The Zelda Game Nintendo Don't Want You to See (Exclusive)

Today we take a look at Retro Studios' cancelled Zelda game for the Nintendo Wii, with some exclusive facts straight from the developers who worked on it. The game follows the last male Sheikah, as well as Sheik from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
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Special Thanks to Paul Tozour and our Anonymous Source, as well as Jacob Newcomb and our anonymous translator for Japanese translations, and to Lukas Wagner for German translations.
Research/Writing by Dr lava
Video Editing by TheCartoonGamer
Voice Over by Remix
Sources/Further Reading:
www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/...
mynintendonews.com/2008/01/30...
shinesparkers.net/concept-art...
www.theverge.com/2019/3/28/18...
lavacutcontent.com/spaceworld-...
lavacutcontent.com/pokemon-bet...
www.gamespot.com/articles/why...
• #138 - Paul Tozour Int...
gamerant.com/zelda-female-lin...
gamerant.com/zelda-sheik-spin...
web.archive.org/web/202103021...
web.archive.org/web/201406140...
www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...
www.gamespot.com/articles/why...
#Zelda #Retro #Nintendo

[@DidYouKnowGamin]

Tons of work went into this video -- we can't even tell you how many devs weren't willing to talk about it. If you want more vids like this, help us out with a like and share. Cheers 👍

[@HL2Striker]

Holy Shit.

[@JsYTA]

You all do great work! Thank you, everyone involved, thank you.

[@bladoodyscabloody1143]

this game looked epic. its a shame they never let them finish it. also if nintendo gets word of this video, i hope you guys know that even if your within your rights to make it, there famous for trying to go after people with million dollar lawyers and pretty much bury anyone talking about them in any way thats not 100% positive. -_- there pretty greed based company

[@RhizometricReality]

I'd kill for a dark souls zelda

[@rfdflorencio]

@@RhizometricReality before they told about whack-a-wolf I was hoping that the concept was a dark souls Zelda before dark souls

[@mercury5003]

I love the idea that everyone at retro was essentially saying they wanted to make shadow of the collosus set in the zelda universe but the leadership was just like: "no the players want whack-a-mole!" It must've been pretty vindicating when Nintendo felt exactly the same way

[@PokeRedstone]

I’d imagine it was pretty bittersweet as well. To work on something for that long in a beloved universe despite knowing it’s a sinking ship, only to have your doubts confirmed and having to throw it out.

[@jayjaygolden5123]

not leadership, design team. According to this video, anyway. Which is kind of odd. EDIT: leadership was mentioned later in the video, oops.

[@Tekshipie]

Vindication don't pay the bills sadly.

[@moogleproof]

@@Tekshipie ...I have to go make some calls

[@charmendro]

I wonder what the gaming market would’ve been if higher ups were more concerned with the games they made

[@SignificantNobody]

I love that you guys went from basically a tumblr blog with neat little factoids about Easter eggs in video games to basically full blown journalists. You guys do amazing work, keep it up!

[@thedapperdolphin1590]

It’s strange too because they’re nowhere near as big as they used to be in the early 2010’s. They still have a lot of subs, but most of those are from dead/inactive or uninterested accounts that haven’t bothered to unsubscribe. They can still get some good view counts, but it’s just a fraction of the sub count. This channel used to be talked about a lot

[@SlobbyMcSlob]

They got to where they are by reminding us every chance they get that DMA Designs became Rockstar North.

[@KILLAKINLAW459]

Holy shit i forgot thats where they started from. Feels like its been decades...

[@danielhiggins3575]

When people talk about backhanded compliments that commentors don't realize are insulting... I'll think of this

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@thedapperdolphin1590 Probably because people just thought they were of the same standard clickbait channels using semi-obscure facts anyone can research so people stopped watching. Imagine if they were like this from the beginning

[@AnchorCrab]

It sounds like this "Project X" demo suffered from the same issue a lot of early Wii games did: The developers struggled to find a way to design the game around motion controls, and the game became very simplistic and rudimentary as a result.

[@MrDiana1706]

Furthermore, I have no idea how this "simplistic path of gameplay" could be 'the way of the future'. See, Link's Crossbow Training was just a bit deeper than your regular on rails shooter, never benefited more from motion controls than an Arcade shooter or EVEN Duck Hunt did, asides from the open areas you got to shoot people in sometines. So HOW in your free will and mind can soneone even compare the two, let alone say it's the way of the future? And if they meant advancing it more such as VR, not every game can be Beat Saber because there's a limit to how far you can go if it's 'simplicity' favoring innovation for new ways to play.

[@samus2sexyfordis]

Yea I honestly felt main reason why lot of gamers shied away from games in wii era were because those wii controls were clunky. I remember playing mp3 and could only play it for so long til my wrists eventually gave up. Lot of my friends admitted they gave up on mp3 because the controls were just not very fun for the long run. It was a cool concept and decent execution but the long run game needs to feel like a video game not some interactive motion control gimmick

[@sehtuk3953]

If I had a nickel for every time Link's Crossbow Training ended up screwing over a promising new Zelda game with a lot of cool concepts and passionate workers, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Seriously, this has to be the saddest cancelled game story I've heard in a long time. No "outside factors" ruining the pitch, just ridiculously stubborn higher ups refusing to move on from waggle-a-wolf. It stings but from Nintendo's perspective, I totally get it. There's no way that would fly at all. It's such a shame because the concept art is so badass and having it be like Shadow of the Colossus would've been amazing.

[@Marlotix]

Not really right to say Link's Crossbow Training "screwed over" this game. One of the devs just made a comparison to it gameplay-wise, is all.

[@rhett7143]

@@Marlotix Yeah, they would've made up some other excuse cause their brain is made out of sand.

[@songokai2992]

what was the other time?

[@songokai2992]

oh wait literally a second later it was mentioned

[@JoiskiMe]

Yes... I curse that horrible game

[@skorie6180]

I think this is a good lesson in that a lot of cancelled games are cancelled for a reason even if the premise or concept art is cool

[@SirBlackReeds]

Or if the reason is stupid.

[@handgun559]

The reason being: despite his grand success and obvious intuition when it comes to making video games - Miyamoto only knows how to make a specific type of game, he has no clue how to make stuff outside of that wheel house, and he routinely shuts down good ideas because he personally doesn't see the merit. Like, I love Zelda. It's my first love. But the more I learn about Miyamotos career the more I want to slap him and tell him to stop demoralizing workers. For every good idea he offers he's also suggested adding a gardening mini game to everything. Like, the creators of Links Crossbow training wanted to add more action elements to the game, including bosses and narrative beats. Instead Miyamoto said that he game would do better as a pure spin off with little to no substance outside of being an arcade shooter. And now look at it. What a beloved, replayed, and remember game. Except it fucking isn't. It's shovel ware you're forced to buy if you want a Wii zapper.

[@skorie6180]

@@handgun559 I just meant the gameplay was quite shit in the Sheik game, and there's time where Mitamotos influence has helped, like with Metroid Prime

[@handgun559]

@@skorie6180 oh, totally. But he's also killed some genuinely good ideas. Links Crossbow Training could've been a third person shooter with modern third person design philosophy built into it. Decades of work that Nintendo didn't have to do to make a good game. And Miyamoto was like, nah. Make Link shoot at pots. Put it on rails or make the level stationary 2/3rds of the time. Like bruh. Imagine Miyamoto giving that advice to an Activision room developing a new CoD. A company that's arguably gone insane, and they would laugh Miyamoto out of the room. The dude has his strengths. And he's killed some good games.

[@skorie6180]

@@handgun559 tbh I'd like to watch a DYKG video about all projects he has had an effect on, there's some out there ones like how he came up with the idea for the Star Wars Shadows of the Empire N64 game, it'd definitely be an interesting legacy

[@biscuitslash5443]

So bizarre to me that they'd have the idea of an epic and unique game from the Shiekah's perspective, only to have it be an odd turn based rpg whack-a-mole thing. Would have thought it'd be an action/stealth type game instead. The shiekah are ninjas after all, so that fit so much better!

[@AzureRoxe]

I mean, they wanted it to be a Shadow of the Colossus-style game before the higher ups demanded that it be a weird whack-a-mole thing. It WAS gonna be an interesting action game originally.

[@No-onesgayformoleman]

Zelda Tenchu? Now that's a concept I never knew I needed badly in my life.

[@hyperventalated]

I love the idea of the last living male sheika becoming the master sword, and showing how that came to be. It wouldve really strengthened the bond between this supposed ancient tribe and the hero/master sword. It would also give an extra reason why people like Impa are so keen to help the hero, as shes technically helping one of her own. Cool idea!

[@TheDapperDragon]

And it would've been better than SS. By fucking miles.

[@mugenkai213]

But if this happened during the death time-line... the master sword exists... does that mean there are multiple iterations of the sword?

[@doomswell]

@@mugenkai213 Maybe Ganon broke the Master Sword when Link lost and they have to make a new one?

[@maxspecs]

I would love to see a story where you play as Fi, in the pre-Skyward Sword times. When Hylia and Demise were still unsealed, immortal gods.

[@WarpChaos]

They could've changed it to the Hylian Shield.

[@AaronWrotkowski]

I love concept art so much. Will never forget the Epic Mickey concept art that blew everyone's minds and gave us an incorrect assumption on what the game would look like.

[@powergannon]

If it weren’t for that Epic Mickey promo material and concept art, I don’t think the interest in the game would have been nearly as high

[@ramrodbldm9876]

You look like someone that has mickey mouse tattooed on your ankle.

[@creativeusername7951]

I think it was actually supposed to look like that at some point.

[@brondabailey1]

@@creativeusername7951 Warren Spector has discussed it. It was basically a test for team to know how far Disney would let them go. They wanted boundaries before they put a lot of work into something Disney would nix.

[@Lowbarful]

@@powergannon As someone who never played Epic Mickey or really followed the development, what was so different from the concept art to the final game?

[@Cometstarlight]

It's so strange to me that many devs would shy away from talking about it, especially if the statute of limitations on it was out. It's almost like being the new person in town with a local legend and absolutely everyone is either terrified of bringing up or refuse to spread it to others.

[@sirmel11]

Another interesting thing is that they had to change some stuff in this video because I believe the person on the green background was open at first but wanted things changed or something? It's not my place to tell it but the guy who wrote the video talked about it.

[@phabiorules]

Maybe it has something to with with industry standards. Like Projects get cancelled all the time and they don't want people who talk about them often in order to prevent fan campaigns to try to get it.

[@thejetstarjump]

No one wants to burn a bridge. Whether there’s a possibility of legal action or not, hiring managers have memories and you don’t want your name coming up as someone who’ll leak private info.

[@azenar1894]

If they were someone who left Retro, they might wanna come back one day and they would be less likely to get rehired if they spilled the secrets, also if they're currently working there, they can get fired

[@moltenmagma64]

Unfortunately, that's just the big consequence of gaming being such a secretive industry. Employees don't want to speak about this type of thing because it could potentially mean they aren't going to be hired again as a result.

[@karkashan]

it's hilarious that someone at Retro really thought "we need to make a long game with the most dull, repetitive battle system imaginable" was what the Zelda series needed.

[@madnessarcade7447]

This would have changed zelda forever if we got this game I doubt we would have gotten breath of the wild maybe this sacrifice was for the best Idk tho

[@nerdyhedgehog6055]

@@madnessarcade7447 Yes because a spin-off game made by foreign developers is going to change the Zelda series forever. I guess that's why after cadence of hyrule the Zelda series turned into rythm games.

[@trambello9211]

Hyrule Warriors

[@druidt8949]

@@madnessarcade7447 I think you're starry-eyed over the concept. Based on what was described in the video, this sounds like it would have been worse then Crossbow Training, and would have only made BOTW look better by comparison

[@Santoryu90]

@@trambello9211 The difference is there are people who actually like those type of games

[@Forever_Zero]

This seems to be one of those occasions when the cancellation was the right call, the artwork and concept was really cool but the gameplay and direction of the game just wasn't clear

[@madnessarcade7447]

This would have changed zelda forever if we got this game I doubt we would have gotten breath of the wild maybe this sacrifice was for the best Idk tho

[@wes788411]

@@madnessarcade7447 you keep saying that, it’s totally ridiculous

[@BBWahoo]

@@madnessarcade7447 Just like how Other M changed metroid forever amirite??? 😅

[@Fireshock20]

@@BBWahoo It kind of did, because now they're forever trying to avoid repeating the same mistakes as Other M.

[@kevinfromsales9445]

@@BBWahoo And just like Other M, the fans would've probably shat all over this Retro Zelda game because it doesn't cater to fan service nor does it follow the Nintendo formula despite it probably having some good qualities to it. So yeah I guess Retro just saved themselves from potentially getting buried online by fanboys.

[@fishyperil2153]

Man that concept art is basically the coolest looking shit I've ever seen . And btw, you guys rock, this is truly top tier content

[@atmatey]

I don’t think the Wii could have done justice to concept art like that. Now, the PS5 and Xbox Series X on the other hand probably could. A modern game looking like that concept art would be really cool.

[@clouds-rb9xt]

@@atmatey Or PC

[@nilschaves6681]

@@atmatey by the time pre production started I think it could've been a Wii U gane if approved

[@fishyperil2153]

@@atmatey yeah true Wii graphics sucked ... but idk maybe they could've pulled it off with a heavily stylized artstyle, some thing like Okami but darker

[@Brainsore.]

It’s not shit, but yeah the art is cool

[@thesquishedelf1301]

Wow. Nintendo should hire Sammy for concept art, that was pretty impressive and consistent with the Zelda style.

[@UmbraVivens94]

nintendo, hire this man!

[@LoliconSamalik]

Wasn't he already hired?!?!

[@ColderDay]

@@LoliconSamalik hire him again lol

[@Miriam_J_]

Well, he leaked the games existence so I doubt they'll ever be working with him again

[@Alloveck]

It certainly demonstrated an impressive amount of skill, but I wouldn't say it looked very Zelda style at all.

[@Zypher77777]

Not that I didn't love your old content... But this is next level! Stellar research and work! I love the direction this channel is going

[@TheSignatureK]

DYKG Always did videos like this. This was a very well-put-together video.

[@No-onesgayformoleman]

@@TheSignatureK I don't know how long you've been following DYKG, but I remember them starting off with easter eggs and fun facts. It's a full blown investigation from them to literally call everyone that used to work at Retro including the Janitor

[@SendFoodz]

DYKG went from Wikipedia facts to fill investigative reporting. gaming history is a more rich vibrant place because of it. incredible work guys! my absolute favorite channel on KZbin

[@Mankey619]

I don’t think Retro studios shouldn’t hide away their Zelda project. It’s crazy that Sammy hiding from obscurity cause of his incredible concept art for the game. This is a very incredible discovery you guy’s made for “Did you know gaming”. Can’t wait to see the Heroes of Hyrule episode you guys will show. Hearing Link aged to an old guy got me excited.

[@L33PL4Y]

You _don't_ think they _shouldn't_ hide it away? So then you do think they should?

[@Marlotix]

One thing about the Sheik game that I used to wonder about was them saying it takes place "in the bad ending of Ocarina of Time". The Downfall Timeline makes sense, but its existence wasn't confirmed until Hyrule Historia was published in 2011. It was something barely any fans even considered a concept at the time. So how would Retro have known about it? Did they get that info from Nintendo themselves? The concept art for the game mentions a great flood. I think the "bad ending" they were talking about was actually the Adult Timeline with The Wind Waker, and the game was meant to take place between Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker. And calling it a "bad ending" was a mistake on Sammy Hall's part, just as calling the male Sheikah "the last male Sheik" was. Also, I believe this game and Skyward Sword both focusing on the origins of the Master Sword was probably a coincidence. If this was pitched to and supervised by SPD3, then no one on the Zelda Team would have likely ever heard about the Sheik game's story ideas. Regardless, this was a great video! Thanks for digging up and sharing so much info on this canceled game. I'm looking forward to hearing about the other game. (Side note, the "Gerudo have children with Hylian men" detail actually isn't new info. Ocarina of Time mentions that within the game itself. But this interview does go into more detail than the game does, like the "kidnapping men" part is new, for example.)

[@skibot9974]

Good point

[@AbsolXGuardian]

Actually the downfall timeline was theorized to exist before Hyrule Historia was published. Link to the Past has an event called "The Imprisoning War". It's an event where Ganondorf gained control of the Triforce, but was eventually stopped by the Knights of Hyrule and sealed by the Seven Sages. But once the whole Link reincarnation cycle is established, there being a time Ganon and Hyrule went to war without Link didn't really make sense. So the best solution was that the Imprisoning War is how Ganon was dealt with in a timeline where Link looses Ocarina of Time. Hyrule Historia really only confirmed theories that were popular and set down the details. But I do agree that it feels unlikely that the devs on Project X were building a game based on a fan theory. It makes more sense that the person DYKG talked to meant the adult Link timeline, because the Hero of Courage abandoning the world and it flooding is pretty bad.

[@Marlotix]

@@AbsolXGuardian There were theories, but barely any. The vast majority of fans believed there to only be two timelines. Everyone overlooked the A Link to the Past backstory being changed in the GBA version. I remember, I was there for the pre-Historia timeline theories.

[@GermanTacos]

When the switch over was announced in regards to this channel I was a bit skeptic, thinking how much could possibly be yet-uncovered that the DYKG team could unearth and make interesting content about. This video completely removes those fears I think-and in fact revitalized my interest in the channel as a whole. Hats off.

[@ztoogemcducc6360]

Can’t imagine how heartbreaking it is to work for 3 years on a project with amazing art but you know it’s bound to fail because management is ruining everything .

[@SparkyDaHedgehog]

With games like Hyrule Warriors coming into existence, I'm hoping we get that Sheik spin-off game some day. Something that really challenges the Zelda format and plays to her Ninja-like traits. Nintendo's become more experimental with their IPs in recent years, so it could definitely happen.

[@chheinrich8486]

Lets hope that after the breath of the wild sequel, they make it

[@TheDapperDragon]

Hyrule Warriors, Cadance of Hyrule, and if you want to spread out to other IPs, Mario and Rabbids. Nintendos been having a great streak leasing out their IP. And I hope they keep it up.

[@GazettiSF]

I feel like this is the first time something is called “that they didn’t want you to know about” and it’s actually true

[@tazo8658]

This is a somewhat sad watch because it's a whole story that was meant to be. Congrats on the video, this mustve taken an immense amount of work

[@EasyCure0]

It's stories like this that makes me glad Nintendo can be a bit heavy handed when it comes to how their IP are presented. A more action focused Zelda game staring Shiek? Awesome! It's a wagglefest because some pencil pusher in charge of Retro but NOT in charge of actual development thinks that's somehow the future? Yeah no thanks. For all the crap nintendo gets about sleeping on some of their IP, THIS is why. They only have so many developers internally in Japan, and the first party stuff outside of NCL doesn't always meet their high standards. Remember this the next time you wanna complain about them not releasing a new F-zero or whatever because they don't know what they can add to the formula. In a different timeline Nintendo could be full of suits that don't care about making fun and unique gameplay and think they can get by on brand recognition alone.

[@Catladybug]

This right here 100%

[@xsoultillerx]

the thing is that the heavy handedness is nothing more than an infuriating double standard. like they have zero problems rehashing "A list" titles like mario, pokemon and more recently fire emblem & splatoon till the heat death of the universe but god forbid a "B or C list" titles like punch out, custom robo, star fox or F-zero get that same treatment. a formula is a formula for a reason.

[@ZombieBarioth]

@@xsoultillerx Is it one thought? Most 'A list' titles come out once or twice per console like you'd expect. Fire Emblem went from almost never seeing another release, localized at least, to a mainstay. Splatoon is a newer IP receiving it's 2nd sequel. Heck Animal Crossing was a weirdly popular niche until it saw a 2nd wind with New Leaf. They do precisely the same thing pretty much every games company does, if sales don't meet expectations they assume "nobody wants this". Not knowing what to do with it is polite speak.

[@xsoultillerx]

@@ZombieBarioth what i'm trying to say is that if it's okay for mario or pokemon to be a formula why does starfox need dumb gimmicks nobody asked for or wanted? why does F-zero need to have something new when people just want essentially "F-zero GX 2"?

[@gokillyourselfgoogle]

Could maybe afford to be a little more heavy handed considering how bad people said the first cut of the Mario movie was.

[@Saplingbat]

I absolutely adore that this channel has become so much more than just little tidbits of interesting info, which was great in and of itself, into full on investigative journalism into the games industry and it's past as a whole

[@wideface344]

This channel has gotten so good since you started doing all this personal work like interviews and transition. Amazing work gamers. I’ve been a fan ever since the Facebook page!

[@T3nch1]

Sheik and a bunch of other female characters, including Linkle, are all playable characters in Hyrule Warriors. Honestly an under rated gem of a Zelda game. Probably because it was launched on the Wii U.

[@LoliconSamalik]

It was also ported to Switch. So I wouldn't say it's as underrated as you're saying. It's just that it behaves more like an anniversary game than a main line entry

[@T3nch1]

@@LoliconSamalik Age of Calamity isn't a port, it's much closer to being a sequel. It's also widely considered canon(though with Nintendo's reluctance to make a Zelda timeline I wouldn't put my hopes in official announcements on what is and isn't canon in the first place) meaning it's a main series Zelda game(within the mindset of the customers). And it's a Dynasty Warriors style game which is a very niche audience(Because it's developed by Omega Force, who make Dynasty Warriors). It may have rated very well from critics but I *never* hear anyone talk about it outside of Dynasty Warrior circles. Which is especially surprising for a main series title. And even now you mentioned Age of Calamity, you ignored the first game on the Wii U and went straight to the Switch. Under rated gem, doesn't get mentioned enough.

[@spicysquire3521]

@@T3nch1 the original hyrule warriors is also on switch, hyrule warriors definitive edition

[@ZeChainwarden]

Wow! When I first watched a video of you, years back, it was just about some random facts. But lately you put out videos with sooo unbelievably much research and insight. Just crazy! Keep on going!

[@Ganonslayer13]

Yeah its crazy. Cant imagine what kind of content they will be releasing a year from now lol

[@kamenanew9867]

It's awesome, I remember when they were just a website with static images and basic facts in the worst font ever. Damn didyouknowgaming, we old

[@nickmcnugget16]

@@kamenanew9867 was gonna say it wasn't THAT long ago but then I realized 2013 was almost 10 years ago man I've been following these guys since I was in middle school and now I'm working on a master's degree

[@kamenanew9867]

@@nickmcnugget16 right! Crazy

[@hoobidibahbidibah8119]

It's awesome to see how far they've come, even after people continually harping on them for being repetitive. I do kind of wish they kept up some of their other forays though. I miss DidYouKnowFood :( Though I think they updated DidYouKnowAnime after Berserk's author's passing.

[@Xenogamer]

It’s fantastic to finally get some more clarity on what this project was, and it’s more fascinating a story than I could have imagined! Incredible work rounding up all this information guys!

[@BobbyMiller64]

This was incredibly interesting to watch. Thanks for doing all this research! (Somebody seriously thought Link's Crossbow Training was the future of video games. Okay.)

[@LibraritheWizardOfficial]

That was extremely tone deaf of them, wasn't it?

[@AzureRoxe]

It did end up selling A TON of copies, so in terms of money, it seems to have been an alright idea.

[@LibraritheWizardOfficial]

@@AzureRoxe Honestly, it sold more copies than I would have expected, but still pretty low compared to most of the main Zelda titles

[@TheLaughingMax]

this is why I am subscribed to this channel. instead of spitting out rumours about the artwork you actually investigate and bring bold info. nicely done!

[@sokari134]

This kind of stories and the quality of the production is amazing. I definetly want to see more of this.

[@solidskullz5736]

The sheikah have always been very mysterious in Zelda and I think having a game about them would be petty cool. Even today we still have no idea what happened to them in ocarina of time of what their culture was like

[@bigduke5902]

Because the Zelda series is about gameplay, not endless lore dumps. You're supposed to fill in the blanks with the drawings in your spiral notebook you do between assignments in class.

[@kaialone]

@@bigduke5902 Arguably, it's about both. But really, there is no strict formula for being a true Zelda game in any case.

[@bigduke5902]

@@kaialone Zelda was a place certain gameplay ideas went to that didn't fit into Mario or Metroid. All of the story elements you know and love and obsess over were the very dead last priority on the developer minds when they created any game in the series. The biggest mistake Nintendo ever made was patchworking together that ridiculous timeline everybody was clamoring for when they should've just let imaginative fans of their games fill in the blanks themselves. The reason I loved The Legend of Zelda so much is precisely because they offer little more than a strong premise to hang a timeless formula on. Everybody wants everything to be spelled out for them until everything they love becomes The Phantom Menace.

[@lucasrinaldi9909]

@@bigduke5902 I finally found someone who agrees that the retroactive timeline they made is total nonsense. Otherwise, I agree 100%. The story and atmosphere of Zelda games have always been a background and an argument for the gameplay. As for the story specifically, it has the same structure as a fairy tale: they are recurring themes in a kind of "eternal return".

[@sirmel11]

@@bigduke5902 That's super lame. I'd rather get the story. They should focus on that more.

[@ToastbackWhale]

Great video! Thanks so much to the people who were willing to speak under whatever circumstances they chose!

[@svenbtb]

You guys are a shining example of what games journalism should be. Thank you for all your hard work, this was really interesting!

[@donnieburgess8488]

I can’t put into words how much I love what you’ve done with this channel and the mind blowing content you produce. As someone who’s watched this channel for years and years, I’m more excited than ever whenever you upload. This content is amazing.

[@slxdeprod]

this is an exclusive treasure trove. I'm actually dumbfounded by the absolutely monolithic proportion this channel has grown to over the better part of a decade. 6 or 7 years ago talking to or getting responses from half the people you do (even the ones who don't want to talk) would have been downright unthinkable, a pipe dream. You guys are awesome

[@LeonOwO]

dykg really just putting out quality upload after quality upload, way better then some of the other content on this website that just goes over pretty well known gaming news.

[@QuackersCo]

They should have gone with a battle system similar to Okami, using the wiimote to draw/cast spells. If they were planning on having horde battles and big single boss battles, it would make sense to have some spells that do AOE damage and other spells that work as a coup de grâce.

[@Monafide3305]

Retelling cool trivia facts was already nice, but now DYKG makes headlines on gaming newsites every time they upload. Amazing work!

[@drunkhas]

To state that you guys have up the antee would be quite the understatement, fantastic job!

[@Davi_L]

It’s crazy to me how long this video has been in development considering he mentioned they’ve been researching it from before the leak. I’ve been really enjoying these thoroughly researched videos!

[@skittezraine]

Absolutely love these deep dive videos! Keep up the amazing work!

[@jedimasterpickle3]

Incredible work. Always love these videos. I like the trivia since it's fun, but this....this is something special.

[@Duffy_SSBM]

Love the legit journalism this team is putting out now. I will stay subscribed and keep watching! Keep up the good work!

[@DrNaviMD]

I always wanted FromSoft (Because of Sekiro) to make an OoT sequel set in the timeline where Link lost. I could see a Sheikah being the protagonist. I don't think it is ever going to happen but a man can dream.

[@dude6454]

Ok that would be awesome

[@nicholasmorgan7609]

It would be interesting to get another zelda game where Link isn't the protag. The only ones I've not heard anything negative about were the satellaview things. After that, it was two of the cdi games and we know what those were like.

[@SoIstice]

I'm not so sure on that premise, but I'd kill for any game with more of Sekiro's swordplay, especially one set in the Zelda universe no less. It'll never happen, but that'd be completely badass.

[@noafridman]

Amazing Video! The public being able to get info on this stuff is great!

[@travistorline812]

Really great video! Sad to hear that the game didn’t really have the chops, but still incredibly fascinating to hear the story behind it. This is some A+ work!

[@nooodisaster]

This video is AMAZING, outclasses nearly all video game journalism out there today. Kudos.

[@alexmorenoac]

Wow! The level of research and passion for this in incredible! Cheers to all of the people involved in these DYKG videos and congrats for creating such amazing content 👍

[@Tuffkid42]

This video was really, really fascinating. Thanks so much for all the hard work that went into investigating and reporting on this!

[@AfterTheFirstNever]

Absolutely in love with the amount of effort in videos lately. Truly the best timeline to be alive in!

[@thesexybatman263]

21:38 we might be closer to that these days. If the latest Metroid game literally turned its protagonist into a Metroid, so is the Zelda franchise capable of having Zelda as the main playable character. 22:21 I've always imagined a game featuring a sheikah would work like the Assignment Ada substory from Resident Evil 4, controlling our character to clear the path for the hero to defeat the main baddie while we work in the background.

[@artemis1993]

I dunno about that. When it comes to Zelda, Nintendo is still painfully traditionalistic. Fans have been clamoring for a playable Zelda for years, yet BOTW 2 still shows no signs of a playable Zelda at all. Linkle is still nowhere to be found, despite Nintendo expressing interest in using her in the future. Nintendo still thinks Link should always be the main character because "he's the Hero"

[@Kingofthehillfacts]

Been following the channel for years. Seriously YEARS lol y’all definitely do the effort. Good shit, blood~

[@theBuzz76]

The amount of effort going into these videos lately is so awesome.

[@Shiftarus]

Very interesting stuff. Ended up being a lot more cool info than I had expected. Great work!

[@JoshuaRWorkman]

I think if there were a Zelda spinoff starring her as Sheik, the thing to do would be to set it largely during the 7 year gap between the child and adult portions of Ocarina of Time. Have it start as soon as it would make sense after we see her and Impa fleeing the castle and include her training as a Sheikah and adopting the name Sheik. From there, whatever the actual gameplay was like, the story would be about her activities between the time Ganondorf formally took over Hyrule and when Link emerged from the Temple of Time as an adult, with some synch up going forward such as their meetings outside or near each temple before following her on her continued adventure after leaving Link to go to and deal with each temple. But that's just my opinion.

[@BubblenutMcMuffin]

That would answer the question brought up, "if Zelda is the protagonist then what's Link doing?". Or if they want to do something with a new story, then how about this. So when you beat WW you could play as Link but with the lobster shirt and it unlocked hero mode. What if they made a Zelda game, did the whole story with Link, but then the unlock for beating it would be playing as Sheik in different parts and you'd meet up with Link on the occasions you met up with Sheik in the original playthrough. Almost like a mirror playthrough but from a different perspective. Like what Resident Evil did in some of their games!

[@JoshuaRWorkman]

@@BubblenutMcMuffin Why Wind Waker? Zelda wasn't Sheik in that game, she was Tetra.

[@BubblenutMcMuffin]

@@JoshuaRWorkman No, in WW you unlocked being able to play with Link's original clothes after beating the game. I'm saying if they made a new Zelda, you could unlock playing as Sheik after beating the game, like how you were able to unlock the lobster shirt in WW

[@JoshuaRWorkman]

@@BubblenutMcMuffin Oh, I see. Never finished Wind Waker, didn't like it, watched a Let's Play instead. That said, that would be pretty cool, but I also think there's room enough in the Zelda franchise for Nintendo or someone they contract to make a game starring Sheik.

[@BubblenutMcMuffin]

@@JoshuaRWorkman I only mention playing Sheik after Link because of what, who was it, either Miyamoto or Aonuma where they said, "If Zelda is the protagonist then what is Link doing?". It'd be great for a game about Sheik entirely, but just to circumvent that point they brought up I came up with that

[@koda1111]

Thank you guys for being so informative about the videogame industry, very good video 👍

[@baguskusumaloka]

7:02 Wow that dedication, even interview the janitor for information!

[@Luffy2008]

Amazing video, thanks for all the hard work for putting this story together

[@Psionic-M.M.]

I was always worried what would happen after all the “Interesting” game facts rsn out and DYKG would maybe have to retire. but ever since this new era and ending up with information never seen before I’ve become more impressed by DYKG than ever, I’m loving the work put into these dives of information. Absolutely fantastic!

[@DJIVision]

Thanks MM :)

[@Kale13000]

I've always liked retro since their games are almost always fantastic, and I live in Texas. It's awesome knowing that Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country were made just a few hours' away

[@zetohmunch]

Favorite video this channel has ever done. Thank you for this one!! Amazing work!!

[@flyingoctopus4304]

Thanks for all your hard work to bring this information!

[@steel5897]

Retro has put out nothing but gold, so it's surreal to know how messy it actually was behind the scenes and how bad some of their cancelled games looked.

[@TheAufziehvogel]

There was in fact much worse going on behind the scenes and I'm glad that such videos as this here are showing that not everything was gold they put out. There was a few years back this quote from one of the lead guys and he literally said in an interview how much he hated and despised Metroid Prime and that his company was limited to work on just these games for years. Yeah, the lead people behind Retro were pretty much douches and many things went downhill at Retro. People really want Retro to make a comeback, but if this will ever be the case it would be the same compared to Rare, there simply is no one from the original staff left.

[@faceurhell]

Retro Studios undoubtable had a lot of talent, which is why they've had their talent land at high positions at Sony (namely Bluepoint Games), Microsoft (namely 343 Industries) and 3rd party developers. It is sad they lost all that talent instead of building it up and out on one hand however. If Retro Studios' talent was used more properly with their game development, we would get consistent releases from said studio. We've only really gotten 5 full games from them over the last 20 years (with 3 enhanced ports), the last of which came out almost 9 years ago in DKC Tropical Freeze. That blows.

[@unit220]

Absolutely fascinating. Great investigating!

[@thirstyfajita4115]

dykg videos have gotten somehow even better

[@cormacscanlan]

Absolutely fantastic video. Fascinating stuff, and massive respect for the level of research that went into this.

[@LookAtThisDudeLmaoo]

Dykg are the most legendary video game historians on the internet. Thank you so much for bringing us so much otherwise lost content 🙏🏽

[@SpoookiePie]

I’m late commenting but… Wow this is still so wild… Sammy was my concept art teacher in college for a year. I remember him showing me some of the Zelda concept art on the down low (since I have a big shiekah tattoo on my back). I never thought they’d actually see the light of day, much less be posted and then immediately taken down for nda reasons. I hadn’t heard from/about Sammy in over a decade… until this video. Hope he’s okay after all this.

[@eeloza]

Awesome video and research guys. Keep up the good work!

[@remingtonsloan8331]

You all have been putting out really neat content lately. Thanks!

[@4-kathryn]

Glad I stumbled across this video, I was one of the many folks who ogled at the gorgeous concept art and thought us gamers were missing out on an exciting Zelda by Retro Studios. Glad I know more, in actuality it's not something I would've envisioned myself playing. Thanks, Did You Know Gaming on your reporting.

I would love to see more of this on researching and evaluating cancelled games with devs (just so I could see what happened with Kirby GCN). I'm actually more disappointed with the reveal of the gameplay description than the fact that it was cancelled, there were some speculation that Nintendo intentionally turned it down because they didn't want something that heavy as ethnic-based genocide in Zelda, much less a spinoff or fearing that Retro would take control of the franchise if the game sold well, fans were clamoring for a mature-themed game.

[@claireb210]

I remember coming across this concept art on deviantart a long time ago- there def wasn’t as much as you guys have here but I remember a lot of the character concepts for sheik!!! So cool to see more info on it and I’m super stoked about the heroes of hyrule video!

[@jasondetilly5647]

Great research and video! Very interesting stuff, keep it up!

[@TheLegoNation]

This is epic. Keep up the great work

[@Akuzastar]

The concept art looks so good, the gameplay sounds awful! The classic "the workers don't know anything" move..

[@gusramos7928]

Love the video!! This channel is a great example of videogame journalism done right

[@kds5065]

I love this investigative journalism you all are doing. Keep it up!

[@FangzV]

Sammy's art shows incredible skill and creativity. Zelda or not it'd be fascinating to see in practice if they could have seen it through to something greater. It's a shame that the industry wasn't so palatable for him. I hope he's happy in his current ventures and can still be proud of this work even if he had to take it down. And I hope all of the other artists are doing well too, and hopefully still loving their craft.

[@thedoveabove9878]

You guys do incredible work!

[@lpnp9477]

You guys are kicking ass with these investigative reports. This is some of the best content on YT's gaming side.

[@prestonbyrd8443]

I always enjoy your videos. This is a great expansion on what I had already heard.

[@kirbtastic15]

This was super well done! I’d love to see a similar video about the boo game that also had concept art from retro

[@ChateauLonLon]

Great research guys! Some fascinating stuff here. However I take issue with how you conflate "OoT's bad ending" with HH's Downfall Timeline. I must admit, that would be confusing. However, the developer notes in the video keep referencing the idea of flooded waters. It seems far more likely to me that the "bad ending" here refers to the AT which leads into the Great Flood from WW. The DT, so far as we know, was not even a concept while this game was in production.

[@Jargon7098]

The artwork showcased here is incredible, I would love to play in that world. Majora's Mask took place in Termina, why couldn't we see Link or Sheik in a different realm, tackling foreign baddies we've never seen before? Hopefully something like this comes to fruition some day.

[@WishMakers]

This is extremely impressive sleuthing, another killer job guys!! I'm extremely impressed by your ability to actually land interviews and confirm some long-standing mysteries with sources This is a really fascinating story, and I'm sure some people find the answer...a bit underwhelming but taking a peer into the struggles of the game industry really helps give some context to games that come after it, especially from a studio as skilled as Retro

[@NamelessGamer29]

Why can’t company execs get it through their head that when you tell someone to do their job it should mean doing their job to the best of their abilities and not just simply make your vision for a project that you didn’t come up with?

[@ALDONueve]

Heroes of Hyrule likely became Age of Calamity

[@AwesomeTingle]

really great work on this video

[@macaroniii03]

you guys make the best videos on youtube. i love all the videos you guys post. keep up the great work

[@L4rk3s]

I'm really glad to see the path this channel has gone down. Actual investigative journalism, something we really don't have a lot in the gaming space, especially around the history of video games. Really glad you guys didn't just milk the channel as much as you could and let it fade into irrelevance, if it's possible to keep this quality up, you have a prosperous future ahead of you. Kudos to you guys

[@DeviousJinjo]

You guys are doing incredible work.

[@ChemDevil88]

Such an amazing job, every time! You’re amazing!

[@NostalJackMusic]

This is fantastic work!!

[@nanoglitch6693]

Imagine having a Zelda project in your pocket and then just sitting on it while you focus on...remakes. What a wasted opportunity. It's no wonder most the talent chose to pack up and leave.

[@madnessarcade7447]

This would have changed zelda forever if we got this game I doubt we would have gotten breath of the wild maybe this sacrifice was for the best Idk tho

[@elidasilva5558]

Man, ex retro are what made Bluepoint, amazing and it's so cool they made Shadows and Demon Souls. This video is a great example of acutal game devolepment. Not everything gets off the ground

[@snuffysam]

12:29 …Incredible LOL. Gorgeous concept art with lush environments, a huge air of secrecy around the project, and that was the gameplay. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy-tier build-up & reveal.

[@DafyddBrooks]

loved how you guys put RE remake ' safe room' music in the background :)