Nintendo's newest Pokemon game, Pokemon Unite exploded in popularity when it was released on the Switch. The game allows Nintendo and Pokemon fans to see and play with some of their favorite Pokemon in all-new ways. The game features a simplified take on the MOBA genre with two teams battling over defeating wild Pokemon for points, with each playable Pokemon featuring a vastly different playstyle. As a free-to-play game, Pokemon Unite has brought many Pokemon and MOBA fans together to jump in and battle it out across its fun battlefields.
Pokemon Unite is also a big departure for the series. Of course, the series has seen its fair share of spin-offs like Pokemon GO and the recent New Pokemon Snap, but Pokemon Unite still breaks some meaningful new ground for the series. Not only is it the first Pokemon MOBA, but it is also the first game in the series that is free-to-play on the Switch. Its genre and its release coming after Pokemon has started embracing post-launch content releases put the game in a terrific position to maintain its audience for some time. With Pokemon Unite's success, it is easy to imagine that Nintendo would want to replicate it with some of its other biggest franchises, and there are a few options that make perfect sense.
Fire Emblem Deserves Its Own MOBA
Fire Emblem as a series is mostly known for two things: its tactical RPG gameplay and having a ton of characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, Fire Emblem is a very old and storied series with over a dozen entries, hundreds of hours of gameplay, and countless fans. The series also features numerous memorable characters that would make for great heroes in a MOBA while the number of varied units across the series would ensure that each character can have a meaningfully distinct play style.
There have been rumors of a Fire Emblem remaster coming to the Switch as a follow-up to Three Houses, but there are often lengthy breaks in between releases for the series. This puts Fire Emblem in a great position to launch its own MOBA, as the series has many fans that are eager to interact with more Fire Emblem content but don't have new games in the series to do so. If the MOBA was consistently updated with new characters, maps, or factions, it would not be difficult for it to keep the dedicated fanbase around between main entries.
The Legend of Zelda Deserves Its Own MOBA
The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's oldest and most beloved franchises. It also just happens to be a great fit for a MOBA. The Legend of Zelda is also no stranger to spin-offs, and the series' wide cast of characters is the perfect set up for a MOBA. A Legend of Zelda MOBA could draw from characters like the different iterations of Link or Zelda, Demise, Ganondorf, Ghirahim, and the countless bosses and enemies from across the series. The franchise's fantasy setting and all of its magic would also easily lend itself to every character having a very unique set of abilities, and it could also influence the game's different types of matches.
Fans of the series already got a taste of how varied the cast of characters could be in the Hyrule Warriors games, although the gameplay would undoubtedly be very different in a MOBA. Regardless, the Hyrule Warriors games were very well received by the series' fanbase, as the games allowed them to mix and match their favorite characters while also providing a chance to play as characters that gamers could not control before. The MOBA would accomplish this easily, and it could help bridge the gap between Legend of Zelda titles following the release of Breath of the Wild 2. The game would also have the potential to be visually striking if it chose to incorporate the various art styles of games like Wind Waker, Majora's Mask, and Breath of the Wild, which could be a treat for fans.
Splatoon Deserves Its Own MOBA
Of these three franchises, Splatoon is by far the newest and has the least amount of content for a potential MOBA to draw from. However, when Splatoon released, it took an entirely new approach to the multiplayer shooter genre by pushing players to focus on covering the area of the map rather than trying to kill enemy players. This puts the series in a great position to do something similar to the MOBA genre. Instead of featuring a number of different characters that each have their own playstyle, players could instead customize their own Inkling, with different weapons determining their loadout for that match. There are some wild weapons in Splatoon, and adapting them to a MOBA format could open up the possibilities even more.
The MOBA genre is also dominated by titans like League of Legends, Dota 2, and SMITE. Historically, this had made it very difficult for new MOBAs to find a foothold within the genre, but a MOBA built on the base of Splatoon could manage to succeed by taking a new approach to the genre. Having a MOBA that focuses on covering the map with your team's ink could really shake up the gameplay expected of a MOBA while also appealing to a mix of younger and older fans. This would help the Splatoon MOBA welcome players into the genre who normally aren't interested in mechanically complex gameplay that requires players to overcome a very steep learning curve. Of course, Nintendo is still working on Splatoon 3, so it would likely take a while for the series to get a MOBA entry. Regardless, the possibilities for such a release are exciting to think about.
Nintendo has done some great experimenting in recent years with titles like New Pokemon Snap, Ring Fit Adventure, and Nintendo LABO, so hopefully, it will recognize the success of Pokemon Unite and embrace other possible titles that could spawn from it.