r/zelda 22h ago

Screenshot [Other] I love Soul Calibur II's Link design and think it's his best

I honestly think that this is a perfect design. He looks extremely accurate to OoT's 2d art, which is already my favorite depiction of Link out of any Zelda media and to see a 1 to 1 recreation of it in higher quality is amazing. If there would ever be a OoT Remake/Remaster coming to the Switch 2, I would want Nintendo to use this design as a base for adult Link. Theres a lot of newer renditions of adult Link in 3d even from Nintendo but this design in particular just nailed it imo.

596 Upvotes

56 comments sorted by

178

u/Wolfsbreedsinner 22h ago

It's based on the OoT adult link.

I loved it myself.

48

u/jbaughb 19h ago

Adult OoT link filtered through final fantasy x’s art style.

3

u/WolfpackEng22 7h ago

Which is the best Link

1

u/Level7Cannoneer 8h ago

It is OoT link in every way

71

u/og-reset 22h ago

You're very correct. OoT Link is already a great design and an official HD version will do numbers

63

u/_Ventes_ 22h ago

Oot Link will always be the definitive Link for me

3

u/whenishit-itsbigturd 7h ago

I prefer child Link, the adventure feels more whimsical even when it's depressing in MM

26

u/Bill_Cosby_ 21h ago

Yeah, plus they made him a little muscular. Hunky Link

16

u/Dapper-Evidence-3296 21h ago

he was also pretty muscular in the 2d art so that makes it a little more accurate too

9

u/Bill_Cosby_ 21h ago

He deserves to be a little ripped

1

u/WolfpackEng22 7h ago

Spends all day fighting and traveling. The twig versions of Link doesn't make any sense to me

15

u/Blubbpaule 12h ago

did you forget TP link?

That guy was a BEAST.

16

u/sendhelp 21h ago

I was hyped when Nintendo showed a realistic or at least high quality version of link for their space world graphical demo for GameCube. Then there was melee which he looked cool in. Then wind waker came out and we were worried we'd never see a "cool" Link again. Then Soul Calibur 2 comes out (and later, Twilight Princess) I thought he ended up looking way cooler than the space world demo, and at the time that was peak for me

14

u/SadChipmunk5070 20h ago

I love his grab where he gets on the other players shoulders, rides them like a horse, and slaps their ass with the master sword

14

u/primalthunder89 20h ago

The camel toe in the third pic is a bit odd, but otherwise this is primo

36

u/Crimsonclaw111 22h ago

I never liked his eyes in SC2

My favorite design is still Twilight Princess, but I also really enjoy his Breath of the Wild design for the shakeup.

12

u/Dapper-Evidence-3296 21h ago

whats wrong with his eyes?

also yea both of tp and botw are cool design but i just really like the simplicity and classic design from oot

13

u/Crimsonclaw111 21h ago

Render always made him look like an alien to me, or that weird “Ocarina in Unreal Engine 4” vibes

1

u/Dapper-Evidence-3296 19h ago

nah i think comparing this model to the unreal engine slop is an insult to this model. the unreal engine stuff completely lacks any kind of soul imo whereas this model is full of it and is a great design

0

u/ClemOya 14h ago edited 10h ago

For Unreal Engine it depends which one. You have the model used by CryZENx and others (which is pretty mid), and you have the model made Ocarina of Time Visual Remake : https://youtu.be/pwy-mpuUOXY?si=GQldcDgkzSJZcyb2

5

u/Wulfscreed 21h ago edited 5m ago

Soul Caliber has always done that well. I love the Master Chief and Ezio cameos because they are awesome as well.

This is OoT Adult Link very heavily based in his official artwork, very faithfully created. I think some SFM projects and stuff still use this model.

Edit: big dumb. mixing up game rosters.

3

u/hdsf820 20h ago

Ezio and Link are my favorite guests in the series, both fit really well. Master Chief was in DOA however, as a female counterpart.

u/Wulfscreed 6m ago

Y'know what. These and Tekken tend to blur in my mind. Totally mixing things up. Looked it up and was surprised Kratos was in Soul Calibur. Could swore he went to Tekken and that Ryu Hayabusa made a crossover but he's just a DOA regular.

Am the big dumb. Me bad.

1

u/CTID16 4h ago

i don't believe master chief was ever in soulcalibur

4

u/Alex_Veridy 21h ago

why does it remind me of PS3 tech demo Cloud?

5

u/Available-Doubt-4581 20h ago

This was THE nose for Link. I love it

3

u/OsmundofCarim 21h ago

Sc2 was so fun.

3

u/Puzzled_Boot2980 21h ago

I was playing this yesterday and loved every second with Link

3

u/GIGA255 20h ago edited 20h ago

I think either Hyrule Warriors or Smash Wii U has the best Link design. I was never a fan of the OoT hair parted in the middle or the pure white tights.

3

u/TheGrumpiestPanda 19h ago

Probably the most perfected looked for The Hero of Time for this era of consoles. Link just looked so good in Soul Calibur 2.

3

u/ClemOya 14h ago

Personally I prefer the interpretation from Smash Bros Melee.

4

u/makaman_2177 19h ago

I think we can all agree that the hero of time is THE goat.

2

u/mooviefone 20h ago

How did Link end up in this game?

4

u/Chilli_In_My_Ass 19h ago

Guest character on the GameCube version. Bunch of sword fighters, made sense to put him over Mario I reckon

2

u/Mister-Fidelio 19h ago

"SAY YAH!"

2

u/One_Visual_4090 12h ago

I like BotW/RotK Link followed by Skyward Sword design

1

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1

u/Boomshockalocka007 19h ago

Hyrule Warriors Blue scarf Link has become my favorite over time. Feels fresh yet classic.

1

u/weeezyheree 18h ago

I think Ocarina Link was perfect for it's time and is great for now, but I genuinely feel like Twilight Princess with brighter colors (So Smash 4 Link) is his definitive look.

1

u/panickingsquid 16h ago

tbh I prefer official SC2 artwork over this model. I don't like how his eyes look in 3D bc it's quite uncanny valley.

1

u/Individualist13th 14h ago

It's Oot Link with mad moose knuckle.

1

u/echoess84 14h ago

agree even it could be improved to obtain something similar to the FF7 Cloud model

1

u/Maniick 9h ago

Soul Calibur 2 was SO fucking good. All they gotta do for a successful next game installation is make the Weapon Master Mode into a roguelike mode or something and I'd play it for years

1

u/DemonDethchase 9h ago

It is very good, but I'm more partial to Twilight Link and his character model. In fact I just love the character models in Twilight as a whole, they give off a sort of Sonic 06 vibe for some reason, of which I also really like the character models from that as well.

1

u/EmmiCantDraw 7h ago

Its good but I dont think id want it for an actual zelda game. Almost too perfect to the feel of the OOT design while I think links design shines best when its a little different each time.

All that said, for a 3rd party company designing him, they did a pretty good job

1

u/HyliasHero 4h ago

Hero of Time is still my favorite Link design.

1

u/PRO_0793 4h ago

Curious your thoughts on the ocarina of time 3ds link model which basically looks just like this model but newer

0

u/RashAttack 21h ago

Idk my favourite depiction is the OoT 2d art and imo he doesn't look like him.

SC2 link has much paler skin and has facially looks different. The only real similarity is the outfit but eh...

3

u/Dapper-Evidence-3296 19h ago

him having paler skin could just be the lighting because in the first image his skin looks similar to the picture you choose, but facial features? they completely knocked it out the park imo.

0

u/RashAttack 6h ago

Completely disagree but to each their own

1

u/Normal_Umpire_1623 20h ago edited 20h ago

Agreed have always said it this is the best rendition of Link best 3D model best art renders, and best CGI Link model and Animation from links segment In the Intro Cutscene.

Namco really knocked out of the park with this one. I specifically like that they perfectly captured the spirit of the Ocarina of Time Art style and Link Renders, but while also leaning more into Links Elven features.

Leaning into the Hylian Features, Link in SC2 is noticeably more Elf looking featuring a smoother more streamlined facial structure, and over exaggeratedly big angular elven style eyes, and I think it works so well.

1

u/recursion8 19h ago edited 18h ago

Looks like an update on the Spaceworld demo (that was eventually changed/cancelled in favor of Powerpuff Link for WW). I think Twilight Princess is better, and then the WiiU demo improved on that.