February 21, 2026, marked the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. In the years since the original game’s release, the Zelda series has gone on to become an absolute titan of the gaming industry. The series boasts over 20 original titles, and its main characters, Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, have become nearly as iconic as other gaming mascots like Mario and Luigi. Given the series’ success and popularity, it only makes sense that there would be a lot of excitement surrounding such a landmark anniversary for The Legend of Zelda.
With a new Nintendo Direct dropping tomorrow, Zelda fans can only hope that we will be getting an official announcement about what’s next for the series. The rumored Ocarina of Time remake is high on my list of things I’d love to see, though I wouldn’t be sad about a new entry in the mainline series either. Of course, with a franchise as beloved as Zelda, official releases aren’t the only way to celebrate the series’ 40th birthday.
Like many media properties with a large following, there are plenty of talented fan artists creating their own Legend of Zelda content. Earlier this year, the YouTube channel OUSM.C released a beautiful fan animation called The Hyrule Fantasy. The project features a series of vignettes that capture distinct moments from Link’s journey in an anachronistic fashion that blends several of the series’ most iconic entries into a single adventure.
This Zelda Animation Is Absolutely Gorgeous
The Hyrule Fantasy utilizes highly-stylized, hand-drawn animation to present the world of Zelda in a completely unique way. Characters move in a bouncy and exaggerated way, allowing for a lot of emotion, and occasionally physical comedy, to be conveyed without the need for dialogue. This adds a lot of personality to Link while retaining his mostly-silent demeanor.
While the character animation is great, for me the standout quality of the short animation is its environments. The backdrops of any given scene are beautifully painted in a watercolor style. There are several scenes that I revisited just to pause and look at the foliage or the distant mountains. The short isn’t just gorgeous to look at, but The Hyrule Fantasy also does an incredible job recreating the feeling of playing Zelda.
The Spirit Of Zelda, Perfectly Captured
The Hyrule Fantasy creates homages to iconic moments from the Zelda series with an original take on each one. Moments like pulling the Master Sword from its stone, diving off a cliff and gliding in Breath of the Wild orTears of the Kingdom, or exploring the seas in The Wind Waker are all alluded to in the short animation. However, none are perfect one-to-one recreations, making this feel like a fresh new journey with familiar elements, which itself is a very Zelda characteristic.
The animation also uses familiar sound effects and musical stings to perfectly capture the experience of playing The Legend of Zelda. The soft score of the piece enhances the beauty of the animation and gives it a peaceful feeling. Anyone who finds comfort in the Legend of Zelda games will likely see their experience reflected back at them through The Hyrule Fantasy. I highly recommend the short to any fans of the series.
- Movie(s)
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The Legend of Zelda (Live-Action)
- Video Game(s)
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The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess , The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Hyrule Warriors, Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS), Cadence of Hyrule, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
- First Game
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The Legend of Zelda
- Character(s)
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Link, Princess Zelda, Ganon