Take a Look at This Resurfaced Ocarina of Time Beta VHS Tape
Posted on February 23 2020 by Charles Xavier
I remember back when Blockbuster was still at its height. Movie rentals were obviously their main focus, but some stores would also rent out video games. Apparently in Brazil, Blockbusters served as a place to buy video games too. It seems the formerly popular rental chain handed out VHS tapes to those who pre-ordered Ocarina of Time there. This VHS tape was recently showcased in full and broken down on the Hard4Games Youtube Channel. The footage contains unused portions of Ocarina of Time, and this is the first time some of this has been seen in the form of video.
The first promo on the VHS has never been seen before now, other than by people who owned the VHS Tape years ago. Some notable differences include Link calling Epona via a reed, a musical note appearing above Link after he learns the Minuet of Forest, and the Triforce symbol being inverted above the Door of Time. There is a second promo on the tape, but it has made its way onto Youtube in the past; however, the video rip of the tape is the best quality version of this promo according to the host. So if you’re interested, definitely check out the video!
For me, this entire video was really nostalgic! I have many fond memories of renting movies with my family at Blockbuster, and I vividly remember the ordeals of trying to rent video games there, only to discover someone else already rented the game I wanted to test out. Additionally, it has been almost a decade since I last played Ocarina of Time on my Nintendo 64. I’ve always ended up using the port of it on The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition, which has improved graphics compared to the faded Nntendo 64 graphics that I was reminded of from watching this video.
This Brazilian VHS tape is such a cool find! Have you ever seen it before? What are some of the alterations between this earlier version of the game and the finished product that interested you the most? Sound off in the comments below!
Charles is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. He is a Visual Development artist focused on enviroments and pitch paintings. Check out his Instagram and Twitter to see his latest artworks, a lot of which is Zelda fan art! His favorite candy is Skittles – he feels the world should know this.
