An avid Zelda fan is creating a NES-style Zelda game taking inspiration from the recently released Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. The game is called Breath Of The NES is still in early development but Kotaku reached out to the developer behind the project, Micropig Gaming, to get an insight into the development:
“When a lot of people hear about this project, they jump to worrying about a cease and desist from Nintendo. While I’m going to stay hardworking on Breath of the NES for as long as I can, if Nintendo asks me to stop using their IP, I do plan to continue development with my own original characters. I’m having way too much fun creating this world to just give up.”
They also go on to talk about original items in Breath Of The NES:
“This project is still in its early stages…I’ll be adding more areas with distinct elements and atmospheres, puzzle elements for dungeons, and lots of ways to creatively kill enemies.
I don’t feel the need to be bound to BOTW’s exact structure. “For example, one of the original items in the game is a ‘Byoki Berry,’ which the game tells you is poisonous to humans. However, if you drop a Byoki berry near some Octorocks, they’ll flock to it ignoring everything else, allowing you to trap them, kill them, or sneak by.
I have a lot of plans for original features in the game, and although I’d like to capture the spirit of BotW and NES Zelda, I’m not restricting myself to be perfectly faithful.”
It’ll be interesting to see how long the project stays active given Nintendo’s track record of putting a stop to their IP being used without permission.
You can download a demo of this game here.
I hope it survives nintendo’s cease and desisting wrath.
It uses the Zelda name. Nintendo has every right to take it down and I encourage it.
Where they don’t have rights is taking down YouTube videos that are clearly under fair use. Ripping off IP is not fair use.
put a sock in it its fucking freeware lmao
Yeah this will get taken down in no time….it looks promising too.
aren’t you mature.
I don’t think so.
Why doesn’t he change the name of the project now, then change it back just before he publishes it. Seriously, the fact that “Zelda” is in the title is what’s going to invite a cease and desist. He can easily avoid Nintendo action by cutting any ties to Zelda right now. He can pretty much continue to describe it the way he has, he just has to remove all references to Zelda from the actual game until the last moment.
These people are such idiots.
“Nintendo took down my game because I used the series name and characters/enemies that they own without any kind of permission. THOSE MONSTERS!!!”
For publicity. The longer the game stays an “NES Style Mario Maker + BotW”, the more ppl will hear about it. Let me ask you, you know about the Metroid Remake right? Mother 4, Pokemon Prism? Exactly :)
He can get publicity without having any actual Zelda references in the game. Look at Oceanhorn. Every time that game is talked about, some kind of reference is made to The Legend of Zelda, but there is no solid connection between the two.
In the case of Breth of the NES, the creator can flat out call the game a Breath of the Wild-like 2D game, but as long as no Nintendo trademarks appear in the actual game, the project can’t be touched. He can tell fans exactly what this is, but as long as the game code and presentation remain vague enough to dismiss any clear connection to Nintendo, the project is fair game. The only problem I see with the above video is that the name “Zelda” is slapped right on there. The rest of the video contains nothing that Nintendo can go after; yet it’s clearly a Zelda game.
i have never heard of oceanhorn
It’s an indie game. Articles about it have been posted on this site more than once.
Oceanhorn is being sold. Breath of the NES is free.
And?
call it Link Breath of the Nes
I don’t know if Nintendo has any kind of trademark on “Link”, but that’s the general idea. Just remove the name “Zelda” from that video and all related content.
well technically zelda is a name, in fact if i remember correctly the legend of zelda was named after zelda fitzgerald (the wife of the author of the great Gatsby )
That’s a good point. I’m not entirely sure how that would work; but even if the name “Zelda” is fair game, and not strictly a trademark of Nintendo, I think when combined with the gameplay shown, it would be enough to convince a court of infringement. Taking the name out and simply showing the gameplay should be ok. I could be mistaken though.
It reminds me of the Nintendo vs Universal case. Universal claimed that Donkey Kong was far too similar to King Kong, even though Donkey Kong never actually references King Kong. The only reason Nintendo won that was because Universal simply didn’t own King Kong. Another good example is DC vs Fawcett Comics, where Captain Marvel was found to be an infringement of the Superman copyright.
The name might be fair game, but that logo certainly isn’t. I mean, It’s basically a carbon copy of Breath of the Wild’s logo, down to the master sword through the Z. I would not be surprised to see some minor changes at very least in the near future.
Because no one would care otherwise…
||Worst imbecile to date, High Command will soon punish this vermin…||
Always nice when we need test subjects. ->
Weapon test are starting soon. ->
Hopefully this gets finished just like AM2R did. And hopefully it does not get a cease and desist, although the fact that he plans to continue with or without the Zelda chipset is promising.
I mean he’s trying to profit off the demo so he might be pushing his luck.
“Dev isn’t worried about cease and desist from Nintendo” apparently fans still haven’t learned yet.
Look I always try to send money to Indy software and game developers who deserve it. Usually, I make that decision after I have tried out their software or game and decided to keep it or continue to use it. But when you are offering up not a full game, but a demo that is advertising itself on the back of Nintendo’s current number one title and one of their oldest franchises and then asking for money before I download, I don’t feel right about that. I think when you are borrowing other people’s ideas and game worlds you should be doing it for the love of the series. If you are willing to design a 100% original game and market it on its own merits that is okay but this seems like an attempt to make money off of a current trend. In fact, I have my doubts that this game is really in development because this looks more like an attempt at making a quick buck and not a full game.
At least the enemies are civil, unlike a certain next-gen kaizo game.