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Development:The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/Overworld

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This is a sub-page of Development:The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Attention: The dates below when prefaced by "Stamp:" reflect the file's internal date stamp that indicates which version of S-CG-CAD, an in-house image creation program used by Nintendo, that the .cgx, .col, and/or .scr files were last modified or opened by. They are used to create a rough organizational structure for this page and should not be interpreted as asset creation dates. Date information sourced from actual file last modified dates or other methods like correlation with code that was commented out are labeled as "Circa." For more information on file types and date information in the development content, see the metadata page.

Contents

World Maps

These maps are similar to the map the player uses in the final game by pressing X, and are thus categorically distinct from environment assets that the player actually explores in the game by only being a representation of the environment assets in smaller form. They go back into 1990, and thus show rather significant changes from the final game. Some may or may not represent environments that were ever actually fully constructed. It is not certain, but the earlier ones may be mockup representations of the general look of what they were planning the environments to be like at any given point in time. Some are organized in such a way that would be difficult to represent fully in-game with the methods the game uses for camera scrolling, which could be an argument against some of them having been fully built. That is, until the guide maps from circa 1991, which are highly likely to have been built given the association with the available overdump prototype assets.

WM - Stamp: 1990-04

map.scr

map.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.13 900424]
Arimoto delda mapscr reconstruction attempt.png

Since map.scr was reconstructed later but in a similar manner to map-1.scr, it is useful to read the segment on how that environment was reconstructed first to know how map.scr's environment was reconstructed as well. Located in the same directory, NEWS\テープリストア\NEWS_04\.\home\arimoto\DELDA\, map.scr is a more basic and almost surely earlier predecessor to map-1.scr. However, because of this, it is even more difficult to reconstruct accurately and has places of even more uncertainty.

Despite the fact that any reconstruction of map.scr is not capable of being remotely perfect due to the missing cgx tileset file it would use, an attempt at reconstructing it using rearrangement of the closest tileset file still extant is presented here, in an attempt to give a rough idea of the map. Like with map-1.scr, only the cgx tileset file was altered -- not the scr environment file itself -- to attempt to find a proper positioning for the tiles so that a semblance of the environment would be visible. However, it is notable that in quite a few cases it seems almost certain map.scr used some different tiles than exist anywhere in the development and prototype data for A Link to the Past. That is why this map is only to be taken as a rough approximation of what map.scr looked like, and why so many places on the map are blanked out with variables indicating unknown tiles.

The notable areas are as follows:

  • The large "C", "E" and "SA?" areas are made up entirely of unique tiles (nothing in these blocks repeat, which is highly unusual for these maps). These are likely to represent Hyrule Castle's island, Eastern Palace's surrounding area and the Sanctuary's environs respectively, based on the early 1990 overworld and their positioning relative to other maps from a similar era.
  • The "M" area is a mysterious unknown tile formation which, like the previous three mentioned, does not have any tiles repeat within it. It may be linked to the "Ruins" spelled out in the early 1990 overworld map, or the giant skull entrance represented in the smap files and elsewhere in development files. That is quite uncertain, however. While it is in roughly the same location as the smap files and map-1, it is not connected to Death Mountain like the giant skull entrance is there.
  • The "1", "2", "4" and "8" tiles represent erratically strewn tiles coming down from Death Mountain that do not arrange logically without errors using any combination of tiles in the reconstruction tileset file smap.cgx.bak yet found. Either this area was unfinished, different tiles were used, or some significant tiling errors (where tiles don't logically align) were present. Tiling errors in this scr are not unexpected, however. There are several areas with minor issues, such as the mouth of the river below Death Mountain, and it's quite conceivable the developers would not have cared much about tiling errors while simply prototyping a very early map that would be cleaned up later.
  • The "F" and "H" tiles are hard to pin down because they could be any number of tiles, or no tiles from still extant tilesets at all.
  • The area around tiles "6" and "7" is almost certainly inaccurate in some manner, because the water's edge tiles work well in other parts of the map, but not here.
  • Most of the top of Death Mountain is made up of one tile, just as it appears here -- leading to an unusual lack of detail. This is likely just due to this being an extremely early and rudimentary map.
  • The desert to the south is not certain, but the tiles used are the ones which best fit the unique organization of the tiles there while also not displaying as an extremely large amount of tiling errors. While a swamp would have been preferable given what we know about this area in the final game, it would have led to quite a lot of unnecessary detail, repeated tiles used, and variation in tile organization. That is, barring one possible circumstance: that a more complex set of unique swamp tiles that no longer exist were in use in the lost tileset for this file. However, no evidence currently exists for this, so the environment tiles that best fit without excessive tiling errors were used.
  • Finally, even the water in front of the taiboku ("large trees" in Japanese) at the top left is not certain. It is only placed there to let the viewer know unique tiles are present at that space rather than standard forest, and based on the taiboku scr which shows a pool of water in front of these trees.

WM - Stamp: 1990-06

smap.scr & smap1.scr

smap1.scr is one of the earliest maps known to exist from A Link to the Past's development. It provides a general outline of the map from the mid- to late-1990 era, with few key locations.

smap.scr is a slightly more developed version of smap1.scr from the same era. Now various notable locations, some not present in the final game, are represented.

smap1.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611] smap.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611]
ALTTP Smap1.png
ALTTP Smap.png
  • A gold and pink iteration of Hyrule Castle can be seen in the center of the map, surrounded by a moat.
  • The Eastern Palace can also be seen in its final game location. This dungeon persisted across much of development from early on, as its Japanese name and its graphical data are found in some of the game's earliest files.
  • The Sanctuary and graveyard appear slightly to the east of where they appear in the final game to make room for what appears to be an entrance to Death Mountain which is not in that location in the final game.
  • The Desert of Mystery is missing. In its place is a large, multi-tiered hill whose purpose is entirely unclear.
  • There is a golden tower in the east of the map which may or may not have been the origin for the Tower of Hera.
  • There's a giant skull at the base of Death Mountain. Further graphics for this can be found in this section.
  • There's a clearing containing what associated files refer to as taiboku ("large trees" in Japanese), which stands far above any of the other trees in the Lost Woods. Further graphics for this can be found in this section.
  • A strange island with a pool in it also exists in the northeastern corner of the map and no files yet uncovered point towards what this represents. It could be the genesis of an idea that did make it into the final game like the Mysterious Pond at the Waterfall of Wishing or Zora's River.

map-1.scr

map-1.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611]
ALTTP Map-1 with interpreted tile locations.png

This is a reconstruction of what map-1.scr from NEWS\テープリストア\NEWS_04\.\home\arimoto\DELDA\ could've looked similar to with a reasonable, yet somewhat conservative, attempt at reconstruction. The graphics (2D tile) data for that map file is not present and likely lost, so an attempt at reconstruction was required to get anything of value out of the map. The palette map-1s.col used was edited only to facilitate usage of tiles from the final game, and a custom graphics file was arranged from existing tiles in earlier maps and imported final game tiles. The actual placement data from the map-1.scr file was not edited at all, as that would have defeated the purpose of having the most fidelity possible to that original map data.

However, just because the original map-1.scr file was not altered, this does not mean that the tileset is even 90% accurate. It is a guideline to give the viewer an idea of what the map was like in broad strokes, not a 1:1 image of what the map certainly looked like. There are several flaws which were unavoidable because some of the tiles (or even a hint of what the tiles were) do not exist in any graphics file yet found. It attempts to be close - an approximation - with exceptions for the buildings/landmarks that were hypothesized based on past and future maps we do have, but more than that cannot be achieved without finding its lost graphics data file.

When final game graphics were imported or any pixel editing done, this was not done to say for sure what the tiles at these locations looked like at this map's time in development. That is impossible. This was done to give an idea of where unique unknown tiles were used while doing it with more than just a black background with a number, as was done in cases where no existing graphic at all seemed appropriate. This would help to let the viewer know unequivocally, however, that these are all the places that single tile was used in the map. If you see an "8" in the swamp, an "8" on a grassy plain, and an "8" on Death Mountain, that means the same tile was used in all those locations. As another example, on the right side of Death Mountain there is a 2×2 location where Tower of Hera tiles are used. This does not mean that the Tower of Hera was certainly in this version of the game, but rather it is used in a representational manner to tell you there was something unique here.

smap2.scr & smap3.scr

smap2.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611] smap3.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611]
ALTTP Smapcgxbak+map-1scol+smap2scr.png
ALTTP Smapcgxbak+map-1scol+smap3scr.png

With these two additional map screens, the developers also seemed to have been experimenting with a system that didn't make it into the final game whereby regions of the map would be grayed out and not show key locations yet. A similar idea would be used in BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban, where any areas outside of the current week's boundaries were covered with clouds on the map screen.

map-1a.scr

map-1a.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611]
ALTTP map-1a with reconstructed CGX.png

This map is a screen file displayed using the same reconstructed CGX graphics file that was used above with map-1.scr. The map is almost the same as map-1.scr above with the major exception being that it highlights certain squares, giving them full color, and grays out others like smap2 and smap3, potentially showing planned functionality of the overworld map at this time.

However, how the usage of the highlighting functionality is more interesting than smap2 and smap3, as noticed by GlitterBerri, is that the space highlighted here is more extensive than in smap2 and smap3. This could potentially have some implication for where the developers expected the player to go - or at least a plausible path the player could go - early on in the conception of the game scenario when the map was made. Unfortunately, there is uncertainty in that, and the areas highlighted could also merely be a random choice the developer made when highlighting areas to show off the concept.

map-kage1a.scr

map-kage1a.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611]
ALttP Dev-NEWS map-kage1aSCR.png

The name of this file translates to map-shadow1a.SCR. It seems to be directly related to map-1.SCR, and more particularly, map1a.SCR, which can be seen by overlaying it on top of them.

map-1.scr with map-kage1a.scr
ALttP Dev-NEWS map-1SCR with map-kage1aSCR+map-1COL+sotoCGX overlay.png

It is highly likely that the borders represent map divisions that determine how the screen scrolls when Link travels between map squares.

map-1a.scr with map-kage1a.scr
ALttP Dev-NEWS map-1aSCR with map-kage1aSCR+map-1COL+sotoCGX overlay.png

The open area depicted in map-kage1a.SCR is almost identical to the highlighted area in map1a.SCR, save for the upper-right area containing the river up to the lake with the island. Here, there are two sets of two rows of dark-coloured Cs which partly overlap the highlight: one set at a riverbend and one at the bottom of the lake region.

WM - Circa: 1991-05

smap7.scr.bak

smap7.scr.bak
ALTTP smap7scrbak with SD cgx.png

This surface map was found within the source data[1] in a hexadecimal-based format different from the typical .scr files that are in the developer workspace data but was able to be converted to be usable. In addition, the graphics data for these types of maps within the overdump prototype's data was able to be used to view it perfectly. Because it was found in the hexadecimal-based format, no S-CG-CAD timestamp was found in the file.

Regarding the locations and structure present on the map, it is much closer to the overdump build's surface map and the final game's surface map than the maps from the developer workspaces, but provides a valuable look at a transition period where the game was closer to the final map but different in very notable ways.

(Source: GlitterBerri (discovery and conversion of smap7.scr.bak from hex format to normal scr format), Dark Linkaël (graphic data extraction from "Super Donkey" overdump used to properly view smap7.scr.bak))

Because there is no reliable date data associated with smap7.scr.bak, the question may come up with these following maps: Which is earlier in development, smap7.scr.bak or the "Super Donkey" overdump build's smap?

smap7.scr.bak, unknown date Overdump map, mid-1991 Final Game, late 1991
ALTTP smap7scrbak with SD cgx.png ALTTP Proto LightWorld.png ALTTP Final LightWorld.png


(Source: Dark Linkaël ("Super Donkey" overdump graphic and map data extraction), GlitterBerri (smap7.scr.bak discovery and conversion))

Here we will attempt to solidify a timeline of the development of A Link to the Past by comparing two hypotheses about how early two similar yet distinct maps are in development. Since we do not have a date for smap7.scr.bak, analysis of how much closer details on each map are to the final game's map will be used to show the likelihood of which is earlier and which is later.

Below, notable details about the maps will be prefixed with either A or B depending on which hypothesis they support.

Hypothesis A will be that Super Donkey's map is from earlier in development than smap7.scr.bak:

  • A1. The castle courtyard is larger in both smap7.scr.bak and the final, whereas the overdump's map shrinks the castle courtyard by a slight bit, giving it less space on the north-south axis.
  • A2. In the overdump's map, a unique house graphic is used for the witch's shop, but both smap7.scr.bak and the final game use a normal house.

Hypothesis B will be that smap7.scr.bak is from earlier in development than Super Donkey's smap:

  • B1. The triple angular ledges on the left side of Death Mountain match more closely between Super Donkey's map and the final game, whereas smap7.scr.bak is rather different.
  • B2. The three tree pattern left of Kakariko Village matches between Super Donkey's map and the final game, whereas it is slightly different in smap7.scr.bak. It is also a very subtle detail, but note the clouds near this tree pattern in Super Donkey's map are also a mirror to the final, while they are different in smap7.scr.bak.
  • B3. There is a land bridge in both Super Donkey's map and the final on the eastern side of the castle, whereas smap7.scr.bak does not have this feature.
  • B4. There is no pond in the race game area below Kakariko Village in both Super Donkey's map and the final, while smap7.scr.bak curiously has a pond there. In source data that due to dated comments is associated with late April or prior, the race game area has soldier entities[2] rather than the normal two race game NPCs, indicating the race game may have been added after that time, necessitating a change in the map there.
  • B5. Desert Palace, while by no means close to the look of the final in either Super Donkey's map or smap7.scr.bak, has its main entrance closer to where it is in the final in Super Donkey's map. It is instead on the far western edge of the desert in smap7.scr.bak.
  • B6. The location of Venus' cave in Lake Hylia in Super Donkey's map is closer in position to where it is in the final while smap7.scr.bak has it a tiny bit further south. The eastern land formation near the Ice Rod cave is also somewhat closer in shape to the final in Super Donkey's map.
  • B7. If there is a "smoking gun", the look of the far southern mountains right at the cloud line - which are never reachable in gameplay - may be it. They are tiled noticeably differently in smap7.scr.bak, but not in Super Donkey's map and the final. This is such an entirely irrelevant detail, but precisely because it is so irrelevant it would be pointless for the developers to revert this change once they made it. This makes it a more likely explanation then that it was originally configured how we see it in smap7.scr.bak, was changed before Super Donkey's map, and then remained that way for the rest of development.
  • B8. In addition, if that was not enough - although it is difficult to tell even with the images next to each other - in Super Donkey's map, Kakariko and the Desert of Mystery have been expanded by roughly a tile's width to the left, and the entire bottom of the map has been expanded downward by roughly a tile's height and this persists into the final. This is likely why the alterations in tiling noted in B2 and B7 were made. The tiling already done by the developers outside the playable environment would've had to have been redone a bit in these places to make room for the expansion of the playable environment.

The preponderance of this evidence seems to support smap7.scr.bak being earlier than Super Donkey's map since it is less like the final, especially in key ways. There are potential reasons points A1 and A2 would have been reverted to be closer to smap7.scr.bak for the final. Trying out a smaller castle courtyard in Super Donkey's map to allow for more environment elsewhere may not have worked out how the developers liked or caused awkward issues with scrolling between screens due to the way the game has to pause any action and scroll in Link's direction at specific points on the overworld. Removing the added unique look of the witch's shop on Super Donkey's map would save on tile space and allow them to add another unique tile, while a normal house would be enough for the player to know there is something there of note.

On the other hand, points B2 and B7 are such irrelevant details as to be inexplicable why they would be reverted in a hypothesized scenario where Super Donkey's map came before smap7.scr.bak, especially given point B8.

Light World

The overworld design assets for key areas like the area around Eastern Palace, Death Mountain, Lake Hylia or Hyrule Castle are divided into numbered areas, each made up of 4 smaller quadrants that when merged form a larger whole. An example of how these are named in the data is Eastern Palace's environments, which are named 6a.scr, 6b.scr, 6c.scr, and 6d.scr for example. Smaller areas that don't merge into quadrants have file names beginning with "s", then a sequential number, and then their file extension. For example, s19.scr is the Haunted Grove.

Early Mountains

EM - Stamp: 1989-11

osr-st-ym-2.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.10 891115]
ALTTP N4 ar ze osr-st-ymSCR Ver3 char sotoCOL N4 ar ze osr-st-ym-cCGXBAK.png
(Source: GlitterBerri (Discovery of palette used, original upload))

Early 1990 Era Light Worlds

LW1 - Circa: Early 1990

The source code file 日本_Ver3/asm/z00_mpdt.asm is an alternate version of zel_mpdt.asm, which is described in the next section. It defines 54 MPDAT[xx] labels, where [xx] is a decimal number from 00 to 261. The labels seem to be arranged in pairs, as seen in the truncated example of the file's global definitions below.

		GLB	MPDAT00,MPDAT01
		GLB	MPDAT10,MPDAT11
		GLB	MPDAT20,MPDAT21
		GLB	MPDAT30,MPDAT31
                [...]
		GLB	MPDAT90,MPDAT91
		GLB	MPDAT100,MPDAT101
		GLB	MPDAT110,MPDAT111
                [...]
		GLB	MPDAT260,MPDAT261

Each label contains 36 rows of 8 hexadecimal words. These may correspond to the 32x32 pixel metatiles (graphical units comprised of four 16x16 metatiles, which are themselves comprised of four 8x8 tiles, the smallest graphical unit in the game) that are used to build the overworld.

MPDAT00		EQU	$
		WORD	00000H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00002H
		WORD	00003H,00003H,00003H,00003H,00003H,00004H,00001H,00001H
		WORD	00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00002H
;
		WORD	00005H,00006H,00007H,00008H,00008H,00008H,00008H,00009H
		WORD	00003H,00003H,00003H,00003H,00003H,0000AH,00008H,00008H
		WORD	00008H,00008H,0000BH,0000CH,0000DH,00008H,00008H,00009H
;
                [...]

If one converts this data into pure hexadecimal numbers by removing the leading zero, the text, and other non-numeric characters, and then visualizes the resulting hex using a utility called TiledGGD using the settings displayed in the file description, it is possible to generate the following image, which looks suspiciously similar to other early overworld maps.

ALttP Dev-z00 mpdt.png

The reason there are three copies of the overworld may relate to the fact that there were originally going to be three overworlds in the game.

• This game has a light world and a dark world. When did you decide on that sort of duality?

Miyamoto: At first there were 3 worlds, but players would’ve gotten confused. That’s why we had to fix things up. It’s difficult to plant a new concept like that in an action game, you see.

Tezuka: In that regard, Nakago was very realistic. He was saying from the start that we wouldn’t be able to make 3 worlds.

Nakago: I ended up just making one, but it was split into two and reborn.

The file has a date of "1990.01.19(FRI)" at the top, but this is likely simply the date that it was created, meaning that the data within may have continued to be modified over time. Thus, it's difficult to know exactly when the content is from and there's no guarantee of which of the early 1990 overworlds in this section is the earliest.

CDi-Fails created the image below by interpreting the data that seems to make up the first overworld as a tile map that would contain 32x32 metatiles represented by numbered squares.

ALttP Dev-z00 mpdt tilemap version.png

LW2 - Circa: Early 1990

The source code file 日本_Ver3/asm/zel_mpdt.asm is an alternate version of z00_mpdt.asm, but contains more data than the former, suggesting that it may be a later revision. It defines 256 MPDAT[xxx] labels, where [xxx] is a hexadecimal number from 000 to 7F1. The labels seem to be arranged in pairs, as seen in the truncated example of the file's global definitions below.

		GLB	MPDAT000,MPDAT001
		GLB	MPDAT010,MPDAT011
		GLB	MPDAT020,MPDAT021
		GLB	MPDAT030,MPDAT031
                [...]
		GLB	MPDAT0E0,MPDAT0E1
		GLB	MPDAT0F0,MPDAT0F1
;
		GLB	MPDAT100,MPDAT101
		GLB	MPDAT110,MPDAT111
                [...]

		GLB	MPDAT7F0,MPDAT7F1

Each label contains 16 rows of 8 hexadecimal words. These words may correspond to the 32x32 pixel metatiles (graphical units comprised of four 16x16 metatiles, which are themselves comprised of four 8x8 tiles, the smallest graphical unit in the game) that are used to build the overworld.

In the final game, map squares are sixteen 32x32 metatiles high, and sixteen 32x32 metatiles wide. As such, each pair of labels in zel_mpdt (for example, MPDAT000 and MPDAT001) appears to comprise the upper and lower halves of one map square, meaning that this version of the overworld would be 6 map squares by 6 map squares. The final overworld is 8 map squares by 8 map squares.

MPDAT000		EQU	$
		WORD	00000H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00001H,00002H
		WORD	00003H,00003H,00003H,00003H,00003H,00004H,00001H,00001H
                [...]

If one converts this data into pure hexadecimal numbers by removing the leading zero, the text, and other non-numeric characters, and then visualizes the resulting hex using a utility called TiledGGD using the settings displayed in the file description, it is possible to generate the following image, which looks suspiciously similar to other early overworld maps.

ALttP Dev-zel mpdt.png

Like z00_mpdt.asm, zel_mpdt.asm also has a date of "1990.01.19(FRI)" at the top.

CDi-Fails created the image below by interpreting the data that seems to make up the first overworld as a tile map that would contain 32x32 metatiles represented by numbered squares.

ALttP Dev-zel mpdt tilemap version.png

LW3 - Stamp: 1990-04

OSR-ST - 1a-9d.scr.bak [S-CG-CADVer1.12 900404]
ALTTP Osr-st.png

Credit to the Delda group for assembling this extremely early prototype overworld from the OSR-ST folder. It's notable that the developers created "Work in progress" signs to point out where some assets have yet to be added. Even at this early stage, facets of the final map are noticeable: a lake in the lower-right corner, Hyrule Castle situated in the center with a river running past it creating a moat, and the upper-left corner of the map being more heavily forested. It is uncertain if the cave systems were planned to lead anywhere at this point, but several caves in the top-left are unreachable unless cave systems were to connect to them from the bottom-left of the map.

It seems likely this overworld was abandoned when the graphical style was later changed to move closer to what we know as the final art style of the game, but facets of its design persist into the final map.

Interestingly, the word "ruins" (遺跡 iseki) in Katakana can be seen spelled with trees at the top-middle of the map.


(Source: Delda (image) and Ketsuban (translation of Katakana))

Lost Woods

LW - Stamp: 1990-04

hmori1.CGX.BAK hmori2.CGX.BAK hmori3.CGX.BAK
ALTTP Hmori1 BAK.png
ALTTP Hmori2 BAK.png
ALTTP Hmori3 BAK.png
hyrl-3.CGX.BAK hyrl-4.CGX.BAK hyrl-A.CGX.BAK
ALTTP Hyrl-3cgxbak.png
ALTTP Hyrl-4cgxbak.png
ALTTP Hyrl-Acgxbak.png

Early forest sketches, likely some of the earliest assets in the existing prototype material, as all have the metastamp S-CG-CADVer1.13 900424. In some of the images here, one can see the small clumps of trees that are present in the early 1990 overworld being reimagined into more detailed tree clusters, which still unfortunately did not make it into the final game.

h-6.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.13 900424]
ALTTP Arimoto zelda i h-6scr + arimoto zelda m hokoracol + delda i h-acgxbakSCR.png

A rather unusual and extremely rough draft of a screen, which seemingly was never finished. May be a very early draft idea for the large tree but made with simpler assets. Its metastamp lends credence to it being a rather early asset.

mori1.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.13 900424]
ALTTP mori1.png

What appears to be a very early mock up sketch of the environment with the three southern entrances to the Lost Woods and paths beyond those entrances. Requires SCAD to look as it does and still appears to contain slight errors, including the top of the image looping to the bottom. Given the metastamp S-CG-CADVer1.13 900424, it fits within the era of some of the earliest assets for the game.


taiboku.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.13 900424]
ALTTP Delda taibokuscr + delda taiboku-2cgxbak + delda hyrl-1col.png

A large tree (translated from the Japanese "taiboku") flanked by two smaller trees on either side with a pool of standing water before them. They stand within a forest clearing containing other, smaller trees. All have faces. This scr file is clearly in an unfinished state, but gives an idea of what the designer intended for this area of the early overworld. It appears in the early overworld maps in the upper-left corner, in the place near where the Master Sword is in the final game, within the Lost Woods. What role this area would've played in that event at this stage in the game (if any at all) is so far not possible to discern.

The concept of trees with faces would find its expression in the final game within the Dark World instead of this earlier, abandoned application of the concept.

LW - Stamp: 1990-06

6-2.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611]
ALTTP 6-2scr.png

Part of a liminal area in the design stages of the game between the early 1990-era overworld and the 1991 overworld, this screen shows a version of the Lost Woods we never saw in a still extremely rough form. It is beset by tiling errors, either because the graphics file in use is not exactly correct, the format of the files contains differences from what viewing software expects, or because it was never finished completely and polished. Given the metastamp date of S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611, it fits with the era of the smap.scr overworlds.

LW - Stamp: 1990-12 & Circa 1991-05 to 1991-08

Tanabe Folder: Overworld Area 1 - Lost Woods
ALTTP Quadrant 1 (varied dates).png

The Lost Woods area as retrieved from the Tanabe folder. The upper two screens have modified dates of 08-18-1991. The lower two screens, which are noticeably further from the final and have more tiles that appear out of place, are older than 05-23-1991 but the date they were last modified is not older than 12-26-1990, the date of their S-CG-CAD metastamp of S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226. The thieves' dens found in the final are not in either portion of the map, but one can see they were at some point planned in the CGX graphics files used for the area.

It is likely that the out of place tiles correspond to pieces of the CGX tileset that were originally different but had not yet been updated in the actual environment file seen here to look correct.

There is also a different, older version of the upper-left corner of the woods in the Yamada folder seen here. It contains similar issues to the older lower screens in the Tanabe folder and has the same modified and metastamp dates as those quadrants:

ALTTP 1a yamada.png

Giant Skull

GS - Stamp: 1990-12

hone.cgx
[S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
ALTTP Hone cgx zoomed for detail.png

A giant skull formation in front of a sheer mountainside. This formation is visible from the early overworld maps, and is accompanied by some preliminary sketches, which is somewhat common in the material in Arimoto's development workspace. The formation may be a dungeon or cave system entrance. It's worth mentioning that this formation is present on the earliest Light World maps of A Link to the Past and thus is not a Dark World formation alone. Since the prototype content does not have Dark World maps from this early in development, it is unclear whether the formation would be the same in the Dark World, be entirely different, or if the Dark World was even conceived at this point in development.

There is an earlier version of this formation with the filename hone.CGX.BAK with a metastamp of S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611 as well, indicating it was going through development much earlier, as expected by its inclusion in the early world map files.

Master Sword Grove

MS - Stamp: 1990-12

Early Master Sword Grove - m-1.scr
[S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
M-1scr+spotcgx+spotcol.png
The Master Sword Grove - m-1.scr.bak
[S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
ALTTP M-1 BAK.png
Unused Grove Component - m-2.scr
[S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
ALTTP M-2scr.png

The Master Sword Grove is present in the workspace data very close to how it appears in the final game - there are actually several copies of it in multiple folders with few variations. A tiling error instead of the flowers on the ground is the most common variation and also contains an unfinished version of the sword's platform, which can be seen in the first picture above. The area underneath the bridge is also a component of this screen, most likely just because both are areas just off from the main world map and it saves space to merge them.

What is unusual, however, is the m-2.scr environment file which is found with the source. It contains no Master Sword pedestal and merely ends at its northern-most point. What it was a remnant of or what purpose it may have had is unclear.

East & West Death Mountain

DM - Stamp: 1990-12 & Circa 1991-07

Tanabe Folder: Overworld Areas 2 and 3 - East and West Death Mountain
ALTTP Quadrant 2+3 East and West Death Mountain.png

An extremely rough and early version of both the eastern and western areas of Death Mountain. The two screens on the upper right which bear a different palette are relatively newer - with a last modified date of 07-22-1991 - than the others. The rest of the files, western Death Mountain and the bottom of eastern Death Mountain, have metastamps of S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226, approximately placing their era at some time after that date but before 05-23-1991.

One thing these maps reveal that might not have been anticipated otherwise is that Death Mountain went through a phase of design early in 1991 - and likely before if the early world maps are any indication - where the mountain extended higher and the player never really got to the peak. The top-leftmost screens exemplify this phase of development, but we can see the contrast with the later phase of the mountain in the top-right screens. By this time, approximately around 07-22-1991, Death Mountain had moved to the "cloudy" Death Mountain phase of design which is seen in the final game, where instead of the mountain extending further upwards, we see cloud cover and what is below from the peak.

As for how Link would get to the Tower of Hera in the prototype Death Mountain setup, the world transition tile still serving that purpose can't be ruled out despite the different setup around Spectacle Rock, as it's possible some of the cliffs higher up at the top of the screen could be recessed in the other world instead of the final game's setup where Spectacle Rock is recessed. There are other possibilities of course. The cave system from Spectacle Rock could have simply led up to the cave on the upper level of the cliffs where Hera is, although that would minimize the need for the world transition tile being in its final game location.

As far as implications of these maps on the dark world, one has to wonder whether Ganon's Tower would simply be in the same position in the Dark World as Hera is here or if it would be somewhere else, if anywhere. There is data for Ganon's Tower - at least the entrance - elsewhere in the folder arimoto\zelda\d with files such as d8-1.scr and d8-h.scr. However, judging by their October 1991 last modified dates, Ganon's Tower development would've taken place much later than when Death Mountain was in this form, and it's possible it may not have been thought about yet.

It's also impossible to tell the implications on Turtle Rock from this data because both the Light and Dark World screens associated with it are missing, although the raw graphics data for the Turtle does exist.

Tanabe Folder Final
ALTTP Quadrant 2 3 East and West Death Mountain hera.png ALTTP Quadrant 2 3 East and West Death Mountain hera final.png

DM - Circa: 1991-10

7.cgx [10-23-1991]
ALTTP 7cgx+yamacol.png

An extremely enigmatic version of the Death Mountain graphic sheet, containing:

  • Sketches of large crystals.
  • Variations on the Dark World warp tile's animation.
  • A niche in a mountainside graphic that looks fit for being inlaid with a crystal or Rupee-shaped object, as well as a more circular niche.
  • Most puzzling of all, statues bearing Link's likeness along with posts with the likeness of the Triforce.

What exactly the statues and the crystal-shaped niche were to be used for will likely never be known for certain unless more information comes to light.

Tower of Hera

TH - Circa: 1991-10

7-1.cgx 10-23-1991 Final
ALTTP 7-1cgx - alternate tower of hera.png ALTTP 7-1cgx - alternate tower of hera final.png

An alternate Tower of Hera graphic which seems to go unused even in the 1991 prototype Death Mountain environment. Exists in the raw graphics data fully assembled.

Fortune Teller's Hut

FL - Stamp: 1990-12

s6.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS s6SCR+machiCOL+machiCGX.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-11.png

Sanctuary

SA - Stamp: 1990-04

8.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.13 900424] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS 8MAP+1PNLBAK+hyrl-hone.COL+matiCGXBAK.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-13.png

A very early version of the Sanctuary map. Like early versions of the world map, such as the one below, it depicts the graveyard as being located left of the church and occupying the same map square. (An early design document also explicitly ties the church to the graveyard.)

ALTTP Smap.png

As with the early .MAPs of Lake Hylia, this .MAP has numerous graphical errors when viewed in either the 2003 version or the contemporary version of Nintendo's graphics editing program found in the Gigaleak without major tweaking. There are multiple possible reasons for why this might be, including the following.

  • The format of the .PNL and .MAP files may differ from the format that the program in the Gigaleak expects because the developers later made tweaks to it. This renders them incompatible or not entirely compatible with the versions of the program available via the Gigaleak.
  • The files may work correctly if the proper .MAP, .PNL, and .CGX file are used together, but exact combinations no longer exist.

One prominent error is that some .MAP files are segmented in two, with the two halves arranged on the opposite side from where they should be. (This includes 8.MAP, whose halves were rearranged using image-editing software following restoration.) Another is black patches on the .MAPs, which don't appear to be fixable regardless of how the .PNL files used with them are modified.

Restoration of the .MAP to its current state was performed using a modified .PNL reconstruction technique in which the contents of a .PNL file from a similar era were reorganized so that tile formations were positioned in such a manner that they worked properly in conjunction with the .MAP.

While the Lake Hylia .MAP restorations only required moving existing formations within a .PNL file from a similar era, reconstructing the Sanctuary, tombstones, and stone faces required transplanting graphical resources from three other .CGX files in addition to the base .CGX file used with the .MAP and .PNL to correct the landscape portions of the image (such as the trees and grass).

Despite the complexity of the process involved, because of the way that .MAP and .PNL files interact, the result is more than mere guesswork. A single modified .PNL from this era can be used with multiple .MAP files without overlaps seeming to occur, suggesting that the .MAPs from this era were constructed in such a way that they could be used with a single .PNL file.

The .CGX file used for the Sanctuary predates the era of the other .CGX files. However, it was used because it has a Sanctuary pre-assembled inside that could be used as a model for reconstruction, one whose dimensions and layout were identical to those of the structure in the .PNL and .MAP file. (Unfortunately, the pre-assembled Sanctuary does not include the roof portion, applicable tiles for which seem to be missing from every extant .CGX file.) Additionally, graphical assets for a nearly-identical Sanctuary can still be found in files from the era to which the other .CGX files, the .MAP, and the .PNL belong.


(Source: GlitterBerri)

SA - Stamp: 1990-12

s8.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS s8SCR+kyokaiCOL+kyokaiCGX.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-13.png

A version of the Sanctuary outdoors with few differences from the final game besides an additional sign and the missing descending underground cave.

Graveyard

GY - Stamp: 1990-12

s9.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALTTP s9+kyokaicol+1cgx.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-14.png

East of Graveyard

EG - Stamp: 1990-12

s10.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS s10SCR+machiCOL+mizuCGX.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-15.png

Witch's Hut

WH - Stamp: 1990-12

The Witch's Hut - s11.scr
[S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
Final
ALTTP S11.png
ALTTP S11 final.png

The Witch's Hut is more of a basic cabin at this stage, and an earlier iteration of the world transition tile is nearby, blocked by Hammer pegs - very notable since there isn't a world transition tile here in the final game. At this stage in development, they seemed far more open about showing the player these tiles out in the open. In contrast, in the final game, most are hidden under rocks or in out-of-the-way areas.

Zora Falls

ZF - Stamp: 1990-12

t-1.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS t-1MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 0.png
t-2.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS t-2MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 1.png
t-3.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS t-3MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 2.png
t-4.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS t-4MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 3.png

ZF - Circa: 1991-03

The following two .MAPs don't match any area in the final game.

t-5.MAP, seen below, was last modified on 1991-03-16. It may have been an arena for the removed Zora boss battle, and come off of t-2.MAP.

t-5.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
ALttP Dev-NEWS t-5MAP+takiPNL+4CGX+mizuCOL.png

tt-5.MAP, seen below, was last modified on 1991-03-22.

tt-5.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
ALttP Dev-NEWS tt-5MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png

ZF - Circa: 1991-05

t-6.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS t-6MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 1.png

ZF - Circa: 1991-07

The file below was last modified on 1991-07-18.

ta1.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS ta1MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 1.png

ZF - Circa: 1991-08

The files below were last modified on 1991-08-02.

tt-1.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS tt-1MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 0.png
tt-2.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS tt-2MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 1.png
tt-3.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS tt-3MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 2.png
tt-4.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS tt-4MAP+takiPNL+spotCGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Spot-Zora Falls 3.png

Kakariko Village

KV - Circa: 1991-05

e, f, g, and h.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS eMAP+ma1PNL+overdump kakariko graphicsCGX+overdump kakariko paletteCOL.pngALttP Dev-NEWS fMAP+ma1PNL+overdump kakariko graphicsCGX+overdump kakariko paletteCOL.png
ALttP Dev-NEWS gMAP+ma1PNL+overdump kakariko graphicsCGX+overdump kakariko paletteCOL.pngALttP Dev-NEWS hMAP+ma1PNL+overdump kakariko graphicsCGX+overdump kakariko paletteCOL.png
Zltp Kakariko final.png

KV - Circa: 1991-06

Yamada Folder: Overworld Area 4 - Kakariko Village [06-20-1991] Final
ALTTP Quadrant 4 - yamada (06-20-1991).png Zltp Kakariko final.png

Within the Yamada folder is an even earlier version of Kakariko Village with a last modified date of 06-20-1991. Like the previous one, the graphics file and palette file used are incorrect and there to give an idea of the layout, although the palette file does not have as many obvious flaws as the previous example. Compared to the later version of Kakariko, this one has more dirt roads and does not yet have the hedges surrounding each house, making it look less developed.

Here the idea of the well is present in the top-left, although it only has placeholder tiles when used with this graphics file and is not so close to a cliff that Link could jump into it as in the final game. The pools in the middle are more reminiscent of the Dark World's Village of Outcasts, and this idea was likely taken from here and applied there instead.

The pegs that block off the house with the overgrown front yard are still here at this earlier stage, and the left side of town has a somewhat conspicuous cabin that is out of the ordinary compared to the later versions of Kakariko.

At this stage, the weather vane did not exist at the center of town, and so this may narrow down the date when the duck that responds to the Flute was added to the game. It is, however, possible the duck merely came when you played the Flute without needing to first go through the step of playing it at the weather vane as in the final game. Judging by the earlier version of the Haunted Grove in the prototype data, where the Flute boy would normally reside, it is just as plausible the Flute boy had not yet been added to the game at this time.

KV - Circa: 1991-09

Tanabe Folder: Overworld Area 4 - Kakariko Village [09-04-1991]
ALTTP 4abcd2.png

A version of Kakariko Village with a last modified date of 09-04-1991, with no known graphics or palette files that look exactly correct. Those used here are to give an idea of the layout of the environment. Some differences include the missing well and cave, as well as the requirement to use the Hammer to enter the house with the overgrown front yard. The skulls on the roofs of some of the houses are an artifact of the graphics file used[3] which has the skulls from the fortune teller in the location where other formations could've been.

Arimoto\Zelda\m Folder: Overworld Area 4 - Kakariko Village [09-07-1991]
ALTTP arimoto zelda m machi.COL+arimoto zelda m machi.CGX+arimoto zelda m u8.PNL+arimoto zelda m 4a+4b+4c+4d.MAP.png

A .MAP file version of Kakariko Village with a last modified date of 09-07-1991, which is very close to the previous file with some notable differences and a better working graphics file for it. This allows one to not only roughly see what the above file would more closely look like, but it is also a useful for determining small differences from the final Kakariko Village at this time in development due to more accurate graphics.

Hyrule Castle

HC - Stamp: 1990-02

siro.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.11 900223]
ALttP Dev-siroCGX+tijoCOL+siroPNL+siroMAP.png

HC - Stamp: 1990-04

There is a nearly identical duplicate version of the later castle file below named osr-1.cgx.bak at NEWS_04\.\home\arimoto\delda\soto\. In that same directory, with the similar filename osr.cgx.bak we have a different, earlier graphic:

osr.cgx.bak [S-CG-CADVer1.13 900424]
ALTTP Arimoto delda soto osrcgxbak+arimoto delda soto hmori1colbak.png

Unfinished in places but clearly a castle, this asset bears an iterative name on the file above, shares similar-style wall grooves, and appears to be an older asset. Its metastamp and the tree tile used in it date the file to roughly the era of the 1990 prototype overworld. It is potentially a redesign iteration on Hyrule Castle after the one in that early 1990 overworld, but before the trees in that era of the game's development were scrapped.

As far as its palette, this particular asset, as long as the palette used is from the correct era, is relatively static - with slightly different shades of green and brown being the typical result.

HC - Stamp: 1990-12

osr.cgx [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
ALTTP Arimoto delda m osrcgx+arimoto delda soto hyama-1colbak.png

The correctness of the palette for this graphics file is not absolutely certain, but when viewed in SCAD the one used here does fit many of the ancillary items we know the colors for: the village house, the grass, the trees, and the colors we would expect for one of the prototype Sanctuary revisions in the bottom-left corner of the image. The Sanctuary is depicted as having a purple motif as far back as the time when the smap.scr files were being worked on. It is also a palette that is within the same area of the data - both are in sub-directories of the delda directory.

Two factors potentially against this palette as entirely correct are the fact that the door opening animation tiles turn the doors brown (which could also be a developer oversight meant to be corrected or something that would be addressed during the animation), and that the purple doors of the main building on display here don't seem to match with the gold and pink color scheme of the rest of it.

Turning to the main building featured in the graphics file, the gold and pink color scheme here is similar to the one used for the inside of prototype Hyrule Castle, raising questions about whether the first building we see here is a revision of the Sanctuary or whether it is in fact actually a revision of Hyrule Castle.

Some factors in favor of it being Hyrule Castle are: in the early world map palette NEWS_04\.\home\arimoto\zelda\smap.col.bak, the colors of the exterior of Hyrule Castle at that stage are also gold and pink, and the curtains visible in the windows of the building match the curtains inside Hyrule Castle. At some point in 1991, Hyrule Castle was revised to move it further away from its prototype look and closer to the look we see in the final game, and these colors were minimized to the throne room.

osr.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS osrMAP+b-2-1PNL+2CGX+hakaCOL.png ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-1B.pngALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-1C.png

ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-23.pngALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-24.png

A partially constructed version of the castle that uses graphics very close to the final game's graphics. The idea of the courtyard also exists here but is only partly created and has much more polishing to go before it reaches the final version.

niwa.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS niwaMAP+b-2PNL+2CGX+hakaCOL.png ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-1C.png

Though some graphical errors are present, here is a more developed version of the castle where additional changes that lead it closer to the final game's castle appear, like the second floor doorways, the fencing and a general shape that more closely resembles the final game's castle.

HC - Circa: 1991-08

Tanabe Folder: Overworld Area 5 - Hyrule Castle [08-30-1991] Final
ALTTP Quadrant 5 (8-30-1991).png Zltp castle final.png

A late, almost final Hyrule Castle from near the end of development. The main notable difference from the final game is the fence blocking the bottom-right path instead of a large rock.

Bridge to Witch's Hut

BW - Stamp: 1990-12

s14.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS s14+osrCOL+4-1CGX.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-1D.png

Eastern Palace

EP - Stamp: 1990-04

hsinden.CGX.BAK [S-CG-CADVer1.13 900424] Final
ALTTP Hsinden BAK.png ALTTP Hsinden BAK final.png

An earlier version of the Eastern Palace entrance, fully assembled in its graphics file.

EP - Stamp: 1990-06

The Yamada folder shows a different vision for the Eastern Palace overworld area with the Triforce symbol directly on the ground in front of the entrance to the Eastern Palace itself, but currently the correct graphics files seem to be lost and would take time to recreate, if that is even possible in that case.

6a, 6b, 6c, 6d.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611]
ALttP Dev-NEWS 6aSCR+sinCOL+daiCGX.png ALttP Dev-NEWS 6bSCR+sinCOL+daiCGX.png
ALttP Dev-NEWS 6cSCR+sinCOL+daiCGX.png ALttP Dev-NEWS 6dSCR+sinCOL+daiCGX.png

EP - Circa: 1991-05

Tanabe Folder: Overworld Area 6 - Eastern Palace [05-28-1991] Final
ALTTP Tanabe Quadrant 6 (5-28-1991).png ALTTP Z3 EastPalaceFinal.png

Exemplifying how iterative the development process was, the image on the left above is area 6 of the overworld on 05-28-1991, with there being a later version of the upper-left screen which looks much more like the final game's Sahasrahla temple (with the building not yet added) around two hours later on the same day, with the Triforce symbol on the ground being the casualty:

ALTTP 6a (05-28-1991 720AM).png

Haunted Grove

HG - Stamp: 1990-12

The Haunted Grove - s19.scr
[S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
Final
ALTTP S19.png
Zltp flute woods.png

At this stage there was no tree stump here for the Flute boy to play, and instead there was a world transition tile. Whether the Flute boy existed at this stage in development is questionable.

Woods West of Link's House

WW - Stamp: 1990-12

s20.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS s20SCR+osrCOL+4CGX.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-2B.png

Link's House

LH - Stamp: 1990-12

s21.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS s21SCR+kyokaiCOL+mizuCGX.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-2C.png

Bridge East of Link's House

BL - Stamp: 1990-12

s22.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS s22SCR+kyokaiCOL+4CGX.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-2D.png

The Desert of Mystery

DS - Stamp: 1990-12

Tanabe Folder: Overworld Area 7 - The Desert of Mystery Final
ALTTP Quadrant 7 Desert of Mystery.png ALTTP Quadrant 7 Desert of Mystery final.png

The upper parts of the desert here are relatively late in development, with a last modified date of 10-03-1991, while the bottom parts have a metastamp of S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226 and modified dates indicating they were last in use before 05-23-1991. The more rough nature of the bottom areas show in less visual flourishes, and the fact the medallion tablet and the world transition tile that would lead to Misery Mire are not yet there. This seems to indicate not much design incorporating Dark World transitioning was put into place yet at this time compared to what there would later be. There may have been some other plan in place for how to get to Misery Mire, or it may have not yet been developed at the time of the lower portions of the desert.

Path from Swamp to Desert

SD - Stamp: 1990-12

s29.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALTTP s29+hokoracol+4-1cgx.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-3A.png

Great Swamp Northwest

SN - Stamp: 1990-12

Great Swamp Northwestern Limits - s26.scr
[S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
Final
ALTTP S26+mizucgx+hokoracol.png
ALTTP S26 mizucgx hokoracol final.png

This area is deceptively similar in shape to its final version, but there are major differences. The world transition tile is uncovered and relatively easily accessible except for a fence. There is still a chance it is blocked off on the area to the right of this one by pegs or other obstacles, but that part of the overworld data is missing from the data in Arimoto and Watanabe's workspaces. With all these uncovered world transition tiles, it is indeed possible that perhaps the designers even at this time intended to cover some of them with rocks but left them visible in these screens for clarity purposes as to their locations.

Regarding other differences, the water pond of the final is instead a deeper pool that isn't at ground level, the rock that would block easier access to the Great Swamp on the western side is not present, and there is a large hill on the lower-right corner which was later changed over to a smaller rock outcropping.

Great Swamp Sluice Gate Ruins

SG - Stamp: 1990-12

s30.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALTTP S30+hokoracol+4-1cgx.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-3B.png

It looks that at one stage in the game the player might have had to do something to open the entrance to the ruins in the Great Swamp. When using this graphic set that differs from the final game's graphics slightly, in place of stairs there is a wall or gate. It's also possible that at this stage the ruins were not intended to open but rather the player could only warp from the Dark World using the Mirror to reach this doorway and then open the water sluice gate to solve the Swamp Palace's first puzzle.

Great Swamp Southeast

SS - Stamp: 1990-12

s31.scr [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Final
ALTTP s31+hokoracol+4-1cgx.png
ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-3C.png

Lake Hylia

HL - Stamp: 1990-06

32.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900424]
ALttP Dev-32MAP+1PNLBAK+hyrl-hone.COL+matiCGXBAK.png


33.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611]
ALttP Dev-33MAP+1PNLBAK+hyrl-hone.COL+matiCGXBAK.png


35.MAP [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900424]
ALttP Dev-35MAP+1PNLBAK+hyrl-hone.COL+matiCGXBAK.png


1.MAP.BAK [S-CG-CADVer1.21 900611]
ALttP Dev-1MAPBAK+1PNLBAK+hyrl-hone.COL+matiCGXBAK.png

Of the above four images, the first three are .MAP files using a modified .PNL reconstruction technique that are reorganized so that tile formations appear logically, the third image did not require this technique. The .MAP files greatly resemble a facet of Lake Hylia, where the bridge over a snaking river drains into Lake Hylia, that has not changed even back to the 1990 era when these files date from. However, as a disclaimer, it is not 100% certain these are Lake Hylia given the relative lack of similar connecting material from this era or file name associations -- only more likely than not.

HL - Circa: 1991-09

8a.MAP [Last Modified: 1991-09-09] Final
ALttP Dev-NEWS 8aMAP+b-4PNL+4CGX+mizuCOL.png ALttP Dev-Light World 1 (Pre-Agahnim)-35.png

HL - Circa: 1991-10

Tanabe Folder: Overworld Area 8 - Lake Hylia [10-05-1991] Final
ALTTP Quadrant 8 (10-5-1991).png ALTTP Quadrant 8 (10-5-1991) final.png

Lake Hylia may call into question the expectation that late modified dates on the environment (SCR) files would necessarily mean little or no difference from the final game. Early October should be very late in development, yet there are still quite notable differences from the final game here. For those who don't recall Lake Hylia well it may be less obvious, but there are some interesting things missing. The hut with the skulls at its entrance that is in the final game is missing, and the cave at the upper shore is not present either.

Missing caves and entrances is a common theme with maps in the Tanabe folder, so it is perhaps possible these are outlines of the areas with a focus on important entrances and dungeons and a design process was in place to pass them over to another designer who would then add less critical caves and entrance points where appropriate afterwards.

As far as other differences, the grass near the wall that can be blown open with a Bomb in the bottom-left corner is tiled less obviously so that it does not give any hint there may be something there, although we can't be sure if the wall is still intended to be able to be broken down there at this point or not. There is also a landing for Link to come out of the water on the island with the browning grass and single bush instead of at the final game's more convenient location at the shore on the upper-right.

Alternatively, given the 8a.map file from 1991-09-09, it could be that these 1991-10-05 screens simply have an inaccurate last modified date for some reason, because the hut and cave are present at 1991-09-09 and the final game, while missing in the 1991-10-05 screens.

Dark World

While full Dark World environment screens are rarer than Light World ones, ones like the Village of Outcasts, Dark World Fortune Teller, and Ruined House show evidence their naming became similar to Light World ones. To separate them from the Light World environments, they were prefixed by "u" (for example "u4a" and "us15"), standing for "ura."

Skull Woods

SW - Stamp: 1990-12

mo.CGX [NAK1989 S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Skull Woods Dungeon Main Entrance (Final)
ALTTP MoCGXmoCOL.png
Alttp skullwoods entrance final.png

Early versions of the Dark World Forest tiles are present in this tilesheet. Notable are the alternate Skull Woods dungeon entrances. The entrance to the last area of the Skull Woods dungeon is smaller in the prototype data and rather different, but still recognizable as an earlier form of the idea that became the final version of the entrance.

Palace of Darkness Grounds

PD - Stamp: 1990-12

sin.cgx [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Graphic elements of sin.cgx inserted
into the final game environment
Final
ALTTP Sincgx+sincol.png
Alttp final game palace of darkness region sin tileset insertion.png
ALTTP Palace of Darkness Region final.png

Sin.cgx is a prototype version of the tileset for the region outside of the Palace of Darkness. The tileset itself on the left does not look like much because it does not have any fully assembled, easily visible assets. However, if its unique elements are inserted into the final game's environment data to illustrate what its assets look like when assembled, the result is a striking and different atmosphere compared to the look of the area in the final game. The final game's look is also shown for comparison.


(Source: Delda (final game graphics insertion))

Swamp Palace Entrance

SP - Stamp: 1990-12

Swamp Palace Entrance - s30.scr with ho.cgx and ho.col [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226] Dark World Swamp CGX File (Ho.cgx) [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
ALTTP S30+hocgx+hocol.png
ALTTP Hocgx.png

In certain areas where the Dark World does not differ from the Light World in its environment layout, Dark World graphics overlay Light World screens exactly and leave no major graphical problems, indicating that a unique Dark World environment (.scr) file was not strictly necessary in these locations. One such case is in the Dark World Swamp Palace entrance. Here the s30.scr Light World scr file is used to show off the Dark World environment files. While the Palace itself has near-final graphics, the pillars outside it are closer to their Light World counterpart pillars, but subtly different.

There is also an unused, earlier version of the Swamp Palace entrance in the upper-right corner of the graphics (CGX) file. Unfortunately, in this case it is not pre-assembled by the developers as in the case of the prototype Skull Woods entrance earlier in this article, so it is more difficult to imagine what exactly it was intended to look like.

Fortune Teller

FD - Circa: 1991-09

Dark World Fortune Teller - us6.scr [09-05-1991]
ALTTP Us6.png

One of the few Dark World environments that has an extant environment file. Unfortunately, it is from late in development and only fits exactly with what are finalized or nearly-finalized Dark World graphics files.

Ruined House

RH - Circa: 1991-09

Ruined House - us15.scr [09-05-1991]
ALTTP Us15.png

This Dark World environment is in the middle of being reworked into the final game's graphic set. The tiling errors present near the path and the bushes correspond to the "dug up ground" formation in earlier Dark World tilesets, and a few of them become dug-up ground in the final game as well. The area palette had also not yet been reworked to accommodate the ruined house, and large stones had not yet been placed to block access to the area until the player has the Titan's Mitt.

Village of Outcasts

VO - Circa: 1991-09

Dark World Area 4 - Village of Outcasts
ALTTP U4a+u4b+u4c+u4d.png

Another unique Dark World environment that was approaching finalization. It has obvious tiling errors, but works somewhat with the late Dark World village graphics file in Watanabe's folder named "Ura" (a term closely associated with the Dark World in the developer workspaces). Like with Kakariko Village, any skull above the entrance to a house is an artifact of the graphics file used and is not representative of what would be there at the time. The last modified dates on these SCR files are from roughly 09-05-1991 to 09-07-1991.

View of Death Mountain from Pyramid of Power

PP - Circa: 1990-12

Dark World Sky from y-1f.CGX.BAK [09-09-1991] Dark World Sky from pir.CGX [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
ALTTP OldSora.png ALTTP OldSora2.png


(Source: Dark Linkaël (discovery, extraction and presentation of y-1f.CGX.BAK and pir.CGX Dark World sky scenes))

PP - Circa: 1991-10

It's also worth noting that the view of Death Mountain visible from the Pyramid of Power in both the final game and one version of it found in these files is incongruous to the pre-"cloudy" Death Mountain setup if the Dark World's Death Mountain is assumed to match up closely to its Light World counterpart. As one can see, there is nothing above the Tower in the view below, dating this view to later in development, as its last modified date of 09-26-1991 also attests:

Pyramid.CGX [10-15-1991] with Sora.scr [09-26-1991]
ALTTP Sora.png

However, at locations NEWS\テープリストア\NEWS_04\.\home\arimoto\tanabe\y-1f.CGX.BAK and NEWS\テープリストア\NEWS_04\.\home\arimoto\tanabe\pir.CGX other older versions of this twilight scenery of the Dark World have been found in the data as well, lending credence to the idea that Ganon's Tower was not always going to be visible on the view of Death Mountain from here. Below are two other images of the same scene reconstructed from those files in the prototype data, but they also lack the obvious Ganon's Tower presence. The file y-1f.CGX.BAK has an accurate modified date of 09-09-1991 associated with it - slightly earlier than the versions of the sky in line with the final game: Sora.scr's 09-26-1991 and Pyramid.CGX's 10-15-1991. pir.CGX is an even earlier version that appears to have been created before 05-23-1991.

Here is an in-game comparison with the backgrounds inserted into the final game:

Dark World Sky from
y-1f.CGX.BAK [09-09-1991]
Final
ALTTP Sora Proto.png ALTTP Sora Final.png
Dark World Sky from
pir.CGX [S-CG-CADVer1.23 901226]
Final
ALTTP Sora Proto 2.png ALTTP Sora Final.png


(Source: Dark Linkaël (screenshots of prototype assets inserted into Dark World sky scenes))

References

  1. (File: SFC\ソースデータ\ゼルダの伝説神々のトライフォース\日本_Ver3\char\smap7.SCR.BAK)
  2. (File: SFC\ソースデータ\ゼルダの伝説神々のトライフォース\日本_Ver3\asm\zel_endt3.asm)
  3. [File: NEWS_04\.\home\arimoto\delda\m\5.cgx]