It’s a big week for The Legend of Zelda fans, as Breath of the Wild will be getting its first downloadable content pack this week, with some fresh new challenges to take on, and new armor to attain.
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But an interesting factoid surrounding one of the series’ most memorable characters popped up while Nintendo’s team was discussing the forthcoming DLC. It turns out that Midna, who originally appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, wasn’t originally intended to be in that game.
Art director Satoru Takizawa explained that the team finished up work on Wind Waker, and then “there was a secret project we were considering working on before The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.” According to him, it was set to feature a “goblin/devilkin” type of character, an imp that had “the appearance looks like a monster or a child,” which was meant to fool the player since you “can’t tell if she’s enemy or ally.” In addition, he noted that you “can’t really tell what she’s thinking” and that she was “sometimes selfish, but sometimes cute and naïve.”
That project eventually ended up getting scuttled, but the character ended up surviving the design process, and was later put into Twilight Princess. But it wasn’t always that way, as Takizawa noted that before Midna was placed, a placeholder of Tetra from Wind Waker was used, riding on top of Wolf Link.
It’s fascinating to think what might have been if Nintendo kept this project going through, delaying Twilight Princess in the process in favor of something new. That said, Twilight Princess probably wouldn’t have been the same without Midna, and we wouldn’t have seen her in other games, like Hyrule Warriors. But, still, you never know – there’s always room for innovation, and seeing her in her own game would’ve really been something.
The concept art for the cancelled game is below, and really shows off what Takizawa and his team had in mind for the character. It’s pretty rare stuff, so soak it in before you hop into Breath of the Wild‘s newest challenges!
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now for Wii U and Nintendo Switch.
