If you're fascinated with pre-release builds of classic games like Zelda: Ocarina of Time, then it might be worth reading on...
An early beta build of Link's iconic action-adventure title from the Nintendo 64 generation has been discovered. It's believed to possibly pre-date Space World '97 and was actually found on a development cartridge containing F-Zero X. This means there is a lot of content (graphics and maps, to be precise) that didn't make the cut in Zelda 64's final release.
The source - Forest of Illusion - has made the map files from this build publicly available - in hope, they'll be able to be converted to a playable format (it seems there's already been some success). It also clarifies that this is obviously not part of the Nintendo giga leak dating back to last year.
https://twitter.com/shanebattye/status/1351659373341208580
What do you think of this amazing find? Leave a comment down below.
Comments 22
So surprised that we're still stumbling onto this stuff nearly 25 years out. I can't wait to watch some shrill voiced nerd pick apart every detail in a 30 minute youtube video.
(I'm not being sarcastic, I'm literally excited for this)
That cartridge reminds me of the dog in Undertale for some reason.
At least it wasn't found by a prototype hoarder. Curious to see more, should be interesting.
Ah that's really cool.
They just keep finding these gaming fossils, huh.
LET'S FREAKING GOOOOOO
Man I love this type of stuff! Game design is inherently fascinating
Now THESE types of leaks I'm fine with. I love learning about retro games, especially early builds, files, concept art, etc.
Forest of Illusion does amazing work.
it’s especially cool when you realize the design tools they were all using...even a big company like Nintendo had to go it on their own, all while figuring it out along the way
...you gotta recognize how back then, the ingenuity required to pioneer every aspect of 3D simulations must have sparked a creativity that permeated through all departments...what an exciting time
you can see it in the quality of videogame OoT is compared to something bland, and derivative of itself...something I won’t name to spare tears 🥺
A little technical insight.
At some point, an Ocarina of Time development cartridge was repurposed for F-Zero X development.
Instead of wiping the dev cartridge to start fresh, they only overwrote however much data the F-Zero X ROM needed.
Ocarina of Time is a 32MB ROM whilst F-Zero X is 16MB, which is why there's half of a recoverable OoT ROM. During all that development time, the latter half of that OoT data was left untouched.
Wow, that is amazing.
Now release F Zero X on Switch with online multiplayer.
Now this is news. So much incredible history in this data
@RareFan Yep. Thinking this year is gonna suck.
Nintendo 64 betas is my favorite type of news
I love stuff like this. Lowkey hoping a development build of GoldenEye is floating around out there somewhere with a playable Sean Connery still wedged in the multiplayer.
These are the true gamers of our generations.
Incredible. I can't wait to see what cool bits of information come out of this.
@PoeTheLizard actually I think Connery’s data is still lodged in the final build, and there’s GameShark codes to reinstate him, Moore and Dalton.
@Desrever "some shrill voiced nerd"
That actually made me laugh out loud! Seriously though, these guys are super smart! Respect to the shrill voiced Nintendo fan nerds. 👍 I can't wait to see the footage either. The SNES leak with the early game content was so fascinating.
I love this community. These finds are amazing!
z64me has uploaded videos of some of the beta areas ingame to youtube if you want to see them.
Beta deku tree dungeon https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EgymFxXaHQM
Beta Hyrule field https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=og44L6DlYjw
Beta cavern
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yiMAP5MNTIs
The final cut was perfect anyway.
I found this cool article arguing which Zelda 64 version is better;
https://www.fovmag.com/ocarina-of-time-original-vs-remake-which-is-better/?amp=1
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