While I didn’t really have pets growing up, getting married to a pet lover and having a child who loves all creatures big and small has made me a big fan of pets and animals in general. It’s even better when you can combine cute animals and video games. I’m definitely on the team of gamers that believe every cat and dog in games deserve all of the pets! While Breath of the Wild features a ridiculous amount of wildlife, players can’t pet any of them. Boo! Thankfully, Rosuuri provides fans with an outlet for all their pent-up animal excitement with their beautiful piece of art called “Princess Zelda”.
I usually default to analyzing the main characters like Link or Zelda first, but they’ve never had to grapple with a cute fox of this magnitude before. The fox sits in the princess’s lap with a contented smile on its face. It reminds me of the look my cat has when I am giving her chin scratches. Perhaps that’s why I can almost imagine a purring sound coming from the fox even though I’m pretty sure that’s not something they do. If it was, this fox is so smitten with the princess and her gentle touch that it would definitely be purring.
A smaller detail on the fox that I really like is the light of the snowflake that’s being reflected onto its fur. The fact that it’s not the actual snowflake adds a sense of delicacy to this moment. The light from the top of the piece is shining through the prismatic snowflakes, causing them to act like winter disco balls, reflecting their crystalline beauty.
Princess Zelda gets to flaunt her rarely seen winter clothes in this art, and I’m thankful for the chance to see it again. The asymmetrical clasp at the collar, the clasps across the torso, and the fur lining at the neckline and cuffs are absolutely beautiful. The outfit itself inspires a sense of coziness, like being wrapped in a warm blanket with a furry friend snuggled on top of you on a cold winter’s day.
Zelda’s face is beaming with joy at having an animal befriend her. This ties back into one of Daruk’s memories that we see in The Champion’s Ballad. Zelda’s an animal lover! In that memory, players get to see the troubled princess wear a big smile and let loose with some rare laughter as a rescued dog shows its appreciation with doggy kisses. The fox’s presence in this art is an amazing gift to Zelda. She has so many responsibilities that a surprise visit by an animal friend allows the princess to set the pressure aside and just be a girl who is all about the cuteness overload this fox is providing.
I love this art by Rosuuri because it does a great job conveying the joy people feel when graced by an animal’s presence. Just like Zelda, I love every second my cat deigns to give me. It’s a gift of companionship as well as one of stress relief, and while not many of us have the weight of a kingdom on our shoulders, it can certainly feel like it sometimes.
