How the art direction in The Legend of Zelda has evolved over 30 years

The Legend of Zelda has come on leaps and bounds from its 8-bit origins. Both visually and graphically, the entire series has evolved considerably, and while there are still remnants of the original design in features like the Tears of the Kingdom dungeons, the game is a different beast entirely – at least at first glance. But how radical are these transformations? Let’s travel back in time and revisit the aesthetics for the series as a whole.

The Legend of Zelda

Official promotional art for the original title varies wildly, but largely consists of contemporary anime designs amidst highly detailed environments. The art features simple characters, but also typically includes complex environments that convey the immediate appeal of the escapism and fantasy involved here. What’s also complex are the memorable creature designs, which are instantly recognizable in both art and sprite. The first Zelda’s sprite-work is certainly bare, but colour is cleverly used for a sense of progression. On the ambient glow of a CRT, the moving colours of Link’s tunics or octoroks stand out against the soft tans of the early overworld. Then, they escalate into harsher colours that still enable clear vision. The core experience of a vulnerable player overcoming the harsh environment to find strength became the true unifying experience of the franchise. It all started here.

The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link carries this design philosophy in a similar way. It’s a lot of standard NES colour theory. What’s most important here is because the game is fully on a lateral 2D plane rather than top down, swordplay becomes the core game. Character animations and specific character detail on both Link and his foes matter because you’re going to be mashing that sword button standing or ducking and it’s essential to read your opponent. This emphasis on swordplay and combat with RPG elements started to resemble more typical sword and sorcery RPGs of the time.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was the first time that the hardware could actually support a lot of what the games were attempting to capture. For a lot of players, reading magazines or manuals were the way to experience the game visually. Nintendo Power would include nicely drawn animation cels of the characters, or even the exceptional work of Katsuya Terada.

This game is able to achieve a higher level of mood and atmosphere with solid music and lighting, such as the uniquely themed dungeons inside the skeleton of a long dead creature or a thief’s den where the only way to escape is to use sunlight to reveal the truth. The map of the overworld is able to scroll with beautiful mode-7 technology that allows the player to properly map the world to their brain in a more immersive way than grids ever did. Walls able to be bombed now have a visual tell to them, encouraging the player to actually survey their environment.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, the first game in the series on Game Boy, set the standard for the Zelda handheld experience. Koholint Island is a tropical paradise. It’s also dreamlike, evoking a lot of external Nintendo imagery to both capture the absurdity of a dream. We’ve got Goombas, Wart, Princess Peach, and even Kirbys. Jumping is hard to portray in a 2D space, but the Roc’s feather gives Link a very clear animation. Even the original black and white version is impressive, but the DX edition gave a defining palette and also included a brilliant colour dungeon that actually utilized colour in puzzle solutions. The storybook charm of the Switch remake resembles the DX photographs, in a chibi style, but is able to maintain the sincerity of the original series by having an incredible rendition of the soundtrack.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Ocarina of Time’s art direction is primarily decided by Koizumi’s iconic character design and animations. In a now infamous story, Koizumi’s wife told him to drop the goofy nose from Link, so that Link could look more handsome, which is probably the best example of how Zelda transformed into a more serious, graceful effort. This is the first time Zelda was in 3D, but it replicated the previous styles: colourful characters with realistic environments.

Link’s journey into adulthood and Ganon’s more developed backstory as a deceptive man called Ganondorf flesh the story into a more developed experience. Towns now have defined characters and species with their own cultures, and the environments can vary between fields of textures or pre-rendered backgrounds. Castle Town feels alive in the past, as child Link disappears into the crowds at the center of town. Eventually, the desolate future becomes the backdrop for a lone hero.The goofy childlike dungeons of the deku tree or Jabu-Jabu’s belly contrast with the mature and dramatic fire or shadow temple. Perhaps the tone of the game can be seen as child Link resembling the Zelda games that came before, and adult Link resembling the Zelda games going forward.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Majora’s Mask lands at a curious spot where, in utilising the assets of Ocarina of Time, it’s also able to commit to a completely different style through what’s new. As a land, Termina feels a tad like Link’s Awakening, only the repeating imagery is meant to feel like an impending nightmare. The clock forever remaining as part of the HUD maintains a level of tension for the player, and the designs of the species and towns evoke a grim mortality. This is the Zelda game most rooted in horror, and even the wacky, colourful characters have a twisted creepiness. I’m looking at you, Tingle.

What’s more exciting here is that Termina has its own culture and mythology. The goddesses of Hyrule are out, whatever fairy tale escapism that we feel comfortable with is thrown out the window. What we have now are grotesque masks, tribal cults, and a demonic presence. From the giants to Majora himself, the very mythology of the world feels far removed from the series’ typical conception of divinity. Bosses in this game also carry this sinister bend to them, such as Odolwa. Other sources of folklore such as West Virginia’s Flatwoods monster become designs for aliens as they raid a farm. Colour is used here more than in Ocarina of Time, but intentionally to push the player out of their comfort zones. The moon towers overhead with a pained, horrified expression as it comes crashing down, slowly but surely.

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Wind Waker’s radical cel shading enabled a lot of brilliant changes. Mostly, it enabled expressiveness. Link’s eyes shift around the room and display a wide range of emotions that are easily readable. The eyes turn to points of interest in a room, and the colours pop with bright unique lighting even in the darkest of spaces.The environments feel wonderfully painted with nice textures, but the stand-out here is the ocean itself. A vast light blue field spanning the entire horizon, with gentle curves of whitecaps to capture the imagination. The characters here aren’t necessarily for children either. Link’s tangible goal is rescuing his sister, and many NPCs have tragic stories of their own. Here, Ganondorf’s motivation as a character is at his most grounded and realistic. Which, on reflection, is wild if you consider Wind Waker to be aimed at a younger audience, as the art direction may suggest.

The ‘Toon Link’ style would go on to define an entire era of the series. 2D Zelda benefitted from the expressiveness and colour, and the humor and personality brought by the portable dialogue and funny quests complimented the art style properly. Even now, perhaps Toon Link was the most iconic Link’s ever been.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess might’ve been the closest Nintendo ever got to a response to fan backlash. Particularly for Americans at the time, there was a sizable portion that felt Wind Waker’s aesthetic didn’t capture what they were wanting in a Zelda. In actuality, Twilight Princess’s art direction serves as an ultimate tribute to both Nintendo 64 titles, Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. The game certainly wants to seem dark at points, but even in the gritty colours the shapes and expressions of the faces and character designs seem surprisingly varied and exaggerated.

The Twilight Realm’s dark saturation isn’t necessarily devoid of colour, rather colour stands out. When anything wacky happens in Twilight Princess, it stands out against the realism felt. No other game has the most unhinged species design on the planet, taking cues from MC Escher for the Ooca, but it belongs perfectly in the dark fantasy that Twilight Princess attempts. Humor and darkness are intertwined, and every Zelda game is just a balance of the two. But Twilight Princess’s art style was unsustainable. The detail without the colour proves a challenge, especially for hardware that’s not even close to HD.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword tries to be cinematic, having a completely defined story and progression. The environments actually take the biggest artistic leap, becoming inspired by the impressionist movement. The trees and skies pop with colour never seen before, while the characters have distinct features to convey their personality. Certain characters like Groose hold iconic silhouettes while the enemies take huge inspiration from Zelda II and Ocarina of Time. Because Skyward Sword has such a huge focus on swordplay, enemies clearly telegraph their behaviours and animations for the player to appropriately respond. The enemies are at their boldest, from the bokoblins to the legendary Ghirahim and Demise. Monster designs that reflect item weaknesses are at their most prominent as well, for better or worse.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

In its efforts to redefine the gameplay of the series, Breath of the Wild decided to take a mature middle ground between the latest instalments. Cel shading is prominent and environments pop with vibrant colours, especially the Sheikah technology with its unique oranges and blues that stand out against the natural Hyrule. The friendly creatures also have specifically unique character designs that are separate from the rest of the series. The Zora, for instance, do not resemble a singular species but rather a wide array of sharks, stingrays, and other fish-like beings.

This wide variety enables specific characters to be memorable, like the ever handsome Prince Sidon. Notably, there’s a lot of Studio Ghibli influences, especially from Princess Mononoke [editor’s note: the best Ghibli film, of course]. Some elements are completely maintained, such as the Korok design being exactly as it was back in Wind Waker. This shows the flexibility of the Breath of the Wild style, as it is able to be exactly what the art demands it to be at any given time and have it feel appropriate.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Everything previously mentioned remains with Tears of the Kingdom, but the Zonai and increased variety of enemies mean that there is a unique feel to the rest of the game. Gibdos, gleeoks, constructs… the myriad new enemies evoke a more serious design rooted in horror and high detail. There’s heavy studio Castle in the Sky influences, especially in the Sky Kingdom parts of the game, while The Depths has its own haunting aesthetic that embraces darkness and a goopy poison known only as gloom. Perhaps this area also reflects the Ghibli classic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Colourful, expressive characters mixed with beautiful environments and memorable creature designs? Well, that doesn’t seem too different from its origins. Perhaps the games were finally able to catch up to our imaginations.

Make sure you read up on our efforts to cook a full meal from the Tears of the Kingdom, and if you’re new to the series, we also have a complete guide on where to begin with Link and his adventures.

Images credited to HistoryOfHyrule.com.