When it comes to video game crossovers, there are some we always dream of and never get, some we never think of but are pleasantly surprised with, and some that only the most creative of us can ever imagine. This art by Seah Ozan falls into the third group, and then it quickly moves on over to the first.
What makes this piece just so, so great is how self-explanatory it is. It’s a theory brought to the digital art forefront: What happens when you drop a pre-teen, pointy-eared hero into a Western setting and give him a gun? You create what I hope will become either a mod for Super Smash Bros. or Red Dead Redemption, or the ultimate crossover between two legendary franchises.
And the fact that the red Toon Link was used for this makes this piece perfect. It’s a level of ridiculous perfection that we don’t deserve. Do I need a poster of this? And will the red Toon Link forever sound link Clint Eastwood in my head now? Yes and yes.
Seah’s choice to use Toon Link pleases me more than discovering there’s no line in the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru, but I can hear some people expressing their dismay that the Ocarina of Time incarnation of Link wasn’t chosen instead. “It would make more sense,” they might say. “He’s a realistic Link and Red Dead Redemption II is a realistic game.”
To that, I say, “You’re no fun.” Going with the cartoon child is an objectively glorious option. Besides, Ocarina of Time’s Link does make an appearance. He’s standing there proudly with dark-yet-detailed silhouettes of the Links from Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess. Just don’t mind the fact that it’s his younger version from Majora’s Mask.
Link with firepower wasn’t something I thought I needed in my life, but luckily the internet knows me better than I know myself. The only issue I have now is that I need to do my best to accept the fact that Nintendo and Rockstar Games will never be cool enough to understand the limitless potential this art demonstrates.
