AnElden Ringfan and artist has recreated characters and scenes from the game in rich and colorful Studio Ghibli style illustrations.Elden Ringhas recently passed its one-year anniversary, and many players are still absolutely enthralled with the game, and continue to make amazing tributes.
Elden Ringhas taken influence from many sources, such asLord of the Rings, Arthurian Legend, Finnish folklore, Wagner’sThe Ring of the Nibelung, andBerserk,among others. Perhaps even the Hayao Miyazaki movieNausicaa of the Valley of the Windinfluenced the game,with mushroom spore laden lands, and one character called Kushana bearing a striking resemblance to Malenia, both being very powerful with a golden arm. While Hidetaka Miyazaki has discussed theinfluences forElden Ring, Ghibli was not specifically mentioned. Even without direct confirmation of the inspiration, it’s easy to imagine how the studio often referred to as “the Disney of Japan” could have some influence on the team at From Software.
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Whether or not Ghibli inspiredElden Ring, the two make a great pairing, as shown by Reddit user Expensive-Peak2470, who has posted amazing Ghibli style illustrations of Malenia, Ranni, and a figure in Nokron, the underground city. The illustrations have rich filmic color and texture that replicate the hand-drawn style of the older Ghibli movies such asKiki’s Delivery ServiceandCastle in the Sky.The officialElden Ringmangatakes more of a detailed illustration style, closer to the style ofBerserk, which evokes a much grittier and visceral feeling compared to the more dreamlike and nostalgic feeling of the Ghibli style, as shown in Expensive-Peak2470’s art.
The original posFellow fans posted to request that Expensive-Peak2470 continue their work with fan requesting a picture of Fia. Expensive-Peak2470 also clarified that the images are not AI-generated, claiming that each image took over eight hours of work in Procreate. The immense popularity ofElden Ring, paired with the varied inspirations and vast quantity of different gameplay and landscapes within the game mean that there are many ways forElden Ringto be interpreted to suit the player the best. One artist gave theElden Ringmap a makeoverin a more cartoony style, similar toAdventure Time, while another artist has imagined how Rykard would look in a NES game.
Just over a year after the launch ofElden Ring, the game continues to inspire and captivate many players. When considering howDark Soulswent on to influence game designers for years after its release, creating the sub-genre “Soulslike,” and also considering thatElden Ringhas sold considerably more than its predecessor (theDark Soulstrilogy has sold around 27 million copies collectively, whileElden Ringalone has sold 20 million), it’s easy to see thatElden Ringis likely to continue to influenceplayers and designers alike for years to come.
Elden Ringis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
