You’d think after all of the Zelda merch announcements thrown our way during Tuesday’s Direct that there couldn’t possibly be another way the series will tempt us to part with our money to celebrate turning 40. Turns out there is one more thing that’s going to make you want to spend your hard-earned cash on The Legend of Zelda – official trading cards.
The Legend Of Zelda: Master Collection Trading Cards
Some of you might have already seen the cards, depending on which version of the Direct you were watching. Around eight minutes into the broadcast, while Shigeru Miyamoto was speaking, a handful of upcoming Zelda products flashed up on screen one after the other. The point when we were shown the Link and Epona Lego set and the playable Ocarinas.
If you were watching the Direct on the UK or European Nintendo channels, it’s at this point you’d have briefly seen the new Zelda trading cards. Presumably not shown on the Nintendo of America version of the Direct due to the fact that they’ve been made by Italian sticker album and trading card manufacturers, Panini.
Even if you were watching the right version of the Direct to see the cards, they were shown for such a brief moment that you might have missed them. Alongside the design for the packs and the box, four card designs were shown. One features the Skyward Sword version of Zelda, another shows Link wielding his Ultrahand in Tears of the Kingdom, the one at the front is from A Link to the Past, and the card at the back features Ocarina of Time’s Young Link and Young Zelda sitting side-by-side.
The Collection Will Feature Artwork From Every Game In The Franchise
Additional information about the cards has surfaced since the Direct, but not much. The only other thing we know now is that the Master Collection will cover every game in the franchise. What exactly Nintendo considers to be every game in the franchise is up for debate. It acknowledged just about everything during the montage that opened the anniversary Direct, even deeper cuts like Four Swords Adventures and Spirit Tracks, but there was no mention of the three games that released on the Philips CD-i.
If there’s even a single Wand of Gamelon card in this collection, I’m going to be ripping boosters like a feral bokoblin to find it.
The cards don’t appear to be designed to be used in any sort of game or battling system. Just good-looking cards featuring artwork spanning four decades of games, with an official binder to keep them in. When they will be available, how much packs will cost, and if they’ll be easy to get outside of the UK and Europe remains unclear.
There was plenty of stuff revealed yesterday that will be releasing the world over. The playable Ocarina, for one, as well as the Zelda-themed Switch 2 releasing on October 29, 2026. Pre-orders are also now open for the Ocarina of Time remake, with the first print of the game getting a sparkly tactile cover. Likely an homage to the original’s limited-edition gold cartridge, although if the card inside the remake’s case is a matching shade of gold, Nintendo has yet to reveal it. I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
- Released
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February 21, 1986
- ESRB
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E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo EAD
- Engine
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Havok
