Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is often regarded as not only one of the best Zelda games but one of the best games, well, ever. It’s for that reason we’ve seen dozens upon dozens of fan tributes for the game, from recreations of some of the game’s iconic locations in Minecraft to complete graphical overhauls in more modern game engines.
That’s exactly what this latest fan labor of love is. We’ve seen recreations of Zora’s Domain and the Temple of Time in Unreal Engine 4 before, but this playable recreation of Kakirko Village from Ocarina of Time takes the cake.
It’s what fans have always wanted. For years, some Legend of Zelda fans have lamented the cel-shaded artstyle the franchise has adopted for more recent entries like Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Even the upcomingLegend of Zelda Wii U, running on Nintendo’s most powerful console to date, still embraces a more cartoony approach.
However, this high-definition tech demo is exactly what many fans have always craved: a return to the art style ofOcarina of Time but with a new, powerful graphics engine to back it up. From the grass to the lighting effects, this is some seriously impressive stuff. The fact that it is also playable, with kid Link running around in the absolutely gorgeous recreated environment, is icing on the cake. No wonder it has fans drooling over it. Maybe Nintendo will take notice?
The only aspect the recreation is really missing are the villagers that call the quaint town at the base of the mountain home. No Legend of Zelda game is complete without some quirky and memorable NPC characters to interact with. Looks like NPCs will come with the creator ArtistArtorias’ next project, a recreation of Ocarina of Time‘s Kokiri Forest, complete with intro cutscenes and NPCS. We can hardly wait.
