谈《塞尔达》哪款游戏应该改编成电影？

Nintendo and Sony are already in development on a live-action Legend of Zelda movie and our brains are buzzin’. The announcement was, unsurprisingly, light on the details Zelda-heads are most interested in learning about, which has only made skepticism and speculation more rampant. Who is going to play Link? Will he talk? Why the heck is this movie going to be in live-action?

All valid questions, but none of them address what we believe to be the biggest concern: of all the games in the mainline series, which one is going to be adapted for the film’s story?

It makes sense that Nintendo’s next project after The Super Mario Bros. Movie is going to be a Zelda movie. If Mario is #1 on the call sheet, Link and Zelda are #2 and #3. However, the two franchises present opposite storytelling challenges，especially in the context of adaptation. Super Mario’s repetitive，paper-thin plotlines – as charming as they are – forced the filmmakers to pad out the story and expand on the series’ already beloved characters. Though some critics were quick to call their attempts uninspired，everyone knew that the film would be buoyed by its characters and its animation.

The Legend of Zelda，meanwhile，is a series heralded for its engrossing stories，exciting characters，and powerful themes. Link’s ongoing quest as The Hero of Hyrule is a strong adventure saga，complete with a complex female foil in Zelda and a larger-than-life nemesis in Ganondorf. The franchise’s timeline is a complete mess，granted，but each individual entry has so much material that they could each be an entire season of television，let alone a single feature film. Without animation to act as a crutch，Nintendo’s take on Zelda is a second chance to hone in on story and go beyond simply adapting the source material. With so much material to work with，the possibilities are endless，which makes us all the more curious where Nintendo and Sony will fall.

In the vast，deep forest of Hyrule...

So，which game should it be? For any fan who grew up on Zelda，the answer seems obvious：Ocarina of Time.

how many times have we seen well-meaning filmmakers try and alter a game’s story for their vision and fail miserably?

Long considered the series’ crown jewel，its reputation molded it into the definitive depiction of the franchise’s many beloved characters and locales. Be honest：when you think Zelda，you probably think of one of the game’s many bold cutscenes，or the animations of Link playing the Ocarina or pulling out the Master Sword，or even Koji Kondo’s beloved themes for Gerudo Valley or Kokiri Forest. In addition，Ocarina perfected the franchise’s gameplay formula：dungeon crawling，item collecting，boss battles，and plenty of sidequests. This is the version of Zelda everyone knows and loves.

Beyond that，Ocarina is a perfect primer on Hyrule’s origins，making it the most accessible Zelda story to adapt for a mass audience on your first go. Aside from a few additional entries，Ocarina is where the franchise’s cyclical battle begins，presenting a power struggle between hope，courage，and wisdom that is personified in our three lead characters.

Alongside this powerful dynamic is the separation between Young Link and Adult Link as part of the game’s pseudo-time travel narrative. It’s an extra layer of complexity in an already profound coming-of-age story that，with careful direction and editing，could add a whole new layer of intrigue for a modern audience obsessed with multiverses and criss-crossing storylines.

Ocarina feels like a clear winner，but the more you ponder the possibilities，the more they all feel legitimate.

For example，some believe the film will be based on Breath of the Wild. Currently the series’ highest-grossing entry，Nintendo’s reinvention of the franchise introduced a whole new generation to Zelda and gave the saga a new benchmark experience. With the addition of Tears of the Kingdom earlier this year，this new era of Zelda is not only fresh on the fanbase’s mind but is also more recognizable to a broader audience. Though the game’s non-linear gameplay is not as easy to adapt，its incorporation of the Four Champions and Calamity Ganon provides enough of a foundation to work with.

In truth，every Zelda game，especially popular entries like Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess，would be a worthy source of adaptation. However，it is difficult to see how Nintendo will attempt to fit an entire，multi-hour chapter of their saga into just one feature film. This is why our lingering feeling，as troubling as it may be for Zelda fans to hear，is that Nintendo and Sony will tell an original story.

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