Daily Debate: Which 3D Zelda Game Should Receive a “Demake” With a 2D Pixelated Art Style?
Posted on September 18 2024 by Jared Eubanks
The 2019 version of Link’s Awakening for the Nintendo Switch brought an 8-bit classic from the Game Boy to a new generation of fans. The remake not only provided ease of accessibility on modern hardware, but it also brought brand new 2.5D visuals of the dream world of Koholint Island and its inhabitants. The beeps and boops of original music were also replaced by a sweeping orchestral soundtrack featuring the instruments that Link collects at the end of each dungeon.
But what if this process was reversed with a “demake” of a 3D blockbuster from the Zelda saga? What would it look like for the expansive version of Hyrule found in Breath of the Wild to become pixelated with 2D graphics from one of Nintendo’s earlier 8-bit or 16-bit consoles or handhelds?
Well, you’re in luck, as some talented Zelda fans have crafted imaginative video creations of what such a “demake” would look like. Below are two YouTube videos which look at four of the most iconic 3D Zelda adventures. The first video is courtesy of Nintendo Wire and includes a compilation of Ocarina of Time on the Game Boy Advance, The Wind Waker on the Game Boy Color, and Breath of the Wild also on the Game Boy Color.
The second video is thanks to Dylan Trak with a 16-bit imagining of Twilight Princess for the Game Boy Advance including its iconic title scene introduction.
In terms of which games would be the best candidates for a “demake,” controls and size of the overworld are two potential limiting factors in my opinion for having a 3D console game become a viable 2D top-down view perspective game. For example, so much of Skyward Sword is dependent upon the motion controls (or the angle of a sword slash with the right stick in button-only mode) in 3D space that I’m not sure it would work without fundamentally changing the core of the game when flattened into a 2D perspective.
For games with massive overworlds like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, I think it would be far too easy to get lost in a sprawling overworld when you can’t rotate the camera, and it would require a dramatic shrinking of the world to function well in 2D. But for Breath of the Wild, the fact that the overworld was so immense was one of the key selling points of the game, so changing it would go against its very heart.
I think a game that would be a good candidate (and would be personally enjoyable to me) would be The Wind Waker, as shown in one of the video examples provided above. A potential positive of an 8-bit or 16-bit top-down version of The Wind Waker would be shrinking the size of the Great Sea to reduce the amount of open water “dead space” between islands, which is one of its criticisms. This change could help the islands to feel more prominent. Once on an island, I think the true size of it from the console version could be easily be retained. One of the things I love about The Wind Waker is its music, and the version of “The Great Sea” and “Dragon Roost Island” played in the example video above still stirs in me the longing for adventure despite being akin to what you would hear on an original NES or Game Boy.
Another option would be the two DS handheld games, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. While the loss of stylus controls would certainly change much of the game, fans often bemoan the stylus controls as something to overlook or grin and bear through. For those that do adore the games, I don’t often hear people champion the stylus controls as one of the things that makes these games great, but instead they focus on other attributes of the game. Both games don’t have a free-rotating camera and are similar to the 2.5D games like the 2019 version of Link’s Awakening. They could easily be made into a 16-bit pixelated art style that approximates the low resolution polygons of the DS with a button-only control scheme. I think such versions would certainly breath fresh and new life into them for fans that have never experienced them.
Would you like to see Nintendo come up with a “demake” like one of the games mentioned here? If so, which game and which system would it include? Do you think any of the 3D games would play better as a 2D game? Let us know in the comments below.
Jared Eubanks is a staff writer at Zelda Dungeon, and he is also a husband, father, and engineer. He is originally from the Atlanta, GA area and still lives there. He graduated from Georgia Tech and is a proud Yellow Jacket. He loves to play boardgames, build Lego, and read books with his family. He’s been gaming since childhood with the original NES and GameBoy, and he enjoys retro gaming, collecting, and modding consoles and handhelds. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild but is also fond of the older classic titles.
