Forty years of Hyrule, one very special Switch 2
Nintendo has just given collectors another console to think about.
As part of The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary celebrations, Nintendo has unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 - The Legend of Zelda - 40th Anniversary Edition, arriving October 29, 2026. The new system celebrates four decades since the original The Legend of Zelda launches in Japan on February 21, 1986 for the Famicom Disk System.
Forty years later, Zelda has travelled a very long way from that first yellow Disk Card. The anniversary Switch 2 brings the series back onto the console itself, giving Nintendo's newest generation a design created specifically around one of its oldest and most important franchises.
For anyone following Nintendo through our Retro Gaming Collection, it is a nice reminder of how comfortably the company's newest systems continue to borrow from its past.
Green, gold and plenty of Triforce
Nintendo has kept the design relatively restrained, which works surprisingly well.
The dock uses a black and gold finish dominated by a large golden Triforce, with additional Zelda-inspired patterns across the surface. Similar symbols continue onto the rear of the Switch 2 itself, while the Joy-Con 2 controllers move away from the standard colors with a green and gold combination inspired by the series.
Rather than covering every surface with character artwork, Nintendo leans into symbols that Zelda fans immediately recognize. It feels commemorative without becoming overly busy.
That approach has worked well for Nintendo before. Our earlier look at Limited Edition Nintendo Switch Consoles explored how special editions increasingly turn the console itself into part of the collectible experience, and the Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition pushes that tradition straight into the Switch 2 generation.
The Japanese edition comes with an important difference
There is one detail collectors should pay particular attention to. Nintendo confirms that the edition sold in Japan will only be offered as the Nintendo Switch 2 Japanese-Language System (Japan Only). The Japanese package therefore differs from internationally sold versions, rather than simply being the same console in Japanese packaging. It also does not include a game.
The Japanese version launches on the same October 29 date.
For collectors drawn to Japanese releases in the Collectors Collection, that makes regional choice more important than usual. With older consoles, Japanese editions often differ through packaging, colors or regional software compatibility. Switch 2 adds another consideration through Nintendo's Japan-specific system configuration.
Nintendo did not stop at the console
A matching Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller is also coming, carrying the same anniversary treatment and available in Japan with a dedicated display stand. Nintendo is also releasing a Zelda 40th Anniversary carrying case and screen protector.
These accompanying Accessories make the anniversary feel more like a coordinated collection than a single special console. For collectors who like keeping an edition together, the controller in particular may become almost as interesting as the system itself.
And Zelda collectors are certainly not limited to consoles. Forty years of figures, promotional pieces, special packaging and other gaming Collectibles have turned the series into a collecting world of its own.
From the Famicom Disk System to Switch 2
The anniversary design becomes more interesting when you look at where Zelda starts.
The first Legend of Zelda launches alongside the Famicom Disk System on February 21, 1986. Nintendo uses the format's greater capacity and saving functionality to create an adventure built around exploration, items, dungeons and a world players can tackle with unusual freedom for the era.
Nintendo's relationship with portable play develops just as dramatically over the following decades, with Zelda eventually becoming an important part of multiple generations of Nintendo Handhelds. The Switch then blurs the distinction between home and portable gaming entirely.
That makes a Zelda-themed Switch 2 a fitting anniversary object. The technology could hardly be further removed from a Famicom Disk Card, but the Triforce connecting the two is exactly the same.
More than a new colorway
Nintendo is making the 40th anniversary much bigger than one console.
The same presentation reveals a completely rebuilt The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2, launching November 5, with new visuals, voiced cinematics, orchestral music and redesigned controls. The first physical print run receives special textured foil packaging. Nintendo is also planning anniversary concerts, new amiibo and other releases extending into 2027.
The console, though, may become one of the clearest physical markers of the celebration. Limited editions have a way of freezing a particular moment in gaming history, especially when the design is tied to a milestone rather than simply a new release.
Legacy for players and collectors.
From a yellow Famicom Disk System release in 1986 to a black, green and gold Switch 2 forty years later, Zelda has managed to evolve without losing the symbols that make it instantly recognizable.
The new anniversary console does not try to reinvent that identity. It celebrates it. And for collectors who enjoy seeing gaming history reflected in the consoles themselves, October 29 just became a much more interesting date.
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