Zelda fans have been worried that the presence of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on the GameCube Nintendo Classics library for the Nintendo Switch 2 means that the Wii U HD remaster will never make its way to modern platform, but the possibility is still present. While there is clearly no guarantee that Wind Waker HD will find itself on Switch 2, a Nintendo representative assured that a potential re-release isn't ruled out.

Host Tim Gettys said on Kinda Funny Games Daily (per TheGamer) that a Nintendo representative told him that "all options were on the table" when it came to Wind Waker HD and other similar cases coming to the console.

"I did ask [the Nintendo representative at a press event] if having The Wind Waker on NSO percludes it from the Switch 2 getting the actual Wii U port at some point, and he was very quick to say "no, all options are on the table." Obviously, nothing is confirmed one way or another."

Nintendo Switch owners have long had hopes of Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD escaping the Wii U exclusive library and having proper Switch ports, but the original Wind Waker being the first title confirmed for the GameCube Nintendo Classics line-up briefly deflated those hopes. This comment from a Nintendo spokesperson at least gives some additional space for the possibility, not just for Wind Waker, but for other GameCube games.

Being On Nintendo Classics Doesn't Rule Out An HD Port

The Wind Waker HD Isn't Disqualified Because Of Any Arbitrary Rules

With Nintendo wanting to drive its customers to its latest offerings, there are some cases of the company trying to overlap between its classic releases and fresher titles. One example is Super Mario RPG, which received a full remake on Nintendo Switch in 2023. The original SNES title never made it to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, leading some speculation that Nintendo did not want any overlap. Of course, there are some inverse examples, such as The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening getting a full remake for Switch but the original Game Boy title being playable on NSO.

Should this Nintendo representative's comment be true, that indicates that Nintendo might not care about that overlap and still seek opportunities for multiple versions of a game to be playable. There are other beloved GameCube titles that might go through that overlap besides The Wind Waker — we could see the original Metroid Prime playable in the Nintendo Classics library, despite Metroid Prime Remastered on Switch releasing to acclaim, and the first two Pikmin games also received separate re-releases on the original Switch.

The Wind Waker And Twilight Princess HD Ports Are Trapped In The Wii U

These Revamped Zelda Games Deserve Exposure

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD released all the way back in 2013, and it was a fabulous demonstration of the Wii U's high-definition capabilities. The remaster also improved and streamlined some gameplay and quest structure elements of the original game, and players of the Switch 2 Nintendo Classics re-release won't be able to take advantage of those changes. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD followed in 2016 with similar praise, and both versions are arguably the definitive iterations of those two games.

Since Nintendo ported so many Wii U games to the original Nintendo Switch, fans have long been baffled on why the HD remasters of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess were left in the dust. It's doubtful that Nintendo would release The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD on Switch 2 way too soon after the original game headlines the initial batch of GameCube games, but Zelda enthusiasts can hold on to a little more hope for a port if they're willing to wait even more.

Source: Kinda Funny Games Daily, TheGamer