Rumors flutter in and out of the internet cosmos about Princess Zelda taking lead role in her namesake’s franchise someday, and Nintendo Life recently highlighted a tweet from PapaGenos. While it’s fun to share our thoughts and wants for a game staring a playable Zelda, I wanted to share the only thing I hope Nintendo won’t do.
If Nintendo created a video game where the Princess of Destiny is the protagonist, I wouldn’t care if it was a different genre or a spin-off. What I hope they don’t do is giving Zelda the Princess Peach treatment.
Princess Peach: Showtime! currently sits at a 75 Metacritic score and 7 out of 10 with IGN, a number that is considerably low of a first-party Nintendo title. PCMag states Princess Peach: Showtime! is too short and not challenging. The Guardian felt the game “feels shallow”.
While it is far from a bad game, and I’m grateful for Peach to spend time in the limelight just like her other friends in the Mushroom Kingdom, it almost feels like a second-tier title with a theme surely geared toward a much younger audience. Because of its perceived lack of depth and ability to appeal to a wide range of players, it feels like a game we can’t take too seriously. Some may even write it off as “girly” and “lame” (not my words). Sure, we have cool personas/outfits in the game like Ninja Peach and Detective Peach, but again, it all seemed to lack substance.
Image Credit: Nintendo
Now, the last time the Zelda franchise dabbled in fashion of some sort, we got Triforce Heroes, and we know how that went. But more seriously, The Legend of Zelda does take on a more serious tone than the Mario franchise–even when the graphics are bright and cheery like The Wind Waker. That doesn’t mean a Princess Zelda game has to be dark and gritty; however, I don’t want her to get a shallow experience that lacks substance. She deserves the same level of detail and care that Link has received in his games.
So, no, I do not want a playable Princess Zelda title devoid of challenge or substance. I don’t want a skin-deep cutesy spin-off that pigeonholes Zelda into something less than she deserves like in Princess Peach: Showtime! Sure, it’s a fun little romp like reading a gossip magazine, but as the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom, I can only hope that Princess Zelda is taken more seriously than that.
Is there something you hope Nintendo avoids if they ever make a Zelda game with playable Princess Zelda? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.
Pow Block Podcast – A Nintendo Podcast by Boss Rush
Pow Block Podcast is the Nintendo podcast for The Boss Rush Network and Boss Rush Media. Each week, Edward Varnell, Corey Dirrig, and their friends from around the internet discuss the week that was in the world of Nintendo, including news, rumors, new and upcoming games, NSO, answer listener questions, discuss their weekly snacks, and more. New episodes now release on Tuesdays for everyone.
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