A remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time sold more than 5.2 million copies in its first four days, becoming the fastest-selling Switch 2 game so far and reigniting debate about what direction Nintendo should take with the next mainline Zelda.

Former Nintendo of America staffers Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang said Zelda was losing relevance before Breath of the Wild, with focus-group feedback suggesting its audience was shrinking and the games were not bringing in new players.

Ellis said Nintendo believed a dramatic change was necessary, rejecting as “revisionist history” the idea that the company overhauled Zelda while the series was at the height of its popularity.

Breath of the Wild’s open-world redesign gave the series a much-needed boost, and Ellis and Yang argued that the shift addressed Zelda’s declining relevance rather than damaging the franchise.

The sales figures underscore the turnaround: Skyward Sword sold 4.15 million copies, compared with 8.93 million for Twilight Princess, while Breath of the Wild has sold 34.51 million and Tears of the Kingdom nearly 23 million.

Nintendo has continued to explore other styles, too, with the Link’s Awakening remake, Echoes of Wisdom and the Skyward Sword HD remaster.

The debate reflects a real difference in feel: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom offer expansive worlds that can overwhelm some players, while Ocarina of Time is known for its tighter pacing and carefully designed Hyrule.

Ellis said he would welcome a modern classic-style Zelda, and the remake’s popularity could encourage Nintendo to make another traditional entry or incorporate more classic elements into a future game.

A new classic-style 3D Zelda would mark a return to a format absent from original releases since Skyward Sword in 2011, excluding remakes, remasters and ports.

The broader lesson is that creative risks have helped renew Zelda, while relying on a single formula could eventually wear out its appeal.

The ideal path, the article argues, would be for Nintendo to keep developing both traditional and open-world Zelda games, though the next mainline game’s format remains unknown.