Top 10 Zelda games I wish they'd make:
A sequel to Zelda II. I just think it'd be interesting to have a game with two Zeldas in it, especially with one of them being time-displaced in a world where everyone she knew and loved is dead and the world is vastly different than it was in her time. I think it'd be cool to explore more of that Zelda's backstory and what kind of world she grew up in and how stuff that was going on in her time is influencing present-day conflicts. Maybe the story could involve time travel and questions about whether she and Link and the other Zelda should try to mess with the past to try to prevent whatever the current conflict is, or send Zelda II back to the past to live in her own time. Zelda II could also be mourning the loss of her Link and there could maybe be a love-triangle between her, the other Zelda, and the current Link. Like, there's a lot of potential for drama and themes of grief and regret and being caught between the desire to cling to the past and trying to move on and embrace the future.
I also think it'd just be neat to see the world of the original two Zeldas fully realized in 3D without the limitations of 80s hardware.
2. Another Ocarina sequel. We know because of TP that Link presumably made peace with Navi's departure and returned to Hyrule after MM and became a knight, which means he did have further adventures yet unexplored. But more than knowing what Link got up to, I want to see what happened to everyone else in the Child Timeline. I like the idea of seeing Link meet up with his old friends who no longer recognize him and then reforging those relationships as a new conflict develops bringing them together again.
I like the idea that where Zelda and Link only met a handful of times in the original timeline, in the Child Timeline they get to grow up together and be close friends. But there's still an element of tragedy there because the Zelda Link gets to grow up with isn't the same as the one he knew before. This Zelda never had to flee her castle and disguise herself as Sheik. Maybe the conflict of this game forces her to don that disguise, but even then, she's not the same. This Zelda had a carefree childhood. She learned about Sheik from Link and decided to train under Impa because she thought her future self sounded cool as fuck and when a conflict breaks out and she finally has a chance to use her sweet ninja skills, she's giddy about it. A far cry from the melancholy Sheik who grew up shaped by the hardship of losing her father, her home, and watching her people suffer for 7 years.
3. A prequel to Zelda II that ends in tragedy. A game doomed by the narrative to end with Zelda falling into an enchanted sleep that the Link of that time isn't able to wake her from, even if he defeats the main threat of that game. It'd be a series first to have a game with a tragic or bittersweet ending and there could be some interesting narrative opportunities to explore.
They could play it like Aerith's death in FFVII where it's tragic, but inevitable, and ultimately leads to something good because it places that Zelda where she needs to be to save the day in the future if the Zelda II sequel were to get made. But it could also play out like a classical Tragedy where what happens to Zelda is a consequence of Link failing to do the right thing. Maybe he was too focused on going after the villain when he should've been protecting her. Maybe everything went south because he got cocky and overconfident and when he realized his mistakes it was too late to save Zelda.
4. Ganondorf redemption arc. We've seen Ganondorf's origin story, we've seen him killed off in all three timelines and then resurrected time and time again as a mindless beast, and we've seen the origin of Demise's curse that explains the eternal, cyclical nature of the conflict between Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. There's pretty much nowhere else for his story to go now except the route of reconciliation since it's been shown pretty thoroughly that killing him isn't a permanent solution.
I'd like to see a version of Ganondorf who becomes aware of his nature as a puppet of fate, doomed to lose forever and ever and spend eternity wallowing in resentment, and also see a Link and Zelda realizing that if they want a permanent end to the conflict that's seen Hyrule destroyed countless times, they can't just keep killing him. This would also be a good time to unpack parts of Hyrule's unsavory history. If Ganondorf has to reconcile with his past, Hyrule should too.
5. Twilight Princess sequel, but not set in the same time period. Many Zelda games feature characters other than Link and Zelda with the same or similar names and appearances as characters who appeared in other timelines such as Impa, Tingle, and Beedle. So while I feel like TP told a pretty good self-contained story that would only be harmed by having Midna somehow return after shattering the Mirror of Twilight, that doesn't mean she couldn't return in another form.
Maybe TP wasn't the first time members of the Twilit race crossed over into the world of Light, or maybe another gateway opens for a new Link way in the future, and there just happens to be a descendant or ancestor of Midna in his era who plays a significant role. It'd also be neat to see a game where a significant portion takes place in the Twilit realm and we get to see a more fleshed-out fully realized version of that world.
6. Majora origin story. Termina is allegedly a dreamworld like the island from Link's Awakening, born from the Skullkid's turbulent emotions. But Majora's Mask originated from outside Termina, which means there really was a demon named Majora whose evil power was sealed away in that mask.
I like the headcanon that Majora was a female demon. I think Zelda is woefully lacking in female villains and I've seen some hot as fuck female Majora designs. They could introduce her as a normal looking woman going by a different name, but then over time her appearance becomes more demonic until her final transformation, then you see the boss name "Majora" and it all clicks. But it doesn't have to be a surprise. The player could know who she is the whole time and anticipate her growing more unhinged and demonic-looking over the course of the game.
This could also make for a good excuse to bring back the transformation mask concept from MM, but maybe done in a different way. Like, maybe Link learns the magic behind mask-making so there's a mechanic of crafting masks and Link can also use those skills in-story to seal Majora's power into a mask at the end of the final boss fight.
7. Zelda Atlantis. I think it'd be fun to do a side-story type Zelda game where the entire adventure takes place in an underwater civilization. Kinda like Bioshock, but with it's own unique aesthetic and storyline about Link trying to escape and get back to the surface while also helping out the people there with their troubles. The whole overworld could be like one giant water temple with puzzles around moving water around to access different parts of the map. Maybe the main gimmick of the game could even be Link getting a magic rod or something that gives him waterbending powers.
8. A quest to find the Triforce of Power. The first Zelda had you finding pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom in the Downfall Timeline and Wind Waker had you finding pieces of the Triforce of Courage in the Adult Timeline. The Child Timeline has no shattered Triforce quest yet, but it happens to have an entry that sets things up perfectly for there to be one to find the Triforce of Power specifically.
If Link disappearing from the Adult Timeline in OoT and taking the Triforce of Courage with him caused it to re-materialize sometime later in a shattered form, then it kinda makes sense that Power might've shattered and scattered as well after Ganondorf's death in TP. This could be the set-up for a direct sequel to TP with the same Link, or a distant sequel with a new Link. The game's villain could be a guy who's heard of Ganondorf and thinks he's a chump (since this is the timeline where he never conquered Hyrule because his plans were foiled before they ever got off the ground) but thinks he was onto something with his evil machinations and wants to try out stealing the Triforce for himself.
9. Prequel featuring Twinrova heavily, young and in their prime. The game could be a villain origin story where maybe they don't start out bad but become corrupt or disillusioned enough to fall to the dark side over time. Or they could be bad guys from the start. Maybe they already know there's a prophecy about an incarnation of Demise's hatred being born that they're waiting to see fulfilled. They could also be allies to Link the entire time, leaving you to wonder if and when they'll turn bad, and if it doesn't happen by the end, what hints were dropped in the narrative as to what would eventually lead them to turn?
They're hundreds of years old so this can take place a few generations before either Ganondorf or OoT Link were born, so we don't have to worry about continuity issues with more than one Link being alive at the same time. This game could also feature Ganondorf's predecessor, who was maybe a good king who maintained a good relationship with Hyrule. Maybe in his time the Gerudo were allies of the Hylians against another threat. The story could end with everything seeming good and happy, leaving you to wonder what went wrong, or it could show you how relations between the Hylians and the Gerudo soured. This game could also show the beginnings of, or at least hint at what led to the Hyrulean civil war. We don't know when it began, only that it ended sometime after OoT Link was born. So it could've gone on for a hundred years or more.
10. A Hyrulean Civil War game. We've never really seen Hyrule during a full-scale war. Ganondorf's takeover in OoT happened offscreen and Zant kinda swooped in and took over with no resistance, and most citizens not even knowing anything happened in TP. I'd like to see another dark, melancholy game like MM or TP with an emphasis on individual human suffering in a time of conflict, and how one person can impact a lot of people with a bit of courage and kindness.
Link is usually either a knight or a commoner in most games and I think making him a commoner in this one would be a good choice so he could be a neutral party who just wants to make peace and isn't working on behalf of the king, which helps him to befriend members of other races who would otherwise see him as an enemy because he's a Hylian.
Unlike most "adult" Links who are only 16-17, this Link would be a grown man in his 20s with a wife. I really like the idea of having a bittersweet ending where Link's actions help bring an end to a long and bloody conflict, but he ultimately loses his life in the course of unifying the kingdom. His wife dies at the same time, after fleeing to Kokiri forest to give birth to OoT Link, and joins him in the afterlife. In the epilogue you see representatives from Hyrule bringing the Great Deku Tree, the Gorons, and the Zora their respective Spiritual Stones as a show of trust, and the Kingdom celebrating the birth of the new Princess Zelda.
Ganondorf could also be there as a young adult, the same age as Link. I like the idea of him starting off as not such a bad guy and maybe even being friends with Link. But then something happens to make him feel betrayed, or he experiences some kind of trauma that leads to his obsession with obtaining power and conquering Hyrule. Maybe he found the Shadow Temple and saw some of his people being tortured there, or maybe he was himself tortured by the Sheikah.
Maybe the whole main conflict started because the Sheikah were doing a lot of torturing and other shady shit on Hyrule's behalf, but then the king began to fear them, so he tried to exterminate them. So the whole civil war was just the Hylians vs the Sheikah and everyone else got dragged into it for generations.
Maybe the Man Who Could See the Truth played a big role in the catalyst to the conflict when he stole the Lens of Truth and was eventually caught, tortured, executed, and buried at the bottom of the Kakariko well. In present day, his soul escapes and he becomes the main antagonist. Link has to unify the other races in order to defeat him as he amasses power from the souls of restless spirits, eventually transforming into Bongo Bongo. A teenage Impa could be Link's sidekick throughout the game. Her arc has her gradually developing her Sheikah powers until she's able to seal Bongo Bongo at the bottom of the well, but only after Link sacrifices himself to save her. Maybe she starts off with an understandable prejudice against Hylians because of the war, but because of Link's actions she decides to let go of her grudge and open Kakariko to Hylians now that she's the last Sheikah (or so she claims to be).
