Zelda 30 Year Tribute: Fans recreate the original in 3D

Over the past few years, there has been more than one large-scale internet tribute to the most storied franchises in video gaming. Pokemon were cited in town, and just last year, Google was converting regions of the world into a Pac-Man fantasy. Today however, gives birth to what may arguably be the coolest creation ever conceived: two fans of Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda series have re-created the entire original game in 3D with Java for internet browsers. Specifically the page summary states:

A fan tribute to the greatest console game of all time, the NES Legend of Zelda. This open source project uses WebGL and voxels rendering to create a pixel-perfect replica of the original, all in Javascript.

Please note that there the developers have mentioned the game has numerous known bugs but apparently plans to fix them. The full list can be found on the site’s Facebook page here, however a selection include problems with sound effects, the number of bombs collected from defeated enemies (1 instead of 4), a shop selling everything for 0 Rupees and collected Triforce pieces not being added to the menu screen.

As this is a browser-based game, it can run on a number of different platforms. As this is an Android site however, we felt the need to test it on a few Android devices and have been met with mixed results. The game failed to load on Chrome for a Nexus 6P however it did run on an honor MediaPad X2 and a Galaxy S7 Edge. It also worked on a Nexus 9 running Android N, for both Chrome and Dolphin Browser. Your individual efforts may be met with varying degrees of success depending on the device being used.

Do note however, that while access on the PC includes sound and sound effects, we could not get either to play when testing on Android devices.

A Link to the Past, and the Future of Link

Perhaps it goes without saying that anyone hoping to experience this retro-game throwback should make it a point to do so as soon as possible. As this project is unlicensed from Nintendo, it is seemingly a matter of time before Nintendo’s legal department becomes aware of this project. While it is difficult to say what will ultimately come from this, the Japanese company already has a dislike of even “trivial” things such as streaming gameplay movies, a cease-and-desist order may be the ultimate arrow to the knee.

As an additional point, just for the sake of making it, there is something very profound to be said about this fan project and the kinds of “modern games” Nintendo is officially making. I may be totally wrong here, but I have an inkling that Nintendo fans around the world would much rather be playing something like this 3D Zelda “remake” than say…

Wrap Up

The timing of this fan project’s release could not be more ironic, perhaps, given that just days ago was April 1st, when any random gaming website would seemingly be teasing a prank just like this. Perhaps it’s even more funny given the above (and aforementioned) prank which Google pulled last year.

We’re eager to hear your thoughts on this dedicated fan effort! Is it a cool concept? Could you do it better? What other games would you like to see people recreate with more modern tools? Feel free to take the survey below and then leave your comments for everyone to see!