The art gallery at the Nintendo museum in Uji, Japan opened on September 3rd. It has concept art and character illustration sketches from games in series such as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. The Nintendo museum first opened last October, housed in an old factory which was once used to manufacture and repair Nintendo products. The museum showcases a wide range of exhibits showing the company’s evolution from its beginnings as a manufacturer of the traditional Japanese playing card game known as Hanafuda to a global leader in the entertainment and video game industries.
The new museum addition offers visitors a rare glimpse of the creative side of the process of Nintendo’s most popular video games. The evolution of Hyrule is shown from the early pixelated drawings of the original NES Zelda game to the more recent Tears of the Kingdom, which will give fans an opportunity to appreciate cultural fusion. Zelda takes inspiration from Japanese folklore while also incorporating Western fantasy elements that make it more relatable for people around the world. Unfortunately, tickets are for advanced reservations only. Randomly selected winners are chosen through a drawing on the museum’s website, which can be accessed through this website link. Ticket reservations for visits through December 2025 are available now.
