The Candidate – Light Fantasy
While it’s not necessarily part of the traditional Zelda formula, the light fantasy setting is a defining feature of all Zelda titles. It is also common in Zelda clones.
Here are some franchises Nintendo could use if they’re stuck with the fantasy:
Icarus Boy
Let’s start this list with the most obvious and most viable option.
Kid Icarus is an underutilized criminal in Nintendo’s shake-up. Even though the series only has three games (for the NES, Game Boy, and 3DS) Pit is a recognizable video game icon who could comfortably step into Link’s shoes. Kid Icarus: Rebellion breathed new life into the franchise in the form of a heart-pounding arcade action title, but it doesn’t take much imagination to envision a Zelda-like entry in the Kid Icarus universe.
In fact, the biggest challenge Nintendo faced was finding a way to differentiate the Zelda-like Kid Icarus from Zelda herself. And who knows, the prospect of recreating Kid Icarus once again might be enough to convince Masahiro Sakurai to retire early. That is if Nintendo hasn’t tied him down to ‘Smash Infinite’.
Glory of Heracles
Believe it or not, Kid Icarus isn’t Nintendo’s only Greek-themed series. In 2010 Nintendo published Glory of Heracles for the DS, a JRPG developed by Paon DP.
To this day, Nintendo still holds the copyright, although we haven’t seen it hidden since the release of the DS. This seems unlikely, but perhaps Herc could be convinced to star in a Zelda clone. After all, the Seven Jobs will not be able to be completed on their own.
Emblem of fire
Kid Icarus gets our vote for purely nostalgic reasons, but Fire Emblem wins on name recognition alone. If Mr. Iwata were here, we think he would side with Pit, but [straightens tie] A spin-off to the Fire Emblem series would be a solid business decision.
Not only has the franchise ventured into other genres, including JRPGs (Tokyo Mirage ♯FE version) and hack and slash (Fire symbol warrior), but Intelligent Systems has proven time and time again that they are capable of creating stone-cold classics in any genre they want. See Paint Mario, Panel de Pon, Paper Mario, Trolley/pull boxand underrated War give a few examples.
Plus, imagine the puzzles Intelligent Systems could come up with for their Zelda clone!
