The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is finally getting its remake after years of rumors. Nintendo hasn’t announced an official release date, but we know it’s coming sooner rather than later. With this project now on the horizon, and several other Zelda remakes doing solid business, players might be wondering which other games from the series will get the remake treatment next. I have no insider information on the topic, but if I were Nintendo, these are the three Zelda games I’d target next.
Several handheld games would make solid remake candidates. In fact, I might rather get a remake or updated version of The Minish Cap or Phantom Hourglass. However, those games are a bit more recent, so I think if Nintendo is going to give a handheld game the Link’s Awakening treatment, the duo Oracle games should be up next.
The two Game Boy Color games were a fun experiment from Nintendo. It saw the success Pokémon had with splitting content between two games and decided to take that a step further. It’s not just a few different enemies. These are two unique games, with Ages focusing on puzzles, and Seasons putting you into battles much more often. The games also connect, going so far as to change the plot of one game after finishing the other. It was a remarkable achievement, and a modern remake with updated visuals and music would almost certainly be a huge hit for Nintendo.
The second Legend of Zelda game isn’t really like anything else in the series. It puts a much larger focus on the RPG side of gameplay, giving Link the ability to level up and even including limited lives to ratchet up the pressure. However, we haven’t seen those gameplay elements in any other mainline Zelda game, which is a shame because it was a great idea that helped push the genre forward in interesting ways.
Because it’s so weird, Zelda II might be the one game from the series that could most benefit from a remake. Not only could it stand to get a visual overhaul, but ironing out some of the issues, most notably with the platforming, would go a long way. Depending on the scope, we could see Zelda II translated to a 3D world. That’d be neat, but isn’t necessary for a successful remake. And if Nintendo does ever go forward with a Zelda II remake, I hope that leads to us getting a Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon remake. It will never happen, but Arzette proved there was an audience for an updated version of that weird CD-I game.
Again, there are plenty of great Zelda games that would almost assuredly be massive sales hits for Nintendo if they were remade. Maybe you’re expecting to see something like Majora’s Mask or A Link to the Past in this top slot. However, I’m going with Four Swords Adventures for one important reason: multiplayer. Look, if you want to play this Zelda co-op game the right way with buddies, you need a GameCube, some Game Boy Advances, and enough GameCube-to-GBA link cables to go around. Not exactly an easy prospect in 2004, let alone in 2026.
Imagine Nintendo gives Four Swords Adventures the full remake treatment, and adds online multiplayer. They don’t even need to bother much on the visual side. Four Swords Adventures has a classic look that works well for the frantic, co-op gameplay. Just let me play this online with three of my friends. The Legend of Zelda series rarely lets you play with friends, so I’d love to see Four Swords Adventures make a comeback and prove the series’ multiplayer chops.
