‘The Legend of Zelda’ NES Game Apparently Has a Minus World

For years, hardcore gamers have known about the Minus World that can be run through in the original Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System. But did you know that there’s a Minus World in another old-school favorite as well?

Apparently, with some finagling, you can find such a world in the classic NES game The Legend of Zelda. At least, based on what a YouTuber was able to find within it over the past week.

The user, going under the name of SKELUX, posted a video that showcases what this weird-looking world would be like, as you can see above. And, yeah, it’s definitely a lot different from the one that’s in the Super Mario game. Not to mention creepy.

SKELUX starts out by showcasing an interesting glitch in which you can walk out of the map. However, that doesn’t take you to the Minus World. Instead, you’re taken back to the start of the game, like a soft reset.

After doing that, however, he “breaks down all the hurdles in the code,” so to speak, reading both the vertical and horizontal numbers to get it done. It takes quite a bit of effort to figure out; but as you can see, the results are pretty bizarre.

For instance, some of the enemies bug out dramatically, with octopus creatures throwing boomerangs and even changing direction sporadically while flashing. There are also a noticeable amount of tombstones, leaving you wondering if that’s all the people that have tried to beat the levels before as Link.

Even more glitching enemies pop up later on, walking through walls and doing all sorts of weird things. The environment changes up as well, with a startling amount of white walls, as well as letters that appear out of nowhere in caves. It’s…pretty wild.

Oh, and then there’s the part where you can stab the old man that gives you the sword to begin with. Alas, you can’t kill him, as he appears to be immortal. He might go after with you with a vengeance though, so be careful.

You can check out all the action above, and then try it for yourself to see if you can slip into the Minus World. Um, good luck once you get there, though.

The Legend of Zelda is available for play now through Nintendo Switch Online, or it’s also available as part of the lineup on the NES Classic Edition.

Want to talk old-school gaming goodness? Find me on Twitter at @TheDCD!