Ocarina of Time’s Kakariko Village Recreated in Unreal Engine 5
Posted on December 13 2021 by Sean Gadus
Ocarina of Time is one of the most discussed and covered games in the Zelda fan community. If you look at content across the internet, the game is featured prominently in ways that dwarf the attention many other titles receive. In terms of music, Ocarina of Time is probably the most extensively covered soundtrack in the series, with countless version of “Gerudo Valley,” “Hyrule Field,” and “Lon Lon Ranch” out in the wild. There are also a significant amount of programmers and content creators who work to put their own spins on locations from the game, including attempts to create a 2D version of the game, along with countless Unreal Engine interpretations.
This video showcase by RwanLink shows what Ocarina of Time‘s Kakariko Village could look like if created in Unreal Engine 5. In the description for the video, RwanLink asserts that the goal of the video is to show what the “environments [of Ocarina of Time] could look like with today’s technologies.” This new showcase acts as the first in a series by RwanLink, the aim of which “is to present different environments that [they] would like to create as part of [their] learning process in order to become a better artist.” The artist has even learned a bit of coding in order to “have a playable character and show you another perspective.”
While I do not have the technical know-how to discuss some of techniques used to create this animation, I can say that the level of detail in the video is impressive. One of my favorite additions are the various flowers and vegetables that are scattered across the village; these plants add bright touches of color that were not in the original game. RwanLink has left the layout of the village unchanged, with a young tree in the center of the village. From that tree, the paths through the village branch off, sending the player in different directions.
The nine-minute video also includes several versions of the musical theme from the village, which makes the area feel even more like its Nintendo 64 and 3DS counterparts. The combinations of the lush music and vivid animations will warm the hearts of many Ocarina of Time fans. My one nitpick as a fan is that Kakariko Village seems to be rendered as it would look in the Child era (with the well full of water and the unfinished building on the right side of the village), but adult Link is shown exploring it.
If you enjoyed this video, RwanLink has some incredible Unreal Engine Zelda content on their YouTube page, including this Hyrule Field animation previously covered on Zelda Dungeon.
What do you think of this Unreal Engine 5 animation of Kakariko Village? Let us know your comments below!
Source: RwanLink
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. He is currently replaying the narrative ghost story Oxenfree, and taking his first stab at playing Dark Souls. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
