013, just a few months after The Wind Waker HD.

The game uses a top-down perspective and an art style similar to A Link to the Past. It takes advantage of the 3DS to add vertical motion as an important element of the gameplay. In contrast, it also allows Link to become a flat image on a wall to travel in a 2D space a la Flatland.

Development

At the 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert in London, Aonuma told the Portuguese e-zine MyGames that he is currently working on a new Zelda title for the 3DS, and that it will be an original title, not a remake. Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned a "new Zelda" he was producing in April 2011. Shortly afterward, he expressed interest in seeing the world of A Link to the past with a layered 3D effect, which suggests that the idea existed at that time but hadn't yet found its way into the development of Zelda 3DS. However, this likely happened shortly afterward, since Eiji Aonuma was able to give a specific hint that "having 3D will mean something," showing that a solid vision of the game was in place. Miyamoto further teased A Link to the Past as a base for a new game in 2012:

"I think the answer would be the same if we're talking about just porting, but I think I'd be even more interested in creating something new maybe based on, or starting from, A Link To The Past. I think it's important to bring some really new software."

— Miyamoto

Majora's Mask 3D

Main article: Operation Moonfall

At the 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert in London, Aonuma told the Portuguese e-zine MyGames that he is currently working on a new Zelda title for the 3DS, and that it will be an original title, not a remake. He didn't feel it was right to release two remakes so close together, but a Majora's Mask remake is still a possibility for the future. He reiterated this sentiment in a November interview with GamesRadar:

"I did hear that there's a website here that was launched in North America by some people that are hoping we'll release a 3D version of Majora's Mask. Of course I'm very flattered to hear that so many people are asking for that game, so I hope that at some point in the future hopefully, maybe, we'll be able to do something with it."

— Aonuma

Videos

Nintendo Direct announcement featuring both 3D and 2D platforming

References

1. ↑ MyGames, March 11th, 2011
2. ↑ ^{2.1 2.2} "I am currently very busy producing a new Zelda, a new Mario and a new Mario Kart on 3DS and a new Pikmin." — Shigeru Miyamoto, Gameblog.fr, April 21, 2011
3. ↑ MyGames, March 11th, 2011
4. ↑ "The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past could be one [adaptation of an older Nintendo game for the 3DS console]. I think it would be good to see that world with a layered 3D effect.", The Observer, April 30th, 2011
5. ↑ "I'll give you one hint, but maybe you won't understand it. It will be a game in which having 3D will mean something." — Eiji Aonuma, Game Informer, October 2011
6. ↑ Edge, April 12th, 2012
7. ↑ MyGames, March 11th, 2011
8. ↑ GamesRadar, November 9th, 2011