Have you ever wondered what Zelda’s Adventure would be like on the Game Boy? Well, wonder no more, because one intrepid fan has taken one of the least well-received games in the series and made it into something that actually looks great.
Of course, Zelda’s Adventure isn’t exactly canon in the series’ timeline. Developed by Viridis Corporation, it was published by Philips Interactive Media for CD-i back in 1996.
Despite featuring a playable Zelda (in Zelda’s Adventure, it is Link who is spirited away by Ganon), the game was poorly received by, well, everyone. Everything from its graphics to its acting came under fire, and even some of the most die-hard Zelda fans have generally avoided it.
However, fast forward to today, and Zelda’s Adventure is once again playable, but not on the ruined CD-i. I must say, it all looks rather tempting. This new version is the brainchild of programmer and graphic designer John Ley, who re-imagined the title as a Game Boy release.
Here’s a short launch trailer for it, comparing the Gameboy dime to the original CD-i version of Zelda’s Adventure.
Le told Kotaku that he started working on the Zelda Adventure remake during the COVID lockdown, and it finally released last month. If you want to take a little shot at Zelda’s Adventures you can do it now on a Game Boy emulator – here’s a link where you can download the ROM from the Let’s Itch page.
If you don’t feel like doing that, though, you can check out Laz’s own playthrough via the video below.
As for Demec’s reception, Le told Kotaku that they were “overwhelmed by the positive response”.
“Thank you to everyone who supported the project,” said Le. “I hope you enjoy the game!”