FromSoftware's open-world soulslike title Elden Ring is the studio's most ambitious title to date, and that ambition appears to have paid off in the form of spectacular success. The game has already made itself at home among the greatest video games of all time, and now fans are eagerly comparing and even fusing it with other titles. One Elden Ring fan recently decided to combine the iconic Princess Zelda with Malenia, Blade of Miquella.Zelda is one of the most iconic characters in video game history, despite the fact that the series which bears her name has never truly focused on her. She has frequently been reimagined with new designs and new personalities, but some things always stay the same. Zelda is almost always a princess, a wise soul who wants the best for the land of Hyrule, and destined to stand at the side of a boy named Link.Twitter user AutoGiraffe combined Zelda with Elden Ring's Malenia to create a fused design that takes the most iconic traits of both characters. Zelda and Malenia have relatively little in common, the former generally being a delicate magic-user and the latter a skilled swordswoman whose body is rotting away beneath her armor. Despite this, AutoGiraffe's work does an excellent job of merging the two into a single cohesive whole, dubbed "Zelda, Blade of Hylia."
In this piece of fan art, Zelda is reimagined as a masked swordswoman wearing a stylized version of Malenia's helm with ornamentation based on Zelda's Twilight Princess design. She appears to be wearing her Twilight Princess outfit, but the skirt is heavily tattered, revealing either armored leggings or two prosthetic legs. Zelda's right arm is also clearly based on Malenia's prosthetic limb, though her sword is a longer version of Zelda's blade in Twilight Princess. The artist also gave her a furry blue cape that resembles Malenia's red one.
AutoGiraffe also appears to have added some twists of their own design, such as a new hairstyle. Both Twilight Princess Zelda and Malenia wear their long hair loose, but this version of Zelda wears hers mostly down with the ends tucked in a short braid. Two smaller strands fall down over her shoulders with a complex design of strings holding them separated from the rest. Although most of her face is obscured by the helmet, her expression also appears to take a nod from Malenia's stoic demeanor.
Elden Ring is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.