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Discussion How Come Zelda 1 And 2 Never Got Proper remakes Like Metroid And The Super Mario Trilogy?

SpaceGodzilla

SpaceGodzilla

Did You Get that Thing I Sent You?
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the topic is in the title. despite being #2 behind Mario as the most popular Nintendo franchise it was always strange to me they never tried to PROPERLY remake the NES games
 
If I remember correctly, the GB Oracle games started as Capcom asking Nintendo if they could remake Zelda 1 for Game Boy.

Some will argue Zelda 1 DID get remade, as Breath of the Wild. I get where those people are coming from but I don’t think that’s really the spirit of the question.

It’s probably because Zelda 1 is old and weird and cryptic and not really in a fun way, and Zelda 2 is so fundamentally different from the rest of the series that it’s not really worth their time because it’s so… irrelevant I guess?
 
Metroid needed a remake a lot more than Zelda. Also, when Zero Mission released, Metroid had quite fewer releases to that point with long spans of time between them, where Zelda had fairly regular releases. Metroid needed the boost.
 
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Because the Zelda series is all about moving forward. When has it ever gotten a real "remake"?

Edit: I clearly meant beyond visuals, guys. Otherwise you could call Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask's remasters a "remake"

Edit 2: Actually I didn't see you were including visual remakes like the SNES Mario Trilogy? I thought you meant similar to Zero Mission. The reasoning then is probably because Zelda 1 is a bit outdated.
 
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At this point, I doubt Nintendo cares to remake them because clowns like myself will buy straight ports of the games as long as they’re included in things shaped like the original NES or Game & Watch. 🤦‍♀️
 
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lemonfresh said:
Link between world was pretty much a remake of lttp. Also links awakening hd
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Link's Awakening is like a visual "remake" though, not an actual remaking of the game itself.

Link Between World is dubious. I've called it a remake before and been harassed for it because it's technically a sequel to ALTTP 😂
 
SpaceGodzilla said:
the topic is in the title. despite being #2 behind Mario as the most popular Nintendo franchise it was always strange to me they never tried to PROPERLY remake the NES games
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Zelda 1 got a remake for the Satellaview, so looks like more like a prototype of Zelda 3.

But yes, would like to see especially a remake of Zelda 2, the only Zelda I never played because of its odd design. A more improved remake would be quite interesting.
 
Catsylvania said:
Ehh, seems like you arguing semantics here. You’re acknowledging Link’s Awakening is a remake but still trying to say it’s not actually a remake. 🤷‍♀️
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I'm not really arguing, it was just a misunderstanding. I thought the point of comparison was just the Metroid remakes. Which have gameplay changes, don't use the same code, and are completely overhauled. In that case, there really isn't a Zelda remake in that style.

If the point of comparison is something like the Mario SNES trilogy then yes, there are remakes in the series like that. Link's Awakening being an example.
 
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Oddly, Infernax is pretty much what I wanted from a modern Zelda II, with the exception of keeping an overworld map. It’s pretty similar in terms of the towns and dungeons and riddles etc (even if it’s a mix of Simons Quest and Zelda II really).

Zelda 1, I don’t know, I guess they could give it a graphical upgrade. It just feels a bit unnecessary to me when it’s been nearly constantly available in one form or another for 37 years now. Despite the LA remake, I think they’d want to tinker with it a lot for modern sensibilities to the point that they may as well make a new 2D one.
 
Zelda 1 has been remade twice now, it's just that they end up making a new game instead :p

(BS Zelda and one of the Oracle games)

A Link to the Past was also remade 3 times and then turned into new games. First was the GB version of LttP which turned into Link's Awakening, second was the Ancient Stone Tablets which is a sequel to LttP, and finally Link Between Worlds which is a true sequel that started as a 3DS remake/port of LttP.
 
Zelda I could see something similar to the Switch remake of Link's Awakening happening, and that could be great.

Zelda 2, while being one of my favorite Zelda games of all time, is in a very different place. Very experimental in design, mechanics, and visual aesthetic. It would require a bit more of a leap to something new and to nail that to justify a remake. It isn't as easy, especially to the fanbase who only look to things that already exist as reference point to what could work, or even to the artists and designers (I imagine) at Nintendo who have probably already have done experiments on what might work for that game's vibe.

Perhaps full blown reimaginings would work better as they could then co-exist alongside, rather than making an attempt at obsoletion, of the original games.
 
In the case of Zelda II... they're too scared to give us a new take on sidescroller Zelda, so we end realizing it's the best formula and they have to scrap the next Open World game;

(also, probably the CD-I duology poisoned the well)
 
GPKs3 said:
I've wanted a remake of Zelda II for ages. Always loved Zelda II and I'm sure I'm in the minority on that one, lol
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I’d like a remake too, mostly as I didn’t love it (I’m kinda middling on it) but I think a remake would likely round out the bits that felt a bit janky to me.
 
PixelKnight said:
I’d like a remake too, mostly as I didn’t love it (I’m kinda middling on it) but I think a remake would likely round out the bits that felt a bit janky to me.
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It certainly has its flaws and the difficulty can be frustrating, but I think that's what drew me to it. I'm sure many will agree Zelda II is the black sheep of the series, but there's something odd and mysterious about the game. I can't put my finger on it, but it has a weird charm.
 
I feel like there's a couple reasons, the biggest reason being that Zelda 1 was just too cryptic and maybe they feel like it just wont appeal to the mass audience nowdays.
Breath of the Wild atleast gives you some context about what you're doing and what the game mechanics are. Zelda 1 is "here's your sword. Figure the rest out"
 
I believe that if Link's Awakening (GBC) had been on NSO earlier that the remake would not exist.
 
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Joy-Boy said:
I feel like there's a couple reasons, the biggest reason being that Zelda 1 was just too cryptic and maybe they feel like it just wont appeal to the mass audience nowdays.
Breath of the Wild atleast gives you some context about what you're doing and what the game mechanics are. Zelda 1 is "here's your sword. Figure the rest out"
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To be fair that’s what I like about LoZ and Tunic!
 
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Joy-Boy said:
I feel like there's a couple reasons, the biggest reason being that Zelda 1 was just too cryptic and maybe they feel like it just wont appeal to the mass audience nowdays.
Breath of the Wild atleast gives you some context about what you're doing and what the game mechanics are. Zelda 1 is "here's your sword. Figure the rest out"
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I've always looked at BotW as Zelda 1 on steroids. LOTS of steroids. The freedom to go wherever you want and the exploration/discovery are big aspects in both games.
 
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As someone who played TLOZ for the first time this year, I enjoyed it but I definitely think it would benefit from a remake - I would keep the apocalyptic tone with sparse NPCs and monsters everywhere, but refine other aspects.
 
Most likely because Aonuma and the rest of EPD3 aren't interested and there's no pressure from above to do it. They've been fairly receptive to fan feedback in this regard and there's very little demand for these two titles so they're probably very low on their list of priorities.
 
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Mario trilogy got remade? Those are enhanced ports in my book, that’s what they chose to do instead of giving GBA an original Mario platformer

I guess they wanted Zero Mission to be a remake of the first Metroid. Metroid 2 absolutely needed to be remade because on top of being exclusive to a system with no colors, it’s also a pretty essential game to the plot of the series. They even used the opportunity to expand on the lore a bit to then make Dread

Zelda 1 had the Satellaview one, Seasons kind of started as a remake of that game. Zelda 2 I don’t think they are interested, that structure is just not something they want to revisit for future Zelda games, pretty sure Miyamoto said it was a misstep. I don’t think either needs to be remade, especially considering we didn’t have a new original 2D Zelda for almost 20 years now. Zelda 1 is kind of a blank slate of a game, I don’t see anything unique to Zelda 1 that has the potential to be expanded upon in a remake. If you just want a more cryptic Zelda game they can implement those ideas any time in future titles but I don’t see the incentive to do so in a Zelda 1 remake, especially when there have been two Zeldas in the past 10 years that reused overworlds. As for Zelda 2, this template is actually very well covered by indies. I guess some would be interested to see how modern Nintendo would handle it with a higher budget but I feel like a new 2D/isometric Zelda is more overdue than a new sidescrolling Zelda game. Most top down indie games that are inspired by Zelda usually don’t scratch the same itch, meanwhile you have a handful that are pretty much sidescrolling Zelda games, notably Shantae
 
alongside BS Zelda, Nintendo also notably demonstrated the Super Nintendo with a tech demo based off Zelda II when it was first revealed.
zeruda2SNES.jpg

i don't think there were ever any actual plans to turn it into a full game beyond this though.
 
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SpaceGodzilla said:
and yes i know about the obscure satellite game but that hardly counts
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I don’t think that “hardly” counts, that’s an internal Nintendo project that is stuck in legal limbo for all intents and purposes. Who knows if whatever’s keeping the Satellaview games in licensing hell is also preventing a new remake from existing.
 
With some heavy QoL improvements and new visuals, Zelda I would still prove to be a heck of a game. So I'd be all in for a remake of that one.

On the other hand, I dislike Zelda II so much that I can't see how a remake would have positive results. At least in my eyes.
 
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I'd like to point out that BS Zelda is not a remake. I thought it was for years, but it's actually more like a third and fourth quest, for some reason. The overworld layout is basically the same but the interiors are all different, sort of like ALBW I guess.
 
Zelda 2 is not as well known as the other entries and an open world remake of it would be perfect actually.
It has towns, dungeons and a vast open world.

It would be a perfect BotW type game without being another BoTW
 
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Super Mario Bros 1-3 (+The Lost Levels) were the de facto go-to games for Nintendo in the 1980s and they extended the promotional heft thrown behind the series well into the 90s, which was when we got Super Mario All-Stars, though the extent to which I'd call that game a "remake" is rather narrow - it is mostly a graphical update using the extra power the SNES had over the NES.

Metroid was mainly remade because the series's revival in the 2000s following the release of Metroids Fusion and Prime (which was essentially a double punch after the series having been dormant since 1994's Super Metroid), but also Nintendo - and specifically Yoshio Sakamoto - wanting to redo the overarching lore of the series, expanding Samus's ties to Planet Zebes and the Chozo, which is where Zero Mission came in.

Zelda never got either the heavy promotional consideration of Mario (at the time!) nor were there any serious attempts made to rewrite the overall lore of the series into a coherent whole (well, Nintendo did try that with Skyward Sword, at least a bit), so I believe these things played a role as to why the first two Zelda games were never fully remade, at least in the form of wider releases (so, not including the Satellaview game where the status of it being a "proper" remake is debatable anyway).
 
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I could see value in Zelda 1 and 2 remakes that make both games less cryptic (detailed map screens and modern NPC text for example), but we are so far beyond from both of them I can’t imagine there is that much interest in them even if they’ll likely happen in the inevitable quest to remake everything.
 
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