This Minecraft mod-free recreation of the original NES Zelda game is uncanny

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom can’t come sooner. Luckily, talented fans of the hero’s saga across the world are entertaining us with an unwavering love for the saga and a sense of creativity that doesn’t seem to run out. YouTuber C1OUS3R previously recreated classic games in Minecraft, like the first Sonic and Super Mario Bros. Now, the creator has reached a new Minecraft milestone by tackling another retro classic: The Legend of Zelda, the first title in the series released in 1986 on NES.

The first step was to recreate the game’s world, to which a slight relief was also added to soften its 2D look. Then, the main challenge was to make Link controllable. C1OUS3R used the Blockbench tool, which allowed him to create 2D assets of the character and make him mobile. Finally, he got the model and placed it in a portable item for the player in Minecraft. By removing his original character, you get a Link that moves in the same way as in the 1986 game.

At this point, it seems that there is nothing new under Minecraft’s pixel sun. Still, this content creator has shown that you can always go the extra mile. C1OUS3R has recreated The Legend of Zelda from NES within the cubic universe without relying on mods of any kind. The best part? It’s fully playable. And in a YouTube video, he shows the creative process, in which he reveals how he rebuilt the world of Hyrule, the characters, the enemies, and the gameplay mechanics, step by step.

This playable recreation is one of the most spectacular tributes to the saga we have seen so far in 2023. We would place it right next to the Doom-style reinterpretation of the same title in VR, Ocarina of Time with Wind Waker graphics, and the reimagining of Zelda II if it came out on Game Boy Advance. Nintendo fans have shown remarkable creativity this year, but making the NES Zelda playable in Minecraft has raised the bar to a challenging level.