The Japanese classic Zelda site is a treasure trove of old art

It’s worth a look for the art alone

Nintendo is an absolute character factory. Their games have been raising fans for generations, who have become attached to various characters from their history. The actually iconic look of Link is something that’s changed over the years, but has remained in the collective consciousness since 1986. The thing is, it had to start somewhere, and this Japanese Zelda site is a lovely way to preserve that legend.

Incredibly, Nintendo has retouched and re-released old promotional art for classic Zelda games. As Spelunky developer Derek Yu points out, some of these are technically new pieces, as they were previously obscured in manuals with text or other distractions. It pretty much has everything: a breakdown of NPCs, monsters, and memorable ads that folks from that era will likely recall vividly.

Make sure you go to the bottom of the page and select each game! It’s subtle, but it’ll allow you to jump between the original Zelda, Zelda II, and Link’s Awakening if you press the below buttons so you can see all of the classic art.

So why is this Japanese Zelda site getting so much attention all of a sudden? Nintendo is prepping for the release of the Zelda Game & Watch device, which arrives on November 12, and sports The Legend of Zelda, Zelda III, Link’s Awakening, and Vermin (reworked with Link).