A new Nintendo leak appears to show an experimental version of Link, in what is likely to be the very first 3D rendering of just one of many that have surfaced over the last few days. Most of them have provided images and details of previously unseen canceled titles or prototypes that fans were not aware existed.
The Legend of Zelda has been one of Nintendo's most successful franchises ever since its introduction in 1986. The series had a number of releases on the NES and SNES but all of them featured 2D graphics and sprites up until the release of the 1998 game Ocarina of Time. Before that, Link had never appeared as a 3D model and it is unclear whether Nintendo ever planned on releasing a 3D version of The Legend of Zelda in the SNES-era.
The latest Nintendo leak appears to show an early 3D model of Link from The Legend of Zelda. According to Twitter Starxxon, who discovered the file, it was likely an experiment that developers used to test the abilities of the Super FX chip and how popular characters might look when rendered in 3D for the first time. The leak is dated from 1994 and, despite its basic look, is seemingly supposed to be the heroic character as its filename is named Link. Starxxon added several colors to help make the various parts of the model distinct.
The Super FX chip was an extra processor that was added to the GSU unit of certain SNES titles. The idea behind the chip was to improve the graphics of games, either by rendering advanced 2D effects or by allowing the use of 3D polygons. Developed by Argonaut Games, it was first used in the 1993 game Star Fox. However, it would later be used in a string of other titles, although was not widely adopted. This is likely a result of developers switching focus to the Nintendo 64 console that launched in 1996.
This latest information dump, along with the other recent high-profile leaks, might seem unimportant at first glance. However, they not only give fans an early glimpse at unreleased games and projects but are also important parts of gaming industry. Such leaks can help show the evolution of characters, the development process behind a popular series, and how studios experiment with franchises such as The Legend of Zelda when new technology comes along. Hopefully, hackers will continue to find more interesting pieces of Nintendo history in the future.
Source: Starxxon
