Steve Jobs famously said, “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” But I sometimes wonder whether the late Apple CEO would have struggled with predicting what Nintendo fans want.
I still remember the divisive online reaction to the initial reveal of Wind Waker at Space World 2001, when fans hoping to see a more realistic, grown-up Link on the GameCube were met with a cartoony, cel-shaded child Link (quickly dubbed “Celda”) instead.” Of course, that game is now cherished as a classic amongst fans, and it still holds up if you were to fire it up on the Switch 2 via the GameCube Classic library today. Still, skeptics couldn’t get over having caught a glimpse of a tech demo of Link fighting Ganondorf only to be given a stylistically different game instead.
While not at the same level of vitriol, I even recall similar grumbles when what eventually became Breath of the Wild was first teased for the Wii U. The trailer revealed yet another cel-shaded Link–albeit leaning closer to a Ghibli-esque anime aesthetic–which was again different from the more cinematic-looking version with realistic HD lighting seen in the Wii U tech demo.
Yet in recent years, there’s been a 180 in this mindset. After all, many Nintendo fans have literally grown up; if you were a teenager craving more mature games when Wind Waker first came out, you’re now an adult, possibly with kids of your own, and presumably with a wider appreciation of games and aesthetics. Oftentimes, age comes with the understanding that photorealism does not equate to superior art direction. But that has also led to the “Nintendo, hire this man” meme, in which fans who have shared their ultra-realistic remakes of classic Nintendo games are often met with mockery for lacking the whimsical charm in favour of photorealistic rendering techniques in Unreal Engine. That attitude has been the prevailing reaction to the reveal of the Ocarina of Time remake that ended this summer’s Nintendo Direct. Admittedly, the main issue was that the teaser was far too short, given the announcement had been leaked months in advance. However, it also seems as if, after years of decrying that Zelda isn’t mature enough, a glimpse of what is arguably the most realistic-looking Zelda game we’ve ever seen was not what Nintendo fans wanted.
Perhaps this reaction isn’t too surprising. After all, there was a similar response to the surprise Star Fox Direct last month, which gave us a lengthy first look at the Star Fox remake and a new, modernized Fox McCloud. Again, fans were divided over this more realistic “Nintendo, hire this man” aesthetic–Nintendo even caught strays from the series’ original character designer, Takaya Imamura.
The Star Fox reaction surprised me somewhat, given how the original game’s box art featured the cast as puppets and the GameCube spin-off Star Fox Adventures was praised for how realistically it rendered Fox’s furs. Star Fox always struck me as a series that would push for the bleeding edge of technology if it could, so this new hyper-realistic, anthropomorphized art style felt like a logical progression.
We should also consider that, for many years, Nintendo hadn’t been competing on raw power in its hardware. Though that hadn’t been a detriment to its charming, family-friendly aesthetics, where designs like Mario, Kirby, and Pikmin have stayed cartoony and recognisably the same for decades, it could be that Nintendo fans have gotten so accustomed and attached to this expectation that Nintendo should just stay in its lane–even if the Switch 2 does have the graphical grunt to give its classics a much-needed shot in the arm.
In an era when classic Disney animations are also all getting the CG/live-action treatment, it may be that we’re just getting tired of these cynical cash-ins that fail to recapture or even understand the magical artistry of its source material. With Zelda also getting its own live-action movie adaptation, there’s undoubtedly concerns about whether the Ocarina of Time remake tries to tie in with the movie, resulting in an uncanny-looking Link.
It’s still too early to tell, especially as the brief teaser only shows him sleeping; as it stands, we can’t even see what the shape of his eyes are going to be. But I’d be wary of dismissing Ocarina of Time’s visual upgrade as merely Nintendo “hiring this man.” After all, the majority of the teaser wasn’t spent focusing on sleeping Link, but rather on a tapestry, featuring familiar figures from that world–figures such as the Great Deku Tree and the Kokiri, which surely alludes more to Wind Waker’s intro. There’s also a warmth to the lighting in these brief moments that gives me some assurance that this remake could still capture the original’s enchanting fairy-tale vibe.
I adored Breath of the Wild’s art style, but after almost a decade, it’s time for something different. With that said, I’m cautiously optimistic for what direction the Ocarina of Time remake takes. After all, when it’s coming out during Zelda’s 40th anniversary, there’s bound to be more love for this reborn classic than just tossing assets into Unreal and calling it a day.
