Is Windwaker Coming To Switch?
Is Windwaker Coming To Switch?
We all know how much Nintendo loves to double dip by re-releasing titles to a new system in hopes for another chance of success, kind of how most WiiU titles have made it to Switch like Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Captain Toad, Super Mario 3D World and of course Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just to name a few.
The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker initially was released for the GameCube in March 2003 and was mostly met with backlash due to the drastic change in art style. Oddly enough over the course of time that viewpoint has completely reversed with Windwaker being one of the most fondly remembered entires in the series, largely in part to the art style that has aged like a fine potion.
The GameCube only sold 21.74 million meaning that many people didn’t experience this title due to the poor sales of the system. As per protocol Nintendo eventually took another pass with Windwaker HD for the WiiU in September of 2013 and it ended up selling 2.35 million. Considering the WiiU only sold 13.56 million units, almost ten percent of owners bought the cell shaded Zelda. If you extrapolate that data onto the Switch that works out to about 10-15 million, which put into the top ten best selling games on the system. Considering it was about a decade before it came to WiiU and we are in that vicinity since the HD release, that does bode well for Windwaker on Switch.
With Breath of the Wild 2 getting delayed, many have wondered if WindWaker will come to the Switch? Since they have already ported it to the WiiU in 20113, I was curious to see how many times have Nintendo triple dipped before with the Legend of Zelda series, if ever. We are only going to be looking at full releases and not the virtual console.
To my surprise, Nintendo actually has triple dipped before with one game in the fabled Legend of Zelda series. Out of all of the entires to the series, Links Awakening has been the only game to be majorly re-released twice. Links Awakening came out for the Game Boy in 1993, then again for the Game Boy Colour in the form of Links Awakening DX in 1998, and in 2019, Links Awakening came to the Switch. According to many lists, Links Awakening sits around the bottom of the top ten, so its a little interesting that this was the title that has been triple dipped.
Nonetheless, it does show a potential chance for The Legend of Zelda Windwaker to come to the Nintendo Switch and if any year made sense, 2022 looks to make sense before the release of BOTW2.
Legend of Zelda - 1987 NES, 2004 GBA
Link to the Past 1992 nes, GBA 2002
Links Awakening -1993 ,DX 1998 Gameboy Color, Switch 2019
Ocarina of Time n64 98, 3D 2011 3DS
Majoras Mask n64 2000, 3ds 2015
Windwaker GC 2003, WiiU 2013
Twilight Princess Wii 2006, WiiU 2016
Skyward Sword Wii 2011, Switch 2021