Nintendo confirms more remakes but will Zelda: Majora’s Mask be next?

Is Zelda: Majora’s Mask next? (Ember Lab/YouTube) Following Star Fox and The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, Nintendo has said that it has more remakes in the pipeline. Although they didn’t use to do it often, Nintendo has a long history of remaking games, from Metroid: Zero Mission on the Game Boy Advance to 2019’s The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, but for the Switch 2 they’ve started to become a vital crutch. In the absence of a major new title, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake is spearheading the console’s Christmas line-up. That comes after Star Fox earlier this year, which was another remake of 1997’s Lylat Wars on the Nintendo 64, and last year’s Kirby Air Riders, which while not technically a remake was largely an expanded redo of 2003’s Kirby Air Ride. If you’ve been wondering whether that’s just an accident of the release schedules or part of a concentrated effort, Nate Bihldorff, Nintendo’s senior vice president of product development and publishing, has given a pretty concrete answer. Speaking in an interview with Polygon, Bihldorff said: ‘I do think that new games and remakes both have a place in the Nintendo stable, of equal importance to be honest. ‘There are fans of every single IP that we have out there. Of course, having new games in those series is wonderful, and I look forward to them as much as anyone else does, but there’s also a deep satisfaction in revisiting games that were very, very special, like Ocarina Of Time… But it’s also important to think about how many people had never played the original, and for them, the remake of Ocarina Of Time is going to be an absolutely brand new, 2026 experience, and one that I just cannot wait for them to get their hands on.’ Want GTA 6 news? Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week. While there’s certainly some PR fluff to it, the ‘equal importance’ comment between remakes and new games is pretty clear cut in showing Nintendo’s intentions for the future. Star Fox got another redo this year (Nintendo) So far, there are no remakes on Nintendo’s line-up for 2027, between Metroid Ravenous, Kirby And The World Beyond, The Duskbloods, Xenoblade Genesis, and Pokémon Winds and Waves. However, it’s possible that, if Nintendo wants to maintain its monthly cadence of a key new game, a remake (or several) could be announced next year. Although Ocarina Of Time is likely to have been expensive, especially since it involved top tier developer Nintendo EPD, in general remakes are generally cheaper than a brand new title, given so much of the ground work is already done. So what are the possible candidates? The obvious one is Zelda: Majora’s Mask, which was released just two years after Ocarina Of Time and used many of the same assets. This feels like a no-brainer, especially considering that, like Ocarina Of Time, Nintendo released an enhanced remaster of it for the Nintendo 3DS. Beyond that, it’s unclear if Nintendo will continue to mine Nintendo 64, GameCube, or even earlier consoles for potential future remakes on the Switch 2. There might be licensing issues with some titles, like GoldenEye 007 or Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64, while others, like Super Mario 64, have already been re-released countless times, so another redo might feel redundant. Beyond Majora’s Mask, which feels inevitable, we’ve listed some other old favourites that might be due the remake treatment – whether because they’re stone cold classics or flawed titles that would benefit from a second look. What games should Nintendo remake next? Paper Mario Following the remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, this feels like an easy win – especially as it’s widely considered the second best game in the series. Paper Mario feels ripe for a remake (Nintendo) Super Mario Sunshine Mario’s most flawed 3D outing is perhaps the most deserving of a remake, especially if it can expand and improve its clearly rushed second half. Wave Race 64 The Wave Race franchise has been left on the shelf since 2001’s Wave Race: Blue Storm on the GameCube, but a redo of the Nintendo 64 game, the most beloved, could rejuvenate the series. The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker Toon Link’s first adventure may have received the remaster treatment on the Wii U, but a fresh remake, complete with a retooled third act and extra Tingle, could be a worthwhile revisit. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat More people might have nostalgia for Donkey Kong 64, but this bongo-smasher on the GameCube is far superior. We’re not sure how well the controls would fare without the bongo controller, but with Nintendo pushing a DK resurgence of late, this deserves a second chance in the spotlight. F-Zero GX It’s unclear if the Star Fox remake has been a big enough success to satisfy Nintendo but the other franchise that would benefit from similar treatment is F-Zero. The N64 game is very good too but GX on the GameCube is still widely considered the best future racer ever made. F-Zero GX is still an amazing game (Nintendo) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: Games Inbox: What will be the next big Nintendo Switch 2 game? 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