Retro Runback: ‘Zelda’ 2-Pack

With the Switch 2 getting closer to release, I remain hopeful that at some point, Nintendo will go all out on backwards compatibility. And by “all out,” I mean bringing back the Virtual Console. While I sit here waiting for something that will never happen, I want to focus on two games that should absolutely be remade. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and the weirdest of all Zelda games, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

‘Majora’s mask’ deserves another look

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is a game some in my circle would say is the best game in the series. I’m not putting it over Ocarina of Time, but I’m also not mad at anyone saying it. It does an incredible job of flipping assets to create something new. And the three-day hook is still one of my favorite things in the franchise. Ocarina is just a stronger game overall. But what it does well, it does incredibly.

The masks becoming an integral part of this Zelda story gave Nintendo a great deal to work with. I still couldn’t tell you which transformation I preferred between the Zora and Gorons. I can tell you for sure that I wasn’t feeling the Deku one. Even in the late stages of the game, it just feels like a tutorial character rather than an actual part of the game.

Tying this game into Ocarina at the beginning was a great choice, I just wish that the story followed through on it. I was really invested in Link’s search for Navi. I’m still holding out hope for a true follow-up that explores Link after the events of Ocarina. Nintendo opened that box up, and I refuse to let them leave it open with no explanation.

‘zelda ii: adventure of link’

The black sheep of the series. The one that we all seem to act as if it doesn’t exist, even if reviewers were pretty high on it at the time. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is by far the weirdest entry in the entire franchise. Throwing out the top-down perspective established in the original, it instead went with a side-scrolling style with an RPG-like experience points system. The game did introduce the magic system and the now iconic Dark Link.

Looking back, this is the Zelda game that feels the most like classic Nintendo. The decision to just put everything the previous game did to the side and come up with a new way to play it is exactly their M.O. It remains the only mainline Zelda game I haven’t beaten. That has more to do with me than the overall quality of the game itself. I just got to it so late that I had the classic Zelda formula locked into my muscle memory.

yes, run it back

I’m not even gonna ask the question. Yeah, run them both back. Majora’s Mask 3D was incredible, and it was great to see updated models based on the concept art. But I would love to see the world of Termina in 4K. I know we would never get a full-blown remake, but I’ll continue to hold out hope for it. In the meantime, I’ll settle for a remaster or port of the 3D version. Zelda II, though? Update the sprites to be on the SNES’ level, and let’s get to work. We got Link’s Awakening redone, might as well go a little further back and pick this one up. I’d love to see how it’s received today with 35-plus years of Zelda between its release and now.