Design docs from Hyrule Historia reveal multiplayer boss battle
The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historiais an incredible book. So incredible, in fact, that at leastone unscrupulous persontried to capitalize on demand by scalping numerous copies of the book’s Limited Edition — that guy wised up and decided to completely delete his listing, by the way. Nothing is without fault, andHyrule Historia‘s biggest fault is that it dedicates too much space to certain series entries,Skyward Swordin particular, at the expense of others. But even a single page can hold eye-opening secrets.
Such is the case with the one-page feature on 1993’sLink’s Awakeningfor Game Boy. The page contained several design documents from the game’s development, including features that didn’t make it into the final build. One doc details a boss battle against a stone golem in whichtwoLinks work together, indicating that the devs considered co-op at some point.
A note next to the image reads, “Problem: What’re we gonna do about 1P mode?” Clearly this particular battle would have presented an issue for solo adventurers; I don’t doubt other concerns were likewise raised regarding a multiplayer mode. Link’s grand team-up wouldn’t be realized untilFour Swordson Game Boy Advance, but it’s fascinating to learn that the idea had been considered long before then. If only, if only.
