Other ALTTP Anecdotes
On this page, you'll find anecdotes about ALTTP that aren't significant enough to warrant their own page, but are still worth exploring! The ALTTP project began in 1988, culminating in the game's release in November 1991, which we all know. A lot happened in those three years, and some of it remains in the final game. Let's look at all of it in detail.
The Misery Mire Ghost
In late 1992 / early 1993, an American player found himself stuck in A Link to the Past, and, annoyed, went to blow off steam in Misery Mire, in the swamps outside the 6th Dark World dungeon. He swung his sword everywhere until an unusual sound occurred. He tried again and heard the sound effect of an enemy dying, as if one of them was invisible and located in this large swampy area. This event intrigued him, so he conducted several experiments to identify what it could be. He was the very first person to discover the Misery Mire ghost.
At least, that's what Jeremy Rogers claims, who shared the results of his experiments on the Internet in the early 2000s. While no one can truly verify his claims, what's most interesting is that there is indeed a rather strange phenomenon that occurs in the Misery Mire when attacking in certain spots. For example, if you use the Hookshot in certain places, it will stop mid-flight, and after that, every step you take while using the Pegasus Boots will emit not its usual sound effect but the sound of the Hookshot extending (or retracting, since it's the same sound).
If you use the Fire Rod, you will indeed see a flame persist for a few seconds in the void then disappear, just as it does with an enemy. Sometimes, a bomb, or a set of 4 or 8 appear. So, a bug? Invisible enemy? Easter egg?
This mystery has since been solved, and we now know what it's about. These enemies are actually Zoras in their Dark World version (their official name being クー - Kuu). I personally don't know the reason why they are invisible. Many people think it's because this enemy was assigned to these three positions, but no sprite was attached to it, and their implementation is somehow incomplete.
That said, these enemies are present visibly and tangibly in the swamp, so that somewhat contradicts this theory. I have no proof to support what I'm about to say, but I imagine that since Misery Mire is a separate area from the rest of the Dark World, much like Zora's Domain in the Light World, they wanted to place an enemy specific to this area, and tried to reproduce the equivalent enemy to Zoras that can emerge from water, but in its Kuu version. This would explain why this invisible enemy is sometimes found on dry land, as normal Kuu only appear in water (like "normal" Zoras vs. those in their Domain).
In any case, it's amusing to see the various theories that existed before hacking tools developed, and the different experiments players conducted to try and unravel this mystery. Many of them are documented in the text file Jeremy Rogers wrote on the subject, and I'm sharing it with you too via this link. Happy reading!
A Link to the... future?
Hyrule Historia, the first book in a trilogy of retrospective books on the saga released in 2011 for Zelda's 25th anniversary, presents many concept arts from all games released up to Skyward Sword. Unfortunately for A Link to the Past, its dedicated page is mixed with Zelda 2's and remains sparse despite that. However, we can see a science fiction-themed design proposal for Zelda (which obviously didn't make it to the final game). It's quite interesting to see that the science fiction aspect was considered at one point for the series!
