Summary
The Legend of Zeldais surprisingly suited to aPersona-themed spin-off. As one of Nintendo’s largest franchises, it’s always worth keeping an eye out for whereThe Legend of Zeldacould go next. AfterTears of the Kingdom, the series' stock has never been higher, and fans have good reason to be excited about what else could come next. While another main installment is likely a few years away, there’s no reason why a spin-off couldn’t fill that void, especially since the series has seen success in that way before.
The success of theincreasingly mainstreamHyrule Warriorsgamesshowed definitively thatThe Legend of Zeldacan tackle genres and stories outside of the main titles. These games took several famous faces fromThe Legend of Zeldaseries and saw them fighting across Hyrule in aDynasty Warriors-inspired format. The mix turned out to be a perfect fit, leading to the sequelHyrule Warriors:Age of Calamity. While that wasn’t the first spin-off forThe Legend of Zelda, it’s certainly the most well-known and well-regarded, and it could be a blueprint for the future. The series can still deliver in several more formats.
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The Legend of Zelda Could Fit Well Into Persona’s Gameplay Formula
ThePersonaseries is no stranger to spin-off titles, with theFire Emblem-esquePersona 5 Tacticabeing only the latest example. AfterPersona 4managed to make the biggest impact of anyShin Megami Tenseigame up to that point, Atlus and Sega began to make spin-offs for thePersonatitles.Persona 3,Persona 4, andPersona 5all have dancing spin-offs, andPersona 4 Arenabrought the series to fighting games. There is also thePersona Qtitles, which melded characters from thePersonagames with gameplay elements fromEtrian Odyssey. ThePersonagames have clearly become much more experimental over the last decade.
Since the franchise’s beginning, mythology and folklore have been the main source forShin Megami Tensei’s many demons, which also play the role ofPersona’s titular Personas. Considering how long-running and famousThe Legend of Zeldaseries is, it should be no surprise that it has its own set of legendary figures that range from the heroes of Hyrule, to Ganon’s fearsome forces, and many other characters of note. AlthoughThe Legend of Zeldais a purely fictional universe, its lore is rich enough to take inspiration from. Many of Hyrule’s most notable names could easily see themselves repurposed as Personas in a spin-off title.
APersona-themedLegend of Zeldaspin-off may have to take place later inThe Legend of Zelda’s timeline. Its setting could be a period where the adventures of Link and the wars against Ganon have faded into memory. However, when the evil forces that once plagued the world returned, the protagonists could channel the powers of Hyrule’s legends in the form of Persona equivalents. The party could have several famous characters like Darunia and Impa as their Personas. As for the protagonist themselves, they would certainly either have Link or Zelda as their Persona, or otherwise feature them as endgame-level options for the player.
IfThe Legend of Zeldahad aPersona-flavored spin-off, it could take an interesting direction for the series. A world where themythology ofThe Legend of Zeldagames have become urban legend is a fascinating idea worth exploring, especially in regards to what powers could be derived from the legends in question. After experimenting with the series in aDynasty Warriorsformat and seeing positive results, trying another direction with a spin-off could prove fruitful. ThePersonaformula could hold a lot of potential if applied to aLegend of Zeldaspin-off.
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