Games that Never Were: Ura Zelda, the Nintendo 64 Version of Ocarina of Time Master Quest

When The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998, it was met with universal praise. Critics and players everywhere could not get enough of the series' first 3D entry, and it has gone on to become one of, if not the most, beloved Zelda game of all time. So popular was the game that Nintendo planned a special expansion pack that would be designed to challenge even those who knew the entire game by heart. It was called Ura Zelda, and it was being developed for the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive, a device that could be used to add content to various games. Given the device's quick failure, Ura Zelda would not see the light of day, at least in its original form. Allow me to tell you more about this alternate version of a beloved classic that would ultimately be released in a somewhat different form.

Ura Zelda, which translates as "Another Zelda," would have added new and harder dungeons, including one known as the Unicorn Fountain in which Link could have found the Triforce; and never-before-seen enemies. When combined with the Ocarina of Time cartridge (which would remain in the console while Ura Zelda was inserted into the 64DD), a modified logo containing the new subtitle and a Triforce symbol would appear. Nintendo was also working on another expansion pack, called Zelda Gaiden, which would place Link into a whole new adventure. That game would later be released as a standalone game called The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Ura Zelda's fate would be a bit less fortunate.

The 64DD has a rather troubled history, and would become a well-known failure in the history of Nintendo. First announced in 1995 along with the Nintendo 64 itself, it was intended to allow players to modify games by adding content, and a number of games were originally intended to be released only as 64DD games. Unfortunately, the 64DD kept being delayed, and it was not until late 1999, well into the Nintendo 64's life, that it was released. By that time, Nintendo resorted to selling it through the RANDnet subscription service, and it ended up being in limited quantities. Consequently, only nine games were ever released for the 64DD, with many other planned releases either being released in cartridge form or being canceled altogether. The latter occurrence befell Ura Zelda, and thus it was not released as originally planned. It should be noted that the 64DD was only available in Japan, and never saw a release in any other country.

Ura Zelda was, however, far along in development, and in 2003, with the release of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on the horizon, Nintendo decided to finally release the expansion pack to the public. As a bonus for reserving their copy of The Wind Waker, players received a disc that contained both the original version of Ocarina of Time and the long-awaited Ura Zelda, which was now known as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest. This version did not have any new dungeons or enemies, as was originally planned, but it did make the existing dungeons more challenging, adding new puzzles and other challenges not present in the original game. As with the Gamecube version of Ocarina of Time, the title also ran in a higher resolution, but suffered from minor problems such as occasional skips in music.

Despite the praise for the bonus disc as a whole, some Zelda fans feel that Ocarina of Time Master Quest is not the end result of Ura Zelda that it should have been. The lack of the originally planned extra content seems to prove that the game was rushed out to merely entice fans or give them an added incentive to reserve the Wind Waker, which likely would have ended up being a best seller anyway, given the series' successful track record. It also was no larger in terms of megabits than the standard size of a Nintendo 64 cartridge as opposed to having a 64DD game contain far more content. Thus, it would seem that Ocarina of Time Master Quest is merely the equivalent of the second quest of The Legend of Zelda in that it made the dungeons harder to beat. Without any content beyond that, it would seem that the Ura Zelda that was intended to be released shall remain, perhaps forevermore, as a lost chapter in the Zelda saga.

That is unfortunate, because from what I have heard about it, Ura Zelda was shaping up to be just as good as, if not better than, Ocarina of Time. The idea of new enemies was full of possibilities...some classic Zelda foes that had not been seen in 3D yet could have appeared, as well as new adversaries with the potential of causing Link grief in later games, as well. Who knows...some of these planned foes may have ended up debuting in Majora's Mask, which would not be that much of a stretch given that it, too, was planned as a 64DD game at one point. The new dungeons likewise would have been fascinating to check out, and I would have loved to have actually obtained the Triforce. Don't get me wrong...Ocarina of Time Master Quest is great as it is, but had Nintendo released it in its originally intended form, it could have been even better.

There are likely no plans for Nintendo to release Ura Zelda the way it was meant to be released. As such, it will remain one of the rare Zelda games to never see the light of day, at least not in its original form. I would like to see if Nintendo could one day actually finish the title and release it for Wiiware, the Virtual Console service, or even as a standalone software release. It could be called Ocarina of Time: The Lost Levels or something to that effect. Unfortunately, that will likely never happen, even though Nintendo is preparing the next chapter in the Zelda saga for the Wii in time for either the holiday season or the 25th anniversary of the release of the original Zelda game. Ura Zelda could have been a great addition to the celebrated series, but it will instead remain in limbo perhaps for all time, a sad fate for any game, but particularly unfortunate for a game from such a beloved series like Zelda.