Summary
A team of talented fans have recreatedThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Link using Unreal Engine 5, offering a glimpse of what the N64 classic would look like with modern graphics. Released to near-universal acclaim back in 1998,Ocarina of Timeis hailed by many as one of thegreatest entries in theLegend of Zeldaseries, if not one of the best video games of all time. It was the first 3DZeldagame, wowing players with a fully realized realm of Hyrule that Link traversed on an epic quest to defeat the evil Ganondorf.
Ocarina of Timewould serve as the blueprint for future consoleZeldaentries likeThe Wind WakerandTwilight Princess, and has been re-released on systems like the Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo 3DS over the years. Even25 years after its launch,Ocarina of Timecontinues to influence modernZeldagames in terms of setting, characters, and narrative theme, and its teenage version of main protagonist Link is one of the most well-recognized in the series. Said version of Link would represent theZeldaseries in spin-offs likeSuper Smash Bros, and later incarnations would pay tribute to hisOcarina of Timeappearance in various ways.
A fan group named Curiomatic recently posted an impressiveLegend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timedemo trailer on its official YouTube channel, as reported byNintendo Life. This Unreal Engine 5-powered trailer shows off an updated version of Link standing in the middle of the Temple of Time, clad in his iconic green tunic and carrying the famed Master Sword and Hylian Shield that has served him well across severalZeldagames. The creators of this demo go on to explain how they studied Yusuke Nakano’s original concept art to painstakingly recreate the Hero of Time’s design.
Curiomatic and project leader Prism also drew inspiration from other, morerecent video games likeFinal Fantasy 7 RemakeandKingdom Hearts 3while designing elements like Link’s hair, which continues to be one of the most challenging aspects of thisOcarina of Timeproject. The team had to strike a balance between putting greater detailing on Link’s clothing and staying true to the original character design. The updated model also includes Link’s brown, leather sword harness from Nakano’s concept art, which he added to the character after the original N64 model was finished.
Curiomatic’s Unreal Engine 5 version ofOcarina of Time’s Link is admittedly a work in progress, but it does a stunning job of capturing the hero’s iconic 90s design and Yusuke Nakano’s original concept art with a modern level of detail. Fans have previously used Unreal Engine 5 to recreate the lush green scenery ofOcarina of Time’s Hyrule Field and add realistic water effects to the N64 classic, which is still viewed by gamers around the world as one of the greatest and most influentialLegend of Zeldaentries of all time.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TIme marks the first time that The Legend of Zelda made the jump to 3D, giving players the ability to explore Hyrule in an entirely new way.
