The Supposed Prototype Version of The Wind Waker Confirmed to be Fake
Posted on February 10 2018 by Kristen G. Rosario
About a month ago, we reported on the potential discovery of a prototype version for The Wind Waker, found by a game collector that goes by the username bowser22. This build had the “Zelda” font on the title screen colored gold, the word “CONFIDENTIAL” next to the Nintendo copyright, and the debug console enabled. Thanks to some intrepid gamers, what sounded like the genuine article can now be confirmed as a complete farce.
Due to the combined efforts of Hard4Games, MelonSpeedruns, and Gamma, they discovered the reasons why this so-called prototype is not legit. The biggest piece of evidence they found is with the copydate (the day when every piece of the game is first put together) labelled on the disc. The copydate found in the prototype’s code is the actual release date of The Wind Waker, which is February 19, 2003.
The next clue that this isn’t real is the font types used for the words “Zelda” and “CONFIDENTIAL”. According to MelonSpeedruns, the file type that those two words use aren’t the same kind that Nintendo uses. Using a program found online, they even went as far as being able to create the exact same style of “Zelda” font design that this prototype had.
There were other minor tidbits they found as well to wrap up the investigation. These include the prototype disk being re-writable, the label on the prototype being “WW” instead of “TWW,” and the fact that there was even a label on this NR disk to begin with. The existence of this prototype was something I was honestly excited about since The Wind Waker is my favorite game in the Zelda series, but I do commend the hard work of those who debunked this particular story.
What do you think of this news? Are you at all surprised that it turned out to be a fake? Let us know in the comments below!
Kristen G. Rosario is an Editor who joined Zelda Dungeon back in September of 2015. His current goal is to become a full-time video game journalist, hoping to eventually gain a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. While he pursues that dream, he not only takes care of his adorable dachshund Angel, but also helps run a YouTube channel with his brother. The Zelda series is a quest he hasn’t fully completed yet, but hopes to get there one day.
