Cadence of Hyrule was a blueprint for future collaborations

Early in its history, Nintendo was surprisingly hands-off with its characters: in the 1980s it let Mario appear in a Checkers game and even allowed musicians to create a Donkey Kong record that added lore. That tight control has loosened in recent years, with the company clearing projects such as the Illumination Mario film, a Koei Tecmo take on Fire Emblem, and work from smaller external studios like Acquire.

Nothing from the Switch era, however, felt as audacious as Cadence of Hyrule. Released in 2019, the one-off spinoff came from indie studio Brace Yourself Games, creators of Crypt of the NecroDancer, and married top-down Zelda exploration with a rhythm engine built around Danny Baranowsky’s remixes.

Every action is tied to the beat, turning familiar item- and dungeon-based design into a traversal puzzle where timing matters as much as direction. The game looked like a turning point, even if Nintendo didn’t immediately hand other franchises over to external teams.

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