Zelda: Ocarina of Time Reimagined by 20 Legendary Artists

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On November 5, a new version of “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” is coming to Switch 2 - a game that has topped the best-of-all-time lists since 1998. To mark the occasion, I did something Nintendo never would: I reimagined Hyrule through the eyes of twenty great artists, from Hokusai and van Gogh to Wyspiański and Beksiński. Three pieces for each, sixty in total.

All the images were generated using the new GPT-Image-2.6 Sunburst in high quality, released by OpenAI on the very same day. Not a single prompt included an artist’s name, only descriptions of technique, just as I detailed in my guide to classic-style posters. The entire set cost me about $2.50 USD. I cover the model itself in my ChatGPT Images 2.6 overview.

This is a fan gallery, not an official Nintendo release. Link, Zelda, and the entire game world belong to Nintendo; these images are simply my personal tribute for the launch and are not for sale. I chose classic artists, most of whom passed away decades or centuries ago.

Katsushika Hokusai

The Edo-period woodblock print master behind “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”. A wave surging across Lake Hylia, Epona beneath a smoldering Death Mountain, and Zora’s Waterfall. Suddenly, Hyrule looks like “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji”.

Utagawa Hiroshige

The other great master of ukiyo-e landscapes, renowned for his rain and wandering travelers. Kakariko Village in the downpour, Lon Lon Ranch at night, and the Gerudo Desert swallowed by a sandstorm. Easily the quietest series of the collection.

Alfons Mucha

The Czech Art Nouveau master famous for posters featuring women framed by ornate halos. Zelda, Saria, and Sheik encircled by decorative auras. The Triforce pattern fits this aesthetic so naturally, it feels like it always belonged.

Gustave Doré

The French printmaker who illustrated “The Divine Comedy” and the Bible. The duel with Ganon, the Shadow Temple, and the Master Sword resting in the Temple of Time. Rendered purely in black and white, yet arguably the most epic work in the entire collection.

Arthur Rackham

The English fairy tale illustrator famous for his expressive, face-bearing trees. The Great Deku Tree with features carved into its bark was an obvious fit, but the Lost Woods turned out even better.

Moebius (Jean Giraud)

The legendary French sci-fi comic artist whose vision helped shape “Alien” and “Dune”. Here, an empty, pastel-tinted Hyrule looks like an alien world Link just touched down on from deep space.

Vincent van Gogh

The Dutch Post-Impressionist behind “The Starry Night” and sunflowers. A swirling night sky over Hyrule with Link playing the ocarina is probably the most natural pairing in this set. And it truly delivers.

Claude Monet

The French Impressionist painter of water lilies and light dancing across water. Lake Hylia and Zora’s Fountain reimagined through Impressionism. Zelda framed in the castle garden window looks straight out of Giverny.

Gustav Klimt

The Viennese Secessionist famed for gold leaf and mosaics, painter of “The Kiss”. Link and Zelda set in a golden mosaic, the Great Fairy, and Ganondorf wrapped in golden robes. The most “gallery-ready” series of them all.

Hieronymus Bosch

The Early Netherlandish painter of hellscapes and bizarre creatures, best known for “The Garden of Earthly Delights”. Inside Jabu-Jabu’s Belly, the overrun Castle Town market, and the Bottom of the Well swarming with tiny monsters. There is so much detail here that it really pays to zoom in.

Albrecht Dürer

The German master of copperplate engraving, creator of “Knight, Death and the Devil”. Adult Link reimagined as a Renaissance engraved knight, the Ocarina drawn like an illustration from a vintage treatise, and Epona rendered as an anatomical horse study.

Caspar David Friedrich

The German Romantic painter famous for lonely figures gazing over seas of fog. Link standing above a sea of fog is one of the best takes on this game I have ever seen. It captures the sheer solitude of a hero burdened with saving the world.

Edward Hopper

The American painter of urban solitude, painter of “Nighthawks”. The Happy Mask Shop at night, the stables at Lon Lon Ranch, and the Shooting Gallery in Kakariko Village. Hyrule stripped of monsters, filled instead with quiet melancholy.

René Magritte

The Belgian surrealist behind the pipe that is not a pipe. The Master Sword suspended over the sea, a window revealing two Links at once, and an Ocarina as massive as a boulder. Easily the most playful series.

Henri Matisse

The French master of color, famous in his later years for vibrant paper cut-outs. Link, Navi, and Epona created from bold cut paper. It works brilliantly, especially since the game has always relied on such clean, primary colors.

Edvard Munch

The Norwegian Expressionist, painter of “The Scream”. The Hyrule Castle drawbridge under a blood-red sky, and a ReDead striking the pose from “The Scream”. The darkest series here alongside Beksiński.

Stanisław Wyspiański

The Young Poland movement artist renowned for his stained glass and floral pastels. A stained-glass window of the Sages, Saria surrounded by wild meadow flowers, and a pastel portrait of Zelda. The wildflower motifs suit Hyrule surprisingly well.

Zdzisław Beksiński

A Polish painter of crumbling cathedrals and skeletons wrapped in golden mist. Ganon’s Castle reimagined as a decaying cathedral and the Shadow Temple carved from bone. This is what the future Link woke up to after seven years could have looked like.

Mary Blair

An American Disney concept artist behind the vibrant color palette of “Alice in Wonderland”. Kokiri Forest reimagined in candy-like tones, round Gorons, and Epona at sunset. The most childlike and joyful series of the bunch.

J. M. W. Turner

An English Romantic painter of swirling storms and light dissolved in mist. Lake Hylia caught in a tempest, the eruption of Death Mountain, and Hyrule Castle framed by a rainbow. Light you can almost feel.

What worked best

If I had to hang three of these sixty pieces on my wall, I would pick Link above the sea of fog in the style of Friedrich, the Master Sword by the shore in Magritte’s style, and Ganon’s Castle inspired by Beksiński. Each of them says something profound about the game rather than just looking pretty: the hero’s isolation, the absurdity of time travel, and a grim future that could have been.

The weakest attempt was Bosch. The model rendered a decent, densely packed scene, but it completely missed the uncanny unease that permeates every tiny creature in Bosch’s work. It is a solid takeaway: the more a style relies on concept rather than pure technique, the harder it is to capture through prompt descriptions.

More gaming galleries: Gamer’s Atlas: 100 Games in the Style of 20 Master Illustrators and a housing project in ten video game styles.

Kinetyra