The Legend of Zelda series has gone in some interesting directions in the 34 years since it debuted, having let players sail across vast seas, shrink down into microscopic worlds, explore fallen kingdoms, and travel through time (a lot). It’s also gone in some pretty dark and weird directions for what’s ostensibly an all-ages series, but if a new leak is to be believed, fans almost got a game that could've been even more so.

It’s been a good week (so to speak) for those interested in Nintendo's behind-the-scenes secrets. Following the large leaking of the Wii’s source code and other notable hardware files, fans are just discovering a huge load of concept art that reveals a number of cancelled Nintendo projects, one of which was a Zelda game that would've basically let players play as Princess Zelda’s ninja alter ego, Sheik.

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The art in question, which comes courtesy of former Retro Studios concept artist Sammy Hall (and was shared this week by Vital on Twitter), was created for a “cancelled Zelda project” that was in pre-production from 2005 to 2008. Said project would have been an action-RPG set in the aftermath of Ocarina of Time in the timeline where Link lost to Ganondorf, and would have told the story of “the last male Sheik's (after a genocidal ethnic-cleansing) journey transforming into the Master Sword. All while the Dark Gerudo are giving their 100 year birth to Gannon.” The idea, Hall said, was to take the “wacky weird stuff” in previous Zelda games and make it “ten times weirder.”

That alone sounds like a pretty wild departure from the tone of most Legend of Zelda games, but Hall’s art makes an intriguing case for it. Across dozens of unique illustrations, it paints a vivid picture of a Hyrule devastated by Ganondorf yet full of rich and dynamic characters and locales. It’s a world that many fans would’ve gladly adventured in, and it’s kind of sad that the project never panned out.

No explanation was given for why the project never saw the light of day, but all in all it’s still interesting to see and imagine what could’ve been. It’s also interesting to see how the idea of basically playing as Sheik has carried on through the years, as Nintendo has considered developing a Zelda spin-off starring Sheik as recently as 2016.

It’s not likely that a Sheik game will be made any time soon, but at least fans won’t be wanting for intriguing new Zelda games in the near future, if The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is any indication.

MORE: How the Sheikah Could Play a Role in Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

Source: Shinesparkers