The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild tagged as franchise’s bestselling game

By Aaron Mamiit Published September 19, 2019

The critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has achieved a new milestone, claiming the title as the bestselling entry in the beloved franchise.

Breath of the Wild has now sold the most copies among all The Legend of Zelda games in the series’ 33-year history, according to The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella, who shared the information on Twitter.

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https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1162356070456557568

Breath of the Wild took more than two years to surpass the previous record holder, Twilight Princess. The simultaneous launch of Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch and Wii U likely played a part in its rise to the top, especially since Twilight Princess was also released on two platforms, the GameCube and Wii.

Rounding out the top five for the bestselling Zelda games are Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, both for the Nintendo 64, and surprisingly, Link’s Crossbow Training for the Wii, which outsold classics such as Link’s Awakening for the Game Boy, The Wind Waker for the GameCube, and Skyward Sword for the Wii.

It should be noted that the rankings only take into account each game’s original release, so re-releases and remasters do not contribute to the sales totals. This means that the Nintendo Switch remake of Link’s Awakening, which is set to launch on September 20, will not allow the game to slide into fifth place on the bestselling entries list.

Breath of the Wild taking the top spot is not a surprise, as it is arguably the best so far in the long-running franchise with its beautiful open world, intense combat mechanics, and deep story. It also helped that it was a launch title for the Nintendo Switch, which took the video game industry by storm to place Nintendo back on the map after the disaster that is the Wii U.

With the success of Breath of the Wild, Nintendo revealed at E3 2019 that a sequel is in development. Details on the game remain scarce, but if it follows the formula of its predecessor, it may also have the potential to challenge for the title as the bestselling The Legend of Zelda game.

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Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…

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After The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it’s time for Zelda Maker

Key art for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

We almost had a The Legend of Zelda video game where players could create their own dungeons. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which launches later this week, lets players obtain "echoes" of items and enemies, which they can explore, fight, and solve puzzles with. A new Ask the Developer interview from Nintendo revealed that this gameplay idea came from the original concept for Echoes of Wisdom: an "edit dungeon" concept where "players could create their own The Legend of Zelda gameplay," according to Grezzo game director Satoshi Terada.

Ultimately, the team went in a different direction after recognizing the potential of the echoes mechanic created for the "edit dungeon" concept. While I'm still quite excited to play Echoes of Wisdom, part of me is disappointed that we aren't getting a The Legend of Zelda dungeon maker game. It's OK that Echoes of Wisdom went in a different direction, but this is an idea Nintendo should certainly return to in the future.
The Zelda dungeon-maker game we didn't get
It's not uncommon for game developers to experiment with different gameplay concepts or ideas early on in development to find what works. Terada explained that in one of these early concepts, "Link could copy and paste various objects, such as doors and candlesticks, to create original dungeons." Later in the Ask the Developer interview, Nintendo director Tomomi Sano said that this "concept involved copying various things during your adventure out on the game field, then bringing them back to create a dungeon in a dedicated place."

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more

Key art for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Every new Zelda game feels like an event, and yet Nintendo managed to keep a new mainline entry hidden almost all the way up until its release. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is not the same size and scale as the 3D entries like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom -- it's actually the long-awaited continuation of Zelda's 2D titles. The last game we got in this style was 2019's The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which was a remake of the 1993 Game Boy title.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom caught the attention of everyone at the June Nintendo Direct where it was announced for many reasons, chief among them being Zelda taking on the starring role instead of Link. The perspective and style might look familiar, but there's a lot to learn about Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom before you jump back into Hyrule.
Release date
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be released on September 26, 2024.
Platforms

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom takes the right cues from Tears of the Kingdom

Zelda holds a rock in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

The only constant in the Legend of Zelda series is change. From its perspective to its art style, Nintendo takes some surprising risks when it comes to one of its most valuable franchises. That often pays off. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, for instance, was a bold open-world reinvention of the classic adventure formula that put an emphasis on flexible gameplay and emergent moments born from creative thinking. That design didn’t just influence its direct sequel, the excellent The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It’s very much present in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom too.

I’ve been curious about how the first Zelda game to actually star Zelda would work ever since it was revealed. It looked like a return to top-down form, but its item-copying hook suggested that it might be more creatively open-ended than any traditional Zelda game. After playing 90 minutes of it, I can see exactly how Nintendo is fusing old and new to once again reinvent its tried-and-true formula. Echoes of Wisdom plays like a miniature Tears of the Kingdom, at least in terms of how it lets players tackle problems in multiple ways. That makes for a unique puzzle adventure hybrid that I’m already eager to return to.
Summoning echoes
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom begins with mysterious rifts opening up around Hyrule. Princess Zelda is blamed for their appearance and imprisoned. My demo begins in captivity, where she meets a little sidekick named Tri. The Navi-like partner gives Zelda the Tri Rod, an item capable of copying items and letting her freely summon them. I get to test it out right away, cloning an object in my cell and using it as a platform to reach a high-up exit. A stealth sequence ensues that introduces the basics of that echo play.