The Legend of Zelda turns 38 this year. A modder is modernizing it with the Unreal Engine 5 in the form of a remake. The new gameplay impresses with its unmistakable charm and sense of style.
Which Zelda part is the modder recreating? Youtuber Lloyd Empty has been working on a remake of the very first series spin-off: The Legend of Zelda for several years. The game is the founder of the legend that once began on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
What makes the Zelda series stand out from the crowd? What began in 1986 with The Legend of Zelda now spans 20 main games and several smaller spin-offs.
The most recent part is Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) for the Nintendo Switch. Its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, is the best-selling, with around 29 million units sold. It is followed by TotK with almost 20 million. In 2018, The Legend of Zelda was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame as a series, as can be read on the website of the initiative founded in 1996.
If you like the Zelda series and also love Stardew Valley, you should check out Kingsgrave. We have a trailer here:
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A remake in Nintendo’s footsteps
What is there to see? In his latest gameplay video, Lloyd Empty shows off several minutes of classic Zelda gameplay, including the overworld, a dungeon, a conversation, battles, and more.
What does the graphic style look like? In terms of visuals, Lloyd Empty’s work is comparable to the 2019 Switch remake of Link’s Awakening. The modder also explicitly refers to this work by Nintendo as the main source of inspiration.
Is the Zelda remake free to download? No, there is no way to play the current version in UE5 itself.
Will it ever be released? The best answer that can be given here is maybe. Under the video he states that the goal of this project is to practice creating a Zelda-like game in the Unreal Engine 5.
What does the community think? Lloyd Empty has delighted fans with his creation. In more than 1,500 comments under the YouTube video, many have praised the style and atmosphere, and many feel transported back to their youth. The longing for another classic 2D Zelda is palpable in the comments under the video – but unfortunately so is the fear of Nintendo. The legal department of the Japanese gaming giant is considered a modder nightmare.
For many, user Dr.Frogerston sums it up nicely, as almost 3000 upvotes indicate:
[Ich sehe das Video]before Nintendo scrapped the project.
And matt92hun wholeheartedly agrees: Yes, this looks too good for Nintendo to just leave it alone.
On Lloyd Empty’s YouTube channel you can also find some other gameplay clips from the fan remake, some of which are much older but still worth watching.
The games in the Zelda series can be quite time-consuming. If someone really wants to see everything in them, they sometimes have to spend hundreds of hours. All the side quests, collectibles and other activities go far beyond the usual playing time for a single playthrough. However, a fan of the latest installment, Tears of the Kingdom, had an unpleasant experience on the way to 100 percent. He was ultimately even annoyed when he discovered that his save game still worked.