As Nintendo dips into its archives to bring golden-generation titles back to the forefront of its consoles – yes, we’re talking about you, Zelda – developers have quickly jumped on the remaster bandwagon, and now one hidden DSi gem is getting a shot in the limelight again.
Back in 2009, the Nintendo DS open-world fantasy genre was dominated by Pokémon HeartGold / SilverSouland Black / White, complemented by the likes of Dragon Quest, Phantasy Star Zero,and Rune Factory.
One top-scoring RPG that flew under the radar, though, hailed from Korea. Zenoniascored eights and nines (out of ten) across the board from most major review sites, but didn’t quite crack the market open, having been ported from a mobile game to the Nintendo DSi, PlayStation Portable, and Steam.
Once often overlooked, Zenoniais now clawing back its airtime, as a sudden announcement for its remaster means it will be launching on the Nintendo Switch this month.
Surprise remaster for ‘Zenonia 1’ arrives in August
Cut from the same cloth as early Final Fantasyand Legend of Zelda games, Zenonia follows the protagonist, Regret, through an open-world experience full of side quests and a main storyline that was defined by your moral choices; depending on your actions, Regret’s life swung between the good and evil pendulum.
Battling a powerful force and its many minions, the character is hellbent to root out the cause of his adoptive father’s death, and quickly finds a demonic being is puppeteering the land.
Zenonia 1– the new name for the remaster of the original title – comes to Nintendo Switch 2 and Steam to relive that story with updated graphics and visuals, where players can relive the classic title or experience a masterful and quippy RPG for the first time.
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“Before smartphones. Before app stores. ZENONIAset the foundation for mobile RPGs. Now, this iconic action RPG returns in its original form—refined for modern platforms,” the developers said.
“Bringing back the original charm while adapting seamlessly to today’s platforms. Whether you’re here for nostalgia or a brand-new adventure—ZENONIAis ready.”
Com2us Holdings, the publisher of Zenonia 1, revealed that the game will be launching on Steam on August 31, with a Nintendo Switch port in ‘playtesting’. It’s not yet clear whether it will be available on Switch as of the end of the month, or whether the port will come later, but thanks to the backward compatibility system, it also means Switch 2 users will be able to enjoy the Korean fantasy RPG too.
Importantly, Zenonia 1 gets out ahead of theLegend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, which will surely be a huge hit.
It could even serve as the ideal warm-up for the thrilling Zelda story, opening your eyes to how good these earlier games were.
