14 Behind-The-Scenes Zelda Facts

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14 Behind-The-Scenes Zelda Facts

35 years ago, Nintendo released a funky little dungeon explorer featuring a sword-wielding, IED-planting Peter Pan lookalike. Creator Shigeru Miyamoto managed to pack an unbelievable amount of adventure into 128 kilobytes – which he's expanded impressively, into Breath of the Wild's whopping 84-square kilometer map.

But let's go back to Zelda's roots. Here are a few facts from early in the franchise's life and development. For example: our research suggests that Zelda is actually the girl?? Mr. Miyamoto, you are full of surprises!

Miyamoto designed the game based on his own childhood adventures. CRACKED As a kid, he spent a lot of time wandering around the woods near his village. That, coupled with the maze-like layout of his home, and a small cave system he reportedly crawled into, account for the sense of
Nintendo thought TLOZ would be too hard for Americans. ...and they were basically correct! Nintendo of America set up a toll-free number that gave hints and tips for the game. It got to be SO popular that they expanded it to other games (and started charging for it on
One enemy can be defeated by yelling at the game. CRACKED COM Pols Voice, a rabbit-ghost with big ears, can only be defeated in the Japanese version by yelling into the Famicom's controller, which has a small mic. The NES doesn't have this function, but the US guide still mentions Pols
TLOZ was originally a dungeon builder. ELEA TT CRACKEDON It was originally conceived as a Mario Maker-esque game for Japan's Famicom system, where players could save their dungeons to floppy discs and share them.
The Old Man's most cryptic hint was solved after 25 years. 10TH ENEMY HAS THE BOMB. CRACKED COM Players tried to decipher this riddle for a quarter century before someone figured out the meaning: keep a bomb in your inventory, kill 9 enemies, kill the 10th with said bomb, and... you
TLOZ'S iconic title music was a last-minute patch. 00 ZEIDA THE LEGEND OF 01986 NINTENDO They had planned to use Ravel's Bolero, but found out at the last minute that it wasn't yet in the public domain. Nintendo composer Koji Kondo had a day to whip up the iconic
A ton of Christian imagery. had to be replaced for the s-version.- You can still see a cross on Link's shield, but other elements were adjusted due to Nintendo of America's religion ban: priests and churches became sages and sanctuaries, and what we know as The Book of Magic

Mongolia

The Triforce has roots in Mongolian invasions. CRACKED COM It's based on the emblem of the Hoja Clan, who successfully fought off Mongol invaders and helped popularize Zen Buddhism.
Tingle is one of the most popular characters in the franchise ORACKEDe It's easy to assume he's universally reviled, if you listen to American gamers. But they can't get enough of this guy in Japan! There are 3 Tingle-centric spinoffs that never made it to the US.
The Triforce was originally made of microchips. CRACKED COM Miyamoto intended for the franchise to start out as a full-on sci-fi. The first game was supposed to involve collecting microchips and time travel, with the being the ~Linkplayer to the future.
TLOZ was the first game to have a full second quest. LINK ZELDA Because they had a ton of space left over, they made a second, more difficult adventure. You don't even have to beat the main game to access it -- just name your file Zelda when you start
TLOZ'S dev team were credited under pseudonyms. THANKS LINK, YOU'RE THE HERO OF HYRULE. FINALLY, PEACE RETURNS TO HYRULE. THIS ENDS THE STORY. CRACKED.COM Nintendo wanted to make sure competitors couldn't poach them, SO all the names in the credits are fake. Shigeru Miyamoto is credited as S. Miyahon.
Miyamoto giveth, and Miyamoto taketh away (Link's sword). ITS DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE ! TAKE THIS. Miyamoto found that when players were equipped with the sword from the start, they took it for granted, and slashed their way through areas that were meant to be tutorials. So he made them
Princess Zelda was named after a wealthy Alabamian. CRACKED Miyamoto named her after Zelda Fitzgerald - novelist, daughter of a state Supreme Court Justice, and wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

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