One of the most surprising recent spin-offs of a Nintendo franchise is 2017’sMario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle.Nobody would have expectedSuper Marioto mesh quite so well with Ubisoft’sRaving Rabbids, yetKingdom Battlewas received positively as a unique new strategy game blending two very different IPs. Now that a working formula has been established, there’s a lot of excitement forMario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, which takes Mario, Luigi, Peach, and their Rabbid friends across the galaxy to defeat a mysterious new threat.
Perhapsthe most interesting thing aboutSparks of Hopeis how it cements the potential for Nintendo franchises to become strategy games. IfSuper Mariocan go from 2D platforming to turn-based tactics, just about any Nintendo franchise could get its own version ofSparks of Hope.For instance,The Legend of Zeldaseems like it would be easy to expand into a turn-based strategy game. Its universe has plenty of characters who could contribute to such a game, and after the success ofMario + Rabbids,aZeldastrategy spin-off would hardly feel out of place.
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Imagining a Zelda Strategy Game
BecauseThe Legend of Zeldais composed of so many standalone stories, there’s no shortage of playable characters that aZeldastrategy game could draw on. Link seems like a natural main protagonist for the game, but there’s a lot of great characters he could coordinate with. For instance, in a strategy game based onBreath of the Wild,Goron characters like Darukcould supply heavy frontline characters who charge down enemies, meanwhile characters like Mipha provide supportive skills through magic.
Zeldahas lots of time periods that would be appropriate for a strategy game, and it could go so far as to bring them together.The originalHyrule Warriorspulled characters fromSkyward Sword, Ocarina of Time,Twilight Princessand more together for its narrative, so aZeldastrategy game could do something similar. Bringing popularZeldacharacters from across the timeline together to fight a cosmic threat worked once, and could work well again for a tacticalZeldaspin-off.
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If Nintendo wanted to do something really surprising, it could make aZeldastrategy game focused on characters who haven’t been explored much at all. For instance,Hylia’s war against Demise’s demon armybefore the events ofSkyward Swordcould make a compelling strategy game populated by new characters whose actions have repercussions throughout the franchise. It’d be great to explore the roots ofZelda’s timeline from Hylia’s perspective. Alternatively, the game could focus on Calamity Ganon’s appearance 10,000 years beforeBreath of the Wild,introducing ancient ancestors of the latestZeldagame’s characters and showing how Calamity Ganon was first defeated.
Exploring Nintendo Spin-off Archetypes
Considering how popularMario + Rabbidsis, Nintendo shouldn’t be afraid to try strategy genre spin-offs for more of its franchises. Ubisoft may be doing most of the development for this series, but Nintendo could always collaborate with other studios likeIntelligent Systems ofFire Emblemfameto make aZeldastrategy game.Mario + Rabbidsestablished strategy as a viable game style for Nintendo spin-offs to explore, and the company would be wise to take advantage of that.The Legend of Zeldahas been defined by experimentation in recent years, so afterSparks of Hopecomes out, maybe Nintendo should take it to new heights.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hopereleases in 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
