10 Things Nintendo Want You To Forget About Zelda

3. The "Dangerous To Go Alone" Scene Almost Didn't Exist

There are several iconic scenes throughout the Legend Of Zelda series but one of the most well known comes right at the start of the very first game. When Link appears in Hyrule for the first time, he's weapon-less. A quick trip into the nearest cave quickly solves that as an old man hands him a sword, stating: "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." Link greedily grabs the weapon without a word of thanks and leaves; a series is born. Despite being a short, throwaway scene, it has developed its own legacy. The bizarre nature of an old man handing you a sword is strange enough but for him to pronounce that it's dangerous to go alone at the same time; that's the stuff of legend. Given how everything vaguely popular in this world nowadays gets parodied instantly, you'll find plenty of "dangerous to go alone" humour out there... Perhaps a bit too much. Interestingly though, this scene was never in Nintendo's original plans. Link was ready to begin life in the Legend of Zelda with a sword equipped; it was only when Miyamoto decided to make the game more difficult (amusingly due to testers complaining that it was too complicated) that the sword was hidden from plain view. Apparently there's a bit of an evil side to the great man. From the outside looking in, it would seem weird to be so interested in one very small scene but grabbing the sword in Zelda has become an iconic moment in its own right; the fact that it almost never existed at all is quite shocking.