This is part 3 of the wiki page series of some interesting trivia about the game franchise; The Legend of Zelda. This covers A Link to The Past.
Regional Differences[]
There are some regional differences between the Japanese and international versions.
In the Title[]
The Japanese version of the game is titled "The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods"; this was changed in international versions, possibly to avoid religious controversy.
Is it a Church, or something else?[]
What you may know as "The Sanctuary" is known only as a church in the Japanese version. It even had a unique exit door tile. Both were taken out possibly (again) to avoid religious controversy.
Stop, Magic Hammer time[]
The Magic Hammer (which is found in the first Dark World Dungeon) is called the "M.C. Hammer" in the Japanese version, a reference to the one-time rapper Stanley Kirk Burrel (BKA MC Hammer).
Glitches/Unused content[]
The game contains some glitches or unused content.
A Contest that went unused[]
When the game was in development, a one-time video game news magazine, Nintendo Power, held a contest where the winner would have a cameo appearance in the US version of A Link to the Past. The winner of this contest was Chris Houlihan, and there was a secret room with a blue-colored floor with blue rupees and a telepathic tile, which says Chris Houlihan's name. Unfortunately, this room would only be accessible through certain glitches or a game enhancer. Even worse is that the Chris Houlihan room would be removed entirely from all re-releases and downloadable versions of the game.
Canon Knight[]
You face knights in the Light World; usually, they're armed with either swords, bows & arrows, spears, and bombs. But there was also a knight armed with a canon, and it also had AI (artificial intelligence). But it was scrapped, and the reason is unknown.
Constantly flying boomerang.[]
In early versions of the game, and if you can, you can make the boomerang fly continuously in Kakariko Village. This remains in all re-releases and downloadable versions of the game.
Glitchy Speedrun[]
Certain glitches in the game allow any player to go straight to the credits by walking through walls.
Unused Letter[]
In the early stages of the Japanese version, there was an item in the game called the letter, which was similar to the item used in the first LOZ game.
Quirky things[]
This game also contains some quirky features.
Powerful Net[]
The Bug-Catching Net can also deflect Agahnim's energy balls; this would be referenced in Ocarina of Time, where empty bottles can deflect the energy balls that Phantom Ganon and Ganondorf throw at you.
Mario gives you rupees[]
There are portraits of Mario in certain buildings in Kakariko Village that, if you pull on them, will drop rupees.
Early Game concepts[]
There's an early gameplay concept in the game that was eventually scrapped.
Link's Party[]
According to Shigeru Miyamoto, A Link to The Past was originally going to have a party of characters to play (like in the Final Fantasy Games) which have their appearance and abilities. One would be Link, a fighter character, a wizard, and another female character.
Mythological References[]
There's a reference to Japanese mythology in this game.
Namazu helps out[]
The Catfish-like creature in the Swamp of Ill Omen that you throw the circle of stones in will appear and give you the Quake Medallion. This references a specific piece of Japanese Mythology where the Catfish demon named "Namazu" would sometimes escape his "circle of stones" prison and causes Earthquakes in Japan. A Japanese God named "Kashima" places a skull-shaped stone into the circle of rocks to silence him.
Well, that will do it for this page. You can continue reading by clicking here. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.