Fans of The Legend of Zelda are dedicated to the franchise that dates back to the 1980s through several methods, including fan art. One recent fan art shows Link from the original NES title in a new, horrifying light.
A Redditor known as SpaceMasters recently shared their interpretation of how Link looked in from the original The Legend of Zelda title on the NES. The art takes the original sprite design and imagines it as a smoother 2D model before realizing it in 3D.
Many characters from retro games have long feet, and this is no different with Link in the NES The Legend of Zelda. SpaceMasters' fan art envisions Link as wearing really big slippers on his elongated feet. The green portion of the front of the NES sprite is illustrated as a long piece of cloth that extends up to a mustache on the hero's face. The characters' massive nose is placed between two giant bulging eyes in SpaceMasters fan art, with bushy eyebrows covering the rest of the face.
Most of SpaceMasters' version of Link's face from the original NES game is covered in green hair. Link's hat has holes in their fan art, with thick pieces of flesh protruding through them. These pieces of flesh were likely different colored threads originally intended to add detail to Link's cap in the original The Legend of Zelda title. This hat is also connected to the piece of cloth covering Link's small torso. One of the specific details that SpaceMasters noted in their version of Link was the large rear that this Nintendo hero has always had in 2D iterations of the game.
On the side of Link's head, most fans of The Legend of Zelda may see an ear on the original NES sprite, but SpaceMasters sees a large hand. Link's large hand has been envisioned as resting in the devil horns position. Although this detail makes SpaceMasters' fan art particularly unique, it would make wielding a sword and shield quite difficult.
While SpaceMasters' fan art of Link from the original Legend of Zelda title might look odd, it's a great reminder of the strange sprites from the NES era. Link has evolved over the years since The Legend of Zelda released for the NES back in 1986, but this version of the Nintendo hero may be the most unique. Some Redditors were quick to call SpaceMasters a troll in the comments, but the fan art is gaining popularity in the community.
The Legend of Zelda is available on Nintendo Switch via Nintendo Switch Online.