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00:06Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we're looking at secrets, details, behind-the-scenes facts,
00:11and other things you might not know about The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past.
00:25But before we dive in, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and
00:30ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:34A Distant Backstory
00:43With so many games released since A Link to the Past, it's easy to forget Nintendo's
00:47original intentions when it comes to story.
00:49The game was meant to be a prequel to the NES games.
00:52The ending of A Link to the Past leaves Hyrule in a time of peace, which is then meant to
00:56lead into the backstory of Zelda II.
00:58That game's manual describes the kingdom's decline after these prosperous times, explaining
01:03the state of it in the original games.
01:05Now, with the timeline, there are six games that take place between A Link to the Past
01:10and the NES duology.
01:12It's an interesting, albeit forgotten, connection buried underneath timeline retcons.
01:25The most dungeons.
01:31Even though they've gone through changes over the years, especially recently, dungeons are
01:35a key ingredient to The Legend of Zelda.
01:37If you want more bang for your buck, so to speak, then A Link to the Past is the game
01:41you want to play.
01:42It features 12 dungeons, the most of any entry.
01:52Naturally, it's only tied with its spiritual successor, A Link Between Worlds.
01:56However, if you consider the Palace of the Foursword created for its GBA re-release, then A Link
02:02to the Past still holds the crown.
02:11More open-ended
02:22While there are a few alternate solutions here and there, A Link to the Past is pretty linear.
02:27At release, creator Shigeru Miyamoto estimated that it would take the average player 40 hours
02:32to beat.
02:32However, being a big idea kind of guy, he also spoke about how he wanted it to take longer.
02:38In a 1992 interview with Japanese magazine Famicom Sushin, as translated by Shmuplations,
02:44Miyamoto spoke about wanting to make the game more open-ended, to the point where it could
02:48take players a year to fully finish everything.
02:51Well, we're getting there.
02:57A Planned Launch Title
03:04The Legend of Zelda has a long history of games being delayed, and A Link to the Past
03:09was no different.
03:10The game entered development at the same time as Super Mario World, with both planned as
03:14launch titles for the Super Famicom.
03:26However, unlike Mario, Zelda needed a bit more time and was delayed, eventually releasing
03:31in Japan on the console's one year anniversary.
03:34This was likely due to the team simply taking their time.
03:37A Link to the Past used a newer cartridge that came with more storage, allowing Nintendo
03:41to pack this Hyrule with more content.
03:44We're sure it only made the game better, but can you imagine getting this and Super Mario
03:48Mario World at the same time?
04:00A Stolen Enemy
04:10Speaking of Mario, the mascots' games were often in development alongside the next Zelda,
04:15at least in the earlier days.
04:16This led to several minor crossovers, with similar enemies and items appearing in both franchises.
04:22Interestingly, one creature that most people think originated with Mario actually came from
04:27the Zelda team, Bow Wow, known as Chain Chomps in the Mushroom Kingdom.
04:31The following, translated by Glitterberry, comes from the 1991 Japanese guidebook for A Link
04:37to the Past, from director Takashi Tezuka.
04:39We'd had concept art for Bow Wow lying around for a while, we'd put it aside thinking we
04:44might make use of it if we could, but someone discovered it and ended up using it for their
04:48own purposes.
04:49To be fair, it does fit the Mario world really well.
05:01To Sell or To Save
05:09In the southern part of the light world, Link can find the swamp ruins.
05:13Pulling the switch inside drains the water from the outside, leaving some fish flopping
05:18around helplessly.
05:19There are two things Link can do.
05:21He can pick up the fish and take it to the merchant in Kakariko Village to get a handful
05:25of rewards.
05:26Also, a bit more unexpectedly, you can take it to another nearby pond and throw it in.
05:31The fish then thanks Link for saving him and gives him 20 rupees.
05:35Catching the Runner
05:39Early on, when Link arrives in Kakariko Village, you'll see an NPC flee from him.
05:44You might think this is just a side effect of Link being falsely wanted for kidnapping Zelda,
05:49but you can actually catch this guy.
05:51After getting the Pegasus boots, Link will be able to run fast enough to reach him before
05:55he runs off-screen.
05:56It's still tricky, since Link has a brief charge and you don't have a lot of space.
06:00If you catch him, he only gives you the tip to knock items out of trees by dashing into
06:05them, so it isn't really worth catching him anyway.
06:08The Cancelled Adaptation
06:09I am Zelda.
06:13Who are you?
06:15I...
06:17I'm...
06:19I'm Link.
06:20I'm Link.
06:20There have been plenty of independent adaptations for The Legend of Zelda.
06:24For A Link to the Past specifically, one from Apathy Industries actually had a lot of work
06:29put into it, before it was shelved when they couldn't get the rights.
06:32The group produced a roughly 8 minute short setting up the prologue in 2014, as well as
06:37some promotional art.
06:38There were even some big names attached for voices, like Todd Haberkorn as Link, Kira Buckland
06:44as Zelda, and Matthew Mercer in an undisclosed role, though many assume it to be one of the
06:49steps on his way to officially becoming Ganon.
06:52It is unfortunate that the noble Zonai no longer grace this world with their presence.
07:01All except you and your sister, that is.
07:04Cut Features
07:13Like any game, there were some interesting things cut during the development of A Link
07:17to the Past.
07:18These include items found in the code, bait and the stopwatch from the original game,
07:23a letter that is believed would have been used early on in the story, and jump boots,
07:27which did what the name implies.
07:29More interestingly are the cut ideas and features.
07:32Miyamoto spoke about wanting to use the lantern to create brush fires in grassy areas.
07:37He also mentioned using the shovel to dig a ditch in a swampy area, and bombing the breakwater
07:42to make it flood into the ditch.
07:44And if they had six more months, he probably could have included it.
07:55Localization Changes
08:03When it came to the game's English language release, Nintendo made some big changes based
08:08on the guidelines of its American branch.
08:10During development, it was simply known as New Legend of Zelda.
08:14The team considered other titles, like Ganon's Revenge, before settling on Triforce of the Gods.
08:19But the name was changed to A Link to the Past in English, seemingly so as not to step on
08:24the toes of Christian consumers.
08:26They also took extra steps to remove any references to other real-world religions.
08:31Aghanim was made a wizard instead of a priest, and the ancient Hylian, resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics,
08:37was also changed.
08:38The Unofficial Sequel
08:45With the current timeline, we know exactly where A Link to the Past sits, and which games
08:50come after.
08:51Of course, that wasn't always the case.
08:53Only in Japan did players get a dedicated sequel that has long since been decanonized
08:58called Ancient Stone Tablets.
09:00Released in 1997, it was only available through Satellaview, a program Nintendo set up so that
09:06players could download new content during certain times of day via satellite.
09:10It was set six years later, focused on different characters, and was pretty unique for the time.
09:15Because of its setup, it was able to use voice acting for story and puzzle solving.
09:19It was playable across four sections, one per week with two dungeons each.
09:23But because they were broadcast live, players only had a certain window, and amount of time,
09:28to complete them.
09:37A List of Firsts
09:46A Link to the Past is often considered the blueprint for the Zelda series because of
09:50how much of it was carried forward.
09:51But when you look at the entire list of things it did first, and how much of it is still
09:56relevant
09:56or present today, it's a little surprising.
09:59It was the first time Nintendo gave us lore on the franchise's mythos, bringing gods into
10:04the mix.
10:04It was the first appearance of the Master Sword, one of the most iconic weapons in video games.
10:09It was the birth of series-wide mechanics, like traveling between two worlds or eras.
10:14We got pieces of heart instead of just heart containers, opening the doors for more side
10:18content.
10:18Fantastic weapons like the hookshot, a dozen pieces of music that are still baked into the
10:23series, and kukos, for crying out loud.
10:26And you know what?
10:27That probably isn't even everything.
10:35Manga Firsts
10:42Yes, even in manga form, A Link to the Past is a trendsetter.
10:45Throughout 1992, Nintendo Power published a manga chapter each month, written and illustrated
10:51by Shotaro Ishinomori, that retold the story of A Link to the Past.
10:54There are a few noteworthy additions.
10:57One is Ephraimelda, a fairy companion that helps Link in the Dark World, who could somewhat
11:02be considered a precursor to Navi.
11:10Link also gets a glider made from the wings of a powerful bird that the past Knights of
11:15Hyrule would ride into battle, a concept showing up nearly two decades before Skyward Sword
11:20and the Loftwings.
11:28A Party of Heroes
11:37If Shigeru Miyamoto's original vision for A Link to the Past had stuck, we would have had
11:42a very different game.
11:43During a 1989 discussion with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Hori, again translated by Glitterberry,
11:49Miyamoto spoke about what he envisioned for a potential third Zelda.
11:53Namely, he planned to follow a party of three heroes.
11:56The protagonist being an elf fighter mix, a magic user, and a girl.
12:00For the last one, he actually said that the fairy model used in Zelda 2 was the basis for
12:05what the girl would be, a member meant for sneaking and gathering intel before reporting
12:09back.
12:09These plans obviously changed in the two years leading up to the game's release, but it's
12:14an interesting glimpse into what could have been.
12:24Sci-fi plans
12:33Another way the game could have been completely different can be seen in some of its early
12:37concept art.
12:38When Hyrule Historia was released, we got a glimpse of a futuristically styled Princess Zelda.
12:43During the development of the original game, Miyamoto considered having it be set during
12:47both the past and future, with the Triforce instead being electronic chips.
12:52Those ideas seemingly stuck with him throughout the development of the series, abandoned during
12:57the early days before creeping in as minor inclusions, and then being prominently displayed in ways
13:02like Skyward Sword's robots and Tears of the Kingdom's Zonai devices.
13:14Final words
13:23The opening of A Link to the Past is iconic. Link venturing after his uncle on a stormy
13:28night, only to find him dying in the tunnels beneath Hyrule Castle. He gives Link his sword
13:32and shield, imparts some advice, and passes away mid-sentence. For years, a question spread
13:38across playgrounds and the early days of the internet, and is even still asked sometimes today,
13:43what was Link's uncle about to say? Zelda is your, what? Responsibility? Princess? Sister?
13:51All were considered, even the last one, since this was only the third game in the series.
13:55However, all you have to do is look to the Japanese version, where his final words are,
13:59you are the princesses. So, only hope, destiny, and the like are probably what the translation team was going for.
14:15Not a good judge
14:23It's common knowledge how the Triforce is divided. Courage to Link, wisdom to Zelda, and power to
14:29Ganon. Although some of us may have wondered over the years why part of this magical wish-granting
14:34artifact created by the gods themselves keeps ending up with someone as rotten as Ganon. Even in Twilight
14:41Princess, the sages describe it as a divine prank. The answer is actually simple, and was even given way
14:53back during A Link to the Past. Only this little nugget was just in the Japanese manual. The Triforce
14:59cannot judge between good and evil, because only the gods can do that. While that makes sense,
15:04it is pretty convenient.
15:13A Contradictory Origin
15:22People like to poke fun at the final scene of A Link to the Past, claiming that the Master Sword
15:27sleeps again forever, when we know it most definitely doesn't. But that isn't the only
15:31contradictory fact about the Master Sword's first appearance. In fact, its whole origin was pretty
15:36unclear for a while. The original manual claims it was forged by the people of Hyrule after Ganon
15:43entered the Sacred Realm. But when they could find none worthy to wield it, they opted to have the
15:47Seven Sages seal Ganon away instead, and hid the sword until it would be needed. Even before retcons,
15:53there's a problem. The Japanese manual claimed it was made long ago, but its location had been lost to
15:59time. Later, in Twilight Princess, Zelda would claim it was created by the sages themselves, not the people
16:05of Hyrule. Of course, that itself was soon retconned by Skyward Sword, with its creation now credited to the
16:11goddess Hylia.
16:24Mythological Inspiration
16:35The Legend of Zelda borrows from mythology in many ways across the entire franchise. Even some of
16:40the most fundamental aspects of A Link to the Past, like fairies and the Excalibur-like Master Sword,
16:47have roots in myth and folklore. What's often more interesting is the inclusion of something based in
16:52Nintendo's home country, Japan. In the northeast region of the Dark World, Link can find a circle
16:57of rocks at the Lake of Ill Omen. If he throws the nearby skull or bush inside, a catfish will
17:03pop
17:03out and give him the Quake Medallion, which allows him to cause earthquakes. In the Japanese version,
17:08the catfish is called Onomazu, named for the Namazu, a giant catfish from Japanese folklore that lives
17:14underground and, of course, causes earthquakes.
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17:47An intended port.
17:57Considering it essentially created the Zelda blueprint, A Link to the Past was a huge hit,
18:01so much so that Nintendo wanted to port it to its mobile platform, the Game Boy. Tezuka had been
18:06experimenting during his free time with a possible handheld Zelda, and after the release of A Link to
18:11the Past, he got to work on a handheld port, but it wasn't long before it evolved into its own
18:16unique
18:17project, Link's Awakening. It was remarkable at the time that Nintendo was able to fit such a packed
18:22experience into such a small machine, and it all began with the idea of putting A Link to the Past
18:27in
18:28players' pockets, which did later happen on Game Boy Advance.
18:39Do you know of any other details or secrets about A Link to the Past you think others don't?
18:44Share your thoughts in the comments, and we will see you next time.
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