Line #10 WhatCouldHaveBeen/TheLegendOfZelda


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6	[[caption-width-right:350:Concept art for ''The Legend of Zelda: Invasion'', one of the many insane ideas planned during ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'''s concept phase.]]
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9	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'':
10	** The title screen theme was originally going to be Ravel's ''Bolero''.
11	** According to concept art, Link in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' and ''[[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink The Adventure of Link]]'' was meant to be a blond instead of the brunet we know of.
12	** According to [[http://www.gamekult.com/actu/miyamoto-la-wii-u-et-le-secret-de-la-triforce-A105550.html an interview]] given by Miyamoto to a French site, the Triforce fragments were originally computer chips and Link was supposed to travel between medieval and futuristic time periods. The name "Link" was not originally supposed to symbolize the link betwen the player and the character, but the link between the time periods.
13	** Ganon was originally going to have a vampire motif, which would explain why he shields his face from the light when you encounter him and why he dies by the Silver Arrows.
14	* ''Zelda 3'', planned as a Famicom game, was originally going to be an RPG featuring a party system of multiple playable characters, each with their own stories, such as a fairy party member and a magic user instead of only Link, [[http://www.zeldainformer.com/news/shigeru_miyamoto_and_yuji_horii_discuss_development_days_of_a_link_to_the_p according to this interview]]. This design was scrapped for unknown reasons.
15	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'':
16	** The Link from this game was meant to be a brown haired instead of a dirty blond. He also looked more like the ''Adventure of Link'' incarnation.
17	** Some evidence exists that suggests ''A Link To The Past'' was supposed to reuse the futuristic idea. There's this very early [[http://www.vgfacts.com/attachments/full/1/108.png concept art]] of Zelda in a scifi get up. This has led some to speculate the Light World/Dark World mechanic was originally going to be a futuristic/medieval world mechanic, as intended in the original game. Why this idea was scrapped twice and never revisited again in ''Zelda'' is unknown, though this is probably the inspiration for the time travel mechanic in later entries.
18	** The idea of the world ending when a giant egg breaks on top of a mountain was originally planned for this game. It later was used instead in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening''.
19	** An AnimatedAdaptation was in the works by Aeipathy Industries, but it was cancelled when they could not get the rights from Nintendo. This animation would have also lead to SuddenlyVoiced for a few of the characters, including some for the first time in English. The cast included Creator/ToddHaberkorn as Link, Creator/KiraBuckland as Zelda, Creator/KentWilliams as Link's Uncle, Creator/VicMignogna as Agahnim, and had Creator/MatthewMercer in an unspecified role (generally assumed to be Ganon). However, some of the animations used for this project ended up in a [[GameMod ROM Hack]] which takes advantage of the [=MSU-1=] chip used in certain flashcarts and recreated in certain emulators.
20	** Unused material in the game files includes a trio of very large trees with faces, which would have been found in a clearing within the Lost Woods. These would not be used in the game itself, but show similarities to the Great Deku Tree that would debut in ''Ocarina of Time''.
21	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening''
22	** In its very earliest stages, the game was nothing more than a {{reformulated\|Game}} port of, or perhaps a sequel to, ''A Link to the Past''. A leaked early version of the game's overworld, also featured in ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' previews, is very clearly a remake of ''Link to the Past''[='s=] Hyrule, though it's a bit incomplete and takes a few liberties with the layout. The final game is its own beast, of course, though the ''Link to the Past'' influences are still quite present.
23	** The game was planned to have a two-player mode which would work similarly to the later ''Four Swords'' and ''Tri Force Heroes'' games, including a boss that required one player to throw their partner on top of it, where they could pound a stake with a hammer (another feature not found in the final game). The storyboard (seen in ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'') that illustrated this has a note indicating that they couldn't figure out how this boss would work with only one player, so when the two-player mode was cut, the boss went with it. Another storyboard indicates that the Southern Face Shrine was originally going to include a pillar that the player had to ram with the Pegasus Boots to get the key- the pillar would then collapse, revealing the inscription seen in the final game.
24	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' has several examples;
25	** The game was itself originally supposed to be released on the [=64DD=] as its KillerApp. It was moved to cartridge once it became clear that the [=64DD=] would never see a US release. This change also meant some aspects, like foot-steps staying in the sand throughout the game, had to be removed.
26	** The game went through several ''heavy'' overhauls (for more info see this [[https://tcrf.net/User:GlitterBerri/Prerelease:The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of_Time Cutting-Room Floor]] article). The game's development can be broken up into two main segments: ''Zelda 64'' and ''Ocarina of Time''. The former started off as ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''-like in that it revolved mostly around Ganondorf's castle and was thin on plot. The game had a lot more 3D, including fully 3D buildings. This build barely resembles the final game and almost everything, from the [=NPCs=], to the "beta forest", to Link's model, were scrapped; [[https://youtu.be/aPsAoxLAhCk?t=565 footage appeared on a 1997]] ''Nintendo Power'' promotional video for ''VideoGame/StarFox64''. Eventually, the game transformed into ''Ocarina of Time'' as we know.
27	** Early on there was no WideOpenSandbox overworld, as they weren't yet sure the N64 could support it. Instead you would travel to different worlds via paintings in the same way you do in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', which it shares the same engine with. The Forest Temple appears to have been repurposed from this early hub concept, as it has a similar layout to Peach's Castle. Phantom Ganon's boss fight with the paintings is a DevelopmentGag to it.
28	** There's a particularly infamous minor NPC (her in-game file is just "object_human"). She is the first NPC shown off for ''Zelda 64'' and was apparently one of the few [=NPCs=] in that incarnation. Little is known about her except that she likely gave Link tips. It also seems she might have been a "generic" model where multiple separate woman used the same design. Surprisingly, her model is in the final game's files despite being from a very old and completely separate build. Fans have managed to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADVOOW4QMkI restore the model]].
29	** The game was originally going to be mostly in first-person, with the camera going into third-person during combat. This was quickly dropped due to the guy who made Link's model not standing the thought of not seeing Link all the time.
30	** Originally, there were two extra dungeons - Wind and Ice - which were scrapped. They were turned into the Forest and Water Temples respectively. In addition, the ice temple was turned into the Ice Cavern and the Wind Temple was reused in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''. Remnants of this can be seen in Ganondorf's Castle; the forest segment heavily revolves around wind puzzles, while the water segment involves a FrictionlessIce BlockPuzzle.
31	** The Ice Temple was going to be located in an area behind Jabu's Fountain, and would have resulted in Zora's Domain being unfrozen once completed.
32	** Screenshots show Link with the Medallions equipped to the C buttons, indicating that they were at one point designed to actually serve as weapons.
33	** A screenshot of octoroks showed that they were originally designed to look much more like their 2D versions (like largeish tick-things on the ground, rather than being aquatic like their namesake animals).
34	** There's the infamous picture of Link finding the Triforce in a cave, which is a pretty good indicator that at one point the player ''could'' find the Triforce but it was eventually removed. [[UrbanLegendOfZelda Not that that's stopped people from still looking]]…
35	** The 64DD expansion to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime.'' Some commentators wonder if ''Master Quest'' really represents what the original intention was. An expanded overworld? New dungeons? ''Master Quest'' is not the original ''Ura Zelda''. In an old copy of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of_Time_Master_Quest&oldid=162448085 Wikipedia which refers to a dead link]], ''Ura Zelda'' would've had new dungeons (possibly the wind/ice dungeon), new items, new attacks, magic spells, and custom masks created via ''VideoGame/MarioArtist: Talent Studio'' and the Game Boy Camera.
36	** The Wind Temple in ''Ocarina of Time'' was changed to the Forest Temple. Saria[[note]]who, early on, had a slightly different design with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xN-FD_olvw buttons on the back of her shirts]][[/note]] was supposed to have less of a role in the game, or possibly a different role, since she didn't teach you any songs and dialogue implies that she isn't Link's {{Childhood Friend\|s}}. It's speculated that [[http://www.zeldawiki.org/images/8/8f/Fadooot.png Fado]] (who had a different design with overalls in early screencaps) was originally supposed to be a sage, the wind sage (see above) specifically, but her role was replaced by Saria and she was given an almost insignificant role.
37	** Link's iconic SwordBeam attack from his previous installments was going to be in the game as well, but it was scrapped early on. The concept is revisited in ''Majora's Mask'' where Link can use his magic to shoot sword beams while wearing the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Fierce Deity Mask]].
38	** Sheik originally had light skin, blue eyes, and a slightly different hairstyle, implying that "Sheik" was [[SweetPollyOliver 100% crossdressing]]. Her design was probably changed to make it [[CaptainObviousReveal less obvious]] who she was.
39	** Early concept art for ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20130401154934/http://www.zeldauniverse.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/alternatice_character_designs-441x600.jpg Ocarina of Time]]'' show that the Zora as looking more malicious (and more similar to the original Sea Zora), Navi resembled the Healing Fairies from ''ALTTP'', Zelda had an ''ALTTP''-inspired design (a similar design is shown in ''Hyrule Historia''), and a very early version of Sheik with darker skin, blue hair, and no mask.
40	** Link's [[http://zeldawiki.org/images/f/f7/Early_Oot_Link_concept.jpg hair]] in ''Ocarina of Time'' originally had bangs similar to ''[=ALTTP's=]'' Link. An even older design for Link [[http://zeldawiki.org/images/9/97/ALttP_Link_concept_3.jpg originally]] looked much more like the NES Link.
41	** There is an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSFYGGg04cc unused]] scene of Link meeting Sheik in front of the Spiritual Stones.
42	** Contemporary articles mentioned in early demos that several [=NPCs=] (including Saria) had voice clips featuring Japanese dialogue. No videos of the clips exists and they're no longer in the games' files.
43	** Goron and Zora have {{Verbal Tic}}s in the Japanese version, but not Kokiri. They originally ''did'' have a tic, but the only reference to it in the final game is Saria slipping up when Link shows her a certain mask.
44	** Link was only "adult Link" until relatively late into development.
45	** Link originally had a "Reed Whistle" item that was scrapped in favor of Epona's Song. The item was later introduced in ''Twilight Princess'' as the "Horse Call".
46	** The final battle with Ganon was originally going to be a ColossusClimb.
47	** Old plans had the plot beginning with Link taking part in a Kokiri coming of age ceremony where "adult" Kokiri receive their fairies when he meets Navi and finds out that the Fairy Tree is dying. It's unknown if Link was in his preteen or teen form. A Magazine/NintendoPower article states that Link found a dying fairy who told him to warn Zelda that Ganondorf was trying to get the Triforce, however this is due to a botched translation.
48	** ''Ocarina of Time 3D'' was going to have fully orchestrated background music at one point in development, as ''VideoGame/StarFox64 3D'' later would, but this was vetoed in favor of a straight remaster. One new piece of music did end up in the game, however, as a second end credits theme. The later remake of ''Link's Awakening'' does use a redone orchestral soundtrack, though probably more out of necessity seeing as how the original was a UsefulNotes/GameBoy game.
49	** Early screenshots and concept art show Link riding a nondescript black-maned horse that would later be replaced with Epona.
50	** Originally, after Link escaped with Epona, Ingo was going to burn down the ranch in a fit of madness. Then someone asked what would happen if you re-entered the ranch after he did so, and it was decided to have Ingo undergo an offscreen HeelFaceTurn.
51	** Originally the game had much larger areas, but they ended up being scaled down, most likely due to memory limitations. The game was originally intended to come out for the disc-based 64DD, but it was later moved to the N64, which used cartridges with much less storage capacity, which likely made the original scope impossible.
52	** When Link travels to the future, the original plan was for the 3 Three Spiritual Stones to lose their power. Link would not be able to travel back in time until he had restored them by completing the Forest, Fire, and Water Temples. This is why the Shadow and Spirit Temples are meant to be tackled after them, as like the Spirit Temple, Shadow was also going to be solved by Link entering it as both Adult and Child. This got changed to Child Link going to the bottom of the well, and why Child Link is able to enter the Shadow Temple.
53	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'':
54	** The game's origins as another 64DD expansion to ''[=OoT=]'' called ''Zelda Gaiden'', and even ''[=OoT=]'' itself's origins as a 64DD launch title heavily reliant on rewritability for much-hyped persistent world features.
55	** The game was originally supposed to take place over the course of one week, evidenced by many early screenshots showing a "月" on the clock (an abbreviation for "Monday") in place of the "1st", "2nd", and "Final" graphics. The final version scaled this back to three days.
56	** Link was originally taught skills through cutscenes. This was later revisited with Hero's Shade in ''Twilight Princess''.
57	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'':
58	** The development of these two games is a rather interesting and complex one. There were going to be ''three'' games, collectively called "The Triforce Series," and would link to each other to form a complete narrative. The "Power" chapter would have gameplay focused on changing seasons using the Rod of Seasons, the "Wisdom" chapter would focus on puzzles involving color and a Magic Paintbrush item, and the "Courage" chapter would focus on time with the day changing between morning, noon, afternoon, and night. However, it was soon agreed that linking three games together in one continuous narrative, but allowing the games to be played in any order, would be too complex (indeed, you would be able to play through such a combination six different ways). Thus plans were changed to just two games, with story and gameplay recycled into the games that became ''Oracle of Seasons'' and ''Oracle of Ages''. As TheArtifact entry on the main page explains, elements of the original trilogy intent remain in the final product when one knows them to recognize them.
59	** In addition to the above plan, ''Seasons'' was going to be a remake of the original NES ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI''. It ended up featuring a few dungeons and bosses from ''Zelda 1'', but is otherwise an original game.
60	** ''Hyrule Historia'' reveals [[https://zelda.gamepedia.com/File:OoS_Ganondorf_Concept_Artwork.png concept artwork of Ganondorf]], meaning he was considered but cut for unknown reasons. In the actual game, he only appears as a mindless Ganon.
61	** [[https://zelda.gamepedia.com/File:OoSOnoxConcept.png Concept art of Onox]] shows him holding a huge two-headed axe with a flail attached to the handle.
62	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'':
63	** [[https://www.unseen64.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tetraoriginaldesigng.jpg This is Tetra]] as depicted in her prerelease artwork for the game. Even though it was not outright stated, this design seem to indicate that she was originally meant to be an inhabitant of Windfall Island, rather than a pirate. It is also questionable if she was already meant [[spoiler: to be Princess Zelda]] in this stage of development.
64	** Link in ''The Wind Waker'' was supposed to be a [[http://zeldawiki.org/images/d/d9/WW_Link_concept.jpg teenager]] along the lines of ''Ocarina of Time''[='s=] second half. It's unknown if he aged or if he was on default a teenager.
65	** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' had the last two planned dungeons (prior to the final one) scrapped due to time constraints and replaced with the controversial Triforce FetchQuest. The number of dungeons clocked at seven and not nine as intended.
66	** The E3 announcement trailer shows that Link had a sneaking ability for stealth portions of the game. It was replaced with hiding inside barrels. Stealth was reintroduced in ''Breath of the Wild''.
67	** In the E3 trailer Link's design was based on his brown-and-green one from the first game, not ''Ocarina of Time''.
68	** One prerelease model of Link's had blue eyes. This was ultimately scrapped in favour of BlackBeadEyes.
69	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'':
70	** The game originally had a different theme for the Twilight Realm, being in black and white rather than a washed-out sepia tone with lots of bloom (the final version).
71	** The game was going to have Gorons piled together to make a ''giant-sized golem.'' They were DummiedOut.
72	** Sheik (Zelda's disguise from ''[=OoT=]'') was originally going to return in this game, but was scrapped for unknown reasons. This also resulted in a DevelopmentGag in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' where Sheik's return in that game as one of Zelda's abilities was actually based on this abandoned concept. Although Hyrule Historia suggests that the original artists intentionally left behind a leftover ''TP''-esque Sheik design for ''Brawl''.
73	** The game was also supposed to use a magic system similar to the ones used in the previous ''Zelda'' games and many preview screenshots and trailers showed a magic meter. During development, Nintendo scrapped the concept of magic, but forgot to cut out the green Chu. Red ones could be used as a red potion when killed and blue ones used as a blue potion. Green Chus would have been used like a green potion to restore magic, but since magic does not exist in the game, drinking a green Chu Jelly simply does nothing. Likewise, the screenshots shown at the back of the game's box shows the magic meter, despite the fact that the game does not use a magic system.
74	** [[http://www.unseen64.net/2008/06/02/zelda-twilight-princess-beta-analysis/ This article]] goes in-depth into many of the differences. A major difference is that Link was supposed to interact with animals much more.
75	** [[http://www.glitterberri.com/hyrule-historia/page-180/ Ilia]] had many designs, one of which had dark hair and a Navi tattoo on her forehead.
76	** Midna had [[http://www.zeldadungeon.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Midna-Concept-Artwork.jpg at least a dozen]] prototypical designs before we got our final Midna. Early screenshots also show her PrehensileHair as green and red-orange rather than a lighter orange throughout.
77	** [[https://www.glitterberri.com/hyrule-historia/page-186/ As seen in]] ''Hyrule Historia'', Impaz was originally going to be a {{Gender Flip}}ped Impa nicknamed "Old Man Impa".
78	** The game was originally going to have the cel-shaded graphic style as ''The Wind Waker'' until the developers saw how that game's sales were poor because of the graphic style.
79	** A variation on the above: early screenshots showed the Twili ([[NonStandardCharacterDesign and only the Twili]]) as cel-shaded shadow beings. Rather than an insect on his head, the monkey boss in the first dungeon had some form of hat.
80	* ''VideoGame/LinksCrossbowTraining'' was going to be a "side-story" or direct sequel to ''Twilight Princess'' akin to ''Majora's Mask''. However, it was decided it would take too long and Miyamoto wanted to take advantage of the Wii-Zapper due to his love for shooters. Apparently, this decision upset the developers who made a lot of progress on what their original plans were.
81	* Characters in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' went, like all ''Zelda'' characters before them, through a ''truckload'' of different designs. [[http://www.glitterberri.com/hyrule-historia/page-209/ Byrne in particular]] ran the whole gamut of ranges: from a small, elderly henchman to a wild gentleman, a DumbMuscle brute, and a ''mole'', all the way up to the badass warrior of the final game. The FinalBoss was also envisioned as humanoid, rather than four-legged, and concept images of him [[http://www.glitterberri.com/hyrule-historia/page-211/ crying out in agony after his defeat]] (CAREFUL: spoilers and mild NightmareFuel) were left scrapped, possibly to avoid a feeling of AlasPoorVillain.
82	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'':
83	** Early on in development, the game used standard button controls for swordplay. As Wii [=MotionPlus=] came into play, motion controls were added in.
84	** Switching items involved twisting your wrist rather than pointing in a certain direction.
85	** The character designs were also going to be very different. [[http://www.glitterberri.com/hyrule-historia/page-14/ Ghirahim]], [[http://www.glitterberri.com/hyrule-historia/page-15/ for example]] (CAREFUL: spoilers), went through a load of them, both humanoid and much more demonic. It seems Impa was also at one point [[http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6839583895_1c70902e33_o.jpg imagined as a child]] instead of a young woman.
86	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'': In an [[http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/a-link-between-worlds/0/1 Iwata Asks]], the game was originally going feature Toon Link and be in playable 3D instead of 2.5D. It wasn't until Miyamoto suggested to base it off ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' that production started.
87	* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': Originally the game wasn't ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' with a ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' aesthetic, but a genuine Zelda game complete with puzzle solving and dungeons. This was scrapped when Shigeru Miyamoto wanted them to make a ''Warriors'' game for Zelda, as a standard Zelda would've missed the point of why they wanted to collaborate with its developers.
88	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes'' was originally going to have the ability to fuse two players together with the characters only being able to move if both players agreed on the direction in which to travel. It was scrapped after it was decided it would make the game too hard.
89	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'':
90	** This game had a few very different ideas preceding it, such as one involving Link fighting against an AlienInvasion, another with a modern-day-style Link with a motorcycle and electric guitar in addition to his Master Sword, and a third with a possessed Link with an artificial arm that could turn into different items. The motorcycle ended up being implemented as part of ''The Champion's Ballad'' DLC as the Master Cycle Zero, whilst the artificial arm was [[RefittedForSequel retooled]] for ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom''. Several other pitches and ideas for the game were shown off by Nintendo at the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyMsF31NdNc 2017 Game Developer's Conference]].
91	*** One was called "Hyrule Wars from The Legend of Zelda". It depicted Link traveling in the middle of a battlefield during explosions. From the name, this suggests a war would have been present and Link would have entered areas where ongoing battles were occurring. Part of this idea would be added as a sidequest in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom Tears of the Kingdom]]'' in which the player has to fight alongside other [=NPCs=] against massive groups of monsters in a small skirmish.
92	*** The other is "The Legend of Zelda: Invasion", which featured an alien invasion of Hyrule (unlike the sidequest from ''Majora's Mask'', this would have formed the main premise of the game), a modern-day version of Link wearing a tracksuit and riding a motorcycle styled after Epona, or wearing a spacesuit and hanging out with a Franchise/{{Metroid}}. Possibly the most surreal one is Ganondorf in ''a Music/{{Metallica}} T-shirt''. Funnily, Nintendo did add in an optional t-shirt with the Nintendo Switch logo on it that Link can wear in the game, but only if you bought the season pass, and as of the Champion's Ballad DLC Link has access to a {{Magitek}} motorcycle called the Master Cycle Zero. A short manga was featured showing what one of the aliens would look like.
93	** Because the game was originally planned as a UsefulNotes/WiiU exclusive, it was designed for [[http://wiiudaily.com/2013/10/zelda-wii-u-gamepad/ heavy dual-screen integration with the system's GamePad controller]]. (The Sheikah Slate was meant as a stand-in for the [=GamePad=].) This was later removed, once the decision was made to have the game as a dual-release on both the Wii U and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, with the developers noting that they felt the change actually improved the gameplay.
94	** The Sheikah Slate used by Link was [[http://gonintendo.com/stories/272641-aonuma-on-zelda-botw-wind-waker-influence-the-feeling-of-zeld originally intended]] to speak like a [[ExpositionFairy traditional sidekick]] via the [=GamePad=], similar to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Navi]], but the idea was scrapped when they created the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch version of the game.
95	** As shown at the 2014 Game Awards, early versions of the game featured the Sailcloth from ''Skyward Sword'' as an item that Link could use to glide across the air. In later versions, the Sailcloth was replaced with the Paraglider.
96	** There were plans to have [=NPCs=] that were tiny and could be visited if Link shrunk down to their size, similar to the Minish in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap''. It was ultimately scrapped since it didn't fit in with the other ideas and designs.
97	** When the game was shown at E3 2016, there was a magic meter on the screen. The magic meter was scrapped, probably due to the abilities the devs made for Link's Sheikah Slate.
98	** The developers planned for the Hookshot and Beetle to be abilities Link could use with the Sheikah Slate, but these were scrapped. When speaking about the Hookshot, some developers stated that it was akin to Link being like Spider-Man, flying around Hyrule in a way that made some other modes of transportation pointless, hence its removal.
99	** The developers toyed with the idea of having treasure chests already opened and their contents looted for no reason other than for flavor to the game. It was scrapped due to concerns of confusing players into thinking the treasure was located somewhere else.
100	** The Japanese version of the "Creating a Champion" artbook depicts concept art of Link with two people who are presumably his father and little sister (both are unnamed so it isn't known if the little girl is supposed to be a reimagining of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Aryll]]), and another piece of concept art shows Link and the girl wearing cloaks and the former wielding a spear. It's possible they were meant to appear in the game, though whether in flashbacks, or if it was before the game's premise was final, isn't known. In the final game, Link's father is very briefly mentioned but never shown. This art is also absent from the English release of the book.
101	** During the Tarrey Town sidequest, the player would've originally been able to design and build the houses of new residents after inviting them to move to the burgeoning village. The box-like architecture of Tarrey Town's buildings is a holdover from this. Once again, this idea would partially make its way into ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom Tears of the Kingdom]]'' as an optional side activity where the player can build Link a house using modular pieces near Tarrey Town.
102	** At one point, there were going to be toxic bodies of water as well as the regular and cold ones; they would have sapped Link's health at a rate of half a heart for each half-second spent in them, and damaged enemies at a rate of 1.25 hears per second (except for Ganon and the Blights, which would have been immune). The code and textures can still be found within the game. The fact that they're mechanically different from normal water pools in that they can't be frozen by Cryonis suggests that they were added in very late in development, then taken out before they were finalized.
103	** Prince Sidon was originally going to be grey instead of red. In fact, according to ''Creating a Champion'', his ''final'' design was grey, but he didn't stand out enough from the rainy atmosphere of Zora's Domain, nor did he have enough of a resemblance to Mipha. To rectify both of these problems, he was made red instead.
104	** The Kokiri were originally intended to be in the game and for one of their number to be a Champion, who would have wielded a whip; [[https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/File:BotW_Champions_Concept_Art.png early plans also had a hookshot-wielding Sheikah champion]]. In the final version, their places were taken by the Rito and Gerudo; the Sheikah remained as a "secondary" race, while the Kokiri were replaced by the Koroks.
105	** The Zora race, at one point in development, [[https://twitter.com/AllSourceGaming/status/942887120607178752 resembled the classic enemy River Zoras]] more than the Sea Zoras introduced in ''Ocarina of Time''. While the Zora in the final version of this game ''do'' have some more bestial attributes (the SharkMan motif, the ScaryTeeth, [[Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon Gill-man]]-esque claws on their fingers and toes), they still more closely resemble the Sea Zoras. Mipha in particular at one point had a strong resemblance to a lionfish and wore a dress.
106	** In the finished game, sentry horns used to alert all enemies in earshot of Link's presence are only carried by Bokoblins and Lizalfos. Concept art exists of unused Moblin and Lynel variants as well.
107	** The Guardian Stalker was intended from the beginning to be a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to the Octoroks as they appeared in [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI the first game]], with the GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed designs the Octoroks had being extrapolated to a monster that really ''was'' as massive as those appeared in that game. Early designs for the Guardians depicted them as organic creatures like the Octoroks, ranging from massive cephalopods and arthropods to various kinds of gruesome-looking StarfishAliens. The team eventually decided that having enormous and alien-looking organisms wandering all across Hyrule would have been a bit too gross, so they instead went with the intimidating but less gross {{Magitek}} StarfishRobots of the final game.
108	** The developers considered letting players pet the dogs, something that was commonly requested after the game first came out. They figured that it would be an UnderusedGameMechanic in a game that had the overarching design philosophy of "use a small number of mechanics for a large variety of tasks."
109	** Originally, Kakariko Village and Korok Forest were each located where the other was but were eventually swapped around.
110	** The development team had come up with a lot of DLC ideas for the game. However they decided it would be better to [[RefittedForSequel incorporate them in a direct sequel]], which would end up being ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'', due to the number and nature of these DLC ideas.
111	* Imagi, the studio behind the 2007 ''WesternAnimation/{{TMNT}}'' and the 2009 ''WesternAnimation/AstroBoy'' films, apparently wanted to try their hand at an animated movie adaptation. It never got past the initial [[http://adam-3d.com/link/ pitch]].
112	* Series creator Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto revealed in 2016 that Nintendo had shown interest in a ''Zelda'' spin-off starring Sheik. Whether it would take place before or after the events of Ocarina of Time has never been discussed as no gameplay prototypes or ideas were ever developed. There is still a desire to make it a reality though.
113	* ''VideoGame/CaptainToadTreasureTracker'' was almost a spin-off game starring Link. This was scrapped when they decided to add levels in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' and remembered the character of Captain Toad.
114	* In 2004, Creator/RetroStudios, who produced the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' on contract with Nintendo, proposed a pitch for a ''Zelda'' spinoff for the DS called ''Heroes of Hyrule''. It would have been a StrategyRPG whose story would have followed a young boy named Kori, who would have been looking after an elderly neighbor's shop where he found an old, partly destroyed book describing the story of a trio of adventurers -- a Goron warrior, a Rito archer and a Zora mage -- who set out to rescue their friend Link after he was captured in an ambush by Ganon's forces. The gameplay would have alternated between Kori in the present and the heroes in the past, with the events described in the book giving Kori hints necessary for interacting with the present game-world, complete tasks or a minigames to find more pages, and continue the heroes' story; the heroes' past sections would have revolved around alternating between the three heroes to make use of their different skills and in using items obtained in one adventure to bypass obstacles in others, encouraging revisiting old areas in a manner similar to a {{Metroidvania}}. The story would have culminated with Kori completing the book only to discover that it was Ganon's SoulJar when he springs out, but the heroes arrive as well, help him defeat Ganon, and return to the past; the ending would have had the shop owner, revealed to be Link, return alongside the aged heroes. However, Nintendo flatly turned down the pitch -- the Retro staff who proposed it never learned the reason -- and that was that.
115	* Nintendo was in talks with Creator/{{Netflix}} to produce a live-action series based on the games in early 2015. However, the plan fell through when a Netflix employee leaked the news about the proposed show to the internet, which upset Nintendo so badly that they immediately backed out of producing it and a proposed stop-motion ''VideoGame/StarFox'' show that a completely different studio was working on.

Context WhatCouldHaveBeen / TheLegendOfZelda