Art: If Nintendo Ever Took Zelda Into The Future, We'd Want Link To Look Like This

At that point he may as well just use a Ray Gun, lol. Unless that sword can fire beams or something. (And I'm not talking about the full health beam)

id like to see ithappen but first id like to see a full blown Steam Punk zelda game it work so well to,.

I'd rather they make a sister franchise to Zelda, sharing a lot of the base gameplay design but with a futuristic setting instead.

I'm not against the idea of Link set in a technologically-advanced Hyrule, but something in particular about this designs doesn't sit well with me.

I think the addition of white and especially orange to Link's outfit is kinda ugly. But otherwise not a terrible design. The Master Sword however is a timeless weapon so I don't see why it would change, but the idea of a futuristic beam-shooting sword could be pretty cool...

Meh. Random and unremarkable.

He looks kinda Jak-ish, from Jak and Daxter.

I love those fan concept art. But I think that this santa claus green stuff in his head is old and should be discarded, thought is a trademark for link nowadays. Well, at least the footage of the Zelda Wii U he doesn't wear it anymore

I like his designs they're pretty cool. Also the Overwatch characters do look awesome!

@Tsurii That's right. It's better to invest in new IP's. It's more risky but Nintendo need a lot of IP so it can't ony rely on a few. One day, the Zelda formula will be outdated. It won't last forever.

While the artist is clearly talented, I am glad he's not in charge of a Zelda game.

It's beautifully rendered, I love the art style. But I don't want this as a Zelda game.

Though if Overwatch comes to NX (Please!), this needs at least be a skin for a character if not a guest entry

That looks awful, I really don't want Zelda in future.

@MrKenta We already have that. It's called Metroid.

I wouldn't mind a spinoff series of Zelda with more modern elements, but I was thinking more present day. Metroid already has the futuristic setting covered.

No.

That looks kinda clunky ....
If they really want to take Zelda to the future, they really should use the "dystopian future" trope and really bring that home. A dark theme would fit this better than nearly anything, but Nintendo dosen't like dark themes ....

Navi would be in smartphone form. She would blast out annoying hints in rap music form and low quality audio

@RupeeClock yeah but how many of those franchises are still active and frequent?

F-Zero, Game & Watch, Punch Out!, Duck Hunt, R.O.B and Earthbound are all long out of action. That's -6.

Megaman, Bayonetta, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, Pac-man and Sonic the Hedgehog are all not owned by Nintendo and most don't actually come to Nintendo systems. -6 again, total -12.

Then there's a few that are their own thing but are so heavily tied to Mario it's hard to separate them: Yoshi, Wario and Donkey Kong. An arguable +3. To a non-Nintendo player they're essentially Mario brand though.

Pikmin and Kid Icarus received a new breath of life recently, though the latter is not likely to get another for some time. Potential +1 or 2.

Metroid. sigh Well Federation force is something I guess. Reluctant +1

So we're left with Zelda, Miis, Fire Emblem, Kirby, Pokémon, Star Fox, Animal Crossing and Mario that we can rely on. And to be honest Star Fox isn't that reliable and before Awakening, Fire Emblem was ready for the chopping block. So around 10-13 IPs.

Of course there are other non-Smash IPs but it's not a huge amount really. And when they properly focussed on a new IP we got Splatoon! We had a bunch of others they hid away behind their staples and they were mostly brilliant but they flopped because Nintendo didn't put faith in them. When it finally did it was a rousing success! They shouldn't leave their staples behind of course, and I'd love for them to resurrect more forgotten IPs, but they do need to focus on new ones too. Not to mention most of these IPs have been around for decades. It's impressive but they really do need to add some extra spice if they want to keep up with the other two.

Miswritten article + fans with lack of general gaming knowledge = purists in a seething rage

@Detective_TeeJay trues.. But what IF.. the sword could have just limited range, maybe a short distance beam can shoot out at full charge spin attack, almost like a grounded sonic boom, but then your ray gun idea, can be just a power up item, like the slingshot was. Or maybe have a targeted beam replace the arrows. I know this isn't happening, but it would be pretty cool to futurize the hero of time like that. I like this concept, and your beam idea is pretty awesome too. I'd pay good money to play that.

I really like the design actually! It has very cool color coordination!

A game with a futuristic setting and Zelda-inspired gameplay? So you mean Starfox Adventures, then?

I hope they never do it for TLoZ, really. I don't think it fits. It would be what happened to Final Fantasy, when the medieval fantasy setting of the early games was ditched for futuristic Japanese teenager emos with obnoxious haircuts.

If they ever did a future Zelda, I'd still want Link to have the classic green turban and sword.

The first thing I thought when I saw this was "I'm definitely getting Overwatch vibes here".

Hey we all saw the e3 trailer for Zelda u, that arrow that Link used was not magic. FUUTUURE!!

Doesn't look bad! By the way: I am all up for a futuristic Zelda!

And yeah: The arrow from the Zelda u teaser looked very futuristic.

@MetaRyan yeah it's pretty funny

I really like this design, would fit right in with the Overwatch world! Man I really wanna play that game, have only seen videos and trailers so far

I could go for a far-post-apocalyptic Zelda, where nature has mostly come back, and whatever super-high-tech structures and artefacts are pretty much regarded as magic. It'd start off completely traditional, but end up with link in the bowels of the ancient planetary defence system base trying to reactivate some giant frickin' super laser. Because... erm... the moon was about to crash down? Nah', that'd be too far-fetched

Please no.

@japongt no, indeed.

No! God, please, no!! The drawings are pretty cool though

The artist has talent, but HELLLLLLLLL NAHHHHH, BRUUUHHHH

Geezuz why are so many people against a Future based Zelda I have always wanted to see what it would be like to take the series into the future they dont have to get rid of the Master Sword. One plot I imagined could involve the sudden reemergence of magic in the world. To those of saying just make a new IP keed in mind introducing a new IP with no connections to an established franchise is a very big risk in this day and age

The drawing by itself is pretty good, so it's a gifted artist, but I guess I'm a Zelda purist then, because the answer if Zelda should go that way is a resounding NO!
Also a bit strange that his ears have been replaced by bluetooth gear...

A Zelda game in a futuristic wouldn't have to have a Link looking like a super modern sci-fi warrior himself. Just think of the Jedi in Star Wars: very traditional warriors and firm believers in magic and higher powers in the midst of a highly advanced and technical world.

@Sauron75 @Henmii The arrow (and bow) in the Zelda trailer didn't look futuristic at all: it was made of a rough wooden frame with rope and metal adornments. The part lighting up was simply some magical gem or energy:

Honestly I don't think this visual style would work in a game, but I'd probably be up for a Western-style comic featuring this model.

I think what so many people are forgetting is that when LoZ was first being made, Link was going to travel back in forth in time from what we know it now and this kinda futuristic look and collecting microchips. Hence where his name comes from... Link, or hyperlink... get it?

The only thing I don't like about Zelda fan art is the obligatory use of Triforce insignias on his apparel. Link doesn't wear Triforces, Zelda and other royals or holy types do.

@NewAdvent Yeah, to me it almost looks like something from the Inca's or Maya's.

@TheRealThanos I'm glad you posted his video. I never noticed Link flicking that switch open and pulling that trigger with his finger to pop the arrowhead into place. Nice little added detail.

I like the designs a lot. I actually think it could be a great idea, but they should probably just create new characters and a new ip altogether if it ever happened.

Looks like a boss from Mega Man X.

@DoctorWily You're welcome. Had to do a bit of searching to get the right GIF, but I think this one does the trick...

@DoctorWily Although to me it looks more like he's switching on the magic, since the lights go on the second he does that.

Then again: I'm no archery expert, so what do I know?

@Ogbert I have a few quibbles:

IPs coming out too frequently I would argue can be a bad thing. With all but the biggest franchises (Mostly Mario and its spinoffs) Nintendo is pretty good about waiting until they have a compelling reason to make sequel before they do it. This way you don't end up with a platformer version of Madden, where annual updates are basically just level packs. I agree that we can count things like Gyromite as effectively dead, but F-Zero had 64 and Gamecube entries, and Punch Out!! got a Wii entry.

You're also not considering non-smash roster IPs (or Smash Assist trophy IPs if you want to look at it that way). Sin & Punishment, Nintendogs, Chibi Robo, Golden Sun, Dillon's Rolling Western, Pushmo, Advance Wars, Steel Diver, Pilotwings, Codename STEAM, and probably more. Now you may not like all those IPs, but they all have had various degrees of release in the last few generations.

I guess my point is that no other gaming company maintains even close to as many IPs as Nintendo does, yet Nintendo is the only company that people regularly claim needs new IPs. I agree that more new IPs from Nintendo is a good thing, just because they have such creative ideas that don't need to be boxed in by franchise expectations. But in the end, it's just one company that is working to maintain a steady stream of first-party releases for two platforms that it also creates and maintains. At some point, they can stretch themselves too thin, and the quality starts to suffer. I, for one, think they have done a good job of doing this virtually all on their own without watering down their biggest IPs with too many releases (with the arguable exception of the New Super Mario Bros. franchise, but even that hasn't seen a release since NSMB U).

It's a delicate balance, and everyone's got an opinion, but I think statements like "Nintendo needs more new IPs" need to be qualified to include the idea that Nintendo already has more than anyone else, and acknowledge that more new IPs means less focus on the ones people know and love.

I'd be down as fugg for a sci-fi LoZ!!

@RupeeClock Many characters from the same franchise, others from non nintendo franchises... Only recently Nintendo is having more IP's like Splatoon, Fire Emblem, etc

I hate to boo somebody's idea but that looks awful.

Man, this is very well drawn. I'm jelly.

That looks a bit like a Link skin of a Phantasy Star Online Human Hunter. Perhaps this is a subconscious longing of NL for Sega to make a return to prominence?

I like the look and I'm down with the idea of going there.

Going to the future was one of the original ideas in the first game. I'm surprised they never explored in all the post NES games, which often featured visiting some form of other world.

A steam punk world between the two iterations would be cool too.

I always want a futuristic or steampunk Zelda game. Theread is just so much hidden potential for a game like that.

The second costume from the right looks like it could be from Xenoblade X. Thumbs up!

@TheRealThanos,

To me it looks futuristic!

That actually looks terrible. :-/
Glad Nintendo would never go for this.

If Nintendo ever took Zelda into the FUTURE, I'd hope by then that we'd actually be able to PLAY AS ZELDA!

Something else to keep in mind as far as the new IP vs. spinoff debate is that Nintendo's said they don't like to create a new IP unless their idea doesn't really fit an existing IP that well. Consequently, a spinoff game would need to have just enough ties to the IP while being far enough away from the main gameplay to be its own thing.

This is why I don't think a futuristic Zelda spinoff would work that well, it creeps too close to Metroid's gameplay (which is close enough to Zelda's gameplay as is), if they wanted to go as far as making a futuristic exploration series why bother creating an entirely new spinoff instead of just making a Metroid game?

That's why I said it'd be better to have something more present day, not futuristic. We don't have an exploration game that uses present day technology and abilities, and I could see Zelda naturally branching out into an exploration based spinoff with more shooter elements, sort of along the lines of GTA (but less gritty and mature, there's no reason why Link should be running through Hyrule swearing, killing NPCs, and stealing, but that kind of sandbox style urban shooter would be a good basis for a Zelda spinoff). Imagine a Zelda game in a modern Hyrule with a large sprawling city with tons of things to do and places to explore, dungeons that take place in more modern environments like office buildings and factories, and modern weapons like sniper rifles and grenades taking the place of the bow and bombs. That's the kind of idea that would justify a spinoff, it'd be close enough to the core gameplay to still be recognizably a Zelda game, but it'd be with a more modern theme and gameplay style that would appeal to mainstream gamers. Again, purists would rage at Zelda turning into a shooter, but it would be a fun spinoff that could draw in more mainstream gamers to the series.

@Henmii Well, then your future looks like the Middle Ages, since the materials and style used in the bow are very similar to real life examples from that era. (except for the glowing part, obviously)

Ever heard of steampunk?! Yeah there's rope and maybe wood and metal. But there's also the light and the strange folding part. To me it looks futuristic!

This is different. But I just have one issue:

He needs to be left-handed.

I'd be interested in a Zelda with a futuristic setting but I dislike all of those designs.

@earthboundlink slow reply sorry.

Yeah I know Nintendo has a lot of IPs, it just doesn't use them s my point. Chibi Robo was reduced to a generic platformer in a failed bid to give it wider appeal, they stated before it flopped that it was probably the franchise's last shot before they ditched it. PilotWings, is a Kid Icarus scenario, aside from the one recent 3DS title (which got wrapped into the Mii franchise) it's been dormant for years, and will likely go back to being that way. Golden Sun is long out of action. Advance Wars did get some DS and Wii action but it's since been dropped - heck Fire Emblem was on the chopping block before Awakening did so well! (And not for the first time!). Nintendogs was a brief flash in the plan on DS but flopped on 3DS. Sin & Pinishment has had 2 entries since the N64, file in the "most frustrating that they're not using this IP properly" category next to Metroid.

Sure there are new ones, but outside Splatoon Nintendo doesn't support them. Code Name Steam unfairly flopped because it was brilliant, but Nintendo did so little for it they didn't even put it in their E3 presentation that year. It was announced after in a Treehouse session, long after most had tuned out. Pushmo and Dillon and BoxBoy and HarmoKnight etc, they all remain little experimental titles, Nintendo is not going to expand any of them into a big new IP. Which is nice but also a real shame in the case of some like Dillon, which has a wonderful setting with incredible potential.

And no I don't want them to flood the market with the same IPs, but that is actually what they're doing. We're on the 5th Zelda this gen with 6 around the corner. 3 are remasters, which is cool as a side but Nintendo presents us that as the main thing. Mario has had 5 'Mario' games plus Captain Toad spin off, two Yoshi (which even use Mario enemies) and 4 Mario themed RPGs (inc the one coming) plus Karts and the handful or Sports and Vs Sonic and March of the Minis etc. How many new IPs have they out for WiiU? Not including those spun off from Mario or an established series again. I count maybe 3? The Wonderful 101 (which folk are oft keen to actually brand as "not Nintendo but Platinum", though it is both), Splatoon and Devil's Third (which they picked up, they didn't create it with Valhalla). Meanwhile Sony is keeping up their popular IPs such as Infamous, Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, Killzone, God of War, LittleBigPlanet etc plus they are bringing lots of fresh and exciting things like The Last Guardian, No Man's Sky, Dreams, Horizon: Zero Dawn etc. and for in between those they have all the big third party IP like Street Figter, GTA, Dark souls, Fallout, Assassin's Creed, Overwatch etc. They have quite a mix.

Nintendo do not. Not to the outside folk. They rarely get any of the third party content these days, they did at WiiU launch but not now. Even as a Nintendo fan that watches directs and buys most of their output I'm feeling bogged down with Mario and Zelda at the moment, most of it stuff I've already experienced thanks to the remakes and systematic destruction of all that made the Mario spin-offs unique (every NPC being a Toad is amazingly tedious Nintendo!). To someone on the outside it looks even worse. Not to mention most of these franchises have been going for 10 -20 years now. If you play them you'll know for the most part they keep them fresh and different, if you don't it looks like a prettier version of what was on the NES.

So no maybe they don't need many new IP. You're right they have them. What they need is to support them, to push them and to do something with them! Because they are looking stale. If not to those buying Nintendo then to those not. And right now, those not buying Nintendo are the ones they need to convince. They need to show off how varied their IP library really is and expand it a bit with exciting new things. Splatoon got folk hyped because it was new and they pushed it hard. They know how to do it they just don't.

I actually love this, but im surprised you only just picked up o it. This must be at least five years old.

NO