Some of the worst games of all time can be found on the Philips CD-i. The system is a classic, with gems like Mystic Midway or Burn Cycle. But there are fewer games easier to make fun of than the much-maligned Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon.
Though both are self-proclaimed parts of the Zelda lore, they’re largely viewed as some of the worst games of all time. They were relegated to the CD-i, however, so they’ve been kept out of reach for most gamers…until now.
A fledgling game developer named Dopply has remade both Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: Wand of Gamelon for PC players over the course of four years as a way to teach himself Game Maker. What better projects to take on than some of the titles people claim to dislike the most on a failed video game platform?
Dopply took to Twitter with his surprise releases, offering his versions of the games for free. He says his projects “capture the spirit” of the originals, but they aren’t meant to be “1:1 remakes.”
Now both games are more widely available for larger audiences to play. He’s made them much more palatable for modern PC players, adding enhanced sprites, new unlockables, widescreen mode, subtitles, and other niceties that we certainly wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
Dopply’s impressive work makes for an exciting trip down memory lane for many, including players who enjoyed the CD-i titles on their original hardware and those who may never have experienced them otherwise outside of YouTube playthroughs.
Both games are available to be downloaded for free and can be found on Dopply’s lengthy thread outlining the work he did to both titles. While he won’t be coming back to update either project in the future, he’s certainly undertaken an impressive couple of games to give a fresh coat of paint. Here’s hoping he flexes that new Game Maker muscle on another title in the near future.
