WiiNoob

Ancient Hyrule Map Made To Celebrate 25th Legend Of Zelda Birthday

One of Nintendo’s cherished video games series turned 25 years old, and one creative gamer took it upon himself to make something really special to celebrate.

With all of the Internets many, many wonderful virtues, like cute baby animal pictures and funny YouTube videos, sometimes special dates pass without little a notice. Such a real shame too, because last month an iconic video game series celebrated its 25th birthday. It was on the day of February 21, that The Legend of Zelda debuted in Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

From that day on, the creation of Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka , introduced a prominent face to the video game universe; an action adventure game that brought with it numerous valuable concepts that have heavily influenced many modern games up to date, in particular the role-playing game genre, which borrowed greatly The Legend of Zelda’s open-world fantasy settings and nonlinear game-play elements.

It’s these heralded accolades too, that have made The Legend of Zelda so beloved to gamers across the world. Just by taking a casual stroll through any gaming-focused event, where the occasional scene of strangers costuming as their favorite video game character can be found, you’d be hard pressed not to see at least a handful of individuals dressed in Link’s recognizable green tunic and brown tights. Some awesome cosplay representations, and others not so much…

Awkwardness aside (along with a strong palette cleanser,) it’s easy to see such wonderful devotion to a video games series that has been so tried-and-true. Devotion which has also spread to other lovely mediums such as art – for example, this fantastic creation of an ancient map of Hyrule, the fictional kingdom where almost every Zelda game usually takes place.

Drawn by Bill Mudron (who is himself a freelance cartoonist and of course a fan of The Legend of Zelda,) the Hyrule map is an superb approximation of The Legend of Zelda’s fantasy setting. Mudron even went above and beyond the calling and detailed every item, palace, and dungeon locations for both The Adventure of Link and the First Quest of The Legend of Zelda.

A mighty fine piece of Zelda art indeed, and even one that you can by at Mudron’s own website for $40 each. Sized as 24 x 36-inches, the Hyrule map comes printed on a archival premium matte paper, which should last the test of time. Even longer than the time that kid might be in jail for using a Nintendo DSi for a terror threat. Heck, if The Great Gatsby game that someone recently discovered can stand the test of time – anything could.