Zelda games have a huge nostalgia factor for many gamers, and not just to Nintendo fanboys. The long-running series is still amazingly popular and has been featured on a number of Nintendo consoles and handhelds, and now mobile phones. No, this isn’t an actual Nintendo release, but a project by “Gorthwogh” to remaster the original The Legend of Zelda for play on mobile devices. The game works on Java phones, although it’s still technically in the beta stage. Many smartphones can run NES emulators and the like, but part of the appeal to this game is that it works on older phones and it’s a bit different from the original NES game. For better or for worse, the game has been remastered, giving it graphics which look more akin to GBA or SNES graphics than original Nintendo Entertainment System ones. As you’d imagine, it also gives the game a much different feel despite all your favorite things still being there.
You can see from the images that the game is bright and colorful, with beautiful maps and re-done dungeons which look as if they were plucked from A Link to the Past. That’s in part because they are pretty much plucked from the game, as the designer took some sprites straight from a Link to the Past as well as Minish Cap, and both styles look very nice together. The website has more images, including maps of all your favorite dungeons and some item sprites which look almost as if they’d fit in just as well in Minecraft.
The website has instructions on how to download and install the game so you can enjoy it quickly and relive your favorite classic Zelda memories in an updated version of the NES’ Hyrule. For other Zelda-related geekery, check out our articles on this Zelda-Themed Chess Set and, my favorite, the Working Zelda Treasure Chest.
