The Legend of Zelda has been around for four decades, and that history is spread across a long list of consoles, art styles, timelines and eras. For the series’ 40th anniversary, Nintendo is leaning into that scope with a product that doesn’t pick a single game as its subject: The Legend of Zelda: Master Collection, a trading card collection made in partnership with the Italian company Panini.
Nintendo has officially revealed the new box art for the set. Instead of building a card series around one title, the collection pulls artwork from the whole franchise – from the original Zelda games through classics like Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker all the way to the most recent entries. A dedicated album for storing the cards will be available as well.
What the Master Collection covers
The set is designed to represent the mainline Zelda library in full, which means artwork and characters from across the series’ entire run:
- The Legend of Zelda
- The Adventure of Link
- A Link to the Past
- Link’s Awakening
- Ocarina of Time
- Majora’s Mask
- Oracle of Seasons
- Oracle of Ages
- Four Swords
- The Wind Waker
- Four Swords Adventures
- The Minish Cap
- Twilight Princess
- Phantom Hourglass
- Spirit Tracks
- Skyward Sword
- A Link Between Worlds
- Tri Force Heroes
- Breath of the Wild
- Tears of the Kingdom
- Echoes of Wisdom
Why the franchise-wide approach matters for collectors
Because the set isn’t tied to one game, it can jump between eras freely. A Link from an early title can sit next to characters, locations and artwork from games released decades later, which is exactly the kind of thing a franchise with this much history allows. In practice, that gives you a physical way to follow how Zelda’s visual language has evolved without the collection being locked to a single art style or console generation.
Panini’s involvement also fits the concept. The company has a long track record with cards and sticker albums, and the Master Collection is built around artwork and physical collecting rather than gameplay.
What Nintendo hasn’t said yet
A lot of the practical details are still missing. Nintendo has not announced a release date, a price, the total number of cards, or detailed distribution plans. If you’re planning to chase a complete set, that’s the information you’ll want to wait for – the set size in particular decides how expensive completion ends up being.
Part of a much bigger anniversary push
The Master Collection is only one piece of the 40th anniversary lineup. Nintendo has already announced an Ocarina of Time remake, new hardware including a special Ocarina of Time edition of Switch 2, amiibo, collectibles, music and other merchandise. We covered the Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo separately, and the remake’s preorder bonuses have their own article too.
Where to go next
If you want the rest of the anniversary coverage in one place, our Zelda news hub collects every article. For another physical collectible from the same era, see our piece on the Decayed Master Sword statue.
FAQ
It’s a trading card collection announced by Nintendo in partnership with the Italian company Panini. It features artwork from across the history of The Legend of Zelda, and a dedicated album for storing the cards will also be available.
The collection covers the mainline Zelda games, from the original The Legend of Zelda and classics like Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker through to recent entries such as Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom and Echoes of Wisdom.
Nintendo hasn’t announced a release date or a price yet. The total number of cards and the detailed distribution plans are also still unknown.
No. Despite the name, the Master Collection is a physical trading card product, not a game compilation.
Nintendo has announced an Ocarina of Time remake, new hardware including a special Ocarina of Time edition of Switch 2, amiibo, collectibles, music and additional merchandise.