12 Video Games Created By Accident

Since every Legend of Zelda spends years in development, you'd safely assume each character, mechanic, and area is examined and reworked meticulously. As such, it doesn't seem feasible for a Zelda game to come by chance.

And yet, that's what happened with Link's Awakening. Kazuaki Morita, who worked on the first two LoZ instalments, was hired as an object programmer on A Link to the Past. In his spare time, he would use a Game Boy development kit to tinker with another Zelda-like title.

Because this was an unsanctioned project, Morita never thought his little hobby would materialise into anything major. As such, he inserted many non-Zelda traits into his game, including the Chain Chomp from Super Mario and Wart from Doki Doki Panic.

When Nintendo saw Morita's work, they knew it had potential, and so, agreed to release it as an official Legend of Zelda. This instalment, which became Link's Awakening, was a financial and critical success, winning two Golden Joystick Awards and spawning a 3D remake in 2019, which was also met with universal acclaim.

Not bad for something that started off as a pet project.