Daily Debate: Should There Ever Be Another “Toon” Zelda Game?

Despite being greeted with a lukewarm fan reaction when it first came out, The Wind Waker has gone on to be one of the most beloved Zelda titles and its unique iteration of the hero in green has become a series staple. After The Wind Waker, “Toon Link” was on a roll for a while. Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures, The Minish Cap, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, and Tri Force Heroes all feature an iteration of cartoon Link, either in gameplay or in official artwork, with Phantom Hourglass even being a direct sequel to The Wind Waker. However, The Wind Waker remains the only 3D Zelda title to sport the overly cartoonish style, with the games in that category released since leaning into more realistic proportions; and the last time we saw it in a 2D game was in 2015 with the release of Tri Force Heroes. 

The “toon” art style is iconic now. Fans love the expressiveness of Toon Link, something that has arguably been absent in other versions of the character. Why wouldn’t the Zelda devs want to use it again? With the higher quality of modern handheld graphics, a 2D “toon” Zelda game would look better than ever. Additionally, it could save a lot of time during the design process if the developers wanted to whip something up quickly. The Zelda team is no stranger to reusing assets, as evidenced by Link’s Awakening (2019) and Echoes of Wisdom.

However, there is a distinct possibility that The Legend of Zelda may never return to this art style. While the Zelda team may have stuck with the same art styles for both 2D and 3D games, respectively, on the Switch, I think they may want to change it up and give us something we haven’t seen before on the next Nintendo system. For the 3D games especially, I think Nintendo will continue to move towards a more realistic art style. But you never know; they might surprise us with a revival of The Wind Waker aesthetic, or jump out of left field with a completely new cartoonish style.

What do you think? Will the “toon” art style ever come back? Let us know in the comments!

Aubriel Eastman

Aubriel has been an avid Zelda fan since she was 13, when she discovered Twilight Princess. She loves writing screenplays and composing music, and is currently going to school for a BA in film. Aubriel is a staff writer for Zelda Dungeon.