To top off Nintendo’s Indie showcase last week, we got a special treat! Brace yourself Games, the devs behind the Indie hit, Crypt of the NecroDancer, are working on a new game with a similar feel, but partnering with one of the greatest Nintendo franchises of all time!
Cadence of Hyrule brings the rhythmic fun of Crypt of the NecroDancer and merges it nicely with the world of The Legend of Zelda. You can play as Link, Zelda, or Cadence and bounce your way through randomly generated dungeons and overworlds, battling monsters and bosses on a quest to save Hyrule. The style is charming and fun, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!
(Brace Yourself Games)
Nintendo and Indie Dev Relationships
Let’s acknowledge how revolutionary this game actually is. Honestly, this came as a giant shock to me, as I’m sure it has with many others. Nintendo gave licensing rights to an indie developer, trusting them to represent their brand that they set of Link, Zelda, and the franchise as a whole, and merge with with their own. It’s mind boggling! Does this mean we can expect more crossovers in the future? Will Shovel Knight be platforming with Mario? Will Shantae meet Kirby? I can’t help but dream about what other indie devs Nintendo would be willing to work with in this fashion.
(Nintendo, Ubisoft)
Nintendo is Open to New Things
While I was super shocked with this announcement, in hindsight, I feel like this was such an obvious next step. The Nintendo Switch is such an indie-friendly platform. Plus, this isn’t the first time Nintendo has trusted one of their biggest brands with another developer: Mario & Rabbids Kingdom Battle, anyone? Nintendo took a risk and reaped the benefits of outsourcing non-internal developers to crossover their (Nintendo’s) own characters with a 3rd party company’s (Ubisoft’s) own franchises. Cadence of Hyrule is just another example of that.
(Nintendo, Brace Yourself Games)
Hopefully Nintendo Inspires Other Heavy-Hitters
Imagine the doors this could open! Final Fantasy meets Fire Emblem… Ratchet and Clank meets Banjo-Kazooie… I could go on for days. The point I’m trying to make is that Nintendo is a risk-taking company. It might not always work out, but when it does, it’s huge. I hope that this opens Microsoft, Sony, and other developers out there to ideas of a similar nature – not only to crossover big franchises, but to also bring smaller indie developers into the light. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see Cadence as DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Please?
