Nintendo kicks off Zelda 25th Anniversary Flipnote competition

Have your Zelda themed flipnotes judged by series luminaries

As part of Nintendo’s ongoing 25th anniversary celebrations for The Legend of Zelda, the company is challenging fans to create their best Zelda themed “flipnote” using the DSiWare Flipnote Studio. The flipnotes have to be accompanied by one of three short Zelda themes the company have put together for the contest, each from a different era of the series and with an appropriate punchline noise right at the end. There’s also a decidedly nonsensical “Official Sample” which is funnier than it has any right to be.

While the competition certainly seems geared towards the use of Flipnote Studio, you can submit a paper based flipnote to a maximum of 240 frames. All the instructions on how to enter and access to the music samples can be found at the contest’s official website. In addition, Nintendo have created a quick video tutorial teaching you how to draw Link in his various guises. My train wreck of an attempt can be found in the comments thread.

Unlike most contests, there is no rule requiring you to be a US citizen for this one, but that’s probably because there’s no traditional “prize” up for grabs. If you’re one of the 10 to 15 winners, then your work will be displayed and four of the franchise’s most important people will comment on your work, including Miyamoto himself.

The competition closes on September 9 and the winners will be announced on October 31st. While Flipnote Studio is currently exclusive to the DSi, the website does say that Nintendo will be developing a “similar application” for the 3DS. No hint on whether that will hit in time for the contest.

Here’s that link again to the contest page.