Rumour: Princess Zelda May Take The Starring Role In An Upcoming Game

Oh yeah her hair remember how certain people were she’d be playable last time because of her hair?

I’ll believe it when I see it, but that would be great and long overdue.

No I don't want that, Zelda's a cool character because she exists on the periphery of the story. If Nintendo wants to make games with female lead characters, why not just make a new IP instead of just making spinoffs of the main series.

I was under the impression PapaGenos was a clickbait YouTuber from the Smash rumor days, not a reputable leak source...

My dream DLC for TOTK would have you playing as Zelda during the time of the Imprisoning War. Now if they'd make a full game out of that setting, even better. Sure, that would give them another "excuse" to remix the same Hyrule map, but still, it's something I'd love to see.

I'd take a "Zelda's story" that deals with what she did in the past in ToTK.

Knowing Nintendo though, there's fair odds she'll lead a very different type of game.

please, please, please! 🤞🏽

this is DECADES overdue.

Wait for Hyrule Warriors: The Imprisoning War.

Never really cared for Zelda(the charachter) Give me a dark and gritty game as Ganondorf instead

It's finally happening! A remake or sequel of Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon.

I'd prefer a Goron spin off myself.

Let’s finally have The Adventure of Pirate Captain Tetra: the Search for New Lands!

If it is true, my money is on it being DLC for Tears of the Kingdom.

Zelda has developed a lot as a character and I think everyone would be happy if she got her own game. It's also a nice way to expand the universe and insert different types of gameplay in Hyrule.

A good spin off with Zelda as the main character could be a lot of fun, but they need to make it different from the classic Zelda formula, otherwise it wouldn't make much sense.
I can think of a pure puzzle game, for example, since Zelda has the gift of wisdom.

‘If I say something enough, magic will make it happen!’

Modern thinking.

I don't think it's gonna happen with the movie, but I definitely hope we'd at least get a proper game with Zelda as the protagonist. Age of Calamity was kinda this, since Zelda is the character with the most story focus in it, but it was still more of an ensemble piece.

Personally I just find Zelda to be a way more interesting character than Link, especially in the last two games, where the focus on her fears and hopes and dreams makes her a well-rounded character with relatable flaws and strengths.

Link is too much of a Everyman Invincible Hero, the sort of a character who serves an understandable wish-fulfillment role in many fantasy stories, but who by definition shows few flaws and quirks and therefore is more bland than the characters who are allowed to have those quirks and flaws. As long as Nintendo insists on him being this Invincible Hero, as well as not having any proper speaking lines of his own, I don't think he's gonna grow out of this blandness.

I hope they do one, and it's essentially a fashion game, lol.

Could it perhaps be a ‘Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury’ situation?

Where they make a new (smaller) game or storyline where you’re playing as Zelda, and sell it with an upgraded version of Breath of the Wild for the Switch 2?

How about they remade Ocarina of Time, but playable from the perspective of Princess Zelda / Shiek through the story:)

Princess Zelda: Showtime!

Let's go!

I dunno if I believe this. What is PapaGenos's track record when it comes to leaks like this? I recall him being prominent in the Smash Ultimate DLC character scene but I'm pretty sure all of his Smash leaks ended up being completely wrong 😄.

Already played as her in BotW in a modded Wii U. It was a nice change that added a little something on a second playthrough. She even had special outfits and tweaks to the storytelling

But please give the voice actress some different direction. The panting school girl thing was terrible.

How about a game which we play as her when she got sent back in time during the founding of hyrule.

its time for The Legend of Link... starting Zelda

I think it’s a great idea. It just makes perfect since for Zelda to be the star of her own game. Maybe we could play as her in her own perspective from ocarina of time where she becomes a sheikah.

Remake of those CDi games for Switch.

@Poodlestargenerica

Aye same goes for Luigi and Toad and Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong etc. Nothing good could come from it.

I would be well up for this. Focus on the puzzle solving aspect of the series and the use of magic to distinguish the gameplay from the Link led entries. Could even lead the way for the continued existence of puzzle heavy traditional Zelda dungeons without compromising the path they are on with the mainline series.
I really like the Totk/Botw Zelda but I would be surprised if they set this hypothetical game in the same direct continuity.

@SBandy1 I love the Mario spinoff games, but Zelda is a very different situation. And the way Nintendo has targeted peach games at adolescent girls, (yes I know they're good games but that's still their target market), makes me doubt their intentions in making a Zelda game.

I originally thought that playing as Zelda in the past in Tears of the Kingdom would have been great, but if you’ve played TOTK, and know how her story ends in the past, there’s really not much to do there. Maybe go around learning how to increase her abilities, ultimately failing, and making the final decision. I’m not sure what that particular scenario would be about.

From her own game, I just want to see Link talk, and her become silent. 😂

For all interested in playing as Zelda I stitched together a list.

Zelda is a playable character in the following games:

Zelda: The Wand Of Gamelon (CD-i, 1993)
Developer Animation Magic
Publisher Philips Interactive Media

Zelda's Adventure (CD-i, 1996)
Developer Viridis Corporation
Publisher Philips Interactive Media

Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC JP/NA 2001, EU/AU 2002)
Developer HAL Laboratory
Publisher Nintendo

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii 2008)
Developers Sora Ltd., Game Arts
Publisher Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS, 2009)
Developer Nintendo EAD
Publisher Nintendo
(Well, as a spirit inside some big armours: Phantoms)

Super Smash Bros. 4 (3DS and Wii U 2014)
Developers Bandai Namco Studios, Sora Ltd.
Publisher Nintendo

Hyrule Warriors (Wii U 2014, HW Legends 3DS 2016, HW Ultrimate Edition Switch 2018)
Developers Omega Force, Team Ninja
Publisher Nintendo, JP: Koei Tecmo

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch 2018)
Developers Bandai Namco Studios, Sora Ltd.
Publisher Nintendo

Cadence of Hyrule (Switch 2019)
Developer Brace Yourself Games
Publisher Nintendo, JP: Spike Chunsoft

Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity (Switch, 2020)
Developer Omega Force
Publisher Nintendo, JP: Koei Tecmo

Zelda also has TWO alter egos. Spoiler alert?
Both are also playable:
Alter ego 1 in: Hyrule Warriors, SSB Melee, SSB Brawl, SSB 4 and SSB Ultimate.
Alter ego 2 in: Hyrule Warriors.

@Lofoten Cool thanks.

Now in which of those games is she the only playable star character, with personal agency in the story?

@Poodlestargenerica

Well guess we will wait and see.

Can't see them "showtiming" Zelda myself. Be something with more substance.

@Polvasti the only time I ever felt like Link was more than a blank slate, was Windwaker. a lot of that comes from the wonderful animation, I know.
but every depiction of Link since then has felt like a step backwards for the series.

@Polvasti This is exactly what they've done at the begining of TotK, he looses all his hearts, and even his hand and arm ... that's far from being invincible!

Even though Zelda games always tell the same story, the perspective is usually very different from one game to the other.

Regarding the topic at hand, I've played Zelda in both Hyrule Warriors, she was never my favourite playable character. I wonder what kind of grand story they would have to come up with so she becomes the central character. And what kind of game that would be.

A dream scenario would be for Zelda to get a Torna-level prequel expansion that's essentially its own game. Considering Monolith Soft is one of the main developers, I wouldn't rule it out as an impossibility.

I just don't realistically see Nintendo doling out a second "princess" game just on gp, especially with Zelda. If they did, it truly would have to be a one off story (like a dream, another world, etc.) as her saving Hyrule with no Link around doesn't make much sense. I do believe that in future mainline installments she may become outright playable during the narrative along with Link but that's about it.

@MeloMan Only way I would see it happen if Link would die at the start of the game and Zelda has to defeat Ganondorf. But that would be waay too dark for Nintendo.

@ChHa Hell yeah. Maybe he could use Malice/Gloom like the symbiote abilities in Spider-Man!

Zelda as a playable character is only allowed if they announce wind w4Ker 4k remake for the new switch ultra.
And a 3rd breath of the wild.
In the wind waker universe.
Where you can gleu ships together and control the actual wind or tornados.

Hyrule Kingdom Builder

A Kingdom Simulation

Honestly, it's about time. I find it hard to believe that Nintendo took so long to give one of its most iconic female characters an active role. If DIC Entertainment could make it happen in the 80s, why couldn't Nintendo?

A Legend of Link, anyone?

If they DID make Zelda a playable character, I want them to go the Samus Aran route, don't focus on her being a playable female character in the narrative, just a character kicking butt who also happens to be female. If there is any narrative focus on her, have it about her being the princess of a dying kingdom.

Side note: You all want a mainline game with a playable Zelda, I want a mainline game with a playable Linkle. We are not the same.

I much rather keep playing as Link.
But I'll be okay with it if there were small sections where we get to play as Zelda.

Nintendo has been very good when it comes to Zelda leaks so I'll believe it when I see it. But it wouldn't surprise me if she is the main character at some point.

Having Zelda as the main hero could lead to some very fun gameplay ideas like using magic etc.

Totk DLC or Age of calamity 2

@LadyCharlie that would be the CD-i games. She is the only playable character there. In Zelda's adventure she needs to safe Link. I enjoyed those games back when they released, but I was a kid so my standards weren't that high for games.

I don't think I only recommend them now as a piece of gaming history to try.

“Princess Peach: Hyrule Day” where Peach sneaks out of the castle disguised as a peasant girl and spends “Hyrule Day” celebrating the kingdom’s founding by mingling with the common folk. Activities will include: milking a cow on the farm, acting in a play, juggling in a street fair and working as a bar wench in popular tavern.

@Friendly that would be interesting. Clever way to do it

@SurprisedRobinChu the Zelda voice actor's English performance is bad. And weird. And always sounds confused as to what emotions shes trying to to portray. Her fake English accent is off-putting and she often sounds kind of like an old woman to me. Maybe it's the direction given to her I don't know. I don't think that opinion makes anyone a misogynist. I love Zelda's Japanese voice acting a lot tho. Especially during the blood moon.

This would be neat, but as others have said, I'll believe it when I see it.

Years ago, I was POSITIVE Tears of the Kingdom was going to be co-op with Zelda

Bring back the inept Linkle!

they need to bring back lana and cia from hyrule warriors they should make a return.

I'm not sure how i feel about this.

Princess Zelda Showtime!

....Seriously though, if she does get her own game, please don't make her like BotW/TotK and make her all...whiny and...sounding like she's going to burst into tears 24/7. lol

@westman98 As annoying as he is, he correctly leaked Metroid Prime remastered, SM RPG remake, and Princess Peach Showtime recently. So he likely has gained some sort of legitimate source finally.

(But to be clear he was definitely a fake leaker during the Smash era)

@link3710
Are you sure he was the one leaking the existence of those games, or was he just piggybacking off of actual credible leaders like Pyoro?

For example, somebody on Resetera leaked Metroid Prime Remastered as far back as 2021 (before the release of Metroid Dread) and the details that person provided ended up being 100% correct, so it definitely wasn't Papagenos who leaked that game. Not sure about Mario RPG or Peach Showtime though...

Zelda would work so well as a Horizon Zero Dawn type (so Ambush Archer) she isn’t a physical powerhouse but between Impa (good excuse to bring back Sheik/Zelda with direct combat skills), her powers and archer abilities she could do very well in a game where Link is in a coma/doesn’t show up (Link could work as support/NPC/secondary focus but all the anti-women folks would come out in droves screaming about girl bosses). She can’t kill Ganon but she can seal him and has done so alone already. So the potential is there. Zelda is canonically the second hero(ine) of the series. So why wouldn’t someone want to play as her?

That being said I just want another Hyrule Warriors game. The supporting cast for the Wild Trilogy is so good that I want to play as those characters again. Or a RTS with Zelda as the commander. That is her actual job after all.

@westman98 Not sure at all, but I at least haven't seen any evidence that is dated prior to his (other than Prime Remastered which, let's face it, had literally hundreds of leaks prior, his was about the release date not the contents IIRC). I would expect he probably is piggybacking since he's clearly just an attention seeker but no idea where he's found that's suddenly got him with such a good track record.

Nah, i would rather have a 2p coop game where you can play as Zelda and link. And when the other person is idle it will be as the sages where you can either play solo (link) or with Zelda.
But not a Zelda game without Link.

It would be welcome. Something to bridge the gap until the next major release

So this confirms Zelda is gonna be a "Girl Boss" Who dont need no man in the Zelda movie like Peach was in the Mario movie xD

So im guessing Link will ask the help of zelda to help rescue tingle in the movie? lmfao

I mean, the games have been titled “Legend of Zelda” since the eighties. I think her turn in the limelight is more than overdue.
Girls can have adventures, too!

Well, except poor Princess Peach - she just gets to play heroine in a stage production and dress up in lots of neat costumes. 😉

The best way to do this I think is to lean into the Triforce theming. Link is courage but Zelda is wisdom, so maybe a game all about puzzles or strategy. At the same time there are a lot of possibilities. What if there was a game like Metal Gear Solid but you played as Sheik?

Sorry, but this is a super far reach to me because of some concept art about someone's hair. Don't expect this to happen.

While I would like Zelda to be the protagonist of another game I do feel this article reaches at the end of it. Like I think she should be the protagonist of a proper new game and said new game is probably a mid switch 2 title not a game that comes out a year after TOTK. Anything Zelda related soon would be like the twilight princess port or a spinoff like warriors.

I’d die if it was a stupid puzzle game because Nintendo thinks frail princesses can’t chop up bokoblins.

@Poodlestargenerica How well do you really think a new Nintendo IP would do nowadays?

ARMS came and gone once Smash came out.
Astral Chain, while did sell pretty well, still falls under a niche genre.

Last Nintendo IP that popped off hard was Splatoon.

Fine with me. If Nintendo can make a fun Princess Peach game (I really do enjoy Showtime), give Zelda a chance, too. There's probably a bit more potential with a Zelda-focused game just based on the world and lore of the LoZ series.

@Chaos_Knight You're not wrong, but I can dream.

Might be a hot take, but nah I don't want Zelda as the main playable character. She works best as a side character, and that was kind of the point when naming The Legend of Zelda was that it wasn't the name of the hero. Link is supposed to be the player avatar (which is why I think I'm more okay with the option of a female Link). If you're playing as Zelda it gives Link nothing to do as they've never been a fully fleshed out character. They are a character and has some character attributes, but not a fully baked three dimensional character unlike Ganon and Zelda. They are the hero as they embody the courage to go and adventure to save the Kingdom. The humble everyman who takes up the magical sword to save the people. That's what works best as it's the most relatable part of playing Zelda. Anyone can be the hero not just people born in the magical bloodline.

I know they've kind of broken that reading a tad, but Link is meant to embody that archetype.

But, Zelda for sure should be playable in side games. But, Zelda as the playable character kind of makes Link redundant.

Dual playable characters would be awesome.

@OorWullie Yunobo would just stand in front of the camera for the entire game. 😂

Personally, I'm all for it. As it is, we have gotten very few games where Zelda herself was playable outside of spinoffs like Hyrule Warriors, Cadence of Hyrule, and the CD-i games. In fact, I think it was only ever Spirit Tracks where she was playable in a mainline Zelda game.

In fact, I had an idea for such a Zelda game, that also takes place in the BOTW/TOTK version of Hyrule, but also the surrounding regions, making it even larger than what came before. But in terms of story, the Yiga Clan steals Zelda's sacred powers in order to perform a ritual to revive Ganondorf. During their attack, Link is mortally wounded and falls into a coma.

As a result, Zelda herself must travel through Hyrule and beyond, completing dungeons to restore her sacred powers. At the end of the game, she faces off against a dark version of herself (intended to be a vessel for Ganondorf's spirit, and uses corrupted versions of her own powers), ultimately prevailing against her foe. She then travels to the astral plane to fight Ganondorf's disembodied spirit, erasing it from existence entirely, ending his threat for good.

With most of her powers spent, Zelda uses the last of them to revive Link and heal his wounds. She then spends her days as an ordinary Hylian girl, living together with Link and their friends, restoring Hyrule to its former glory. Thus, the world is finally at peace after years of conflict, closing this latest chapter on the epic saga that is The Legend of Zelda.

Just please don't turn a Zelda game into Princess Zelda: Showtime!

If Nintendo is going to make a Zelda game, then they darn well better make it a AAA experience. Zelda deserves that much.

@Wexter Respectfully, I disagree. The cool thing imo about the Zelda mythos is the Triforce balance. And it has been established at this point that both the Goddess Hylia (or Light Dragon as I firmly believe that the Dragons have replaced/reimagined the Golden Goddesses and Hylia) and the hero she chose in the first place function as a team. They can’t truly defeat Ganon/Evil alone (and even then they have needed NPC assistance. I firmly believe if Impa never showed up in most games that Link would have failed realistically). Link beats up evil and Zelda seals it (or blesses Link to allow him to seal it).

So a game could imo easily put Link into the supporting role or even a duo role similar to the new God of War games or a switch off similar to the Spiderman games. Nintendo has slowly been giving Zelda agency since LTTP (as the sage’s descendants were needed to unseal Ganon so she had power he needed to stop even then) as they weave in her history as a Sage/Sage Descendant and Goddess/Reincarnation of a Goddess and Second Hero (she did essentially guide Link in OoT and she freed Princess Ruto without help. She also had the power to send him home to his own time. Also Tetra. Just Tetra.) while Link has remained fairly the same (Champion/Hero but he isn’t special beyond being the chosen of the Master Sword and supernaturally courageous due to his part of the Triforce) for decades.

The issue is going to be presenting the story (and gameplay) in a way that draws in new players and tones down the folks that don’t want to see prominent female characters no matter what (As those folks are really fricken loud). Balance that and the Zelda lore itself allows for Zelda to take an active part. She can’t play like Link (one reason that I am not a fan of female Link/Link in a dress as even a strong woman is not gonna brute force her way through the way Link does. You can fantasy handwave it but most female gamers are gonna notice and feel a disconnect. Which defeats the purpose of Female Link imo. Female power fantasies aren’t the same as male power fantasies. I say this as a woman that has practiced martial arts and weightlifted most of her life. Another is most female gamers aren’t trying to replace male characters. We just want to play as female characters that are fleshed out and more than DIDs or a prize.) but Zelda is already canonically a Magical Archer and an ambush fighter (Sheik). Which means Nintendo has a playstyle template that could be all her own. I remember the first time I played Horizon Zero Dawn and all I could think is this is what a Zelda game with Zelda as the lead would look like. Strong and agile but not reliant on brute force.

As I don’t wanna see all the drama that will result (the BOTW/TOTK drama is enough) I am fine with another Hyrule Warriors but if people would just let devs create and shut up about it then I think Nintendo could do a really cool Zelda game with Zelda in the driver’s seat. That being said I would lose my mind for a side stealth game featuring Impa or Zelda/Sheik.

Also frankly it isn’t that big of a deal. Nobody blinked when you could play as Peach in SMB 2 (or Mario RPG). Or when they brought that back canonically in 3D World. She didn’t become immune to kidnapping all of a sudden.

Edit after the 6/18/24 direct: well they did decide to make a Zelda led game with her having retooled gameplay. Glad that Aonuma-san addressed that she would need to play differently than Link.

I simply don't believe it 🫠

@SalvorHardin Yeah, and they also wanted a female Link. They did get that in the form of Linkild (or whatever her name was) and she was completely ignore and forgotten.

@LadyCharlie Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's adventure is where she's the only playable star, not that either of those games are anything to be proud of. But the warriors and cadence and even her bit in spirit tracks are totally agency on her part.

Bring it on, I'm all up for Zelda games staring other characters. I know many people wanted a Sheik game that covered the 7 year time skip which was not the game Retro Studios proposed. The Tingle games exist in Japan. Ganondorf cameoing in Diablo. Lets see them go for it.

Long OverDue Zelda needs her time in the SpotLight here to show her class and that she can game just like the boys can. Right??

If they try to replace Link with her I would be pissed. If she uses her Triforce powers to get by then that would be cool. Just don't go down the girlboss route please.

@Ryu_Niiyama I was referring to the mainline series. Side games Zelda being playable makes perfect sense... I'm more looking at the main series and how Link is namely used to represent the player and the courage to overcome the trails. I just don't see a scenario where Link can really function as a side character as they don't really have an interesting enough... Well character to work as he is right now.

I'm not going to really be upset if they go the direction of Zelda being a playable lead, I just don't see how they can make the dynamic really work as Link is a silent character. What makes the current God of War games work is it feels natural for Kratos to go in that direction, Link is a very static character unlike Kratos so it's hard to say how It'll work. I get I may sound odd, but I just not sure how it will work to take Zelda as a series in that kind of direction without majorly revamping Link to be more than a player avatar with some unique characteristics. I'm sure it can work, but I feel you need to basically completely revamp Link and I feel that would end up being more controversial than Zelda being playable as Link is a blank enough slate that each player projects something different on to him.

The issue for me is less Zelda and more what do you do with Link.

@Wexter I was referring to the mainline series as well. I only mentioned spin offs in addition as possible avenues mainly to mitigate backlash because I don’t wanna hear about it lol.

At this point most games act as if Link can communicate in some fashion and that is literally what the fairy mechanic was for. Pull Navi out of retirement and you got a voice for Link. Or even wake Fi up and have the Master sword speak for him and say it is a telepathic link (haha pun). Nintendo already worked around mute Link decades ago.

So I think my argument that he could be used in a dual role (the new assassins Creed is also doing that) or in a some sort of AI co-op (technically spirit tracks already did that…heck there have been games where multiple Links have been a team. )stands. Again that requires little retooling of Link himself. He does less heavy lifting in the Wild Trilogy than ever and he still has full agency. It’s easily doable using the framework already in the series and Nintendo has the creativity to make it work, it’s just the mob will always be there with pitchforks.

What I don’t think could work without a major mythos overhaul is a Zelda game that is mainline and Zelda only.

@Ryu_Niiyama I think I get where you're going now with the idea. I will say though I think part of the reason God of War worked so well with the trio of Kratos Mimir and Atreus was the solid banter, which I personally think unless you seriously rework Link to be less of a blank slate Zelda could fall into the same trap Navi, Tatl and Fi fell into. I think the only time the companion character worked was with Midna.

Then again I really enjoyed the 2008 Prince of Persia, I thought the Prince and Elika where really enjoyable, and I liked how Erika was integrated into the gameplay. But, again a lot of that was because of the Prince's banter and how he and Elika bounced off each other extremely smoothly. I think if Nintendo went that direction it could work.. they kinda of experimented with that before with Spirit Tracks. But, unless Link speaks it might get grating with Zelda doing all the talking and Link just grunts.

I also, don't want Link to be diet-The Prince either... that would be pretty boring as well as that snarky adventurer archetype has thoroughly outstayed their welcome. Which is why I think a female Link could work better, because you don't even need to rework the character and lore wise, you can handwave it with "well this time the spirit of the hero incarnated as a girl or a boy." It doesn't really change the lore, as each Link is not directly related to the last (except maybe Minish Cap LInk, and Windwaker Link) so who says the Spirit of the Hero has to incarnate as a man every time.

Which is why I think the issue is less Zelda and more what do you do with Link that holds the idea back. I'm not against it, just not for it either. He just doesn't work as a side-character or really a duel protagonist without reworking him seriously.

Hyrule Warriors: The Imprisoning War

Wow, no one came back to this after the June Direct?