Nintendo knows how to play on your nostalgia.
On Friday, the publisher helped bring The Game Awards in Las Vegas to a close with new video from The Legend of Zelda for Wii U that included an Easter egg that is a throwback to the original Zelda. This new is due out next year, which is nearly three decades after its first release on the Nintendo Entertainment System. And while the series is changing thanks to powerful technology and high-definition graphics, executive producer Eiji Aonuma is also taking the Zelda back to its roots.
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But one moment might have stood out to you if you’re a long-time fan of the series. Near the beginning of the clip, Aonuma guides Link, the hero of the Zelda games, up to the edge of a cliff during sunset. Ostensibly, the producer is doing this to show off just how big and beautiful the world is. But secretly, this was Nintendo re-creating a moment from the manual of the original The Legend of Zelda.
Check it out:
Above: Nintendo is finally making the game that Shigeru Miyamoto had in his head back when he made the original Zelda.
It’s amazing, and thanks to Twitter user LetsHugBro for first pointing it out. Link sits on a cliff that overlooks a forest with mountains in the distance. Zelda Wii U even has that rocky growth protruding from the woods.
If you’re unaware, the above art comes from the manual for The Legend of Zelda, and it’s an iconic image that people have long associated with the series — even though it isn’t exactly indicative of how the game plays.
Above: The Legend of Zelda manual.
But now, Nintendo is finally turning that image into something that you can interact with. Aonuma and his development team have looked into the past to try to figure out what the original vision for Zelda would look like if Miyamoto had all of the power in the world, and the result is a giant open world where the ominous mountains in the background don’t just loom over you to create a mood — but they are a location that you’re going to need to reach to complete your quest.