Nintendo Shuts Down 2D Breath of the Wild Fan Remake

In “things that go exactly the way you’d expect” news, I’m here to report that Nintendo is still a bit of a ponce when it comes to honoring and respecting their fans love and time.

A Legend of Zelda fan, named Winterdrake, recently uploaded a demo of his 2D remake of “Breath of the Wild” that uses the original Legend of Zelda graphics, called “Breath of the NES”. It was a pretty good demo, all things considered, with a day-night cycle, enemies, collectibles, and a responsive, interactive environment. It was fun, it was clever, it was obviously a product of love, but as far as Nintendo was concerned, it was just one big copyright infraction. So, surprising no one, they shut it down with a DMCA claim.

Frustrating, right? Well, maybe not for WinterDrake, who took the news with startling cheerfulness, and announced over Twitter that it would return at a later date as an original game set in his own, unique world.

Now, I’m not exactly the conspiring sort of person, but given how chill WinterDrake was with this news, and his soon revealed plans to remake it in 2D, I can’t help but feel like this was more of a calculated publicity stunt on WinterDrake’s part. I mean, what could be a better way to get free advertising for your original creation than to start it as a fan-game that you know will get shut down? It’s not like anything in the demo was unique to Legend of Zelda at that point, other than the sprites…

Well, if that is the cause, a hearty congratulations to WinterDrake for playing the system. If not, then an equally hearty congratulations for your adaptability in the face of adversity. No matter how you cut it, we’ll all be paying close attention to see what comes from this.