The Twitter account Forest of Illusion has discovered numerous assets for a pre-release build for Ocarina of Time, presumably from Spaceworld 1997. It was found on a cartridge of F-Zero X that previously had the build of Ocarina on the cartridge. The cartridge was a development cartridge and contained the Ocarina data in its over dump. It doesn’t include music or much code, but mostly graphics and maps. According to Forest, over half of the dump is able to be recovered, which they reference to be “insane!”
There are tons of left over graphics, maps, etc. About half of this build is able to be recovered which is insane! pic.twitter.com/9Kkb9LD2j9
— Forest of Illusion (@forestillusion) January 19, 2021
While some may not see this as a big deal, this is huge in terms of video game history. Ocarina of Time is not only lauded as the greatest Zelda game of all-time, but one of the greatest games in video game history. To be able to see its evolution as time went on is a very unique thing, and what is even more bizarre is that it was found on an F-Zero developmental cartridge which previously held the Ocarina data. This is video game history unfolding before our eyes. There are even some that are trying to make some of these unfinished areas, such as Kakariko Village, playable, though it will pale in comparison to the finalized version. Suffice to say, this is all very interesting, to say the least. Here are some of the assets to check out for yourself. Some of the assets are recognizable, while some are not.
