My Favorite The Legend of Zelda Fan Films

The Legend of Zelda franchise is of course primarily centered around video games and fan fiction. It's never made it to the big screen and only lasted one season on television, so it hasn't spawned nearly as many fan film offerings as Star Wars - which I guess is good because it means this page will load a lot faster than my Star Wars one. I do hope they'll catch on more in the future, though. They should be easier to make than Star Wars anyway, requiring a lower budget overall and actually being justified from a story standpoint in using forests as a setting over and over and over. And you know what else? Because the Zelda timeline goes on forever and repeats itself and splits into separate timelines and comes back together, any and all of these work as, and for all intents and purposes are, canon. You're welcome.

The Sage of Darkness (September 19, 2008)

A labor of love by high school students who put hours and hours and hours into a feature-length original story, now updated with improved effects for its tenth anniversary, and all I can say is wow. By comparison, I accomplished nothing in high school.

The Hero of Time (June 6, 2009)

Is this film good from any objective standpoint? No, but I think it has a campy charm, and you can't deny the effort that went into it.

The Triforce Prophecy (November 6, 2009 - January 8, 2010)

This film eschews action and complex plotting to focus more on the love story between Link and Zelda that fans have wanted to see for decades, and it's really cute and an absolute treat to watch. Be sure to stick through the end credits for a great original song.

Link to the Future (May 27, 2011)

A "Back to the Future" parody that makes fun of the Zelda franchise's convoluted and confusing timeline, released seven months before the Japanese edition of Hyrule Historia explained it once and for all. Until The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia changed it again.

Fistful of Rupees (August 7, 2012)

A Zelda Western mashup with some cool homages and one brilliant piece of wordplay.

Pot Smasher (December 14, 2012)

Very short and not much in the way of plot, but Lindsey Stirling makes the cutest Zel- er, Link.

Link's Shadow (June 3, 2013)

Dark Link kicks some butt.

Skull Kid: A Zelda Legend (December 24, 2013)

Skull Kid doesn't look much like a kid in this, but the setting and costumes are pretty decent. "A Zelda Legend" sounds like a clever riff on "A Star Wars Story" but predates it by a couple years. Either way, it would be a great tagline for a series of short films focusing on characters who aren't Link or Zelda.

The Dark Mask (January 9, 2014)

A little Majora's Mask / Link to the Past crossover that sadly ends on a cliffhanger and never got enough views to induce the creators to make the desired sequel. Boo on everyone who didn't watch it.

The Legendary Ocarina of Time (January 29, 2014)

No actual Legend of Zelda characters make an appearance here, but the titular artifact does.

Ganondorf Dragmire - Part 1 (November 14, 2014)

A game manual once mentioned that Ganondorf's last name is Dragmire, and then every fan fiction writer in existence repeated it until it became something that obviously every true fan knows even if Nintendo has forgotten about it. This clip follows him as a child in the Gerudo Valley as his people's humble circumstances pique his desire for power and revenge.

Creatures of Hyrule - Episode 1: Glowing Eyes (January 22, 2015)

What's this? A web series from the creator of "Skull Kid: A Zelda Legend"? It looks off to a promising start!

Creatures of Hyrule - Episode 2: Forest Guardian (April 9, 2015)

Wait, what? This is the last one? The kid grew up too fast? Another dream crushed.

Hang Em Hyrule (August 11, 2015)

Another Zelda Western. The combination works surprisingly well. I guess Spirit Tracks is already halfway there with its railroads and more modern feel. I like to think of New Hyrule going through a Western phase.

Birth of a Hero (January 16, 2016)

This French fan film (put on the subtitles if you need them - I mean the English subtitles, since it already has subtitles, but they're in French, because the actual dialogue is in some made up fantasy language, which is a brilliant touch) is clearly set in the Zelda universe but is actually about a guy named K-Nil who I like to think is one of Link's ancestors. Or one of Link himselves, depending on how seriously you take the reincarnation thing.

Game of Hyrule (April 18, 2016)

I've never seen Game of Thrones. I would probably find this parody twice as funny if I had. Regardless, I find it funny. Consider yourself warned that it's a bit graphic by Zelda standards, but that's part of the joke.

Oblivion Rising (May 8 - August 14, 2016)

Fans thought Link's and Zelda's love was so cute, they demanded a sequel to "The Triforce Prophecy", and they got one. This time everything - plot, settings, effects, and what have you - is more ambitious. The film is considerably longer than the first and so worth it. I love the Messenger character's accent.

Majora's Mask - Terrible Fate (November 22, 2016)

Why, oh why, oh why was this not merely the trailer for a full-length masterpiece? Nintendo should be funding this guy. Truly there is no justice in the world.

Ganondorf Dragmire - Part 2 (August 14, 2018)

Now with better animation and voice acting, child Ganondorf's story concludes - or is it just beginning? Dun dun dun...

Link (January 1, 2017)

Kind of a strangely generic title for such a unique film, but it's cool. I'm sure it has some significance that's going over my head.

A Missing Link (August 22, 2017)

Director Chad Costen describes this as a "proof-of-concept video project to try and showcase what I believe fans of the Zelda Universe would like to see from a live-action incarnation of Nintendo's beloved masterpiece." The fans would probably be divided by the decision to give Link a personality, but I like the way he talks to himself. You can support Chad on Patreon here. The "missing link" pun was also used in the title of an episode of the TV series where Link turns invisible.

Urban Zelda (September 15, 2018)

Another dystopian near future setting, but at least this one isn't as dark as "Link". It mostly takes place outside in the daytime.

The Blood Moon (February 4, 2020)

An older Link reminisces about fighting alongside Zelda. And that's only the beginning, but no spoilers here, other than to say that it's the coolest fight I've seen in a Zelda fan film to date. And it was filmed in Provo Canyon, Utah, which is almost as good as Logan Canyon.

Episode One: Courage

This film stands up fine on its own, but I'm still waiting for the implied Episodes Two and Three.

Studio Ghibli Castle Town (November 21, 2023)

This film doesn't have much of a plot, and most of the video is just a walkthrough of the setting that was created for it, but I could watch it for hours. The visuals and the score by MOSIK are both stunning.