LogFAQs > #973635191

I don't see BotW being replaced, now or probably ever. BotW may or may not be outdone by TotK, but BotW is AT LEAST in the top three LoZ-games as of before TotK's release and BotW is the only other LoZ-game I've ever seen land #1 on a site's top-games list besides OoT (GQ's top 100 recently). That argument is a little too LMS'y by itself for my tastes, but can you name another LoZ-game that's ever done that? People very much love BotW.

BotW was also a launch game for Nintendo's most successful system since the Super Nintendo or Nintendo DS, and it is hard to just replace a giant launch game by Nintendo in voters' minds. SMW and SM64 are likely our two strongest Mario games. LoZ:TP would also hold up against or beat most other Nintendo games, with only OoT or BotW being likely to SFF it much. TP doesn't do that well on LoZ-series polls...but it's been able to beat SMG1 and MP1 with LoZ:WW in the mix during a Game of the Century-poll, it was able to beat RE4 with SSBB in the same poll before, and its biggest loss came from fellow Nintendo launch game SM64. LoZ:TP is no lightweight.

Melee's close enough to a launch game to count for this in my mind, and it could still win or be competitive against other Smash-games (it did lose to Brawl to be fair but it was close).

Granted, Super Mario Bros. 1 is a launch game that got SFF'd...partly because of another launch game in SMW, partly because the even bigger NES-Mario game was in the same poll:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/3502-contest-quarterfinal-smb-1-zelda-i-smb-3-smw

However, in the round before it, SMB1 still beat LoZ:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/3494-division-1-final-tetris-mega-man-2-smb-1-zelda-i

We also saw Duck Hunt be SFF'd before...mostly by another game it launched with in SMB1.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/3448-division-1-round-1-duck-hunt-galaga-ninja-gaiden-smb-1

(not that Duck Hunt is super strong -- it historically barely lost to Donkey Kong -- but DH isn't THE NES-launch game anyway)

Wii Sports was destroyed by LoZ:MM, but MM went on to win the contest and I don't see another WS game beating the original WS which is more of the main point here. Also, like Duck Hunt, WS wasn't THE launch game -- not for the GameFAQs audience anyway.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/4125-northwest-division-round-1-zelda-majoras-mask-vs-wii-sports

Only other SFF match I can find and recall with a launch game: Halo 1 still beats Halo 3.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/4136-north-division-round-2-halo-3-vs-halo-combat-evolved

All that is to say...if you were loved and well-received at launch, it's going to take huge and unlikely circumstances to replace you in voters' hearts. People bought a console immediately expecting to play you, and games like what I mentioned usually met or exceeded those expectations for people through-out the console's lifespan.

Go ahead, SFF those feelings.

BotW is going to be fine.