The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a landmark title in modern video game design. Immersive, ambitious, and massive, that we can enjoy such a complex work of art on a compact portable device is proof of how far video game technology has come.
So, naturally, someone out there decided to see what it would look like on ridiculously outdated hardware.
A British artist going by the name @SegaSteven on Twitter uploaded some delectable snapshots of a Breath of the Wild Game Boy demake that has retro gaming fans watering at the mouth. In the original tweet, Sega Steven pitches this hypothetical:
“What if The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was realeased [sic] for the Gameboy in 1993?”
Well, they went ahead and answered it for us. Check out these stunning mockup renders of Breath of the Wild for the Game Boy:
Clearly inspired by A Link to the Past, the images portray Link exploring various iconic locations across Hyrule. One shows Link scaling one of the game’s many Sheikah Towers. Another depicts the familiar stairway in Kakariko village in front of Old Lady Impa’s place. There’s even a fun cameo by Beedle and his silly, giant rucksack.
Taking the retro vibes even further, @SegaSteven even put together a realistic mockup of an early-’90s issue of Nintendo Power featuring their demake, complete with custom illustrations of Link performing various abilities from the game.