Have you ever wondered what Zelda: Ocarina of Time would look like if it was released today? One thing we can already say is: beautiful.
It's winter in the year 1999, it's cold outside, and you're sitting in your childhood room in front of a tube TV with your N64 gamepad in hand. You've never seen a game look so realistic before. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the first Zelda game with 3D graphics, allowing you to explore a seemingly endless world.
This is how it felt for many seasoned gamers. Today, we know that so much more is possible graphically and technically, as demonstrated only by Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. This video shows how a 25-year-old title could look today.
Zelda Ocarina of Time In Unreal Engine 5
On the YouTube channel Digital Dreams, a short video was posted showcasing a beach and the Temple of Time from Ocarina of Time in the hyperrealistic Unreal Engine 5.
When you watch these 3 and a half minutes, it's hard to believe that in the 90s, people thought, "It can't get any better than this." The water physics seen here create an incredibly realistic impression, as well as the light effects and the reflective marble in the citadel.
CryZENx, the creator of the Unreal 5 build shown in the video, has even released a gameplay video with over 1 hour of material on YouTube.
He continues to work steadily to fix bugs and add more content. Despite several previously released showcases on the topic, spanning many years (CryZENx has been experimenting with UR4 already), Nintendo has not taken any steps to prevent these experiments with Ocarina of Time.
The video game company has been known for many years to swiftly penalize unauthorized use of its intellectual property. This has ranged from issuing strikes against Let's Players on YouTube to banning mods that use Nintendo-owned IPs.
Why this hasn't happened in this case is unknown. CryZENx himself states on his Patreon page that all projects he's working on will remain unfinished until he gets approval from Nintendo. Perhaps there's a glimmer of hope that it might happen eventually.