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Aussie-made Zelda fan film is a slice of genius

A group of Australian Legend of Zelda fans have taken to the bush for a glorious reinterpretation of the Lost Woods.

Michelle Starr Science editor
Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming about bats.
Michelle Starr
2 min read

(Credit: Hylian Heroics)

A group of Australian Legend of Zelda fans have taken to the bush for a glorious reinterpretation of the Lost Woods.

There are fan films by the hundreds out there, but our favourites are those that do something different — that show a new side to our favourite characters and worlds, that tell new stories (without, preferably, trampling on canon too hard while they do so).

A group of local fans teamed up a couple of years ago to make Hylian Heroics, a short film made partially so creator Ken Abbott could muck about with some blood effects and partially because who wouldn't want to dress up like a Hylian and swing some weapons around?

Now the second video in the series has been released, made by Abbott and his troupe of acrobatic martial artist/circus performer friends, and it's sort of amazing. Starring Jelena Butina, it casts Link as a somewhat belligerent young lady who prefers to answer her problems with her sword, which isn't always the best way to go about it when you're facing a Skull Kid (played by Emma Cartledge) in the Lost Woods.

Perhaps our favourite thing about it, apart from everything, is the way the sound designer integrates Link's vocalisations from the Ocarina of Time into the action. Give it a watch below and you'll see what we mean.

Head over to the Hylian Heroics Facebook page for future updates — and if you're in the mood for more, go check out short fan series The Legend of Zelda: Fistful of Rupees.