We love a bit of unseen footage here at Nintendo Life - especially when Zelda is involved. The N64 games have often been goldmines for this, with original trailers winding up on VHS tapes years later and revealing a whole host of unseen goodness for some classic titles.
One such example has recently been the case for a little indie title called The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - ever heard of it? Found on an old VHS tape, media preservationist @tanks404 uncovered some promotional material for the N64's Spring '97 line-up which includes some first-look proto footage at Ocarina of Time's Link in action.
The full trailer shows a number of instantly recognisable games including Star Fox 64, Yoshi's Story and Blast Corps amongst others. We have added the footage in full at the bottom of this article so that you can see what else Nintendo was keen to show off back in '97.
With the trailer cut together in classic sizzle reel fashion, it is a little difficult to make out what we have seen before and what is new content. Fortunately, @MrTalida has taken each OOT-based frame and stitched them together into something of a cohesive display. It might not be the N64 Link that we all know quite yet, but you can really see the prototype gameplay coming along.
It's true, there isn't a lot to go on here, but that doesn't mean that there are no new discoveries to be made. The footage shows Link running along a brick passageway, entering a cave (possibly an early attempt at Dodongo's Cavern) and running through Castle Town past buildings that never made it into the final draft. Why these elements got cut from the game we will never know, but we can now see that they once definitely existed.
There is, of course, the usual chest opening, Stalfos fighting, sword swinging shenanigans that we can always expect to see from early promotional material, but we love getting a look at how certain elements developed while others were dropped completely - rip mystery brick alley.
What do you make of this sneak peek at what once was? Roll down into the comments and give us your thoughts!
[source youtube.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 20
Love me some retro video game found footage!
The good ol days👴🏻
The trailer was very enjoyable. It makes me want to play games I missed, like the Goemon game. Seriously great stuff does not get old.
Did they find it at a garage sale from a scared seller?
This is very cool though, great to see something so old resurface from obscurity!
Wasn't this footage who spread the rumor that the real quest in the game was in fact hidden, and was to get all the Triforces pieces?
That what every kids said back in the days
"It's true, there isn't a lot to go on here"
Excuse me, but the Triforce piece showing up is probably a very substantial part of this. It was heavily rumoured to have been an obtainable item in the game but has not been seen until very recently.
@F_Destroyer that's how it was in my high school. Along with the rumor that if you played the original Legend of Zelda theme in full on the Ocarina it would warp you to the Temple of Light. I spent a long while copying the transcribed Ocarina notes from a buddy and a whole evening playing the song in game and adjusting notes.
Thanks for that trip down memory lane. VHS quality video is something I don't really miss these days, but when you see some of that stuff, you feel like a teenager all over again, haha
@Coalescence Those pre-internet (or at least pre wide-audiance internet) anecdotes are wonderfull. Kinda sad that today's kid can simply watch all what a game has to offer in seconds, even before a game release, the magic is gone
@F_Destroyer
On the plus side, kids won't have to spend forever trying to play a song in full on an in-game ocarina only to have nothing happen lol
I love me some retro goodness first thing in the morning.
I still have a couple promo VHS from my time as a Club Nintendo member in Spain ...I have to digitalize those one day
@F_Destroyer That was only done for demo purposes. That dungeon was an exact replica of the first dungeon of the original Zelda, but on 3D.
@PtM Yep, me too. Not so unseen after all.
@Edu23XWiiU Well we had no idea back in the days, that what made those games so magical, we though that they hid things from us, giving them a mysterious side.
Nice Trailer, love the 90s VHS Trailer Tapes.
Have a nice one from Saturn.
@PtM I'm almost certain this footage was included on the promo VHS tape included with issue 1 of N64 Magazine that launched early '97 here in the UK. I must have watched the tape at least 1000 times!
Is soon here already?
I remember seeing this version in magazines back in the day, quite a bit more reminiscent of previous games in the series. Kinda crazy how drastically games could change in a few months back then. Simpler times.
@F_Destroyer I remember too, all those rumors and things that you saw before on magazines. like, I remember a picture of an almost final build of the game, where you can see Link entering Castle Town with Epona. I always wanted to do it hahahaha, but then realized it was just a demo version of the game, showcased back then.
Tap here to load 20 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...