The Legend Of Zelda: Moonrise Regalia Takes Zelda Back To Its Roots

1 hour ago 10

A Link Betweeen Worlds' Link in front of the Deku Tree from Echoes of Wisdom

Published Aug 11, 2026, 5:48 AM EDT

James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC.

The Legend of Zelda is celebrating its 40th birthday this year, and over all that time, there have been a lot of different games for fans to jump into. Releases like Ocarina of Time, Breath of the Wild, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess might draw most of the attention these days, but there are plenty of options besides that are just as deserving of praise.

The games that often get left by the wayside in fan discussions these days usually include handheld efforts from the late 90s and 2000s, perhaps simply because the community generally prefers the 3D console efforts. That said, those portable gems deserve their time in the sun, and a new release aims to do just that, with some additional bells and whistles.

Over on Reddit, the user Pontius Stone shared a post detailing their ROM hack of Game Boy Color release The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. Known as Moonrise Regalia, the hack is "a dungeon-centric experience set in a smaller, denser overworld," which really doesn't look much like any other similar project we have seen to date.

The game features a full, yet more compact, overworld, as well as nine main dungeons and four mini-dungeons for players to get stuck into. It features custom puzzles to solve as well as interesting items like the switch hook and cane, and even new music to make the experience feel fresh.

Despite releasing very recently, there were plenty of positive comments over on YouTube from fans who have already enjoyed the chance to give it a go.

"I wish there were more Oracle hacks. I love both games and bought Seasons when it came out, and I was in elementary school. Luckily, a boy in a parallel class had Ages. A third one was planned around the gimmick of different times of the day," one said.

While another added, "Definitely going to enjoy this series! This is news to me as well. I'm glad the Oracle games are getting some love again."

"This gives me the vibe of many custom story ROM hacks for games back in the day when they'd just use music from other games. I dig it because its also a good way for a player to get into other games by searching up the song they might like," a third said.

As you might expect, the ROM hack is entirely free to download, and it's probably up there with the most fun you could have in the Zelda franchise while we wait for the release of the Ocarina of Time Remake.