Debug rooms have a long history in video games and are often an integral part of game development. Created by the developer, often as a means to access and test certain game elements, debug rooms are not supposed to be accessed by the player, but intrepid folk who dig into a game's coding can sometimes stumble upon them. Sometimes it takes years for secrets like this to emerge, like the recently discovered Donkey Kong 64 cheat code. One dedicated person has found and pieced together a debug room for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild from obscure elements in the game's coding.
Even though The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is closing in on its fourth anniversary, players are still unearthing new discoveries in the game. Buried deep in the game's files, the same player who found and recreated the debug room, also stumbled across an unused Shrine in Breath of the Wild. While there wasn't much to be found in the unused Shrine, it likely served as a template on which the actual Shrines could be built or tested.
Now, with the discovery of the debug room, fans get a look into how the developer worked through and tested some elements of the game. The modder, Waikuteru, took the files associated with debug room and created a version of the room through modding, with the room taking the form of one of the many Shrines found across The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Called the MarioClubTestDungeon, the debug room features weapons and items for the player to interact with, a mock boss fight, and even an interaction with a monk to obtain a spirit orb. It's certainly not one of the hardest Shrines in Breath of the Wild, but it serves the purpose of testing the process of completing a Shrine.
The recreation of the debug room is incredibly impressive, considering the room itself no longer exists in the retail version of the game's code. All that remains are the "actor flags" for the objects included in the debug room, so Waikuteru had to recreate the debug room using those descriptors as a guide. Breath of the Wild has dedicated fans however, so it should come as no surprise that someone would attempt to rebuild the debug room. It was just recently that a Twitch streamer finished the first ever 100% speedrun of Breath of the Wild without taking damage.
Fans are still committed to the game, even after four years. With players still learning new tricks and making new discoveries in Breath of the Wild, it makes waiting for the sequel a little easier.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now for Nintendo Switch.