Come See Link and The Great Deku Tree Rendered in Unreal Engine 4

Unreal Engine 4 is something that isn’t fully functional on the Wii U (nor is it intended to be). It can be run if someone wishes to put in the work, but there will be limitations compared to some other platforms – that’s just a stark reality when your hardware isn’t comparable to your competitors. That’s why seeing anything from The Legend off Zelda rendered in the engine itself is fun to talk about as it raises an eyebrow when considering the possibilities.

CryZENx created an open field scenario with Link and The Great Deku Tree with a nice video for us to see above. It’s more a proof of concept than anything you’d want to play for yourself. Link himself isn’t fully animated as you can see in the running animation, though he does a great roll (I mean, you’re supposed to roll everywhere…right?). You can also see Link’s tunic whip in the wind, though the hat area could arguably use some work. The Great Deku Tree himself is only seen for brief moments, so it’s hard to say much about it.

Overall the scenery itself is gorgeous, and it does make me yearn for the Zelda series to try out this sort of approach to world building in this visual style. A fun easter egg note: you can see The Moon from Majora’s Mask in the background. What do you think?