The Future of Lost Continent

[Skipper Justin]

What’s truly baffling is that you can’t play all Zelda games on the switch. Nintendo is so bad at porting titles.

 

[biggerboat16]

What’s truly baffling is that you can’t play all Zelda games on the switch. Nintendo is so bad at porting titles.

Yeah I have to dust off the ol Wii U for Twilight Princess and Wind Waker

 

[Clive]

To be fair, Mario and Pokémon probably are among like the top 10 or so most popular IP in the world. I don't think Zelda will ever match that level cause that's such a tall ask, but it doesn't really need to to make sense as a land.

I think Zelda's strength which is true of most Nintendo franchises is that they've been able to keep it consistently popular across the generations for decades now. That's a problem with a lot of long running franchises is that people could eventually lose interest or new generations don't get into them like their parents, but Zelda is arguably at its biggest peak ever with the popularity of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

I do think there was a fear within Nintendo like a decade ago that Zelda was fading away and would be one of those franchises people move on from since there was declining sales for the games, but the series reboot with Breath of the Wild secured its future.

I fully agree with this. I’d argue Zelda was waning in relevancy post Twilight Princess, but Breath of the Wild restored and elevated its position.

 

[Gartooth]

I fully agree with this. I’d argue Zelda was waning in relevancy post Twilight Princess, but Breath of the Wild restored and elevated its position.

Yeah, I feel like the two most popular periods of the franchise's history were its inception on NES until Ocarina of Time, and then now in the modern era after the series reboot.

Twilight Princess is an interesting case where it was the best selling Zelda game before we got BotW, but the games released both directly before (MM, WW) and after it (SS) weren't building an audience to the point where TP feels like a bit of a sales outlier in it coming out during an era when the rest of the franchise wasn't taking off.

I guess this is all to say that Zelda as a series was on really shaky ground before the Switch but now the franchise is the strongest its ever been in its history.

 

[GA-MBIT]

Just wanna be clear, I never doubted that Zelda had the chops to be a land, it absolutely does and I am incredibly excited for it. I was moreso responding to the assertion that Zelda is currently bigger than Potter which I think in terms of current online discussions might be true, with the Hogwarts Legacy thing being in the rearview and TotK being the new talk of the town, but in terms of actual sales and brand saturation it is still a very large. gap between the two.

And yeah, I am really surprised that the Wii U Wind Waker and Twilight Princess remakes haven't been ported to Switch yet and honestly I feel like they are either coming next year or are being used to support the new console in 2025. I also can only hope that Virtual Console comes back as well so we can get some better legacy support than the Switch does.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

As a huge Zelda fan, I'd say the series still has a long way to go before it gets anywhere near Potter levels of popularity. Pokemon? Yeah. Mario? Probably. Zelda is not there yet. It's very much still the runt of the Big 3, ToTK or no. We'll see what the movie does for the franchise.

I get what you're saying, but also consider that Breath of the Wild has outsold both the last mainline Mario and Pokemon games. It's only being outdone by Mario Kart, Animal Crossing (which I think we can all agree owes a majority of its insane sales numbers to its lightning in a bottle release window), and SSBU. Its sequel has sold over half the amount of units in just over three months that BotW has sold in over six years. It's very much still a mega IP on the same level that Pokemon and Mario are.

 

[luckoftheirish]

I get what you're saying, but also consider that Breath of the Wild has outsold both the last mainline Mario and Pokemon games. It's only being outdone by Mario Kart, Animal Crossing (which I think we can all agree owes a majority of its insane sales numbers to its lightning in a bottle release window), and SSBU. Its sequel has sold over half the amount of units in just over three months that BotW has sold in over six years. It's very much still a mega IP on the same level that Pokemon and Mario are.

Being successful with games sales doesn't translate into being popular among general audiences/non-gamers. Mario and Pokemon have mainstream appeal and pretty much the most iconic gaming properties, Zelda raise in popularity is incredibly recent and its no guarantee it'll reach the popularity levels that Mario/Pokemon have with mainstream audiences

 

[Mike S]

Just wanna be clear, I never doubted that Zelda had the chops to be a land, it absolutely does and I am incredibly excited for it. I was moreso responding to the assertion that Zelda is currently bigger than Potter which I think in terms of current online discussions might be true, with the Hogwarts Legacy thing being in the rearview and TotK being the new talk of the town, but in terms of actual sales and brand saturation it is still a very large. gap between the two.

And yeah, I am really surprised that the Wii U Wind Waker and Twilight Princess remakes haven't been ported to Switch yet and honestly I feel like they are either coming next year or are being used to support the new console in 2025. I also can only hope that Virtual Console comes back as well so we can get some better legacy support than the Switch does.

Wind Waker and Twilight Princess will likely be part of the last few games released on Switch just like how the last 3DS games were a bunch of ports and remakes. We’re already seeing this with Luigi’s Mansion 2/Dark Moon coming next year. Regarding Virtual Console, unlikely since they’ve already spoken about being able to carry Switch online to future consoles. Technically that would still be an improvement since classic releases wouldn’t be starting from scratch again like every generation since the Wii. I’m not fully defending it though, I would still very much prefer a return to Virtual Console and I can also say I’ve had my Switch since day 1 and have never signed up for Switch online.

 

[kingcooger]

It is Zelda, and it also has to open by a specified date,,

We are all in agreement that a LC replacement is likely set for 2027 and not before right?

Are we all agreed, @Tomfoolery ?

 

[Mike S]

So I’ve been thinking…

What do you guys think the chances are that Nintendo allows Universal to turn things like The Bottom of the Well or the Shadow Temple from Ocarina of Time into houses for Halloween Horror Nights?

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

So I’ve been thinking…

What do you guys think the chances are that Nintendo allows Universal to turn things like The Bottom of the Well or the Shadow Temple into houses for Halloween Horror Nights?

0-10%

Halloween decorations in a land, 100%.

Are we all agreed, @Tomfoolery ?

Alicia seems pretty sure for what that's worth.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Zelda makes too much sense to not be real, imo.

 

[Dinoman96]

Even if Nintendo was okay with Universal doing full blown HHN stuff with their IPs (they clearly aren't lol), I don't think it'd matter in Zelda's case considering that this would be taking over Lost Continent in Islands of Adventure, which hasn't had a HHN held there since like 2005 anyways.

 

[GA-MBIT]

As much as I'd love it, probably not a good chance for Nintendo HHN rep. Bring me that Eternal Darkness house!

 

[DodgsonHere]

So is Dueling Dragons at HHN making anyone else really sad that Lost Continent is seemingly about to be lost forever? Probably one of the most creative and well themed areas from Universal and maybe even one of the best in it’s prime. Was always really cool to have something original to Islands.

 

[biggerboat16]

So is Dueling Dragons at HHN making anyone else really sad that Lost Continent is seemingly about to be lost forever? Probably one of the most creative and well themed areas from Universal and maybe even one of the best in it’s prime. Was always really cool to have something original to Islands.

To me it always felt like the heart of IOA. It felt like the land that Port of Entry was meant to set up. IOA is my favorite park by far but it always feels weird to go from the beautiful and intricate port of entry to 90s superheroes. I think lost continent truly felt like the extension of the grand setup we get at the entrance of the park. Hopefully Hyrule maintains the feeling of scale, mystery, and adventure

 

[GAcoaster]

So is Dueling Dragons at HHN making anyone else really sad that Lost Continent is seemingly about to be lost forever? Probably one of the most creative and well themed areas from Universal and maybe even one of the best in it’s prime. Was always really cool to have something original to Islands.

I miss Merlin's Woods and the rest of the original Lost Continent, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice to save the parks as well as the catalyst for the current boom time under Comcast.

Also, many of the best elements are coming back in other forms. I think we'll see many echoes of LC in Dark Universe and HTTYD.

Like so many things proposed and not built, no good ideas ever die, they just become new things in new settings.

 

[belloq87]

The real, unfathomable loss is going to be the area music.

Those loops are among the best in Orlando.

 

[Mad Dog]

I'm one of the few that really loved PF. It seemed to embody what a theme park is about. But since LC is for all intents and purposes, gone.....Zelda seems like it could be something that establishes a very similar mood and ambiance. But, mgt. needs to get off their butt and get started.; No good reason to leave that entire area (Sindbad to PF) vacant for such a long time. It'll take three years to complete it, so let's get going, and quit saving pennies when USO profits are so huge, and this area is such a big black hole in the park.

 

[SkiBum]

Lost Continent definitely was the land that probably defined Islands of Adventure the best. Once Dueling Dragons went away, the land was in trouble since Sindbad and PF were not enough to support the entire land (in my opinion).