Proto:The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

This page details one or more prototype versions of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

This page or section details content from the July 2020 Nintendo Leak. Check the July 2020 Nintendo Leak category for more pages also sourced from this material.

To do: Dump and compare text. Add additional data related to the old ALTTP prototype in Super Donkey (file 1) to the Mid-1991 Overdump page. Check ALTTP overdump in the later Super Donkey proto. What's there is known to predate the final Japanese build.

Various builds of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past were discovered in the files of the July 2020 Nintendo leak. Some of these seem to be localization builds, which correct and adjust minor things such as wording and text placement. These builds are found split in two files named zel0.bin and zel1.bin. A hex editor can be used to append zel1.bin onto the end of zel0.bin. The localization builds are within subfolders located at the path SFC\ソースデータ\ゼルダの伝説神々のトライフォース\.

In addition to these localization builds, there are overdumps of A Link to the Past data found in the two available builds of Super Donkey (super_donkey_1.bin and super_donkey_2.bin) located at path SFC\ソースデータ\ヨッシーアイランド\ツール\donkey_test\. The first of these overdumps in super_donkey_1.bin contains data from a build estimated to be from around mid-1991, based on its correspondence to data within developer workspaces.

Sub-Pages

Mid-1991 Overdump Partially-recovered overdump data discovered within the earlier prototype of Super Donkey.

英語_PAL\pal_asm\zel*.bin

• PAL build, but uses the US "-Nintendo- PRESENTS" font upon booting the game.
• Must wait for logo to fully appear before able to skip using buttons, like in the US build.

ドイツ_PAL\Ger_asm1\zel*.bin

• Some of the text on signposts is slightly moved. For example, arrows are placed above the text.

Ger_asm1	Final

French Builds

フランス_PAL\Fra_asm1\zel*.bin

• Has the palette used in US and other regions (The France builds appear to use a slightly lighter palette normally).
• The sword drops into the title screen logo slightly sooner.
• The game's title has been localized for the title screen logo graphic, which can be seen in this advertisement. (Source: Dark Linkaël)
• The A and the D of the ZELDA logo in this build (and the Fra_asm build) are slightly altered, with more of a point to the top of the A.
• The Dialogue Test NPC is present in the Sanctuary.
• During the credits sequence, the text "VENUS. REINE DES FEES" has no dot in retail.

Fra_asm1	Final

フランス_PAL\Fra_asm\zel*.bin

• Debug features are available by default.
• The Dialogue Test NPC is present in the Sanctuary.
• This build also uses the localized title screen.

Fra_asm1	Fra_asm	Final

フランス_NES\N_F_asm\zel*.bin

• Runs at the speed of a PAL ROM, despite being in the North American French asm folder.
• 0x80000-0xc4000 is just padding, and the game seems to boot fine, although with missing graphics. Copying data from a retail ROM (or from the zl3.CHR file) fixes the graphical issues.
• The N_F_asm build seems to have some small graphical issues when using the retail assets, indicating some changes were most likely made somewhere.
• Has the palette used in US and other regions (the France builds appear to use a slightly lighter palette normally).

Gameplay differences, when compared to a European French ROM:

• Intro Logo sequence is slightly faster.
• Screen wipe effect when entering/exiting interiors is slightly slower.
• During the ending sequence with the Triforce, the pieces lift into the air much quicker, but the text speed is much slower to display on-screen. After the text is done, the pieces lower and come together much quicker.
• No text is present during the ending sequence showing the areas of the game, and during the credits. Additionally, the camera pans much slower during these scenes.

N_F_asm	Fra_asm1	Final

Other Builds

More builds are present in the form of .hex files, which are within the folders located at SFC\ソースデータ\ゼルダの伝説神々のトライフォース\.

How to Make the ROMs Playable

These builds can be made playable by converting these Intel-Hex format files into binary format. Regular hex2bin tools will usually not work correctly, as these particular hex files slightly differ from normal: the extended segment address has a 3-byte field (normally it is only 2 bytes). A python script to do this task can be found here.

After converting from .hex, the ROM will need asset data for graphics and sound inserted. To determine what to insert, refer to the .sdm files located in each source folder. These files have info about the filenames of assets, the asset file's start offset, the data size, and the ROM's destination bank + address. Typically, the following files are needed (offsets are mostly the same between all builds):

• Graphics data - zl3.chr: 0x80000 (Note: sometimes named zl3.CHR1. German builds seem to need an additional file, and the name can vary, so check the .sdm files)
• Mode 7 data - smap.CH7: 0xc4000
• Audio data - zldsound0.lst: 0xc8000, zldsound1.lst: 0xd8000, zldsound2.lst: 0xd5380

After doing these steps, four builds matched retail when compared (after fixing headers):

日本_Ver3\asm\zel_main.hex (JP Rev 2)
フランス_PAL\Fra_asm\zel_main.hex (FR)
英語_PAL\pal_asm\zel_main.hex (EU)
ドイツ_PAL\Ger_asm1\zel_main.hex (DE)

However, a number of unique builds are present, and some have differences which are yet to be determined (but seem minor overall). The following builds have no matches found (to retail or leaked ROMs).

英語_PAL\pal_asm\zel_main1.hex

• Debugging features as well as the Dialogue Test NPC are present.

ドイツ_PAL\Ger_asm\ger_main.hex

• Debugging features as well asthe Dialogue Test NPC are present.
• "-Nintendo Presents-" as well as title screen are English versions (with ® instead of ™).
• Uses a font similar to English versions, and has "--ENERGIE--" with double hyphens.
• Features a very different translation, with differences in script text for NPCs, scenes, when receiving items, and more.
• ROM size is greater than 1MB.

An xdelta patch for this build can be found here:

Download ger_main.hex xdelta patch File: Legend of Zelda, The - A Link to the Past (Germany) (ger_main.hex).zip (info)

Ger_asm\ger_main.hex	Final (DE)	Final (US)

Ger_asm\ger_main.hex	Final

ドイツ_PAL\Ger_asm\zel_main1.hex

• Debugging features are present, but no Dialogue Test NPC.
• "-Nintendo Presents-" as well as title screen are English versions (with ® instead of ™).
• Features the previously mentioned translation in ger_main.hex.
• Seems to have graphical issues, unlike the other builds. None of the available .CHR graphic data files work with this build.

NES_Ver2\us_asm\tes_main.hex

• The fog overlays in the Lost Woods, Master Sword Grove, and the Skull Woods are disabled.

us_asm\tes_main.hex	Final

Others

When compared in a hex editor, the following builds have minor differences which are yet to be determined:

• NES_Ver2\us_asm\zel_main.hex
• フランス_NES\N_F_asm\zel_main.hex
• フランス_PAL\Fra_asm1\zel_main.hex