Ever since Nintendo delayed Zelda Wii U into somewhere between 2016 and the nebulous future, the company has been very quiet about the game. We don’t know much more than we did when it was first announced with much fanfare in 2013. Well, that doesn’t have to stop speculation, does it? No indeed. And today, as I ponder the largest, most complex game Nintendo has ever made, I have to wonder—Will Zelda Wii U have a Dark World?

Zelda Wii U: Open World, Or Open Worlds?

The Dark World is a core trope of the Legend of Zelda series, going back in one form or another to the very first game, and its harder, entirely different second quest. Although that had no narrative explanation, it laid the path for Link to the Past, which formally established the concept that Zelda games cross between two worlds, one light and one dark. In that game, the Dark World is an actual reflection of the Light World, corrupted by Ganon’s evil. In Ocarina of Time, the Dark World is the future—the real world, but seven years in the future, corrupted by Ganon’s evil. Majora’s Mask toys with transformation and dreams in a more esoteric way; Wind Waker takes place almost entirely in a ‘Dark World’ of sorts, the ruins of Hyrule after its total destruction. Twilight Princess brought the trope back to its original form; Skyward Sword plays around with time again.

So the Dark World trope is strong, although it doesn’t necessarily appear directly in every game. But why shouldn’t it appear in Zelda Wii U? It’s an open world game, and that’s a great way to introduce a new and more terrifying and austere version of the Dark World. More importantly, it’s a great way to add variety to an open world game. Witcher 3 did this by having three major areas, and Skellige at least was dramatically different from the other two. And sure, Hyrule is a land of mountains and grasslands and forests and deserts already—but adding evil lands brings even more variety, and would help to break up the game in a narrative sense.

Would it be ambitious to include a Dark World in Zelda Wii U? Yea, of course. But the game is ambitious already, and a huge undertaking. Nintendo is going all out, and wants to make it the best Zelda game ever. An open world Dark World would go a long way toward doing that, and would root the game firmly in its own history… while distinguishing it strongly from its inevitable comparisons, Skyrim and Witcher 3. And we haven’t heard anything to suggest it won’t happen—so why not dare to dream?