Ura Zelda (partially lost build of unfinished Nintendo 64DD game; 2000)

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UraZelda-UnofficialLogo.png

Japanese logo for the GameCube port of Master Quest.

Status: Existence Unconfirmed

Ura Zelda (裏ゼルダ in Japanese, translated as "Other Zelda") was an add-on to the Nintendo 64 game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the short-lived Nintendo 64 Disk Drive.[1] The project was shelved due to the cancellation of the Nintendo 64DD worldwide and the discontinuation of it in Japan, and eventually became Master Quest, first released for the GameCube in 2002.

History

When Zelda 64 switched formats from a 64DD disk to a standard cartridge release, some aspects had to be scrapped or altered to fit the limitations of the cartridge. Director Shigeru Miyamoto planned an expansion for the game, tentatively titled Ura Zelda or Zelda DD, which would offer new dungeon layouts when revisiting the game.[2][3] It was planned to be released in Japan in 1998,[4] but due to the repeated delays of the 64DD, this did not come to pass.[1] In 2000, Miyamoto commented that Ura Zelda had been completed for some time.[5] Due to the 64DD's commercial failure, Nintendo cancelled the release of Ura Zelda, thinking of different ways to bring it to a wide audience.[6] Ura Zelda, now titled Ocarina of Time Ura in Japan and Master Quest overseas, would finally be released as part of a promotion for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, where customers who pre-ordered the game would receive a bonus disc containing emulated versions of Ocarina of Time and Master Quest; it was released in Europe in a limited edition two-disc set.[7] However, Master Quest only contained remixed dungeons from Ocarina of Time, and none of the additional items, quests, or dungeons which were rumored by fans.

Ocarina of Time still contains leftovers from Ura Zelda in its code.[8]

Speculation

Since Ura Zelda was speculated to maybe revisit some of the scrapped ideas of Ocarina of Time, fans have speculated over which beta content could've been added, as well any other improvements that may have been incorporated. These include the removed sword beam attack and the ability to obtain the physical Triforce as seen in the Shoshinkai 1996 trailer. Fans have also theorized the addition of a Wind Temple and an Ice Temple, as certain sections from Ocarina of Time have led some to believe such dungeons were cut from the final game. The fabled "Unicorn Fountain", an area resembling the Great Fairy Fountain which contains a statue of a unicorn head, appears in beta footage of Ocarina of Time, but is absent from the final game; it is also believed to been made accessible. New cutscenes and graphics were speculated to be added as well, in addition to a restored persistent world feature, where objects would remain in a certain state for the duration of Link's adventure, such as broken signs not fixing themselves. These were all concepts marketed in the early DD days of Zelda 64, which fans believed could be incorporated into what they believed Ura to be.

Restoration Projects

In 2010, a group of fans led by artist ZethN64 attempted to recreate Ura Zelda in a mod called Ura Project, a highly ambitious game which would have added a myriad of new features such as a new protagonist, overworld, plot, soundtrack, and dungeons.[9] The team's inexperience led to the project's cancellation in 2013,[10][11] and a early maps of it were eventually leaked.[12] On August 9th, 2016, another fan known as Alex S on GBATemp.net attempted to finish Ura Project in a new mod, Another Restoration of Ura Zelda, also known as Project ARUZ 2016. Due to a lack of updates, this project is also believed to be cancelled.[13]

July 2020 Gigaleak

On July 26th, 2020 partial source code for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was leaked on 4chan, as part of the Nintendo Gigaleak. Included in the files was a folder labeled "ocarina2," citing the internal project name for Ura Zelda.

Initial digging by Aero Artwork revealed mini-versions of the dungeons found in the base game, which are speculated to most likely have been used for testing the DD map replacement system. Initial speculation led people to believe they were made for an unfinished boss rush mode, but this is unlikely as nothing in the data supports this theory.

Of most significance in the ocarina2 files were early versions of the Swamp and Ocean Spider Houses from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. According to the file names, set up, and music cues these were intended to replace The Great Deku Tree and Jabu Jabu's Belly respectively. It is however unknown if these were truly meant to be implemented in an early version of Ura. In a 2015 "Iwata Asks," Ocarina of Time Dungeon Designer, Eiji Anouma admitted he began developing new dungeons in secrecy during early production on Ura:

"I secretly started making new dungeons that weren’t in Ocarina of Time, and that was much more fun to me."

It is entirely possible these two maps were the new dungeons he was referring to, as the maps are far more incomplete and barren when compared to either their final counterpart in Majora or other DD maps in the data.

Other files relating to Ura were found in the folders for standard Ocarina of Time, including an animation of Child Link diving into a chest and a purple version of the logo. Most notably, in the folder labeled \data\shape2\zelda_scene, all the DD map files for the dungeons were found. There are more than several differences when compared to the final release of Master Quest, in terms of puzzle difficulty and actor placement.

On November 24th, 2021, ZethN64 released a patch which ported all the original DD maps into the base game. Through the help of Yakumono (LuigiBlood), another patch was subsequently released which restored all intended Disk Drive functionality.

Gallery

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time URA Restoration Project

  • A screenshot of the player running through a town.

    A screenshot of the player running through a town.

  • Screenshot of a town in the game.

    Screenshot of a town in the game.

  • Screenshot of player underwater.

    Screenshot of player underwater.

Videos

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Gameover Jesse‘s video which speculates on the content of Ura Zelda (ft. Yuriofwind).

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Dr. Lava's video on the development of Ura Zelda.

GameOver Jesse's Top 10 video on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that also mentions Ura Zelda.

Sakura Stardust's video mentioning the Ura Zelda (57:30-1:09:14).

Lady Decade's video on the subject.

See Also

Nintendo 64DD

Zelda

External Links

Reference

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Archived IGN interview with Miyamoto about Ura Zelda. Retrieved 29 Apr '20
  2. ↑ Nintendo Power Shigeru Miyamoto Interview - November 11th, 1998 - Zelda Dungeon Retrieved 19 Feb '21
  3. ↑ Sensei Speaks: Shigeru Miyamoto Interview - IGN Retrieved 19 Feb '21
  4. ↑ Zelda DD Action in '98 - IGN Retrieved 19 Feb '21
  5. ↑ Ura-Zelda Complete - IGN Retrieved 19 Feb '21
  6. ↑ Miyamoto and Aonuma on Zelda - IGN Retrieved 19 Feb '21
  7. ↑ Limited Edition Zelda in Europe - IGN Retrieved 19 Feb '21
  8. ↑ Ura Zelda Leftovers - The Cutting Room Floor Retrieved 19 Feb '21
  9. ↑ Unseen64 article about Ura Project. Retrieved 20 Feb '21
  10. ↑ Reviving Ocarina of Time's long-lost Ura expansion - Eurogamer Retrieved 20 Feb '21
  11. ↑ Archived thread on GCN announcing the cancellation. Retrieved 20 Feb '21
  12. ↑ YouTube video exploring the leaked Ura Project. Retrieved 20 Feb '21
  13. ↑ GBATemp thread focused on Project ARUZ. Retrieved 20 Feb '21
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