One of the most iconic video game characters of all time, Link has captured the imaginations of gamers since he first debuted in The Legend of Zelda in 1986. He's appeared in myriads of games, sold millions of units, and inspired some really cool Legend of Zelda cosplay. Now, thanks to leakers, fans have a chance to peek behind the curtain, and see what appears to be the first ever 3D model of Link.
Recently, a huge amount of Nintendo Assets were leaked to the public, with so much information that it's being referred to as a gigaleak. Much of the information has to do with classic Nintendo games, including the SNES and N64 eras. Fans have been combing through the massive amounts of data, looking for morsels of information about their favorite games.
The leak appears to show an early 3D model of Link. While the image is quite crude, fans will be able to recognize the character. The file from witch the image was pulled was also named "Link" eliminating all doubt as to the identity of the figure. The image is from 1994, and was probably used to test the technical capabilities of the SNES. But despite a library of classic games, the SNES never got a 3D Zelda game.
Instead, the first 3D Zelda game is the much beloved Ocarina of Time, which came out in 1998 for the N64, four years after the Link file was created. It's interesting that Nintendo was experimenting with a 3D Link almost half a decade before the actual game came out. This could suggest that there was a scrapped Zelda game for the SNES, or even that Ocarina of Time was originally planned for the SNES, before being pushed to the N64.
Leaks are always a sensitive topic within the gaming community. On the one hand, companies have a right to privacy when it comes to their intellectual property, and often only want to release a finished product. On the other hand, these leaks have provided fans with an incredible look behind the scenes at Nintendo. While this Link may not be as refined as the version gamers are used to, it's still amazing to see an early design phase of this character.