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Legend of Zelda Fan Games

Looking for more adventures in Hyrule and beyond? The Legend of Zelda community has created some amazing fan games and ROM hacks over the years. Here’s a guide to some popular platforms, games, and modifications, along with where you can find them:

Fan Games: New Adventures Built from Scratch

These games are typically built using custom engines or tools, offering entirely new experiences.

Zelda Classic & PureZC

What it is: Zelda Classic is an engine/editor primarily used to create fan games based on the style of the original NES Legend of Zelda. PureZC is the main community website where creators share their quests (games) and players can download them.

Where to find Games: Explore hundreds of user-created quests, from short adventures to massive new worlds. You can usually sort by rating, downloads, or release date to find popular games.

Where to find the Engine: If you’re interested in making your own quest, you can find the engine here:

Solarus Engine

What it is: Solarus is a free, open-source 2D game engine perfect for creating Action-RPGs, drawing heavy inspiration from classics like A Link to the Past. It features a graphical editor and uses Lua for scripting.

Where to find Games: Check the official Solarus website for a library of games created with the engine.

Notable Solarus Games:

Zeldaroth Games (by Vincent Jouillat)

What it is: This refers to a well-known trilogy of French fan games created in C++ with the SDL library, offering substantial original adventures.

Where to find Games: Download the original PC versions directly from the official Zeldaroth website.

Games in the Trilogy:

  • The Legend of Zelda: Return of the Hylian
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oni-Link Begins
  • The Legend of Zelda: Time to Triumph

itch.io Platform

What it is: itch.io is a popular digital marketplace and hosting platform for independent game developers. It hosts a wide variety of fan games, including many inspired by The Legend of Zelda.

Where to find Games: You can browse games specifically tagged as Zelda fan games.

Notable Examples Found on itch.io:

  • The Legend of Zelda: Eternal Rain: A charming and polished short fan game created for a game jam, reminiscent of the Game Boy Color Zelda titles.Eternal Rain on itch.io
  • The Legend of Zelda: Retro Wild: An ambitious project aiming to recreate the experience of Breath of the Wild within a 2D retro aesthetic (currently in Early Access).Retro Wild on itch.io

ROM Hacks: Modifying the Classics

ROM hacks modify the data of official Zelda games (the “ROM” file) to create new experiences, ranging from quality-of-life improvements to entirely new worlds and dungeons within the original game’s engine.

Important Considerations

  • Base ROM Required: To play a ROM hack, you need a digital copy of the original game (the “base ROM”) which you must obtain legally (e.g., by dumping a cartridge you own). ROM hacks are distributed as patch files (commonly .ips, .bps, or .ups files) which contain only the *changes* made to the original game.
  • Patching Tools: You need a patching program to apply the patch file to your legally obtained base ROM. Popular tools include Lunar IPS (for .ips files) and Floating IPS (FLIPS) or online patchers (for .ips, .bps, .ups files). Always ensure you are using the correct version of the base ROM specified by the hack’s author (e.g., “The Legend of Zelda (USA).nes” or “Ocarina of Time (USA) (v1.0).n64”).
  • Legality: Sharing or downloading original game ROMs is illegal in most places. Reputable ROM hacking sites only distribute patch files, not the ROMs themselves.

Where to Find Patches & Info

These sites host patch files, information about hacks, reviews, and patching utilities:

  • Romhacking.net: A major hub for ROM hacks of all kinds, including Zelda. Features patches, translations, utilities, and forums.
  • Zeldix: A site specifically dedicated to Zelda ROM hacking, particularly for A Link to the Past.
  • Hylian Modding: Often mentioned for N64 Zelda hacks.

Popular Zelda ROM Hack Examples (by Original Game)

This is just a small sample. Click the game title links below to browse lists of available patches for these games and more on Romhacking.net:

The Legend of Zelda (NES):

  • Zelda Redux: An improvement hack focusing on QoL changes (saving, HUD, text speed), bug fixes, and visual consistency with later games.
  • Ancient Dungeon: A roguelike conversion where you venture through an ever-changing, randomized dungeon with permadeath.
  • Shin Zelda Densetsu: A complete overhaul where you play as Zelda to rescue Link, featuring a revamped overworld and zodiac-themed dungeons.
  • Perils of Darkness: A total conversion with enhanced graphics, new regions (Lava, Snow), 18 new dungeons, multiple difficulty modes, and visual cues for secrets.
  • Zelda – Play as Zelda: An improvement/sprite hack allowing you to play through the original quest as Princess Zelda.
  • Outlands: A well-known total conversion with a new story involving the Thunderbird, set in the unfamiliar world of the Outlands with 18 new dungeons.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES):

  • Zelda 2 Redux: An improvement hack aimed at rebalancing difficulty, adding QoL features (saving, less backtracking, faster EXP), and visual enhancements like animated water/grass.
  • Shadow of Night: A significant total conversion hack known for its challenge and exploration.
  • New Adventure of Link: A complete overhaul featuring a new overworld, different sideview areas, altered palaces, new NPC dialogue, and multiple difficulty modes.
  • Amida’s Curse: Often recommended alongside Redux.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES):

  • ALTTP Redux: An improvement hack adding many QoL features (faster text, L/R item switching, uncensoring), bug fixes, graphical tweaks (Link’s hair color), and an optional full retranslation.
  • Parallel Worlds: A famous and challenging total conversion featuring entirely new Light and Dark worlds, new dungeons, and a different storyline. (Also see Parallel Remodel).
  • Goddess of Wisdom: A large-scale total conversion hack often considered a sequel or related to Parallel Worlds, featuring new overworlds and dungeons.
  • Conker’s High Rule Tail: A unique total conversion that reskins A Link to the Past with characters, themes, and humor from Conker’s Bad Fur Day.
  • Allhallows Eve: A complete hack with a Halloween theme, including new overworlds, dungeons, sprites, music, and ASM modifications.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64):

  • Ocarina of Time Redux: An improvement hack integrating QoL features from the randomizer/later games (faster text, D-Pad items, skippable elements), bug fixes, model updates, and optional Master Quest dungeons integration.
  • Sealed Palace: A highly-praised total conversion featuring completely new areas and challenging dungeons with custom cutscenes, music, and a focus on impressive level design.
  • The Missing Link: A shorter, polished hack acting as an interquel between Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, showcasing new engine capabilities.
  • Dawn & Dusk: A hack featuring a new story and world that incorporates a Light World / Dark World mechanic reminiscent of A Link to the Past.
  • Nimpize Adventure: A large-scale adventure hack focusing heavily on exploration and puzzle-solving within its new world and dungeons.
  • Ultimate Trial: A total conversion structured around increasingly difficult trials (similar to Trial of the Sword/Cave of Ordeals) with some roguelite elements.
  • Voyager of Time: A story-focused hack set after Majora’s Mask, featuring new dungeons and items (originally Japanese, translated).

Disclaimer: Fan games and ROM hacks are unofficial projects created by fans. Availability and compatibility may vary. Please support the official Legend of Zelda releases from Nintendo.