Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Cut Content Explained

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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Cut Content Explained

As a seasoned gamer with decades of gaming experience under my belt, I must say that I was initially taken aback by the revelation of cut content in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It’s always a bit of a letdown when you learn about features that could have enriched your gaming experience but were ultimately left on the cutting room floor.

During the development process, ideas for video games often get trimmed away, even for highly anticipated titles like “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.” Just as with any other game, this one wasn’t immune to the editing process. However, luckily for Nintendo, “Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” was still a huge success despite these changes, showing that their decisions were well-founded in the end.

It might shock you to learn that during its development, the game Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom had several parts trimmed before it was complete. While much of this discarded content may seem unimportant when compared to what eventually made it into the final version, there could be a few cut scenes or features that fans might have wished hadn’t been left on the cutting room floor. Among the cut content for Tears of the Kingdom are additional cooking and armor modifications, extra mountable horses that could have been registered at a stable, unused items with missing names and icons, and unused areas within Tears of the Kingdom‘s Hyrule.

Several Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Features Ended Up on the Cutting Room Floor

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Initially Had Additional Cooking and Armor Effects

In the trimmed content of “Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” there were plans for extra cooking and armor abilities that didn’t make it into the final version of the game. Two discarded cooking effects, TwiceJump and EmergencyAvoid, are only known by name now, with no hints left about their functions. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to infer that TwiceJump might have enabled Link to jump twice for a short span, and maybe EmergencyAvoid initially offered him an automatic evasion option when a lethal attack was imminent while the effect was activated.

In the final version of “Tears of the Kingdom,” an extra protective feature called AncientResistance, which was part of the Ancient Armor set in “Breath of the Wild” and offered Link increased resistance to ancient weaponry, was not included. Since the original version of the Ancient Armor set from “Breath of the Wild” doesn’t appear in “Tears of the Kingdom,” there is no need for this protective feature to be implemented in the new game.

If players manage to discover and finish all 152 shrines in “Tears of the Kingdom”, they’ll be rewarded with the Ancient Hero’s Aspect as a token of recognition. This special armor piece resembles the Ancient Armor set from “Breath of the Wild”.

Players Were Originally Allowed to Mount and Register Additional Horses in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

As a dedicated fan, I can’t help but wonder what could have been if more horse-related content had made it into the final version of “Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.” Initially, players were envisioned to not only be able to ride Stalhorses in the game but also register them at a stable. While it’s thrilling to traverse Gloom on a Stalhorse without getting hurt, it might have made the Depths a tad too effortless to explore.

Furthermore, the concept of the Mountain’s Overlord started as a mountable mountain in early stages of development, but was eventually discarded. In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, players were able to climb the Mountain’s Overlord, although it couldn’t be registered. In contrast, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom allows players to summon the Mountain’s Overlord by offering fruit at specific Satori Trees located throughout Hyrule. However, unlike in Breath of the Wild, the Mountain’s Overlord cannot be ridden after being summoned.

Unused Icons and Names Suggest Some Items Never Made It Into Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

As a devoted fan, it’s intriguing to uncover snippets of unused content from Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. For instance, there’s an unrealized Zonai Device Dispenser for Tears of the Kingdom that seemed destined to dispense items like the Beam Emitter (20% chance), Sled (20% chance), Mirror (30% chance), Fan (15% chance), or a Small Wheel (15% chance).

As a gamer, I once imagined a game where one of the characters was known as the “Lord of the Mountain.” Initially, this mountainous figure was designed to double as a mount, much like some games have. However, that concept didn’t make it past the initial stages of development.

In the game “Tears of the Kingdom,” an item named “Item_Ore_K” is conspicuously absent, and its purpose remains a mystery. Additionally, there’s an unused icon for Item_Ore_N that shows a stack of green and gold ingots reminiscent of Zonai technology. Moreover, it appears that at least five types of Paraglider fabrics intended for “Tears of the Kingdom” didn’t make it into the final version, but their identities remain unknown.

Several Rooms Went Unused in the Final Cut of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

In the game Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players have been able to access several rooms that were previously unreachable due to glitches and mods. For instance, at the peak of Hyrule Castle’s main tower, a closed door can be glitched through to reveal an unused room. Similarly, there is another unused room hidden behind the Fashion Passion Shop in Gerudo Town within Tears of the Kingdom. Interestingly, these rooms were not utilized in Tears of the Kingdom, but they existed in Breath of the Wild and have been kept with their original designs in the sequel.

In “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” there’s a cave that was previously usable in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” This cave is located near the Samasa Plain, hidden behind a rock wall and out of bounds. Interestingly, this cave was fully accessible in “Breath of the Wild,” but it was empty. The presence of such vacant areas in “Tears of the Kingdom” suggests that Nintendo reused the model of Hyrule from “Breath of the Wild” and modified it to fit the storyline of “Tears of the Kingdom.

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2024-09-28 14:34