If you fancy yourself to be an “old school” gaming enthusiast, and have always harbored a closet desire to design titles of your own, you’re in luck.  Zelda Classic is a game engine that allows you to play custom quests created by the community, and to create your own.

The engine itself is quite powerful: it is tailored to run games such as the early Zeldas on NES and Gameboy, but can be much more flexible: one use has created a Kirby platformer, for example.

The editor is called ZQuest, and has a simple drag and drop interface. You can select graphics from early Zelda games, or add you own custom sprites. You can get help with your project at the creator’s forums, as well as ZCTut and ZCForum. Below is a video tutorial of how to get started.

There are hundreds of user generated quests, which can be found at the official site and PureZC. You’ll find the best quests here.  Some modders have gone above and beyond and published Metroid and Mega Man themed quests as well.