The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks like it is shaping up to be a gorgeous and expansive 3D Zelda game, but the series’ current trajectory doesn’t mean more traditional 2D Zelda games are gone for good, series producer Eiji Aonuma said.
While one team within Nintendo has been hard at work on Breath of the Wild, other teams have presumably chugged away on unknown projects. When pressed by Game Informer Aonuma did not discount the possibility that Nintendo might internally be working on 2D-style Zelda games for the Nintendo Switch.
“Yes, there is definitely a possibility,” he said, regarding whether the development teams behind 3DS Zelda games like A Link Between Worlds and Triforce Heroes might be working on Switch games. Those 3DS titles, unlike the last several 3D Zelda games for Nintendo’s home consoles, were of a more traditional, 2D Zelda style, which Aonuma praised.
He also clarified that the teams behind those games wouldn’t switch to a 3D style should they hypothetically work on Switch games. “The 3DS team and the Wii U team have different approaches to game development, so I don’t necessarily want to combine them and have them think together, but rather have each think about what they can bring to Nintendo Switch from their own perspective,” he said.
Nintendo has stated firmly that the Switch, which can be played both as a home console plugged into a TV and as a handheld device, will not supplant the 3DS system, and both will continue to coexist — a stance Aonuma reiterated. “The handheld development team will not be phased out because of Nintendo Switch,” he said. “Switch will allow the users to bring their home console on the go, but this doesn’t mean handheld game development like Nintendo 3DS will be discontinued.”
The Nintendo Switch launches March 3 with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild available on Day One.
