“The Legend of Zelda: Eternal Rain” by Toony, sooshy, Snarf, zXspriter & Gaem.
“Link journeys into the outskirts of Hyrule and stumbles upon the Peahat Pub, where he finds out the residents have been stuck in a rain storm for the past [two thousand] days.”
Fan games are a wonderful thing, as they allow the creators to show their love for titles that inspired them to get into game development. “The Legend of Zelda: Eternal Rain” is a fantastic example for that. The gameplay itself seems to be highly based on “The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening”, but with some slight adjustments. For example, Link does not need to collect any bombs or arrows to use them, instead they can be purchased in the game’s shop or found in the frog dungeon. Afterwards, the ability to throw bombs or shoot arrows can always be used for the cost of some magic points, which get quickly replenished.
But what makes “The Legend of Zelda: Eternal Rain” really special is its balance between faithfulness to the original and playful self-referentiality. While the combination of traditional gameplay and gently redesigned, but still remarkable sprites acts as a well-working tribute to the classics, the team behind the jam submission drops the serious attitude every now and then. Hidden entrances, that can be found by bombing fragile dungeon walls, often lead to humorous settings and little secrets.
For instance, you can find a room where all the team members get represented as non-player characters. When you speak to them, you will see how proud they are that they managed to create this fan game in a week. Certainly they have each reason to be proud, as “The Legend of Zelda: Eternal Rain” is not only beautiful, but fun to play. [PLAY]
