Nintendo has set aside 30 minutes on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and pledged to “deliver a variety of The Legend of Zelda related information.” It reads like something drafted by a lawyer. Then again, staying vague makes sense when the pile of material is this big.
This is the year The Legend of Zelda hits 40, and The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct is the moment the celebration actually kicks off.
Anyone skeptical about how much Nintendo can pack into one of these should revisit the 2020 Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary Direct, a single broadcast that unloaded Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit and more besides. Predicting the Zelda edition is a simpler exercise, though there are almost certainly a couple of curveballs hiding in it.
Ocarina of Time tops the bill
A Switch 2 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is due to arrive within the next few months, yet Nintendo has barely uttered a word about it since the initial tease.
The full package should follow: a genuine look at how it looks in motion, a detailed gameplay rundown and a firm release date. A handful of smaller specifics may be saved for the Treehouse stream a day later, but the headline items belong to this show.
A movie trailer, and very likely the cast
The Zelda movie is penciled in for April 30, 2027, and to date the public has seen little more than a few official stills. Tuesday should change that.
My bet is that the Direct opens with Shigeru Miyamoto introducing the first trailer and confirming the cast at the same time. That is precisely the approach taken with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Nintendo rarely walks away from a playbook that already delivered.
That leaked Switch 2 has the ring of truth
August brought persuasive photos of a Zelda-branded Switch 2 and Pro Controller. The system arrives with a matching dock, custom Joy-Cons and a large triforce plastered across it, while the Pro Controller comes in gold and green.
Hoaxes are always possible. These images don’t read that way, though, not with Nintendo’s lengthy track record of special edition hardware. Dropping a deluxe Switch 2 shortly after the console’s price hike kicked in would also be a neat trick for attracting fresh buyers. Sneaky!
Twilight Princess has run out of hiding places
Past those three items, what fills the rest of the broadcast is anybody’s guess. Certain predictions carry more weight than others.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess remains the sole mainline console entry with no Switch release, an omission that stands out badly. It could show up in Switch Online’s GameCube Classics catalog. Or Nintendo could follow the Super Mario 3D All-Stars template and bundle the HD editions of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker together.
Some version of it turning up feels close to inevitable; I’d be stunned if the collection stayed incomplete.
Project Bernard, and why a surprise isn’t crazy
Unveiling a brand-new Zelda when Ocarina of Time sits weeks from launch sounds ridiculous on its face. There’s still an argument for taking the idea seriously.
In May, leaker Nash Weedle said Nintendo has a new Zelda in development with Grezzo, the team responsible for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. The codename given was Project Bernard, consistent with Grezzo codenames such as Project Edward, and the rumor puts Ganondorf in the starring role. Given the movie lands in April and Nintendo’s habit of syncing game launches with film releases, the calendar works.
What gives me pause is the arithmetic. Echoes of Wisdom is a 2024 game, and Grezzo took five years between its Link’s Awakening remake and that release. Turning around another complete title in three years is a tall order.
Even so, never say never.
Thirty minutes. Forty years. And a gold and green Pro Controller that officially doesn’t exist yet.