The Legend of Zelda has a lot of history to pull from. Over 40 years, Nintendo has released Zelda games across multiple consoles, timelines, styles, and eras, giving the franchise one of gaming’s largest libraries of characters and artwork. That makes the series’ 40th anniversary a good opportunity to look back at just how much The Legend of Zelda has changed since the original game.
Nintendo has already announced plenty for the anniversary, including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, new hardware, amiibo, collectibles, music, and other merchandise. The Master Collection is another part of that celebration, but it differs from many other anniversary products in one major way. Instead of focusing on one of the many Zelda games, it is designed to cover the franchise as a whole.
The Legend of Zelda: Master Collection Represents All Mainline Games
- The Legend of Zelda
- The Adventures of Link
- A Link to the Past
- Link’s Awakening
- Ocarina of Time
- Majora’s Mask
- Oracle of Seasons
- Oracle of Ages
- Four Swords
- The Wind Waker
- Four Swords Adventures
- The Minish Cap
- Twilight Princess
- Phantom Hourglass
- Spirit Tracks
- Skyward Sword
- A Link Between WorldsTri Force Heroes
- Breath of the Wild
- Tears of the Kingdom
- Echoes of Wisdom
Nintendo has officially revealed new box art for The Legend of Zelda: Master Collection, as seen below, a new trading card collection being made in partnership with Italian company Panini. The set will feature artwork from across the history of The Legend of Zelda, with cards pulled from games ranging from the original Zelda titles and classic games like Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, as well as more recent games. A dedicated album will also be available for storing the cards.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
That gives The Legend of Zelda: Master Collection a pretty broad scope. Rather than taking one game and turning it into a traditional trading card set, the collection can jump from one era of Zelda to another. Link from one game can sit alongside characters, locations, and artwork from games released decades later (something that would be difficult to pull off without a franchise with this much history), giving the collection a way to represent the evolution of The Legend of Zelda without being tied to a single art style or generation.
Nintendo has not revealed everything about The Legend of Zelda: Master Collection yet, either. The company has not announced a release date, price, total number of cards, or detailed distribution plans. Panini’s involvement also makes sense for a collection built around artwork and physical collecting, given the company’s long history with cards and sticker albums. That said, it’s only one item being released for the anniversary, with many others like a special Ocarina of Time edition of the Switch 2.
The Legend of Zelda: Master Collection could ultimately be one of the more comprehensive physical celebrations of the franchise’s 40-year history. Rightfully so, Nintendo is celebrating The Legend of Zelda’s 40th anniversary with new games and hardware, but this collection is specifically giving fans a way to collect pieces of nearly four decades of Zelda history in one place.
