Fans of the 16-bit "Legend of Zelda" may want to check out Solarus, a free role-playing game (RPG) engine designed by "Zelda" fans for "Zelda" fans.

Solarus is an open-source action-RPG game engine written in C++ code that works across multiple platforms like Windows, Linux, and even Mac OS. It features a quest editor that allows players to create their own adventures or share them online with others. Most importantly, the game editor is free.

Creator Christopho is a dedicated "Zelda" fan and used his affinity for the franchise as a basis for creating the open-source engine. Christopho felt that the existing game creation studios like RPG Maker are too limited in scope; hence, he designed Solarus with freedom and creativity in mind.

PC gamer's interview with Christopho revealed that Solarus' popularity is now soaring, and a number of good games have already been created using Solarus, like the fan-made "Zelda: Book of Mudora."

One of the many features of the Solarus is its ability to create procedurally generated rooms and dungeons, meaning that a player will never enter the same dungeon twice, as the layout randomly changes based on an algorithm which the engine uses. This was utilized on the fan-made game "Tunics!," which is a randomly generated roguelike game similar to a 2D "Zelda" title.

However, gaming giant Nintendo, who released the "Zelda" franchise, may shut down the project with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice since they hold all the intellectual property rights for "Zelda."

Despite this, Christopho has remained confident that Nintendo will not go through the trouble of pursuing him and his game engine since the core assets of Solarus are not licensed by other companies. Also, all the existing "Zelda" games made using Solarus have been used with resources that fall under Creative Commons licensing.

Players interested in making their own RPG adventures can try out the free game engine here.