It is an exciting time for fans of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Not only is an official remake expected to launch on the Nintendo Switch 2 later this year, but now, one talented fan has turned the beloved 1998 title into a stunning piece of animation, leaving us hoping that any potential anime series would look just as good.

First released almost 30 years ago for the Nintendo 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is not just considered one of the greatest video games of all time, but many consider it to be the best Zelda game, period. Following Link as he returns to Hyrule once more, we join him as he sets out on a quest to put a stop to evil king Ganondorf by traveling through time itself. Luckily, he is accompanied by his trusty ocarina which, by playing, allows Link to progress on his journey.

Receiving a remake, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, for the Nintendo 3DS back in 2011, fans can now look forward to yet another modern-day remake later this year.

Until then, however, a fan-animation has appeared on YouTube courtesy of Hugo, who has managed to create a completely hand-drawn 2D animation of the beloved game.

“This is a fan-animation of the video game “The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time“, entirely hand-drawn, animated and digitally painted by me,” the video description reads. “As a professional traditional 2D animator, doing this project from A to Z, including the digital painting, coloring process and the sound editing was a challenge.”

However hard the process may have been, it most certainly paid off as the result is truly stunning. The video, which merely lasts under three minutes, turns Ocarina of Time into the anime we have been begging for for years, and with stunning hand-drawn animation to boot, we cannot help but want more.

Better yet, this project did not use any AI and is testament to the creativity that humans are capable of when they put the effort in and, as such, fellow fans took to the comments to share their thoughts on this fan-made Ocarina of Time animation.

“Please clone yourself many times so you can make an entire movie with all your clones,” the top comment reads. “You are absolutely incredibly talented, and I’m blown away.” Another agreed, adding, “What really makes this is the callback to the original artwork. Seeing it in motion is incredible. Well done.”

“I loved the Ghibli hair effect when pulling the sword,” one fan noticed. “The transition in referencing the concept art blew me away! Absolutely beautiful. Ocarina of Time is an everlasting story. Thank you for your hard work!”

With another comment simply reading, “Literally the best Zelda animation I’ve ever seen. PERIOD,” it is safe to say that this YouTuber now has some dedicated fans who are eager to see more.

Whilst Hugo has not confirmed that they will be working on any more of this project, we can only hope that this will be the case. If not, Nintendo really needs to snap them up and give us The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time animated show we have been waiting for.

Released

November 21, 1998

ESRB

E10+ for Everyone 10+: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes

Developer(s)

Nintendo

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Engine

Zelda 64 Engine