Video: Ocarina of Time Unreal Engine 4 Fan Project - One Year of Development

I'm just surprised that it hasn't been canned by Nintendo yet.

And... it's gone.

Looks great & we know the game would be great because it's a graphical overhaul, not a new game.

I really want to remain as a tech demo simply because I don't want to see another foolish take down story.

Eh, the eye pupils look too sharp and enlarged, and the facial expressions look distorted. Even the old N64 expressions looked better than this, due to their softness. The outline for objects like the carpet also stands out way too much. Sharper does not necessarily equal better...

It's funny that so many of these cold, clinical, obviously painstaking yet ultimately pointless flirts with copyright infringement focus on Ocarina, whose graphics are probably the last working-over the game needs not only for it to live up to its ridiculously rose-tinted reputation, but for it to stand out in terms of its own series.

Nintendo stopping it in 3... 2... 1...

I'm a fan of his work. Check his channel

He did a great demo with super Mario sunshine

It just looks so... lifeless.

Wish this was officially happening. I still love Nintendo's style. Just wish we had one good photo-realistic Zelda game.

Shhhhh, don't tell Nintendo.

It looks great for what it is. Facial expression animations a la Wind Waker would be good to work on next.

If/When this beauty gets taken down I'm gonna be so mad.

@Solid_Stannis Having recently (like yesterday) replayed and beaten OOT 3D for the first time since I beat on on the original 15+ years ago, I have to agree that in retrospective, is not that great a game, you basically go from dungeon to dungeon, with sometimes lame hints as to what to do next (like feeding the fish to Jabu Jabu or whatever he's called, or requiring a chicken to awaken Malon just to be able to enter the castle). But that said, you have to remember what it was at the time. There's a lot of mechanics we now take for granted that this game single handedly perfected (if not invented), such as lock-on-enemies or context sensitive actions, all while everyone else was trying to even get a 3D game working properly. It was revolutionary at the time. I'm not sure what age you are, but if you weren't around when this game was released, you can't really understand what it meant for gaming, just like Mario 64 before it.

"Give this Man a Cucco"
Is there a reason this site promotes death?

See, this video is what modern games should look and play like, with vivid imagination and a massive attention to creative details. Nintendo probably doesn't do this because they're cheap, worrying all that work would make a console too expensive. My answer to that is simple: make the absolute best system possible for homes, and quit trying to beat everyone else with tons of portable options!

@Moviefan2k4 "this video is what modern games should look and play like"

Like a lifeless, kind-of-shoddy tech demo with very little cohesion? Play Ubisoft games if that's what you want.

I just, it does not look right. The stiff animations of the the N64 (and 3DS version to a degree) was due to the low poly nature of it. We did not notice how uncanny it was because of the surrealistic nature of those kinds of games. As soon as you bring it to the HD era and update the models and environments even the most tiny detail can make the game look worse and unrealistic. Take running for example. When we run we tend to use our full body and our body shifts ever so slightly when we put our weight in each step. OoT (N64) did not need this because being low poly it never looked real to begin with so our brains never cared that the detail was missing. However, here the effect of not having the right smooth and detailed animations takes me out of the experience because it looks unreal and strange. You can put the highest resolution textures and the most bloom and particle effects at me as you want if the small details are not right it ruins the entire project for me. Looks nice in a screenshot, but in motion it makes me feel sick.

I'm sure his heart is in the right place, but this entire project is the reason why I hate these fan remakes that do not understand what makes the AAA game makers pros at doing these things. It is why Miyamoto questions where every rock is place or Naughty Dog spend millions on motion capture for Uncharted. The higher something is in "realism" the more realistic it has to be or else the entire project will look more unappealing than an N64 game.

Projects like this are good for two reasons:

1) They give the creator a solid, familiar foundation to work from, which is an important feature in learning any craft or skill. I've used the analogy before, but no-one is forced to exclusively 'play their own music' when learning an instrument, and budding artists/calligraphers/sculptors/etc. often try to emulate famous pieces to hone their skills and get a better understanding on how the famous works were constructed. "Good artists copy; Great artists steal", and all that. Perhaps a dubious philosophy for selling your own work, but a fine one for developing your abilities it in the first place.

2) They provide perspective against which to view the original work, and this becomes especially interesting as time and technology move forward. What aspects of the originals really made them 'great games'? What gave them their visual character and identity? A number of users have commented that this demo looks someone 'stiff' and 'soulless' compared to the original games, and I'd be inclined to agree (though some progress has clearly been made through development). However, that in itself is an interesting observation, as it questions the idea that simply throwing a load of polygons and lighting effects at something make it automatically look 'better'. A more striking example is given by the Sunshine video above. Zelda looks 'off', but Mario has walked right up the Uncanny Valley into 'disturbing' territory. It looks like some sort of obscene plasticine experiment gone wrong, with almost none of the charm that made the original game so vibrant and appealing.

So yeah, even if the projects don't outdo the originals, the creator gains skills and a well defined project to work on, and the general public gain another look at the games. I should think most people at least find the above project 'interesting' to look at, even if they don't like it. It might not look perfect, but then neither does a lot of fan art, and we can generally tolerate yet.

So long at it stays as a 'project', rather than a full scale alternative to the original games, I don't see what harm it's doing to anyone. It's not "damaging Nintendo's IP" more than any drawing I could scribble together of Link doing unspeakable things with a vacuum cleaner and a pot of glue. Unless it does get released to the public, it's simply a mild curiosity. Which is... y'know, fine.

Am I the only one who thinks Zelda kinda sucks?

I tried Ocarina of Time, Minish Cap and Twilight Princess and they all sucked. Never finished one. I always get bored after a few hours. Too slow, stiff controls and repetitive battles. Just walking for ages and then walk back. I never really liked Link either. No personality at all, dude doesn't even talk. And who came up with that outfit? A green dress with leather boots. Worst character in Smash Bros too, besides Cloud. All you do in Zelda is riding horses and talking to trees and poo.

Breath of the Wild looks even worse. I read that it's 12 times bigger than Twilight Princess, which means you need to walk 12 times as much. There is a 90 minute gameplay video on youtube and 89 minutes are mindless walking. The other minute Link was pushing rocks and making camp fires. How exciting. It's like Pokémon Go without the Pokémon.

Hope they enjoy their C&D letter.

@Maxz I was thinking a project like this is pointless, why waste your time on somthing that can never be released. But as a learning experience, yeah that makes sense. Now take what you've learned and make your own game. 😉

@BigKing Ever tried Majora's Mask? I'm not that big of a Zelda person myself but that was the only 3D Zelda game that I played all the way through 100% (5 times in fact) because I loved how it was structure so different focusing more on sidequests and I loved trying to squeeze as many tasks as possible in a 3 day cycle.

I would get such a migraine trying to play this.
Atmosphere and pacing are more important than overwhelming detail.
This is NOT realism.
It is an exercise in banality...

@Moviefan2k4 Yes, let's makes every game look exactly alike so that none stand out.

@PipeGuy64Bit I always liked the artstyle and mood of Majora's Mask, but never played it and most N64 games aged quite badly (unlike the Dreamcast, which still kicks ass). The 3DS version is still full priced, because that's what Nintendo does when they rerelease an old ass video game from 15 years ago.

' I loved how it was structure so different focusing more on sidequests and I loved trying to squeeze as many tasks as possible in a 3 day cycle'

Sounds like an office job to me. I guess it's not for me. It sounds like you have to do stuff over and over again. I can't stand games where most of the time you just have to do stuff that doesn't require any skill. Same reason I don't like Monster Hunter and GTA.

@Shugo Want to get a lot of attention and hype? Easy!

Just use several buzz words like: HDR, Unreal Engine, [random visual effect name that isn't even used in the game] or 4k and everyone will be preordering your game before it's even half done.

@Kroko HDR still only renders digitally... But in the next few years, new types of displays are coming out that will actually utilize HDR to it's potential, as well. It's not going to be a buzzword for much longer.

@BigKing $40 may seem a bit much but the price is worth it for the 3DS remake. The remake made many much needed improvements which has made it more accessible for first time players.

There's absolutely no need to redo any completed side quests (besides one or two exceptions) or dungeons because you keep any plot important items, masks and heart pieces when you reset. Completing as much as you can in a cycle isn't necessary but I myself find it satisfying to do so.

Looks fantastic, come on Nintendo match this HD remake...

Too bad nintendo will take this down....

What is the point of this they wont be able to release the game, why can't people make something new that is inspired by a favourite game instead of copying. Don't get me wrong they look good and are talented but are they not talented enough to make something of their own.

To reiterate what others have said, Nintendo wouldn't shut this down anymore than they would stop you from drawing Mario on your notebook. If he starts to create an actual game out of this and start sharing it rather than some areas to run around in, then probably sure. This is just some guy working on something he has a passion for in UE4.

I think it looks great, but it is off a bit. They eyes are what do it for me though. They look like nice eyes, but still a smidge to large and oh-so dead... just kind of staring into an abyss. Would I mind if the next-next Zelda game looked like this? No I would not. Much like I wouldn't mind another cell-shaded one either.

@Ailingforale totally agree. I don't understand some people on this site. They have a problem with this more than Nintendo themselves.
'
"To reiterate what others have said, Nintendo wouldn't shut this down anymore than they would stop you from drawing Mario on your notebook. "

Perfectly answered

@Tingle_The_Great Cause its not the actual game. He is just using his talents to learn more about Unreal Engine and making parts of the game. If he ever tries to release it then he will have a problem.

Nintendo is probably going to destroy it. I hate how it shots down innocent fan products like Pokemon Uranium. That game took 8 years out of a team of peoples' life, and Nintendo just kinda threw it in the garbage.

@BigKing

Jeez. I hate people like you. coming to a place that's centered around something and then openly saying that you don't like it? I find that incredibly rude, so please post your opinion somewhere else or keep it to yourself.

@Wizelf402 You weren't even around when those games were released. It's incredibly rude to mingle yourself in a conversation you don't know anything about. Now go to your room.