The Legend of Zelda features a tale of reincarnation, not just of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, but of Hyrule itself. It’s a kingdom defined by rolling fields, lush forests, and towering mountains. Even though each entry remixes the landscape, Hyrule’s geography has become secondhand nature, with some players knowing it by heart. Nintendo’s worlds are always awe-inspiring, but Link and Zelda’s home has started to become stale. It’s time for a change, to leave Hyrule behind and explore new locations. This isn’t too much of a stretch of the imagination, as it has been done before and can lead to innovations.
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For The Legend of Zelda to evolve, Nintendo needs to take players outside of Hyrule once more. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask or The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds offered new and exciting worlds to explore. For the next game, Nintendo needs to revisit this practice.
Termina Proved Zelda Can Thrive Outside Hyrule
When The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was released in 2000, many initially viewed it as a spin-off from Ocarina of Time. However, it quickly proved to be one of the most distinctive and beloved entries in the series. Part of this is due to leaving Hyrule and taking players to Termina, a new world to discover and explore. Its success proved Zelda didn’t need Hyrule and that the series could thrive in unfamiliar lands.
Termina’s strength came from its differences with Hyrule. It traded the mythical world for something stranger, darker, and more alien. New societies and regions awaited players, all under the looming shadow of the falling moon. The time limit was a unique mechanic that intertwined a sense of dread throughout the world. Gone were the familiar castles and mountains of Hyrule, and now players traced a path where every step was unpredictable.
The decision to remove Hyrule from the equation unlocked Nintendo’s creative freedom. Majora’s Mask was unusually dark for a Nintendo game. It wasn’t constrained by the established lore, it didn’t even feature Ganondorf, and barely had Princess Zelda in it. Leaving Hyrule allowed it to play by its own rules, and this risk has solidified Majora’s Mask as one of the best Zelda games of all time.
A New Setting Could Show Fresh Stories and Characters
Equally important to Termina’s landscapes and story were the characters there. From Anju and Kafei’s side quest to the fallen heroes’ masks, the people of this world left lasting impressions. The giants holding up the moon are such an iconic image and a huge part of the Zelda series. Termina had a realness to it that is absent in Hyrule. Hyrule has the promise of rebirth and reincarnation, but for Termina, it all comes down to whether or not the moon crashes.
Majora’s Mask’s unique story could never have happened in Hyrule. The world is too set in its ways to allow for such a strange tale to exist. Only by leaving behind the iconic world could Zelda have gone in the direction it did. Other titles have teased this, with Wind Waker flooding Hyrule and A Link Between Worlds including Lorule, but only Majora’s Mask has truly left Hyrule behind. This is one of the reasons fans love it to this day.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Twilight Princess tapped into this darker spirit as well, but still maintained roots in Hyrule. The Depths and Twilight Realm offered exciting new ways to enjoy the series, but Nintendo didn’t go all in on these worlds. If it had, these games could have realized their full potential and stood out even more amongst the other great Zelda games.
Exploration Thrives When Players Don’t Know What to Expect
Breath of the Wild was a breath of fresh air. The Great Plateau was one of the best introductions to Hyrule that the series has ever seen. It brought verticality, emergent physics, and unparalleled freedom through exploration. Even so, at its core, Breath of the Wild checks off locations in the series’s formula, following the same patterns as those that came before. Tears of the Kingdom is guilty of this as well, barely making any changes to Hyrule outside of the Depths and Sky Islands.
Comparing these to the bold choices that Majora’s Mask made shows how exciting exploring the unknown can be. The next Zelda game has the opportunity to be something truly unique. After Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the series can go in any direction. If Nintendo is smart, it will take the fastest and straightest path out of Hyrule.
Hyrule may be iconic, but it is overstaying its welcome. No matter how many times Nintendo rebuilds it and changes things up, it retains a predictability that holds the series back. Hyrule Castle, Death Mountain, the Zora Domain, and other locations are almost always present. These are staples in the series, but repetition diminishes their impact and spectacle. Because Nintendo rehashes the same locations and environments, exploration loses its magic.
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