Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Odyssey VR Modes in the Works

In 2017, the one-two punch of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey solidly established the Nintendo Switch hybrid console. Now, Nintendo is looking to expand on those two acclaimed titles, announcing that both games will receive free updates that will bring a VR mode to each of them.

As specified by Nintendo, "small areas" of Super Mario Odyssey's Cap, Seaside, and Luncheon Kingdom levels will be playable in VR. In these areas, players will be able to "collect music notes and Coins to complete objectives in three new mini-missions."

While this will certainly be an intriguing prospect to many, Nintendo's announcement with respect to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is even more ambitious. Specifically, it seems that the entirety of the open world Zelda entry will be available in VR. Players will be able to switch between modes at any time, and they are invited to "enjoy the epic adventure like never before."

These newly announced VR modes will be available beginning April 25, and accessing them will require the Toy-Con VR Goggles from the Nintendo Labo VR Kit. This kit will release on April 12 and it will cost $79.99.

Indeed, adding a VR mode to a title post-release is not without precedent. In fact, it was revealed only last week that Hello Games' No Man's Sky would receive PSVR support this summer. That said, it is likely that very few fans expected that Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey were VR-bound when the Labo: VR Kit was announced.

As such, many players are certain to be very excited about the unexpected idea of revisiting these two titles in VR, and the announcement may even sway a number of fans to purchase the Labo: VR Kit who might not have otherwise. However, others may be concerned about how well these titles will perform in VR, especially Breath of the Wild due to its low frame rate.

One might expect that the big N would be fully confident in this implementation of VR before announcing it, but it is a bit of a curious situation. One thing is for sure, though, Nintendo continues to show that it definitely marches to the beat of its own drum.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now for Nintendo Switch.