Remarkable concept images have recently surfaced online in regards to an undevelopedZeldagame and a canceled Boo title. The games were apparently being worked on by Retro Studios, the team behind theMetroid Primegames. An ex-Retro Studios developer has come forth to shed some light on these intriguing projects.
The ex-Retro concept artist Sammy Hall gave some interesting information on both the Boo andZeldagames. Sammy insists that “Nintendo proper” never really saw the conceptual pieces. However, Hill did say that theZeldagame was in the pre-production stage from 2005 to 2008.
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Theconcept art for the unfinishedZeldaprojectthat unsurfaced was very dark and gritty, perhaps comparing closer toMajora’s MaskandTwilight Princess. The art showcased Sheik, and the title was apparently going to take place within the dark timeline ofOcarina of Time.Sheik would be traveling across Hyrule as a new Gannon is birthed within a Dark Gerudo tribe. The game would be an action-JRPG.
To be fair, Nintendo hasn’t done a lot to stretch outside of the normalLegend of Zeldaformula of games, so this project seems like a pipe dream. Link is pretty much always the playable hero. However, many fans would love to see a Zelda game in between some of the “gaps” within theZeldatimeline, including the aforementioned Dark Timeline or even a game that takes place beforeWind Wakeris flooded.
Thecanceled Boo “Haunt” projectwas perhaps going to be a handheld game. Boo would take center stage in thisMariospin-off as he would learn how to scare his opponents.
The Boo game seems like something that was more possible to come to fruition, as Mario has seen many spin-off titles, some of which have become thebest spin-offs in gaming. Additionally, the hand-held consoles were often the location of silly and funMariogames such asMario vs. Donkey Kongand theMario&LuigiRPG titles.
According to Hill, both the Zelda and Boo games were canceled the week that ex-Retro leads Mark Pacini, Todd Keller, and Kynan Pearson left the company. It is likely that these games will never come to light, but just looking at the old images and information is intriguing. Nintendo usually doesn’t let ideas go to waste, however, as it often cancels ideas and implements them into other titles.The sequel toBreath of the Wildwill be hugely important for Nintendo,and hints point to Zelda being playable within the game. Still, running around as Shiek in Hyrule also sounds like it would be a blast.
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