Have you ever wanted to be Link? To really see through his eyes and experience his realities for an entire adventure: traversing, exploring, swordfighting, tights management? OK, maybe not the last one.
Thanks to Oculus Rift, the concept of first-person Link is being realized; at least for the original The Legend of Zelda. Designer Ubiquitron released ZeldaVR Beta in early February, which appears to be a faithful recreation of the 8-bit original in virtual, pixely 3D. YouTuber Vaecon takes the game for a spin in the video below, with the action starting around the 0:55 mark:
It's amazing how much having to peek around a rock to see a monster instead of seeing everything in an omniscient, top-down view can change things. Small touches like keeping the "cave entrance" sound as you descend into a room are also quite neat. According to the game's page, the full version of ZeldaVR is planned to be released in March at no cost; Wii U owners can try out some first-person action in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, of course.
Would you like to try ZeldaVR? What other NES titles would you like to play from a virtual perspective? Let us know below.
[source apps.virtualreality.io]
Comments 51
Cool!
So this is how the game could look if it was 3D and first person. Personally I would rather want to see a link to the past first person.0
A first-person Zelda game!? I thought it would never be possible! It also looks a bit like Minecraft.
That's pretty awesome and a big massive kudos to those who did this but errr... no...
I wonder if nintendo will even allow this to happen
...The video needs work. >.> Loud music, low voice...I can see this being...creepy as ever, being killed by 8-bit sprites...in 3D. xD (and in 1st person)
This was cool for like 15 seconds and then it became nauseating.
I actually kind of liked it. I'd try it for sure, and if they made it interesting enough maybe buy it?? That's a big maybe though.
Meh. The whole first person perspective thing just doesn't do it for me.
Also, why in the world didn't they do something with the trees? They could easily have used two textured planes. It wouldn't have looked great but it would have been better than blocks.
Great idea in theory
Bad conversion.
This is very impressive but not how I would want to play an 8 bit game
@MuchoMochi No reason to buy it, it's gonna be free.
Kinda cool, but the gameobviously makes no sense this way.
Yay, I'd love to play this with my oculus Half Life 2 is pretty cool with it, so this sounds epic
I would love to play this.
This will be immediately targeted by Nintendo copyright infringement. This will never see the light of day beyond what is here.. not even for free.. it's simply illegal.
Did you guys know that Nintendo originally intended The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to be a first-person action-adventure game?
>Source
well guys, first person zelda is still looking like a good idea. this is only more proof of that. aside from the nauseating camera (blame oculus rift & the player), this looked like a good demo of the idea in a zelda fashion. if we had an official zelda game by nintendo that was first person, with nicer graphics (i'll admit that the 8-bit style looks revolting), it would be amazing.
Do this with 3D Dot Game Heroes. I think they'd get the desired effect with that one. Otherwise, I'd buy and play this. No problem.
I still have the low-health ringing in my ears....
How disorientating.
put it on the 3ds eshop and i will pay for it!
slap a wii remote and nunchuck with an occulus rift and its gold
Genius! If they 3D'ized this and put it on the Eshop Nintendo would make a bundle and also be called Genius for doing so. They would sell a gazillion of this on 3DS. Oh I forgot Nintendo doesn't make 3d classics anymore why would they do something like this.
@HopeNForever
I'd so buy this!
Neat idea, horribly stupid in reality.
Like most things gamers think of as "awesome" ideas.
Oculus Rift: the future.........of heaving and nausea!
@the_shpydar
Sounds like the Wii-U gamepad
Well, I played this for a good fifteen minutes, and all I gotta say is that while cool, it really needs some polish.. Frames are a bit inconsistent here and there, but that's just a minor issue... Thanks for posting that website though glad to have an app for my PC that let's me download and play oculus games without all the mess you have to go through for lots of them now..
Cool idea but seems very uncomfortable to play. For one you can't hardly tell how many life you have, the map is too bland and useless, and unless you had something to shoot nonstop the game will get very boring. I rather stick to the 2D NES game.
@the_shpydar So you've got better innovations for the industry with your superior way of thinking?I think it's awesome so I guess I just don't get it?
@JohnRedcorn
That 'M' also stands for four other things: 1) Mushroom as Mario needs to get mushroom to stay in the game. 2) Miyamoto, the creator of this character. 3) Mascot, he basically replaced Donkey Kong as the main mascot of Nintendo, and 4) Money, he collects money (coins) and his games earn Nintendo money.
@Senario Have you tried one ? I tried the Galaxy tech demo on the dev kit at Christmas and it is brilliant. (And my Dad liked it who is not really into games at all. Only console game he ever played a bit was Columns on the Gear Gear). The 3D works for me as well unlike the fake 3D the 3DS uses that I cannot see unless the 3DS is further away than my arms can reach. I cannot see why things like what were done on the Virtual Boy Warioland couldn't be done.
@Senario
I see your point and I agreed. It would only work better for first person perspective only and games that aren't first person probably would be better off being on consoles anyways. This is the same problem I had with Virtual Boy back in the days, the first person games felt amazing but games like Wario Land, Mario Clash, and Panic Bomber really doesn't need to be in VR to play as I felt they are better suit for console or handheld.
@unrandomsam
Games like Wario Land could indeed be done for Oculus Rift, the point is if it's not first person it isn't that interesting as the purpose of VR is to showcase a sense of Virtual Reality meaning making the player feel as part of the game or inside the game. A 3D first person Wario Land game would be amazing but for those who doesn't like to play games in first person will probably get turn off and any games that aren't first person are better off being on console and handhelds anyways. A game like Elder Scrolls V would be perfect for OR but a game like Tales of Xillia probably won't.
@retro_player_22 Nothing is better on consoles any more because of the tradeoffs that are made all the time prioritising graphics / DLC over all else.
Even taking it simply the 3D on the Oculus Rift (Dev kit as well which is of much lower spec) is miles better than that on the 3DS certainly for me but probably for everybody. It is not a trick. Doesn't have to be VR.
For the prolonged use of my hearing and vision I will keep well away from Oculus Rift now and in the future
Looks fun guess...also that minecraft intro
Nintendo should try something like this!
Surely this isn't legal
Looks awesome though
They should add Wii MotionPlus controls along with the 3D first person action XD And also, YogscastMartyn (inthelittlewood) uploaded a video of him playing this, with much better sound quality, higher resolution, and a touch of humor. I would recommend that video over this one.
@seronja They already did (Before it was ready - Have they ever had another go of the same type of thing before ?)
@unrandomsam
Nothing is better on console anymore, so how ya gonna play multiplayer with your family with that thing? You can't just all huddle with the keyboard and mouse to play a game and no one would ever be stupid enough to buy four Oculus Rifts to link up and put on their heads just so they can multiplay together. Consoles are perfect for multiplayer both conveniently and digitally. If I'm going to play a game like Rayman Origins with my family, surely the Oculus Rift isn't the first thing to come to mind let alone a PC (as that thing had other purpose for its existence other than gaming).
Does it not seem incredibly strange to anyone else that these people think they can take something that another company made, alter the perspective, and then give it away for free? Do they really think that there's nothing wrong with that?
V There is a pretty big difference between making a "clone" of a game, and using actual assets from a game that someone else made, changing it up a bit, and acting like it's yours to give away. V
@Tony_342 Nintendo sold a 100% clone of pong in its early years. (Certainly less innovation than this). Clone rubbish quality Lego at one point as well.
With shorter copyrights we might actually get Nintendo putting some effort into their old stuff. (Like the Metroid remake for the GBA got).
This is frickin' AWESOME!
@JohnRedcorn https://twitter.com/BadMiiversePost/status/373164212425461760
It seems I am the only person who think it looks terrible
The guy in the vid REALLY needs to fix his sound lvls.. - ferly cool project lol with the 1st person cam it reminds me of Doom
Pretty cool!
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