A fan of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker drew inspiration from a school trip to craft a real, functional replica of the King of Red Lions, the game's main boat. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker fan then shared the creative process on social media for their fans to see, listing the materials they used to bring the King of Red Lions to life.
In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Link sails the Great Sea on a quest to find the lost kingdom of Hyrule and find the power needed to vanquish Ganondorf. Assisting Link on his sea-faring quest is the King of Red Lions, a sentient boat whom Link meets after a failed rescue mission in the Forsaken Fortress. In truth, the King of Red Lions is King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, the monarch of the same Hyrule that had been sunk beneath the depths of the Great Sea. The King of Red Lions also served a role similar to Na'vi from Ocarina of Time, as he would offer counsel and advice to Link as needed.
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Zelda Fan Creates Real-Life Replica of the King of Red Lions
Although the popular Tears of the Kingdom allows players to craft virtual boats and ships, one Zelda fan instead chose to craft a functional version of The Wind Waker's iconic vessel. English content creator Littlejem posted a TikTok clip that showed her sailing on a replica of the King of Red Lions they crafted over several weeks. Littlejem subsequently released a 30-minute YouTube video that detailed the building process. Littlejem stated that she did not have much time to craft the King of Red Lions and test it out due to unpredictable sailing conditions. The ship was made from a mix of used boat parts and 3D-printed materials, while the outboard motor was attached to a kicker bracket installed on the transom.
For the King of Red Lions' talking face, Littlejem used a server board to program motions into the neck and jaw, though the process was a test of trial and error. After getting most of the pieces assembled, Littlejem then painted the boat using the Switch 2 version of The Wind Waker as a reference for getting the intricate details correct.
After assembling and painting the main sail and the mast, the King of Red Lions was ready for a test voyage, which was shot on drone video. Though Zelda fans have depicted the King of Red Lions in other pieces of art, Littlejem's real-world replica of The Wind Waker's standout boat was not an easy task.
- Released
- March 24, 2003
- ESRB
- E For Everyone
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
