Forget Tears of the Kingdom, a full-fledged fan sequel to Zelda: Ocarina of Time just dropped

If you can't contain your hype for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I've got great news - there's a brand-new, full-fledged sequel to Ocarina of Time out right now courtesy of some very dedicated modders.

Sealed Palace is a romhack for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - in other words, it's a mod, and one which converts the original game into brand-new fanmade sequel. Developed by three modders known as Junnosuke9, Shoopey, and Col0Korn, the hack is available at Romhacking.net. You will, of course, have to provide your own Ocarina of Time ROM to take the patch.

There are a handful of romhacks turning Ocarina of Time into new games out there, but Sealed Palace's scope is particularly impressive. It's got all-new dungeons, a new world to explore, and custom cutscenes. Judging by some of the early YouTube playthroughs out there, it's also nearly 20 hours long, which is comparable to the original game.

I've played about 30 minutes of Sealed Palace, and while I certainly wouldn't call it the stone-cold classic that Ocarina of Time itself is, the project is seriously impressive. The opening dungeon sees you trying to sneak out of the prison beneath Hyrule Castle, and the cathedrals and libraries that make up the location are far more impressive than most of the indoor environments in the original game.

While romhacks providing classic 2D console games with whole new campaigns are fairly common, we've seen far less development on early 3D titles, and that's a shame. Thankfully, it seems that's starting to change, and the past few years have seen a fair few Ocarina of Time hacks hit the internet. Projects like The Missing Link, Dawn & Dusk, and Master of Time are particularly well-regarded among the community. I know I'm taking a few of these for a spin to fill the months leading up to Tears of the Kingdom.

More of the best Zelda games deserve this level of love from the mod community.