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November 19th, 2006 marks the official release date for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. After many fans felt disappointed by the artstyle that The Wind Waker took for the franchise, many still clamored and wanted a more realistic take on the Zelda franchise, and with that, came one of the most memorable parts of E3 during its run, with Twilight Princess being revealed on E3 2004 to thunderous applause and standing ovations.

The game eventually came over to both the Gamecube and the Wii, as a launch title for the later, and it became a favourite for many since then. One such fan with fond memories of the game is RwanLink, an avid Zelda fan that has taken on the hobby of recreating many aspects of the Zelda franchise using Unreal Engine, be it Ocarina of Time in the artstyle of Ghibli Studios, Lake Hylia in a very realistic setting with Unreal Engine 5, animations for Memories from Tears of the Kingdom, to many, many others.

Now, after one year of dedication, creativity, hard work and love for the franchise, RwanLink has released his latest animation project yet, with a special Anniversary Tribute video focused on Twilight Princess, which celebrates its 18th anniversary this year.

Hi everyone! Today, I’m incredibly excited to share with you a project that represents over 12 months of dedication, creativity, and love for the Zelda franchise. This cinematic video is my way of honoring the 18th anniversary of Zelda: Twilight Princess, a game that has inspired so many of us over the years.

Creating this project has been an unforgettable journey, one of pushing limits, learning new skills, and reimagining a beloved world with the hope of inspiring you to see it in a new light. I hope it reminds you that with passion and perseverance, anything is possible.

A huge thank you to Mosik, the insanely talented composer who created an absolutely breathtaking soundtrack for this project. Her music elevates every moment to a whole new level of magic!

The attention to details, including assets, models, settings and lighting, make this an outstanding and fantastic work for any Zelda fan out there, and it's surely a delight to see iconic landscapes like Hyrule Castle, Arbiter's Grounds, or even enemies and bosses from the game, with such realism.

 

[whitesword7]

sadly Link looks absolutely ugly… like goblin

nintendo, hire everyone except for the 3D modeller

 

[MariArch]

slop on the front page? interesting

 

[JuanMena]

That's really cool and all... but as an artist myself, I find very upsetting when someone makes a fan project and doesn't has respect for the source material.

Those 3D models are recognisable, but they're not Link, Midna or Zelda.

Artists should be more mindful about that fact, and of course, even though a "100% clone" of TP's models could be seen as copyright infringement... if you're ripping off music, story, scene, look alike models, at least have some respect for the source material and make it look like it... You're already taking the risk, so why not do things right? (don't take it the wrong way, I already explained).

I feel like today's artists are just doing things just because they can... it'd be better if everyone doing these had some sensibility towards that.

 

[ZeroFX]

NINTENDO HIRE THIS MAN!!

 

[chrisrlink]

i wonder if nintendo won't take it down cause it's garbage hypocrites

 

[regnad]

Link is in the trough of the uncanny valley here I’ve gotta say. Creeps me out.

 

[chaosagent]

Was there ever a good fan remake of anything that isn't Streets of Rage?

 

[console]

That's stunning look effect like ray tracing technology in there to make look like real life. Twilight Princess is my favorite game and I own this bought game on Nintendo Wii. I maybe going to play Twilight Princess again when come to PC and/or Nintendo Switch 2.

 

[Bladexdsl]

Those 3D models are recognisable, but they're not Link, Midna or Zelda.

maybe he did that on purpose so it won't get dmca

 

[Washudoll]

The thumbnail looks like a botox Link.

 

[Robert Newbie]

What's here is incredibly impressive, even with some questionable artistic choices. It really gives you an idea of what Unreal 5 is capable of. Of course, a pre-rendered animation is a different animal compared to a playable game. I still give the team kudos, especially since it took over a year to make this whole thing.

On a side note, at the 6:50 mark, there's a sprite that doesn't load, resulting in black boxes. This occurs during the canyon segment.

 

[Sd4930Ur]

schönes Gebäude, MEHR NICHT :Blendung: ?

WIR WOLLEN NINTENDO BEENDEN

 

[HarveyHouston]

Unreal is a powerful engine. If only Nintendo could make a deal with Epic Games... What a collab that would be!

 

[DeadSkullzJr]

I don't know if it's just me, but I'm rather tired of the "realism" approach. There's just too much of it anymore, and it's bleeding into things that don't need it, and it's making them look rather shoddy and ugly. I get the idea of demonstrating the capabilities and all, but you know, not everything needs to be realistic, ray traced, etc.. This trend is boring, can we just have normal stuff that isn't super realistic and enjoy that instead?

 

[Karoi]

Nintendo hire this man

They will probably do the opposite, which is sue the man for copyright bullshit.

 

[Something whatever]

Been a fan of this guy for years. he has skills

 

[Dax_Fame]

I'm tired of Unreal Engine but despite that, the work done here is commendable.
The faces look weird and the animations a bit stiff too ... but after just a year, that's a very good result. Tho Unreal Engine does help a lot from what I've seen, making animations and interacting with the viewport more practical, so I'm not sure he would have been able to do that much with Maya or Blender.

Tho seeing the news on the homepage I thought it was supposed to be a mod or something, I wish it was ... I'm craving for a Zelda with a tone that looks as epic as TP


EDIT : Wait ... now on the homepage I can't see anything other than View attachment 473964

My thoughts exactly. The animations look especially weird to me. That picture killed me.

Still, great work for sure. Clearly someone who cares about the series.

 

[BingusMcgee]

Reminds me a lot of the Wii U Legend of Zelda tech demo. I always wished nintendo released anything like the wii U zelda tech demo.

 

[veesonic]

This is just a prerendered video, thought it was a game.