ZD Top 5 – Hypothetical Zelda Cross-overs

Between the Super Smash Bros. franchise and Hyrule Warriors, Nintendo has shown itself to be amenable to developing “non-Zelda” titles featuring characters and locations from flagship Zelda games. This week, Zelda Dungeon staffers explored what it would be like for Zelda to collide with their other favorite franchises; in particular, we asked them to rank the top five franchises they’d like to see crossed-over with Zelda.

Which series or game would you most like to see combined with Zelda? Do you even think there ought to be cross-overs in the first place? As always, leave your own lists and thoughts in the comments section.

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Jon Lett – https://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/User:Colonel-Majora

5. Xenoblade
4. Kingdom Hearts
3. Assassin’s Creed
2. Super Mario
1. The Telltale series

I must say, I have not played a HUGE number of Telltale games, but the ones I have played are amazing, and stay quite true to their respective series. As long as Nintendo were to oversee the game’s creation, I am sure it could be done well. Now, these games would almost certainly require voice acting, and at most, that could bring up issues regarding Link–but who says he even has to be in it? Perhaps such a spin-off/crossover could focus on completely different characters from other games! Personally, I would love to see the experiences of someone in Termina during Majora’s Mask; or better yet, how about the events leading up to A Link Between Worlds, focusing on interactions between Ravio, Hilda, and Yuga? Honestly, a spin-off like this could cover events featuring any one of many groups of people in numerous in-game locations, so seeing which Nintendo would choose would be cool.

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Kevin O’Rourke – https://www.zeldadungeon.net/user:kevin

5. Warcraft 3 (or other RTS games)
4. Shadow of the Colossus
3. The Elder Scrolls
2. Fire Emblem
1. Paper Mario

One concept that has always been a dream rumor for me is “Paper Zelda.” Having a Zelda title that has the gameplay style and art style of Paper Mario would be a welcome departure from the main Zelda formula. It would be amazing to Link tag-team with a whole list of new characters (and possibly old ones) as he adventures around a paper Hyrule (or other world), solving puzzles, using items, and fighting against enemies in the Paper Mario combat style. Having Zelda characters in a Fire Emblem setting with Zelda’s forces versus Ganon’s forces à la Hyrule Warriors would be interesting as well. Having access to the full roster of Fire Emblem characters as well as the Zelda characters would make for a huge roster of playable fighters to command around the battlefield. The Elder Scrolls format would allow players to pick one of the various races in Hyrule and play through an adventure as a character of that race. Shadow of the Colossus‘ gameplay would be interesting to see; potentially just adapting a boss battle of that scale–which isn’t the Imprisoned–would be neat as well. Warcraft 3 or any other fantasy-themed RTS would be cool to see with a Zelda spin on it. Factions could be broken up into the different races and areas of Hyrule, and it could take the Hyrule Warriors approach allowing for multiple games to crossover into each other’s realms: we could see dream battles like Zant’s army fighting against the knights in Skyloft, or we could have a boss from A Link to the Past as a buildable unit to take into battle against Zelda’s forces. The possibilities are endless for these types of crossovers, and Nintendo has started to loosen the reins on the Legend of Zelda series, allowing for more crossover projects. It could happen.

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Thomas Jacobs – https://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/User:ThomasJacobs

5. The Elder Scrolls
4. Bioware-style RPG
3. Mario
2. Dark Souls
1. Metroidvania

The Elder Scrolls has a knack for large open-worlds filled with all sorts of interesting loot to collect, monsters to fight, and people to meet. While the Zelda series has had a similar approach to its characters and monsters, there are two big differences: how the series treats exploration and how it treats gear. While there is quite a bit of exploration possible in the various Zelda games, it pales in comparison to the sheer amount of area to cover in the Elder Scrolls. From the denser-packed Morrowind all the way up to Daggerfall and its digital 161,600 square kilometers (about half of Great Britain). Exploration and looting stuff that improves your character in a variety of ways is one of the core pulls of The Elder Scrolls, but this comes at the cost of roleplaying. Bioware and their RPGs, meanwhile, take it the completely different direction: by focusing heavily on its settings and characters they deliver powerful stories. Combining this focus on story with a party of characters for Link to interact with could make for a very interesting game. On a lighter note, Mario is one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises. Letting two of their greatest heroes team up and fight a Bowser/Ganondorf duo could make for one of Nintendo’s most beloved games of all time. Mixing elements of Mario and Zelda into a platformer/action game where Mario’s power-ups work more like Link’s, where finding them gives him a new power to select and use, perhaps with a magic bar or the stamina bar from A Link Between Worlds. For all the lightness of Mario, though, Dark Souls also has something to offer Zelda: a ruthless and dark world where death is cheap and frequent. However, one does have the ability to rekindle the flame and return light to the world, albeit for a short amount of time. To brave the hostile environments, dangerous enemies and frequent traps, you’ll need someone of truly remarkable strength, cleverness, and spirit—and Link might very well be someone like that. Though if such a crossover were based a bit more on Dark Souls II, Zelda might have an unusual role as the queen beside the king (which, for those of you who have never played Dark Souls II, is not as romantic as it sounds). Finally, Metroidvania is more of a genre than a particular game. However, the 2D games in both the Metroid and Castlevania series are rather like that of Zelda: by exploring the world and fighting bosses you obtain new items, opening up more of the game for you .While The Adventure of Link (and occasional bits portions of the GameBoy games) are the series’ only ventures into 2D, a Zelda game focused entirely on the 2D exploration of a very large location could make for a truly unique and fun experience that I would love to play through.

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Jarrod Hadrian – https://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/User:Jarrod_Hadrian

5. Portal
4. Assasin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
3. Final Fantasy
2. God of War
1. The Elder Scrolls

To have a Zelda game set in the Portal universe would be very cool: imagine the types of puzzles possible in a Zelda game if portal guns were involved. The amount of fun that you could have trying to get through small levels in this game would be great, and it would be cool to have a level creator as well. To have Link be the captain of a ship, like Edward was in Black Flag, would be amazing. This could tie in well with the series and be a continuation of the Wind Waker series. To have a game about Link plundering for treasure would be fun, and that game would have a really different tone from the rest of the series. To have Zelda set in the world of Final Fantasy would be great. I would like to see Link in this wacky world and see how he would interact with everything. If God of War enemies were to enter a Zelda game it would be very chaotic and truly test Link’s skills as a warrior. The scales of the battles would be massive and it would be a very different game from the rest, with boss battles setting it apart. The Elder Scrolls series is truly the best for a Legend of Zelda game. They have a similar spirit to The Legend of Zelda as they are nonlinear, and the amount of dungeons would work perfectly as there would be so much for Link to do and find. I specifically imagine it being set in Skyrim, as that was the last Elder Scrolls game I played. I feel the way that you explore in Skyrim would fit well with a Zelda title. In Skyrim, I got a horse as soon as I could and just started looking around for things to do in the open world. I looked in so many places and did so many things. The way that I played that game reminds me very much of how I played The Legend of Zelda, and I feel that a crossover could work very well.