Fan Reimagines The Legend of Zelda’s First Dungeon in a Hand-Drawn Style
Posted on December 10 2024 by Nicole Scott
The original The Legend of Zelda is getting a makeover, and it might not be the one you expect. It isn’t getting a remaster or remake from Nintendo. Instead, it’s getting reimagined by 2D animator, Hugo Vasgestian dos Santos, or vasge. They are making the entire first dungeon in a hand-drawn art style in the Godot engine.
This incredible task started in November 2024 when vasge revealed the first development log (devlog). In the video, they covered why the project would only encompass Level 1. The hand-drawn element was an ambitious enough task. Combine this with character movement considerations, map layouts, graphics, combat, enemies, and more aspects, and you have a full plate of finnicky game elements to curate.
They started by drawing and animating Link with a clear-line art style, which vasge cites as a personal favorite. The design was inspired by the original model for Link, with nods to The Wind Waker and Oracles designs. Then, it was onto crafting the dungeon. They were influenced by the texture of original artwork from A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening by Katsuya Terada. They also drew environmental design inspiration from the artist Ma-ko, who is the genius behind the instruction manual illustrations for the famous Zelda-like, Tunic.
After doing several drafts of the room designs, vasge messed around with post-processing effects in Godot’s suite. They played with lighting, contrast, and blurs to give the game more polish. At the end of the video, they were able to show off some progress. While it was mostly scenery and a few sound effects, vasge’s next objective is implementing gameplay, including combat and enemies. In the description, they stated, “This is the first of (probably) many videos I will make.” Stay tuned!
View vasge’s other work on their website. You can also check them out on X, Bluesky, and TikTok. Most importantly, keep up with the project as it happens on YouTube.
What do you think of this endeavor? Do you think the hand-drawn aesthetic suits the game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Source: vasge
Nicole Scott is writer for Zelda Dungeon from suburban Appalachia. She loves drinking espresso, seeing live music, building LEGO sets, being a completionist, and snuggling her two probably-alien cats, Tizo and Alarielle.
