After the recent The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct event earlier this week, hype for the franchise is at an all-time high, and gamers are counting down the days until The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake officially launches on November 5. Zelda’s 40th anniversary has been packed with surprises, with Nintendo going far beyond a single major game release to celebrate four decades of Hyrule.

Alongside a limited-edition Zelda Nintendo Switch 2 console, new amiibo, an anniversary concert series, and an Ocarina of Time LEGO set, Nintendo is dramatically expanding Zelda merchandise as well. A new multi-year licensing partnership with Hasbro will bring an entire range of Zelda toys beginning in 2027, including new action figures and an enormous electronic Master Sword.

With the live-action Legend of Zelda movie also arriving April 30, 2027, Nintendo is clearly treating the 40th anniversary as the beginning of a much larger push for one of its most important franchises. However, there’s an absolutely beautiful new RPG on the way that Zelda fans will not want to skip, inspired by Studio Ghibli and their animated feature films such as Spirited Away, available for pre-order now.

Free League Publishing has officially opened pre-orders for Twilight Sword, a colorful new tabletop RPG designed by Italian studio Two Little Mice. The game wears its inspirations proudly, drawing heavily from classic video games including The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest, and Wonder Boy in Monster Land, while also taking cues from the animated films of Studio Ghibli.

Players awaken in the mysterious Lands of Radia as Champions selected by powerful Spirits, tasked with fighting back an evil Scourge, overcoming the Despair consuming the land, and gradually restoring Hope to the world. Gameplay is built around an original system called CAT, or “Created at Twilight,” which uses a straightforward roll-under d12 mechanic.

Players select an Ability and roll a single d12, succeeding when the result is equal to or lower than their Ability score. A roll of 1 is always a critical success, while 12 is always a critical failure. Champions can choose from five different Kin and six Ways, with the ability to combine as many as two Ways to create different fighting styles and character builds. The rules also incorporate Hope and Despair mechanics, exploration and travel, cooking and brewing, elemental powers, monsters, and large boss encounters.

Several Twilight Sword products are currently available for pre-order through Free League ahead of their physical launch later this fall. The Core Rulebook contains the complete rules, character options, equipment, Radia setting material, monsters, and bosses, while the Starter Set includes basic rules, six pre-generated Champions, seven dice, more than 60 cards, 40 status tokens, four plastic Boon coins, and the introductory Twilight Island mini-campaign.

The Lands of Radia supplement expands the setting with new Kin, Ways, NPCs, quests, travel tables, monsters, and bosses, while the Card Chest adds more than 250 reference cards. Pre-orders also include immediate access to PDFs through DriveThruRPG, and you can check out more details for this incredible Zelda-inspired RPG, Twilight Sword, on Free League’s official website now.