With the arrival of Nintendo's Switch comes The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the latest Zelda game in a franchise that spans more than 30 years. Early reviews praise its difficulty, open-world nature, survival aesthetic, and focus on exploration. I only wish I could say the same for the 1989 animated series. That 20th century mess is better left on the trash heap of history, and the best way to move beyond it is to bring The Legend of Zelda into the 21st century with a bold new animated series.

Despite 30 years of beloved video games that have evolved with each of Nintendo's successive video game systems, the one-and-only 1989 animated series remains a blight on an otherwise impressive record. This disaster, and similar ill-fated animated/live-action adaptations of Nintendo's intellectual properties, left a foul taste in the IP-owners' mouths, essentially locking out any additional adaptations outside of the video game realm. That's a crying shame. Zelda is one of the most adventurous and imaginative stories ever created, and it's tailor-made for an animated series.

The Legend of Zelda is much more than a highly successful video game franchise for Nintendo; it's a mythology in and of itself, complete with iconic heroes, imposing villains, and a rich, varied world that continues to shift and change with every iteration. Providing the framework for all of these amazing mythological creations is one of the more convoluted chronologies you'll find out there in video game land. But it's this variety of storytelling, springing from a root chronology (and three separate timelines that split off from it) that makes The Legend of Zelda a nearly limitless source of inspiration for an animated series. Doing that successfully is no easy feat, but because of the wealth of games and mythology available, modern animation technology that's never been better, and the on-demand access of streaming content, this is the perfect time for a new Zelda series. Let's get into it.

Mythology & Timelines

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Image via Nintendo, Dark Horse Books

The Legend of Zelda exists in a world that experiences cycles of war and peace, penury and prosperity, and darkness and light. That's pretty standard fare. But relatively few video games go so far as to establish a creation mythology for the world as we know it. Zelda is one of those rare gems. (A huge "Thank you!" to the Zelda wiki's timeline page for helping me wrangle this monster.)

In the beginning Back in 2011, Nintendo of Japan released the official chronology of The Legend of Zelda in a 276-page tome titled "The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia." This tome got a 424-page companion just this year titled "The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts" that includes looks at the franchise's newest installment. I highly recommend seeking out both books for an in-depth look at The Legend of Zelda, but I'll attempt to do the vast mythology justice with a brief recap. Here's how The Legend of Zelda unfolds:

The world known as Hyrule was formed by three Golden Goddesses: Din, representing power and creating the very lay of the land; Nayru, representing wisdom and bringing order out of chaos; and Farore, representing courage and creating all life that would uphold and be governed by Nayru's law. With their labors complete, they left Hyrule for the heavens, leaving behind a symbol of their power: the Triforce, a relic of ultimate power that would grant whoever mastered it their heart's desire. The three Goddesses trusted the deity Hylia to protect it, but the evil machinations of the Demon King Demise would challenge her ability to guard it. Enter the legendary hero, a mortal destined to prevent the Triforce from falling into the hands of those who would use it to subjugate others. These three archetypes and their various iterations over the years (Zelda, Ganon, and Link, etc.) were destined to repeat an endless cycle of strife and peace in the struggle to master the Triforce and govern Hyrule.

Without going into Hylia's creation of The Sky, or The Era of Chaos, or the Sacred Realm, this basic three-part structure should suffice to understand the core conflict in each game. What does bear some extra explanation, however, is how the franchise starts with one core timeline (Skyward SwordMinish CapFour Swords, and Ocarina of Time) and splits into three--count 'em, three--distinct timelines. It's in the fallout from the ending of Ocarina of Time where things get crazy.

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Image via Nintendo

In the "Fallen Hero" timeline, Link was defeated by Ganondorf, who was able to master the Triforce before being sealed away in the Sacred Realm. (This timeline includes the games A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons & Ages, Link's Awakening, A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, The Legend of Zelda, and The Adventure of Link.)

In the "Child Link" timeline, after having successfully defeated Ganon, Link traveled back to when he was a child to warn Princess Zelda and the King of Hyrule of the evil wizard's intentions. (This timeline includes Majora's MaskTwilight Princess, and Four Swords Adventures.)

The final "Adult Link" timeline picks up after the older Link defeats Ganon, followed by Princess Zelda attempting to rebuild the kingdom of Hyrule. (This timeline includes Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.) This bonkers track also sees Hyrule completely submerged beneath a vast sea before eventually drying out years (and games) later, and it's where Breath of the Wild likely falls into place.

So why make mention of Zelda's mythology when talking about the need for a new animated series? To drive home the point that there is so much story to this property that could quite easily be mined for a meaningful and entertaining series that would hopefully erase the memory of the previous animated debacle from the history books. Let's briefly revisit that mess.

The Series That Must Not Be Named

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Image via DIC Entertainment, Viacom Broadcasting, Nintendo of America, Inc.

In 1989, only two NES Zelda games had been released, so the folks over at DIC Entertainment, Viacom Enterprises, and Nintendo of America, Inc. can be somewhat forgiven for not knowing how extensive and beloved the mythology would become. (If you're even thinking the words, "Well excuuuuuuse me, Princess!" right now, you're on the right track.) However, the 13-episode series held only the loosest of connections to the games, doing a broad-strokes good guys vs bad guys approach to the story. It was an episodic rinse-and-repeat that saw Ganon or his minions attempting to steal the Triforce of Wisdom to combine with his own Triforce of Power to achieve ultimate power. Things were made even stranger thanks to Link's whiny voice, his tendency to believe his "heroic" actions should be rewarded with a kiss from Princess Zelda, and a swapping of rubies for rupees; let's just say it was a half-baked effort and leave it at that.

The oversight here should be glaring. Where is the adventure, the dungeon-crawling, the mystery, and the puzzle-solving? Where's the lore, the interaction with various townsfolk, forest creatures, and sentient species scattered all across Hyrule? Where's the exploration of Link's mysterious history and his legendary connections to Zelda and Ganon? The Legend of Zelda is prime territory for a serious adaptation of existing mythology, but it's also flexible enough for original stories that pay homage to its legacy while being able to drop plenty of references for die-hard Zelda fans. What's the only place for a new take on the series? Netflix, of course.

A Netflix Revival?

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Image via Matt Vince (Fan Art)

A little while back, our own Allison Keene waxed poetic about what a Zelda movie could look like if Studio Ghibli happened to make it, thanks to some inspiring fan art. A few months before that, Netflix was rumored to be developing a live-action Zelda series. While both of those ideas are certainly wonderful flights of fancy, they're the wrong approach right now.

For games that require hours of exploration, sword-fighting and hook-shotting--not to mention Poe-catching, horse-riding, and magic-casting--a standalone movie just isn't going to do Zelda justice. A series is where it's at, just not a live-action one. The production quality alone would have to be off the charts, which means substantial production budgets as well. (The closest things we've seen to this are HBO's Game of Thrones and MTV's The Shannara Chronicles.) How does one rectify both of those negatives while still pulling off a worthwhile adaptation? An animated series, of course.

Look at Netflix's fantastic animated adaptations that exist already: Dragons: Race to the Edge, Voltron Legendary Defender, and Trollhunters, just to name a few. These are fine examples of a movie adaptation that found purchase as an animated series, a reboot of a beloved 80s property, and a wonderfully adapted take on Guillermo del Toro's original story. And that's just the cream of the crop; there are myriad anime series, adaptations, and original animated series available on Netflix for a wide range of ages and tastes. Even an animated Castlevania series is on the way! It's just the perfect place for something like a new animated The Legend of Zelda.

Concerning the style of animation, I'd personally like to see something more traditionally animated, similar to the style of Voltron than, say, the computer-generated 3D models of Dragons or Trollhunters. Animation with a hand-drawn feeling just seems right for the classic Zelda mythology, though I can see the benefits of both versions.

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Image via Nintendo

As for what the series should be about, I'm equally torn. Seeing a direct adaptation of any of the many video games might be a nice nostalgia boost and would certainly be a great way to connect to the existing franchise in a concrete way, but it's relatively boring to watch someone else's interpretation of an interactive video game, one which viewers might have already played countless times or many years previously. An original tale, on the other hand, gives viewers something new while also offering up plenty of connective tissue to the Zelda mythology, but could easily miss the mark in terms of storytelling or, again, that fickle beast known as nostalgia. I think I'd prefer to see an original tale with the core elements Zelda fans have come to know and love. Heck, they might not even have to cast a voice actor for Link since he rarely, if ever, speaks!

Modern audiences are smarter viewers than ever, and the TV landscape has reflected that maturity. Shows with complex plots involving deep dives into fantasy lore, or heady sci-fi concepts dealing with time travel or artificial intelligence are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Zelda can be as twisty as it gets, but the modern era of Peak TV has rolled out the carpet for a worthwhile adaptation. I, for one, would welcome it!

That's just my take on a new The Legend of Zelda series, but I'm sure you have your own thoughts and ideas. Be sure to share them in the comments below!

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