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Prerelease:The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
This page details prerelease information and/or media for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
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Tech Demo
 | ...But what does it mean? This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation! Notes: The large image of the prototype depicts Japanese writing on the walls. |
A Link Between Worlds was in development for 4 years, starting after The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks was finished.
At first it was to be a game about communication but this was rejected by Shigeru Miyamoto because he felt it had been done before.
No, A Link to the Past wasn't on our minds at all. We didn't even have the idea of Link entering walls. We were thinking about a Zelda game with the theme of communication. When we presented it, Miyamoto-san said, "This sounds like an idea that's 20 years old." (laughs)
— Hiromasa Shikata
As soon as we started the presentation, I could clearly see Miyamoto-san's facial expression rapidly darkening. I thought, "This is bad..." And then at the end he said, "This sounds like an idea that's 20 years old," that was the killing blow. We were down on the floor.
— Shiro Mouri
A prototype was made to demonstrate the "entering walls" mechanic.
There’s this other programmer who is usually a really mild-mannered person, but Shikata-san, who had suggested the idea, was so indecisive about it that the programmer got mad and angrily said, "I think the idea of entering walls sounds amazing, so what’s wrong with it?!" [...] He got even hotter, saying, "We're at a fork in the road as to whether this project runs astray or not, so I'm not changing my mind!" and "We're making this no matter what, so tell us what to do!" Then Shikata-san was like, "Maybe the point is turning corners on the walls..." without any confidence, so I got angry too and fired back, "Then I'm making a prototype!" [...] But my back was up, so I did it in one day and showed it to him the next morning, saying, "How's that?!" [...] (gesturing as if peering into a Nintendo 3DS) He was like, "Whoa! This is it!" [...] Well, I didn't make this whole thing in one night. At that time, I only made the turning corners part.
— Shiro Mouri
At the time, the game was thought of as an extension of the Nintendo DS games. The camera was overhead from an angle and featured Toon Link (like Spirit Tracks).
Iwata When you made that prototype, was it a direct top-down view like in A Link to the Past? Shikata No. As in Spirit Tracks, the viewpoint was overhead from an angle. Aonuma At the time, we were thinking of it as an extension of the Nintendo DS games.
Nintendo Direct - 17 April 2013
| Nintendo Direct (17 April 2013) | Final Game |
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The screenshot, footage released as part of Nintendo Direct on 17 April 2013, show various differences:
- Early designs for the Stamina and Heart Meter.
- A lighter and more "fuzzy" looking grass texture.
- Darker dirt walls with fewer, larger layers.
- Bump-mapping on the dirt walls to make them look rocky.
