Zelda Dungeon Talks: If A Zelda TV/Film Series Is Made, Which Game Should It Be Based On, If Not Something Original?
Posted on December 29 2015 by Josh Tasaico
Hello everybody and welcome to the latest edition of Zelda Dungeon Talks! I don’t know how many of you have ever heard of the Legend Of Zelda cartoon, but if you have, it was more than likely due to a reference to a quote said by Link, “excuuuuuse me princess!”. It wasn’t really the greatest cartoon ever and we haven’t seen any form of Zelda outside the games since then. With the rumours of a Netflix Zelda series earlier on this year, people started speculating on which game it could be based on. So if a Zelda TV series or movie was ever created, what game should it be based on? I personally believe that Ocarina Of Time would be the most likely game as it is the most popular and well known of the series. However, it could be something completely new, although I don’t think that would be a great idea as I believe that fans would have a hard time connecting with something unfamiliar to them. So what do you guys think?
In this week’s edition of Zelda Dungeon Talks, various staff members will share with us their opinion on the topic. Feel free to leave your response in the comments section below!
Jon Lett – View Profile
There is a major difference between what I wish the potential movie/series would be based on, and what Nintendo SHOULD make it based on. I really would like them to do something totally original, as there is so much to Zelda’s lore or them to work off of. A single movie could be based on the prior or following events around an existing game in the series, and a series could take place somewhere on the timeline that we never seem to get to hear much about, where there is a major war going on or something. I do love some new tales in the series, after all. BUT. Since this would be their first attempt at a movie or show, and therefor would be trying to cater to everyone, including some non-hardcore Zelda fans, they should probably opt to make it based something recognizable, and basic. Ocarina of Time is the prime candidate. It’s story both covers the bare basics of a typical Zelda title (Link fights Ganondorf to save Zelda), and covers a history of Hyrule, as well as a set-up for the iconic Master Sword. Yes, it is a story most have already heard, but it is a safe move – one that I believe most of us could still get into, if done right. Plus, seeing a true classic adapted into an acted out show or movie can offer up a brand new view of it.
Thomas Jacobs – View Profile
TV and film are two completely different formats. Cramming the entirety of a Zelda game into a single motion picture is next to impossible without running into the same problems that the movie adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender ran into in regards to fitting too much story in too little movie. So in this case a more compressed adaptation would have to be made. Perhaps Link will have to find the three macguffins of the week, maybe with Zelda handing him one in advance, and Link using them to obtain the Master Sword to fight Ganondorf with. There’s not all that much more space in a 3 hours tops movie. And while a TV series could work it suffers from the opposite problem: there is not enough to a Zelda game to last very long. Sure, not all TV series go on indefinitely but nobody will sign for a series that lasts 2 seasons tops. A lot of things would have to be combined in terms of story, villains, places and themes to make a show that lasts a couple of seasons, but it is possible. Oh, and of course the whole Link/Zelda romance angle would be milked to death because you can’t have such resolution halfway into season 1. And even if they were to end up together there’d be pointless drama that makes fans scream at their TVs. Just ask the fans of the other green-clad bow-wielding pretty boy who has his own TV series, Arrow.
Alasyn Eletha – View Profile
I know it’s probably the biggest game of the series, but Skyward Sword is already the most cinematic, and Hollywood isn’t against splitting a story into multiple movies if they know it will bring in more money. Skyward Sword is the origin story, so why not make it the starting point of getting the Zelda series into film or television? How they’re going to go about it, I have no idea. There are a lot of difficult elements that filmmakers will have to overcome in order to get it right. But if movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy can happen, then I have no doubt that something from the Zelda series could happen too.
Kevin O’Rourke – View Profile
If done well, I would like to see The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time made into a full movie or television series. It has been done before in the fan film ‘The Hero of Time’ which comprised some of the bosses into more of a montage of Link fighting some of them quickly. Having the game portrayed in the style of a television show would allow the characters of the world to be fleshed out more and would allow Link to have a larger story to tell. If there was a choice between the two I would opt for the television show because of the extra time it would allow us, the viewer to have with the world of Hyrule.
Alexis Anderson – View Profile
To base a Zelda TV show on a single game would not be wise, unless it was a miniseries. But for a successful and prolonged TV series, the show would have to take a lot of creative liberties and stray from the source material considerably. It would be ideal to have certain games’ plots arise as story arcs, especially those concerning alternate enemies like Vaati or Majora (assuming Ganondorf was the running antagonist in the show), so that the series could stretch itself out and eventually represent most of the games. I thought of the way The Walking Dead is produced as a good basis to follow; it includes enemies, characters, plot lines, and locations from the graphic novels, but is its own beast that plays on TV viewers’ desires to remain interesting and successful. That being said, pulling some of the deeper plot lines from the Zelda manga books might also be a good idea for the show’s longevity.
