Video games tend to go through a lot of changes during development. The final version of a game can be completely different from pre-release trailers and screenshots. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a game with a fascinating development cycle, as seen with interviews and secrets uncovered by fans. This time around an early beta build of Ocarina of Time has been discovered on an F-Zero X prototype cartridge, currently estimated to predate Nintendo Spaceworld ’97.
We have a prototype Nintendo 64 cartridge of F-Zero X that contained data from an early build of Zelda 64 that used to be on the cartridge. We're estimating it's from Spaceworld 1997. We're going to look into this more. Of course everything will be released. pic.twitter.com/Q5SoAbsdWM
— Forest of Illusion (@forestillusion) January 19, 2021
All of this was uncovered by Forest of Illusion, a Twitter account dedicated to preserving Nintendo’s history. Although, Forest of Illusion tempered expectations for what was found on the cartridge, explaining that there are mostly “minor differences in the audio, text, and gameplay” from what has been seen before.
The user has made everything in the Ocarina of Time early build available to the public, meaning you can download it for yourself. This is so the internet can try to make all of it playable, which has already begun seeing success.
That was fast. Someone already figured out how to view the early Zelda 64 maps! https://t.co/VVSu84Bg1u
— Forest of Illusion (@forestillusion) January 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/shanebattye/status/1351659373341208580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1351659373341208580%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nintendolife.com%2Fnews%2F2021%2F01%2Fearly_build_of_zelda_64_discovered_inside_f-zero_x_development_cartridge
This early build is an interesting find, especially considering that Ocarina of Time is 23 years old now. Fittingly, this year is also the 35th anniversary of the franchise. It is definitely an exciting way to begin the year! What are your thoughts on this discovery?
