Daily Debate: Is There Any Cut Content From a Zelda Game You’d Like to See Included in a Future Remake?
Posted on September 03 2021 by Emi Curtis
Much as I discussed in the discovery of the lost Ocarina of Time beta rom, the final product we see in video games is often only a small part of what was conceptualized. Due to all sorts of things like different project direction, time crunch, and thought evolution, a concept can see all manner of development only to wind up left behind when a game hits store shelves. Oftentimes, we’ll only ever know about these ideas if a developer is kind enough to mention them in an art book or interview, but occasionally we see unfinished ideas in trailers, demos, and promotional materials leading up to the games release. Even more rare, sometimes those ideas suddenly return from the dead within DLC, remakes, and sequels. With how many cut content stories there are within the Zelda series, which ones would want to see brought to life?
There are a great number of considerations to this question, especially given the almost mythic quality some of the cut content from earlier games has taken on. The story of the medallion powers from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a feature discussed often online, but did you know there were also going to be six types of arrows? The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is also famous for having much of its later dungeons reduced down to the tedious Triforce Hunt that dominates the game’s second half. In The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, the Medicine Store Salesman was going to have legs! Give the man his legs Nintendo, it’s the least you could do.
I for one, would really love to see a lot of the islands that were cut from The Wind Waker. We know for certain there was a Gamecube-shaped island and an island called Stovepipe Island where the Gorons would live evidenced in the Hyrule Historia. There has been much speculation though that Fire Mountain and Ice Ring Isle were once much bigger islands with much more to do on them, possibly even entire dungeons. I would love to see those re-added in a sort of extended Master Quest when it eventually comes time to fully remake Wind Waker.
What are your thoughts? Which cut content would you like to see fully realized someday? Will Medicine Store guy ever get his legs? Let us know in the comments below!
Emi Curtis is an associate editor with Zelda Dungeon, having originally joined the team in late 2020. She is a freelance artist, programmer, and streamer with a healthy love of both the creative and analytical. She can frequently be found playing RPGs and Adventure games, her favorite of which being The Wind Waker. She is also quite fond of playing Zelda Randomizers. Currently, she hosts a tabletop RPG series on Twitch and operates a freelance illustration business. She can be found on Twitter and Twitch as her VTuber alter-ego Gwen Myoty, creating nerdy artwork, dungeon mastering tabletop games, and playing RPGs.
