For whatever reason, the simple sounds and songs from classic video games are permanently ingrained in the minds of many gamers. That only serves to make this Zelda treasure chest more amazing. Whether it’s the music from Pac-Man or Super Mario Bros., or the sound of Sonic the Hedgehog spinning, they’re things that are instantly recognizable upon hearing them, and instantly playable in your head upon hearing about them. Therefore, when I say that this Legend of Zelda treasure chest plays the ‘item get’ sound when opened, it just might be playing in your head. The short melody is heard in A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time, among other games in the series, and is one of the many things brought over from game to game.
Created by Zachariah Cruse, this plywood treasure chest does indeed resemble the chests from the video games. As it’s being put together, it doesn’t really look like much, but once the wood stain is applied to the pale pine, the concept suddenly comes together. The designer says that one could certainly use more pieces of wood to get it to look more authentic, but he instead opted for drawing lines with a Sharpie to represent the spaces between wood, and this simple trick seems to work just as well. Black poster board was used for the thicker ‘metal’ bands as trim and, likewise, poster board was used for the keyhole.
Pretty looks aside, it’s the sound that really makes this remarkable. With some electronic mechanisms and an MP3 player, the chest can be rigged to play the song whenever it’s opened. To hide the inner workings and make the treasure chest more mysterious, black felt can be used to line the interior. Once complete, this chest can serve as the perfect storage place for your rupees, compass, or your prized boomerang. If you like this, you’ll probably also enjoy this Working Mario Coin Block. Or for more gamer nostalgia, there’s these works of Video Game Graffiti.
