No 25th Anniversary Celebration for ‘The Legend of Zelda’?

“The Legend of Zelda” franchise turned 25 this week – another Nintendo series in recent months to hit the impressive milestone. Mario celebrated his 25th birthday last September, and two months later Nintendo threw him a party at the Nintendo World Store in New York City. (Full disclosure: I covered the event.) Most would agree he deserves such fanfare. But what about Link and Zelda? Will there be a celebration in their honor? We asked Nintendo.

When asked if an event celebrating the famous series’ milestone was in the works, a PR representative for Nintendo of America told GamerCrave, “We have nothing to announce at this time.”

While this certainly doesn’t close the book on such an event, it would be surprising if Nintendo passed on holding one. The franchise certainly evokes a great deal of respect and admiration amongst gamers, though arguably not on the same level as the “Super Mario Bros.” series, which is considered by many as the pinnacle of video games.

“The Legend of Zelda” first appeared on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, and since then has graced every Nintendo console (except the Virtual Boy) and handheld. Though most fans (and likely Nintendo itself) would prefer to forget it, the series was also licensed out to Philips’ ill-fated CD-i system for three less-than-stellar titles. Nevertheless, “The Legend of Zelda” maintains a large fanbase the world over.

“The Skyward Sword,” the next new entry in the series, is rumored to release later this year on the Nintendo Wii.