One of the best Zelda video games slipped into the beginning of No Rest for the Wicked and Ori, a sort of homage to their creator

Game news One of the best Zelda video games slipped into the beginning of No Rest for the Wicked and Ori, a sort of homage to their creator

The rain… A tribute to Zelda: A Link to the Past

Rain is a very important event in Ori and the Will of the Wisps and No Rest for the Wicked; it composes the relatively tragic beginning of these two titles. Although there are different ways to describe a tragic or even serious scene, This rain turns out to be the central element of Moon Studios’ games and it’s not likely to stop anytime soon.

In a recent publication on X, Thomas Mahler the founder of Moon Studios, otherwise known as Ori’s dad, made a very touching revelation concerning this famous rain at the start of the game. It testifies that this rain is not there by chance, because in addition to bringing a dramatic dimension to the events that take place in the game, it is a sort of homage to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It’s unclear if this Nintendo title is his favorite, but we can imagine it is since he pays homage to this game when he gets the chance.

This attachment for Nintendo games is far from new, since in 2023, Thomas Mahler had already shown his attachment to Nintendo titles by saying that he felt that Ori was the ‘Mario’, then the ‘Zelda’ of the studio. This reference was a bit lost, but a year later, it really makes sense.

Subtle nods to pay homage

This is not the first time that we can notice the presence of nods to other licenses in certain games. While the tribute to Zelda: A Link to the Past is relatively complex to understand without the words of Thomas Mahler, other developers are not going out of their way to express their respects.

Among the most telling examples, we have in particular the famous tribute paid to Kentarō Miura, the author of Berserk, in Fromsoftware’s Souls. Whether in Dark Souls, Sekiro, Demon Souls or even Elden Ring, there are many references to the famous Berserk manga in these titles (characters, elements of the setting, weapons, etc.).

Still in the homage, but less in the subtlety, we also have Tunic. The whole kit of the little fox refers to Link and various elements in the game are huge nods to this license which rocked the childhood of many people.

And finally, among the tributes that go beyond the license barrier, we have the famous Leroy Jenkins from World of Warcraft in Hearthstone or even to one of the developers of Sea of ​​Thieves, who unfortunately joined the Ship of the Damned forever, having been given an actual temple for players to pay homage to him. Video games are a common passion, so it is not uncommon to observe so many homages or winks to express a feeling.