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Nintendo makes us work harderIn Wind Waker Link is asked to collect three pearls that must be inserted into specific statues. These three statues are scattered across the ocean. Did you know Nintendo planned on placing all three statues in a single location?
Not only are all three statues placed together, but the beta island they sit on is conveniently situated right next to Link's next destination — the Tower of Gods. It's possible Nintendo thought this game design choice would be way too easy for players. Ultimately the developers chose to separate all the statues, making for a longer and a little more difficult gameplay experience. On the bright side, the final design did make for a memorable cut scene in which the pearls unite to summon the Tower of Gods from the ocean's floor. Don't worry Nintendo — no hard feelings.
Don't drink it, you don't know where it came from
Are you sick of the way the water looks in Wind Waker? A lot of people couldn't stand the curly, cartoon-styled water and wished Nintendo would have opted for a more visually pleasing look. Well, guess what? Nintendo made at least one alternate design for its vast waters.
In this beta island (looks a lot like Fire Mountain), the water is less cartoony looking and more realistic looking. It operates the same way as the usual water does, with the exception of it not moving. Nintendo never animated it and it will be forever frozen in the state you see it in right now. It wouldn't be surprising to see a similar looking water in Twilight Princess... nah, we know Nintendo can do better than that.
The invisible island
Take a look at this beta island. Wait, that was a joke. Get it? Cause you can't see it.... lame. If you can't tell already, this island is almost completely see-through. We don't know exactly why, but we can guess. It's possible Wind Waker's developers intended the island to be somehow linked to the ghost ship in some vague way. Then again, it's very possible that team Zelda got drunk one night and went ape on the programming code, wreaking havoc on some of the game's textures.
More of the same
There were a few more islands and even a couple "dungeons" we found, but none of them leaked any juicy clues regarding developers' intentions. The dungeons were anything but dungeons. Instead of an enormous structure full of dozens of rooms, we found a couple rooms with nothing more than extremely simple puzzles like the simple task of smashing your hammer on a switch.
All in all, we're disappointed there weren't any more substantial secrets to be found in Wind Waker, like full-fledged dungeons. Despite the lack of hidden dungeons, we're a bit shocked at the amount of material Nintendo left on the disc. Nintendo even had enough space to include the E3 version of Outset Island in the game.
We're not giving up hope though, as we just might find the debug menu in the near future. When we find it, we'll be sure to post the pictures of Wind Waker's hidden water-themed and jungle-themed temples. Riiiiight.
