Is There A Legend of Zelda Ride in Super Nintendo World?

With Super Nintendo World lands open at Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood — and a version at Universal Orlando’s upcoming Epic Universe under construction — it doesn’t seem like a stretch to say that Nintendo’s intellectual property is on the verge of dominating the industry.

– Nintendo

However, while characters like Mario and Donkey Kong are primed to join the elite of theme park mascots, one of Nintendo’s longest lasting and most popular franchises is conspicuously absent… so far. That’s right, for now, there’s no Legend of Zelda representation in any of Universal’s Nintendo lands.

The Zelda franchise was unleashed upon the world in 1986, when The Legend of Zelda was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game — which revolved around an elf-like boy named Link who travels the land of Hyrule collecting fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue the imprisoned Princess Zelda from the demon Ganon — was a smash hit, becoming one of the most beloved games on the original NES.

Over the next 35+ years, Zelda has become one of Nintendo’s most reliable franchises. The company has released over 20 games across a breadth of consoles and handheld systems, with the most famous arguably being 1998’s Ocarina of Time and 2017’s Breath of the Wild, both of which are commonly found on lists of the greatest video games of all time. In addition, there have been countless pieces of merchandise, an animated television series, comics, and even a symphonic concert tour, built around the property. Plus, the game’s heavily detailed land of Hyrule, action-adventure style of storytelling, and use of magical artifacts seem to make Zelda a prime candidate for a knockout theme park area.

The Duo!

So, with all that going for it, how could Universal have left Zelda out of the initial Nintendo lands? Well, that all has to do with a certain mustachioed plumber. That’s right, “it’s a him, Mario.” No matter how popular the Zelda games — or any other Nintendo franchise for that matter — become, none can match the universal crossover appeal and popularity of Mario and the Super Mario Brothers franchise.

With that overwhelming popularity, plus the the 2023 Super Mario Brothers film being in production at the same time as the theme park lands, it only makes sense that all three of the first Nintendo lands are primarily based on the Mario aesthetic, complete with an Mario Kart E-Ticket attraction anchoring each of them.

However, that being said, the upcoming addition of a Donkey Kong-themed coaster in Japan (which is on track to open with the Florida version and is strongly rumored to be added to Hollywood at some point in the future) has led to fans once again pontificating on the possibility of a Zelda expansion or extension.

Specifically, many fans think that the remaining elements of the original Lost Continent land at Islands of Adventure — AKA the half that wasn’t cannibalized by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010 — could be converted into Hyrule in the not-so-distant future. Others have postulated that a future expansion of the upcoming Epic Universe land is more likely, while still others are holding out hope for something Zelda to appear in the former Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone area — which seems unlikely.

– Nintendo

Would you like to see the world of Zelda integrated into Universal Studios, be it as an expansion of one of their Super Nintendo World lands or in one of their other parks like Islands of Adventure? Would you instead prefer Nintendo and Universal creative continue focusing on franchises like Mario and Donkey Kong instead? Let us know in the comments below.

And keep following All Ears for the latest on the new Epic Universe theme park!