A Link To The Past

Key Takeaways

• A Link to the Past had multiple overworlds and was initially an RPG with a party of three.
• Early concepts included a different Hyrule map with multiple towns, a party system, and a ship-themed dungeon.
• The Great Deku Tree concept possibly originated in the game.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a celebrated game in the franchise and the first for the SNES. It’s likely that many view it as a fully and completely realized game since it features not one but two overworlds thanks to the Dark World twist. This was a trope that the Zelda series would reuse with sequels and spin-offs.

While The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is jam-packed full of content, that doesn’t mean that some things weren’t cut from the final product. Some aspects from the demo were changed, and some items just never made it into the final cut of the game. That said, certain omissions are a lot more noteworthy than others.

Updated on November 6, 2024 by Blaise Santi: Many Zelda fans may be feeling justifiably nostalgic for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past following the recent release of Echoes of Wisdom, a brand-new top-down Zelda title starring Princess Zelda as the main protagonist. Despite being released over 30 years ago on the SNES, A Link to the Past is still highly regarded as one of the greatest Zelda games of all time and was a trailblazer for the franchise. However, by looking into the game’s source code for things left on the cutting room floor, fans have been able to discover ways in which A Link to the Past shared a lot of similarities with other Zelda games of the time, including the original NES version from 1986. Here are some additional things that didn’t make the final cut in A Link to the Past, some of which may appear very familiar to series veterans.

10 There Were Several Cut Items

Some Classic Zelda Items Almost Appeared

Among many of the things found in the source code of A Link to the Past is sprites for items that do not exist in the actual game. However, these items aren’t exactly game-changing, considering they’re just versions of items that have appeared in other Zelda titles. For example, several meat sprites appear that greatly resemble the Bait from The Legend of Zelda on NES.

That’s not the only NES Zelda item that almost returned in the SNES title. A stopwatch item appearing in the source code for A Link to the Past may have been a version of the clock from The Legend of Zelda, which would freeze all enemies on screen. However, the Quake Medallion in the final game basically does the same thing, so it’s not a surprise it was removed.

9 1/4 Magic Upgrade

An In-Game Curse Is Really A Blessing

The magic meter is Link’s primary way of utilizing weapons like the Magic Hammer or Fire Rod, but there’s only one upgrade players can acquire for it in the final game. By visiting a cave in Kakariko Village, sprinkling Magic Powder on the Mad Batter will cause the NPC to “curse” the player by making their magic meter deplete at half the speed, which is actually quite a useful boon.

However, as data-miners discovered, this was actually going to be another, better upgrade. There’s working code in the final game for a magic meter that depletes at 1/4 speed. Although it was never actually utilized in A Link to the Past, many ROM hacks have integrated the code as an additional magic meter upgrade players can acquire.

8 Link Could Jump

Top-Down Zelda Games Are Actually Known For A Lack Of Jumping

Jumping is a rare ability in the Zelda franchise, with the only mainline top-down title to incorporate it being the recent Echoes of Wisdom on Switch. In other top-down games, jumping can only be learned by Link after acquiring an item like Roc’s Feather or Roc’s Cape. However, A Link to the Past almost included an additional item that allowed for players to freely jump.

The Jump Boots, according to the game’s source code, appear to be a cousin to the Pegasus Boots, which allow Link to sprint and are featured in the final game. It’s unknown which part of A Link to the Past would have required players to jump, but the Jump Boots’ existence in the game’s code is interesting nonetheless.

7 Stealing

Players Could Be Sneaky In Beta Versions

Even though stealing was introduced as a game mechanic in Link’s Awakening for the GameBoy, its origins are in the code for A Link to the Past. In Link’s Awakening, nabbing the expensive Bow from a store while the shopkeeper isn’t looking might get you the item for free, but will rename Link “THIEF” for the remainder of the game.

It’s unknown exactly what the stealing mechanic would’ve been used for in A Link to the Past, but according to the code, players would’ve been able to thieve bombs, arrows, and rupees. Given that the shopkeeper will automatically kill Link for returning to his store after stealing in Link’s Awakening, perhaps it’s for the best that A Link to the Past cut this controversial crime.

6 There Was Going To Be A Party

Link Could Have Had Two Teammates To Support Him Throughout His Journey

There’s a great interview that was conducted in 1989 between the creator of Mario, Zelda, and other Nintendo franchises, Shigeru Miyamoto, and the creator of the Dragon Quest series, Yuji Horii. During it, the two ask each other questions regarding their upcoming projects. At the time, these were Zelda 3 and Dragon Quest 4. To Hori, Miyamoto explains that his idea at the time was to make the third Zelda game more RPG-like.

He wanted there to be a party of three that players could swap between on missions. This included a warrior that sounded like Link, a mage, and a girl. Miyamoto didn’t go into any more details beyond these thoughts, but it is interesting to hear what could have been. While this idea didn’t make it in, perhaps the party idea is where the multiplayer concept drew from with the GBA re-release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords. For reference, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past launched in Japan in 1991 and a year later in North America. Also, for more of this archived interview, curious fans can head on over to Siliconera.

5 A Different Hyrule Was Planned For The Game

The Map Went Through Several Changes And Once Featured Multiple Towns

There is in-game data present in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past showing several different maps that existed during the planning stages of the game. Hyrule looks drastically different in three of these maps that evolved over time. For example, there was less water originally, with streams flowing from the East or centrally. There were also more mountains to the north, which were chiseled down over time.

To the East, there were multiple towers alongside the tower on Death Mountain. Perhaps the most interesting bit of trivia here is that there were multiple clumps of buildings, suggesting that more towns were to exist besides Kakariko Village. Kakariko Village looks about where it should be, but there is also a town south of there and a northern town about midway on the map. Multiple towns suggest more areas for Link to get quests from, supporting the idea that The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was going to be more of an RPG on the SNES.

4 The Great Deku Tree

An Early Concept From Ocarina Of Time

The Great Deku Tree (and the Deku people) were a big part of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This was a 1998 N64 game, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past predates it by seven years. In the files, data miners have pieced together this scene, showcasing a giant tree with a face and two smaller trees with faces beside it. This scene was to take place in the Lost Woods.

This could be where the Great Deku Tree idea originated from, although it is important to note this other fact: In the Dark World, trees have faces, and some of them can even move and shoot bombs. Maybe all the trees in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past were meant to have faces, and the idea was just downgraded so that only the trees in the Dark World did.

3 Enemies And Different Designs

Two Different Versions Of Bosses Were Cut From The Final Product

There are a lot of tile sets in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past‘s game data, and two of them were pieced together to create what could have been two early boss ideas. In the left screenshot are a few sprite sets for Trinexx. In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Trinexx is the boss at Turtle Rock in the Dark World. It has two generic-looking heads consisting of fire and ice, with the middle head, also generic, splitting apart to form a snake after it has taken enough damage. This early sprite set shows that the heads could have had more character to them, like having the heads of cat-like or bird-like creatures.

There is also an eyeball monster (seen on the right) that could be a prototype of Arrghus. In the final game, Arrghus looked like a squid with one eyeball, covering itself in little clouds for protection in the Swamp Palace. Were these prototypes of famous Zelda bosses or different enemies altogether?

2 Dungeons

Hyrule Castle Was Meant To Be Bigger, And There May Have Been A Ship-Themed Dungeon

There were a lot of small changes made to the finalized areas in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, like the design of the church and house interiors of Kakariko Village. One of the bigger changes comes from Hyrule Castle, which featured multiple bedrooms, with beds, a kitchen, and so many other additions. This suggests that the castle could have been a bigger puzzle dungeon in the traditional Zelda sense after Link breaks the barrier.

The more mysterious lost location looks somewhat like a boat. There are only a few renderings of it in the lost data, but it does look like a classic pirate ship. Whether this was going to be a dungeon or a simple location is unknown, just like many other Zelda-based mysteries.

1 Beta Differences

Colors And Symbols Appear To Have Been Slightly Altered

The shame about diving into data like this is not knowing how far along these ideas were. Essentially, they’re just bits of pixels that data miners have cobbled together to show fans more from canceled projects or shine a light on the early days of certain games. That’s why it is always more impressive to find early screenshots or gameplay footage of something like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past because they provide definitive proof of what developers once intended to include.

The Beta footage that is out there from early builds looks almost 100% on point. The biggest differences fans can spot are perhaps some changes in the color palettes, with Hyrule Castle looking a little more pink, although this could be chalked up to the screenshot quality. The magic meter has a bottle shape, which is different compared to the more uniformed oval in the final product. Other screenshots also show the Master Sword lacking a grand pedestal.