A creator in Dreams has uploaded a short demo that perfectly captures the art style of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on Nintendo Switch. This is just one of many recreations that players have uploaded in Dreams, LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule’s latest PS4 user-driven game that allows players to create a variety of games, art, and more. More often than not, they choose to make homages to copyrighted material.
Using Dreams, players have already made recreations of other beloved games, whether it’s Red Dead Online or replicating Bethesda’s Fallout 4. No matter the project, fans have proven time and time again that the sky’s the limit when it comes to the amount of creativity that Dreams allows players to experiment with. As a result, it has gotten lots of critical acclaim, with some creators even being hired for jobs as real game developers.
Project Genesis uploaded a video of a demo made in Dreams by creator Relevant-ish, on a fan game that looks to recreate the original NES Legend of Zelda entirely in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening‘s toy box art style. This test level features a near-perfect replica of Link’s Awakening‘s Link, and movement looking about as tight as it is in the Switch title and visuals and audio being more obvious – but promising – works in progress. The demo starts just the classic NES adventure, with Link going into a cave and seeing the iconic old man to receive his sword. From there, Link can explore the immediate few screens around the first. For now, a single functional enemy attacks Link and can be slain for an obtainable Rupee, and nearby in a nearby forest is a collectible Heart Piece.
Relevant-ish’s description of the project says that it’s “another project I’ll probably never be able to finish due to Dreams’ absurd limitations.” The video also jokingly memes Nintendo’s likely negative reaction to seeing this small fan project. Considering the exact likeness of this to the actual game, that may be a real concern for this project. Nintendo has previously issued copyright strikes to one creator that used Mario in a Dreams project, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that Nintendo’s fast-moving legal team might go after this The Legend of Zelda demo, as well.
There have been many clashes in the past with Nintendo and fans for taking down fan creations. The possibility of this being next on the list is certainly likely. However, this still stands as another testament to the creativity that fans are capable of expressing in Dreams. There certainly is a danger in replicating games that are in the exact likeness of popular IPs like The Legend of Zelda. But the amount of effort put into what’s already done here is very commendable, and is more evidence that Dreams can potentially help the game developers discover their calling and hone their craft.
