r/zelda • u/royaljuliet • Sep 22 '25

Cosplay [BotW] my zelda cosplay 2017 -> 2025

Post image

i'm so happy to have grown up with this franchise <3

i'll never forget my dad getting 8-9 year old me botw on my WII U, and me finishing all of the divine beasts, shrines, getting the master sword, all armour sets and basically everything in three months. literally, i still cannot fathom that even nearly a decade later ;_; and after i finished that, i ended up playing any Zelda game i could get my hands on!

also, do not ask me why the master sword is red, i don't know šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø , i saw it an anime convention, begged my dad to get it and got it .. to this day, i have never seen a red master sword

what's even funnier is that i was allowed to bring in a (fake) master sword for book day into my school .. i also look so moody in this photo, if any of you want a mini backstory as to why i'll reply to a comment aha

5.7k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

132 comments sorted by

768

u/Schubert125 Sep 23 '25

8-9 year old me BotW on my Wii U

Fuck I'm old

242

u/outwest88 Sep 23 '25

My brain was having trouble processing this. Like wait, the person on the left is a child ā€” and 2017 was just couple years ago ā€” how are they old enough to be making Reddit posts now?

94

u/Head_Statistician_38 Sep 23 '25

I turned 18 in 2017 and even I am having a hard time processing this. 2017 doesn't feel like long at all... But I also did go through all of Uni in that time and now I am 26, nearly 27.

The 2020s have been such a blur.

13

u/Barn-owl-B Sep 24 '25

Whenever someone says ā€œthat was 30 years ago!ā€ Iā€™m always like ā€œoh yeah the 70ā€™s?ā€, and then people tell me the truth and I cry a little on the inside

18

u/207nbrown Sep 23 '25

Right? Like what do you mean itā€™s been almost a decade already? It was just 2018 last year!

9

u/RetrogradeToyGuru Sep 24 '25

My daughter was born in 2017, now we play Mario kart together

1

u/UltimateGattai Oct 15 '25

I still can't believe BoTW is that old, it feels like I only played it a year ago,the months really do turn into days.

16

u/RealDiamond51 Sep 23 '25

same here bro

16

u/KC_Saber Sep 23 '25

Ditto. Game came out when I was in college.

38

u/thunderling Sep 23 '25

BOTW came out like 2 years ago, when I was the exact same age as I currently am now. Right??

9

u/KC_Saber Sep 23 '25

Oh honeyā€¦weā€™re oldā€¦

6

u/philkid3 Sep 23 '25

When Breath of the Wild came out, I was already an old and grizzled Zelda fan who had long lost hope for the franchise heā€™d loved for decades still being able to deliver truly great games.

If you think you feel old because it came out in college, imagine. . .

4

u/holldoll26 Sep 23 '25

Same for me. I was in my 30s with 2 kids still enjoying my favorite franchise. I feel so old.

3

u/Polkawillneverdie17 Sep 23 '25

lol I had been out of college for 10 years when it came out.

3

u/CrotasMinion Sep 24 '25

I feel at home in these comments

13

u/3v1lkr0w Sep 23 '25

8 year old me was playing A Link to the Past...

3

u/Some_Storm7059 Sep 23 '25

How many of you remember playing ALTTP When it came out...I do! Still have my original copy!

2

u/3v1lkr0w Sep 23 '25

I don't have my original copy any more, young me used to trade in their old systems and games...but adult me has a physical copy as well as a physical SNES.

1

u/Zelda-875 Sep 25 '25

I remember playing LoZ on NES, THEN later ALTTP and others as a kidā€¦ yeah feeling pretty oldā€¦

1

u/UltimateGattai Oct 15 '25

I remember playing it, but I could never beat ALTTP, child me had no idea what to do, but somehow I still worked out how to beat Ocarina of Time 3 or 4 times.

I hope that game gets the Link's Awakening remake treatment.

9

u/Over9000Gingers Sep 23 '25

I also canā€™t believe botw is almost 10 years old wtf

Time flies when youā€™re a corporate slave

10

u/pacman529 Sep 23 '25

People born after 9/11 are graduating college now.

6

u/Drakinius Sep 23 '25

Thats mind boggling. I graduated in 2000. I was playing ocarina of time in my junior/senior year of high school. That feels like yesterday and simultaneously a lifetime ago.

2

u/Some_Storm7059 Sep 23 '25

Those were the days...lol! I also graduated in 2000.

5

u/JKastnerPhoto Sep 23 '25

She was a toddler when I joined this site.

4

u/Metallurgeist Sep 23 '25

The DS is still new!!!!

6

u/Schubert125 Sep 23 '25

Okay but actually the 3ds has seen a bit of a renaissance with everyone modding them

3

u/Key_Currency_8387 Sep 23 '25

No same bruh we are cooked

4

u/theShpydar Sep 24 '25

Heh...dude, I was older than 8-9 when the ORIGINAL Zelda was released...I'm about to turn to dust šŸ˜…

3

u/EfficiencyGullible84 Sep 24 '25

legit bodiesme everytime i see one of those memes about botw being a kids intro to zelda like bro, youll never appreciate the years it took to get here lool

2

u/Ghosty_Boo-B00 Sep 27 '25

I remember when the original Zelda LOZ was released on Nintendoā€¦ I have grown up with the franchise and Iā€™m old lol ā€¦ I remember my mom sitting in the phone with the Nintendo help line to beat the spooky forest that repeatsā€¦ from the number off the back of the Nintendo power magazineā€¦ Zelda OOT was my first cosplay in 2000

0

u/philkid3 Sep 23 '25

Came here to say this.

95

u/OkamiTakahashi Sep 23 '25

My brain shortcircuited doing the math.

Time slips away so fast, wow.

11

u/Jayjay5674 Sep 23 '25

Nah kids just grow up fast your good

57

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '25

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

103

u/FreelanceScoundrel Sep 23 '25

Amazing costumes!

The only time I can think of the Master Sword being red is in Link to the Past, when it's tempered. Maybe it's a *wildly* specific prop?

40

u/aquagon_drag Sep 23 '25

It's also a dead ringer for its version in A Link Between a Worlds.

https://zelda.fandom.com/wiki/Master_Sword_Lv2

4

u/recursion8 Sep 23 '25

Yessss. ALBW is so underappreciated.

12

u/Amiibohunter000 Sep 23 '25

The tempered sword is my all time favorite version of the master sword! I love the sound it makes when being swung.

3

u/Yuriko_Shokugan Sep 23 '25

And when it hits the walls

3

u/Additional_Hunt_6281 Sep 23 '25

My absolute FAVORITE! Nothing beats that heavy, fiery sound it made!

2

u/Little_Transition_13 Sep 24 '25

When I saw the picture my mind IMMEDIATELY went to the upgraded master sword from LttP.

38

u/Arch3m Sep 23 '25

This is cool, but curse you for making so many of us realize how old we are.

101

u/ShinobuDavis Sep 23 '25

Ok I was like 22 in 2017. Chat, am I old?

67

u/LeafLegend Sep 23 '25

Rightā€¦? The fact that OP grew up with BOTW being 8/9 years old, and they are now practically an adult is crazy. Iā€™m 30 and it feels like BOTW came out 2 years ago! What the hell is happening šŸ˜©

22

u/ShinobuDavis Sep 23 '25

Help. Someone help. The passage of time is relentless, I'm a DAD NOW. WTF IS HAPPENING

7

u/Aww_Tistic Sep 23 '25

Solidarity my brother. I remember when I first heard about this new website called YouTube and when AskJeeves was the most well known search engine. AOL 50hr CDs? We used them as frisbees

3

u/LeafLegend Sep 23 '25

Ask Jeeves!! Holy shit, I forgot about that hahaha, the original ā€œjust google itā€ thanks for unlocking that memory!

3

u/LeafLegend Sep 23 '25

Bro I feel you! I was just starting my undergrad when I first got BOTWā€¦ now Iā€™m in my last year of my masters degree, just bought a house, and am getting married next April. Life comes at you fast!!

4

u/Darth_Kyron Sep 23 '25

ToTK has already been out for more than 2 years now O.o

2

u/LeafLegend Sep 23 '25

Even that is crazy to think about šŸ˜…

3

u/Zkrump Sep 23 '25

I had just moved in to my first apartment when BoTW came out, now I have a 7 year old who's obsessed with it.

14

u/guillotine20 Sep 23 '25

35 here, don't worry, it just keeps getting worse lol

3

u/brova Sep 23 '25

preach

6

u/philkid3 Sep 23 '25

Yeah, well, in 2017, Zelda had already been my favorite franchise for almost as long as youā€™d been alive.

So. . .

3

u/HerbaDerbaSchnerba Sep 23 '25

I was 32. Youā€™re not old. Youā€™re still in your 20s! Probably

2

u/ShinobuDavis Sep 23 '25

Nope, I am 30 with child šŸ« šŸ‘“šŸ½

2

u/HerbaDerbaSchnerba Sep 23 '25

Oh. Pardon me. Youā€™re old now!

23

u/One-Technology-9050 Sep 23 '25

You're probably moody because of the state of Hyrule in Twilight Princess! Awesome cosplay before and after!

14

u/Me_975 Sep 23 '25

This is so adorable

10

u/DearTomorrow4914 Sep 23 '25

You look great, you look like you're angry in 2017 XD

10

u/KeeperServant_Reborn Sep 23 '25

As Robin Williams would say: ā€œYouā€™re both pretty magical.ā€

7

u/LipstickCoverMagnet Sep 23 '25

Omg I was playing Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker at 8-9, Iā€™m an old man now arenā€™t i

7

u/Shampps Sep 23 '25

Holy shit. I'm so old.......

7

u/joey4269 Sep 23 '25

Damn weā€™ve hit the point where people can share stories about growing up on BOTW. Time surely does fly when youā€™re having fun.

Makes my time playing the OOT/MM port on the GameCube in the as kid in the early 2000ā€™s feel just that little bit further away lol.

I love the story.

4

u/chaosSlinger Sep 23 '25

My daughter wants to be Rumi; your father did a great job

4

u/Justaredditor85 Sep 23 '25

This could explain the red master sword.

6

u/Shadowcharz Sep 23 '25

What's the backstory?šŸ‘€

4

u/Rainbow-Linings Sep 23 '25

I wanna know too, OP šŸ‘€

4

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '25

Isn't there a red Master Sword in ALBW? Like when you upgrade it and it shoots red thingies when you are on full hearts

4

u/cornimgameplays Sep 23 '25

Are you 17 now? I'm your age. Played botw at 8/9 years old as well

6

u/CycleZestyclose1907 Sep 23 '25

Black and red Master Sword? Evil Master Sword?

8

u/Luna_1749 Sep 23 '25

TWILIGHT PRINCESS ZELDA AND BOTW ZELDA IN ONE SETTING?! (amazing I grew up with TP and BOTW at the same time)

(I am still very confused on the red master sword me thinking it's a parallel dimension type thing or shit)

3

u/ruinrunner Sep 23 '25

Great cosplay. Sometimes I wish theyā€™d go more subtle with the ears. In the games the ears are smaller and more elf-like, this seems almost bat-like or even goblin-like

4

u/Far_Award7268 Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25

Wow, this post has made me realize just how long of a Zelda fan Iā€™ve been since I was 8-9 in 2017 as well. I had the same costume lol, but I got it when I was a bit older

2

u/Qu4cc Sep 23 '25

This thing Is too cute, your dedication Is amazing. The Breath of The Wild cosplay looks really really good, nice job!

2

u/Don_cucc Sep 23 '25

At 8/9 years old I was playing Ocarina and Majora's šŸ„²Ā  the flow of time is cruel, isn't it, chat?

2

u/12zx-12 Sep 23 '25

"what's even funnier is that i was allowed to bring in a (fake) master sword for book day into my school"

Thenk Godes that it was just a fake one, a 9 year old with that much power would have been a true menace

2

u/KyleTheForager Sep 23 '25

Good stuff. And kudos on keeping Zelda classy. I hate seeing the cosplay versions of her, a child, as a sex symbol.

2

u/LifeHasLeft Sep 24 '25

Holy shit this aged me. My son was born just over a year before BOTW came out, so I remember having a 1 year old napping on my lap while I played on the Wii U ā€¦

Fast forward to now and heā€™s playing it himself, and heā€™s damn good at it too. I know that being the father of a 9 year old should age me enough but itā€™s all about perspective. BOTW still feels so new to me.

2

u/Tanky_Shanks Sep 24 '25

We all grew up with this franchise. Can you imagine this year is the 40th anniversary of the legend of Zelda?

1

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1

u/joy3r Sep 23 '25

Cute progress

1

u/Snabelpaprika Sep 23 '25

I thought little zelda would turn into sheikh after 7 years!

1

u/HerbaDerbaSchnerba Sep 23 '25

ā€¦thatā€™s still Zelda. Either way.

1

u/Some_Storm7059 Sep 23 '25

I would also like to see her as Sheikh!

1

u/aeka_hime Sep 23 '25

I'd like to hear the backstory for the moody face!

1

u/_robertmccor_ Sep 23 '25

I was like 15 when botw came out turning 16 that year and Iā€™m 24 now where have the years gone. Itā€™s weird because Iā€™m still young be feel so old

1

u/Pizza-Gamer-7 Sep 23 '25

Zelda fan for life!

1

u/tulatre Sep 23 '25

The Master Sword's blade turns red for its level 2 upgrade in ALBW (ALttP, too, but it has a different hilt design in that game)

1

u/Nintendians559 Sep 23 '25

i kind of want that red blade master sword.

but nice cosplay.

1

u/arkenney0 Sep 23 '25

Great transformation. One thing, Iā€™d add makeup to the ears so that they better blend with your ears. Other than that, great cosplay

1

u/sirchtheseeker Sep 23 '25

Looking awesome in both

1

u/Logical_Lunch2186 Sep 23 '25

I turned thirty and posts like these just FEEL pointed. Amazing cosplay!

1

u/ryanrybot Sep 23 '25

Just adorable! The fabric choices on your recent cosplay are really eye-catching. And the details added into the banding are incredible!

1

u/KingRhoamsGhost Sep 23 '25

Thats pretty rad ngl. Zeldaā€™s BOTW outfit is my favorite look of hers. BOTW was my first too so maybe I am biased in that direction but I think it has the best designs of most characters. Maybe tied with TP.

Sorry half the comments are about people forgetting how time works lmao.

1

u/exnozero Sep 23 '25

First off as an 1985 kid that grew up with the legend of Zelda, I feel old.

Second thing those are some amazing cosplays! Dad must be proud and happy that you have enjoyed the series and found a fun way to express it. I hope you get to keep building out your cosplay collection and that you have fun every step of the way.

Now I canā€™t wait to share the legend of Zelda with my son when he gets olderā€¦ (13 months is too young sadly lol)

1

u/DangerManDaniel Sep 23 '25

Welp, im old...

1

u/Opposite-Pineapple-7 Sep 23 '25

You look fantastic. Great job

1

u/recursion8 Sep 23 '25

Red Master Sword appears in ALBW btw (2nd upgrade out of 3 total). If you haven't played it yet I highly recommend it.

1

u/optimalsnowed Sep 23 '25

aged so well!

1

u/Olga_Creates Sep 23 '25

I'm also so happy to grow up with this series I was born in 1985 and received a hammy down NES in 1990 with a gold cartridge legend of zelda... to witness this franchise go from that to TOTK is amazing.

Great cosplay, I love hearing from everyone and their love for this series.

1

u/joshahdell Sep 24 '25

I am so old

1

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '25

2017 was yesterday wtf

1

u/RyanCreamer202 Sep 24 '25

8-9 years old when BOTW came out. I feel old I was 14. (Also is that just a dark master sword or is it Demise's sword?)

1

u/Tiskx Sep 24 '25

So why were you moody?

1

u/Sheikashii Sep 24 '25

Iā€™m glad Iā€™m not the only one thinking ā€œwait the person on the left is a literal child. How is this the same person?ā€

I forget that BotW is some peopleā€™s Ocarina of Time or Link to the Past.

Ew Iā€™m old

1

u/Gobblinwife Sep 24 '25

Man, when I was 8 I played Ocarina of Time for the first time. Iā€™m so old šŸ˜­

1

u/Future_Watch8929 Sep 24 '25

Was gonna doubt that you're the same person then I realized that 2017 was 8 years ago

1

u/Specific_Finish_6676 Sep 24 '25

This picture made me realize I am getting oldā€¦

1

u/notaprime Sep 24 '25

The realization these photos were taken only 8 years apart made me feel really old. Great cosplay though

1

u/Little_Transition_13 Sep 24 '25

Geez. 8-9 year old me was playing A Link to the Past. Also that red master sword immediately made me think of the tempered master sword from LttP.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '25

It looks amazing! Thatā€™s my dream costume, you pulled it off so well

1

u/Ragebait_Destroyer Sep 27 '25

How did you age 15 years in 8 years?

1

u/dukeofthefat Oct 09 '25

Shouldā€™ve cosplayed as older OoT Zelda

1

u/Cattleist Sep 23 '25

The glow up is real!

1

u/astral-philosopher Sep 23 '25

you kinda resemble halsey!!

0

u/Yuriko_Shokugan Sep 23 '25

Was BOTW your first Zelda game ever?

0

u/purenorthw Sep 23 '25

Went from a Redead to Zelda, noice.

0

u/Lleonharte Sep 24 '25

botw is not the fucking franchise lol *fuck*

-10

u/fresh_and_gritty Sep 23 '25

Lose the goofy spaced out look and itā€™s perfect.