8 Video Game Fan Films That Deserve Mainstream Recognition
5. Fan Animation Of Zelda
Everyone knows about IGN's notorious 2008 April Fool's day prank in which they released a Legend Of Zelda trailer to the immense excitement and subsequent fury of thousands, but has anyone actually gone back and watched it recently? It's... janky, to say the least. Various other Zelda fan films have been released to varying degrees of quality and success over the years, but one that warrants special mention is the... imaginatively-titled Fan Animation Of Zelda.
Uploaded to YouTube with no fanfare, the 2D animated short features a Breath Of The Wild-era Link defending a scared, crying Korok from 2 hostile Guardians. The art style is absolutely beautiful, with both Link and the Korok displaying a great deal of visual personality despite the absence of dialogue.
The animation is of an exceptional quality, easily rivalling the work of many professional anime studios. Of course, the subject matter will resonate with fans of Breath Of The Wild, as going head-to-head with Guardian automata is easily one of the most gruelling aspects of the game, and many have had to rely on Mipha's Grace when missing that ever so tiny parry window, just as this version of Link does.
Despite the film's short length (a scant minute and a half), the relationship between Link and his little leaf-faced pal is established wonderfully. Fan Animation Of Zelda stands as proof that the best approach to any future Zelda adaptation would be as an anime epic - with animator Youyang Kong at the helm, of course.