Nintendo’s Forgotten Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Courage

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. It feels like a millennium has passed since having last touched the two games, since having last felt the majesty of playing what is now forgotten by many of my peers. Yet, these two games have endured for more than a decade in my mind and heart. Regardless of what I may think of either game in itself there has always been a lingering feeling in the back of my mind, that of something not quite complete.

Despite how ridiculous that may have seemed, it was nevertheless a prevailing thought whenever either game was mentioned. To the left is an image released by Did You Know Gaming illustrating how originally, Nintendo intended to make an additional game Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Courage in order to complete a “Triforce Trilogy” with the prior titles.

The ability to imprint such a lasting feeling on a child no more than seven years old is alone a testament to the lasting influence of these Zelda titles, so to view this particular image blew my mind and created a cesspool of bitter longing and regret for the game that never came.

Why should this be something to be upset about? It’s a good question, most of the people I know do not remember these games and yet there is something about them that spark a certain vitality into the series. Allow me to elaborate.

Yes the games were essentially identical in format and game-play to nearly every other two-dimensional Zelda games, and yes the music was certainly less than superb. Nevertheless Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages introduced one of the most complex and intricate Legend of Zelda plot lines in its time. Not to mention utilizing an interesting use of items, season changes and witty dialogue to make an action packed game even more fun. The Oracle games ventured from the traditional “Zelda Formula” with a plot that required both games with a plethora of new features to complete.

This brings us back as to the reason these titles remain to be so important, and why it is a shame that we were unable to enjoy another installment of this underrated game title. So what exactly is the cause behind the “game that never came?” See, the first two games were released synonymously as a unit. To complete the story both games must be played through, and are connected via a password system.

And we have finally arrived at exactly why there was unable to be a third game: the password system. All the explanation given for the third title or lack-thereof, is due to difficulties in linking the password systems. So the project was sacked and never spoken of again, until now.

The unreleased title was originally intended to be a sequel to Oracle of Seasons in conjunction with Oracle of Ages. Mystical Seed of Courage was due for release months after game store shelves were first adorned with its prequels.

I present to you, the Official plot as described by Nintendo itself.

“Princess Zelda, responsible for managing the four seasons of the Land of Hyrule, and the Triforce of Power have been kidnapped by Ganon. The brave hero Link learns of this and sets out to save the princess. However, Ganon learns of Link’s quest and splits the Triforce into eight pieces, scattering them throughout the land. In addition, the Rod of the Four Seasons (a device that controls the seasons) along with its hiding place in Hyrule Castle, have flown off to another dimension. As a result of this calamity, Hyrule’s four seasons are thrown into chaos and the order of the seasons becomes jumbled. In order to save Princess Zelda and find the ‘Rod of the Four Seasons,’ our hero Link must travel back and forth between Hyrule and this other dimension, while receiving help from the spirits residing in the ‘Tree of Mystery’ and also the strange ‘Uura Tribe’ found in this other dimension. Two characters that will help Link on his quest are introduced. The first is a kangaroo named Ricky. When Link climbs into Ricky’s pouch, he will be able to jump and using a pair of boxing gloves, be able to punch out enemies. The other character is Maple. She suddenly appears flying on a broomstick and crashes into Link, bringing about various events in the storyline. The new item, the Rod of the Four Seasons will be required to solve certain riddles that appear in the game. Maybe the winter snow covers a secret entrance to a dungeon, and you’ll need to change the seasons to uncover it.”

The original names of all three games were: Mystical seed of Wisdom, Mystical seed of Power, and Mystical seed of Courage, sound familiar? The games were supposed to follow the Triforce, as is why Din was featured in Oracle of Seasons, Nayro was featured in Oracle of Ages and Farore was intended to be featured in Mystical Seed of Courage.

Unfortunately no screenshots of Mystical Seed of Courage exist, however it is known that the title was to include a time travel theme with puzzles involving the time of day. The box art would have most likey been green displaying Farore as the Oracle.

Why should we let this linking mishap prevent the possibility of enjoying a “new” retro game? It is now common knowledge that the twin titles have already been re-released in Japan on the 3DS, what is to stop Nintendo from amending a past wrong by making an all “new” Zelda 3DS game- The Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Courage.