What if I told you that some of the coolest Zelda ideas never made it into the games? This includes explorable areas, weapons and items. Today I’m diving into the world of cut content from The Legend of Zelda series.

Video game development isn’t a linear process, there are many reviews and quality gates that have to be passed before a game releases. The scope constantly changes throughout the development cycle and not all features make the final game. The Legend of Zelda is not different and over the years many features haven’t made it to the final version of the game.

Today I’m going to focus on some of the 3D releases including Ocarina of time, Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild and check out some of the ideas that never saw the light of day.

Ocarina of Time

Over the years Ocarina of Time has been hacked apart by players to create mods and also to get a closer look at the game’s assets. Loads of cut content was found within the data, plus early previews shone a light onto content that never made it into the final game.

Link’s Sword Beam was originally in the game. This was a feature in early 2D Zelda games when Link had full energy he would fire a beam from his sword. Nintendo originally intended it to be in Ocarina too, although it never made the final version of the game.

The Starfox Arwing is in the game code as a flying enemy. This was made to make Volvagia’s flying animations, with Volvagia being the boss of the Fire Temple. It’s also suspected this was used to test the Z-Targeting system Nintendo developed for the game.

In early versions of the game the Mediallions worked differently to the final version. Shigeru Miyamoto spoke about this in an interview with Famimaga 64 in 1997 saying “Magic Medallions”, were supposed to have been used with Link’s Bow and Arrow. There were to be six types of Magic Medallions, including fire, wind, darkness, and light, meaning that they might have been used instead of the Fire, Ice, and Light Arrows.

Link once had a front flip, although this move doesn’t appear in the final version of the game. The animation still exists in the game code and can be hacked in.

In Japanese preview of the game the B button was labelled as Jump. Nintendo later removed the ability to jump manually, and replaced this feature with auto-jump.

There was a Unicorn Fountain modelling in the game, similar to a Fairy Fountain although it had a Unicorn’s head. This was featured during pre-release trailers but this location doesn’t exist in the final game.

The original plan for Ocarina of Time was for the game to have permanence relating to players actions. For example, if you cut down a tree the trunk would stay there or if you cut grass it would stay cut.

In the development process Link had a staff as a weapon, although this didn’t make it to the final version of the game.

Hyrule Castle Town was once a full 3D rendered town, although in the final version of the game 2D backdrops were added. I assume this was done to save space and time due to the sheer size of the game at the time.

Next let’s have a look at cut content from Majora’s Mask.

Majora’s Mask

Link originally had an Adult Link mask allowing him to transform into his adult version from Ocarina of Time. This likely tranformed into Fierce Deity Link, who looks similar to Adult Link. There is also concpet art from Hyrule Historia depicting Adult Link in Majora’s Mask.

The Megaton Hammer was due to make an appearence in the game, however, this was replaced with the Goron punching feature as Goron Link. Goron Link was seen with the Megaton Hammer on the B button in pre-release material.

Blue Fire is in the game code as an item, but this can only be obtained through a cheat device. It doesn’t have a description and when used it acts like a bug in a bottle.

Next up we have Wind Waker.

Wind Waker

An older version of Link was sketched out for Wind Waker, but this never made it into the game. The idea was for Link to grow throughout the game, but not at as fast rate as Ocarina, e.g. instantly. Unfortunately this was deemed too difficult and the idea was scrapped.

In the SpaceWorld 2001 trailer Link originally would sneak around, with the idea of more pronounced stealth sequences for the game. This was removed and replaced with hiding in barrels.

Hyrule Historia details two islands that were never used in the final game. Stovepipe Island was supposed to be a volcanic island with a lake and a valley of lava. Nintendo also planned to have GC island, which would look similar to a Gamecube. While cut from Wind Waker, this concept did return in Phatom Hourglass for Dee Ess Island.

You can hack the game to load an item called Water Boots. No item appears though, but it uses the same animation for the Iron Boots. Fans speculate that these were an addition or upgrade to the Iron Boots, used in water.

There are two placeholder sail icons in the game data. The code suggests they would be called the Zora Sail and the Tingle Sail. They weren’t used for the final game, but Nintendo did add the Swift Sail into Wind Waker HD to help with the boat speed.

Next up we have Skyward Sword.

Skyward Sword

When Skyward Sword was shown at E3 in 2010, Link’s Hylian shield was the same design as Twilight Princess, however the design was modified for the final version of the game.

In Hyrule Historia alternative designs of Zelda, Impa, Fi and Ghirahim were considered, although the team settled on the designs we see in Skyward Sword.

Originally the Loftwings had a more cartoony design.

The Whip originally had a skull on it and was called The Skull Whip. It also had a different icon before the final verison was refined for the game.

Finally, we have Breath of the Wild.

Breath of the Wild

In an early build of the game Link used a Sailsloth instead of the paraglider and Link also had a magic meter.

In the demo version of the game at E3 2016 the Sheikah Slate had a health sensor that was built into the first-person view. When you pointed this at an enemy it revealed their number of hit points.

At the top of Hyrule Castle there’s a hidden area, one that’s locked behind a door that’s never opened in the game. There’s also loads of unused rooms in the Champions Ballad DLC including out of bounds from the Major Test of Strength Shrine and a giant chamber under the floor.

Mount Agaat could have once been an area for us to explore. The mountain is fully modeled and has explorable areas and plateaus. The same can be said for the cliffs near Rito Village.

The broken Master Sword, as we see in Link’s memories was once an equippable weapon that could deal just as much damage as the regular Master Sword.

Link originally had an ice-cream exilir, plus other meals were removed from the game before launch including Stir-Fried Mixed Mushrooms and Salmon Rice.

Let me know what you think in the comments.