The Legend of Zelda series has always dabbled in alternate realities - mirror worlds, sunken pasts, waking dreams, futures that might have been. This is the story of one such lost future, a dream originally dreamt by the developers of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, kept alive by a fervent underground community of fans, modders and artists. It's the tale of a version of Ocarina of Time which is, somehow, both a tangible fact and an eternally deferred Holy Grail, always quested for, never quite grasped - the reworked "Ura" edition that was once planned for release alongside the Nintendo 64's ill-fated 64DD peripheral, tantalising elements of which can still be uncovered on a Zelda 64 cartridge today.
For its age, the 64DD was a fairly magical piece of kit, armed with internet connectivity backed up by a rudimentary gaming network, a real-time clock and support for rewriteable 64MB magnetic discs. Besides giving developers vastly more storage to play with at a fraction of the cost of the N64's existing cartridge format, it would have allowed players to craft their own textures, characters and levels into games like F-Zero and share them over the internet - years before “user-generated content” became an industry buzzword.
For a while, the 64DD was Nintendo's favourite son: in a December 1997 interview, Shigeru Miyamoto claimed that “almost every” new N64 game in production was designed to make use of it. But the add-on was a troubled project from inception, pegged for a 1996 launch only to wallow in development hell till 1999, when it saw a limited release in Japan as part of a game subscription package. By the time the 64DD was fit for public consumption Nintendo was eager to be rid of it, and the combination of an eye-watering price and N64's relatively modest installed base led to an early retirement in February 2001.
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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's classic tunes are getting a classy treatment with a two-disc vinyl LP called Hero of Time.
Between Emily and Corvo's quest for revenge in Dishonored 2 and Agent 47's episodic antics in Hitman, 2016 has been pretty kind to stealth game protagonists. They're a special bunch, when you think about it - surviving a stealth game requires cunning, poise and nerves of steel. In other words, being the hero or heroine of a stealth game isn't for everyone.
Minigames are interesting things. They're purpose built to distract the player - to give them something different to do for ten minutes in order to break up the flow of the main game. In a sense, they're tacit admissions of the fact that sometimes games - especially long ones - can get a bit monotonous.
The N64 launched 20 years ago today in Japan.
UPDATE 5/4/16 12.00pm: After his recreation of Ocarina of Time's Death Mountain, CryZENx has now remade the game's watery Zora's Domain.
A blind gamer has completed The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - nearly five years after starting the Nintendo classic.
In case you didn't catch it first time round, Late to the Party is a show in which we put a Eurogamer staff member through the ringer with a classic game they've never played.
You know how in action movies whenever the hero meets a blind person they always end up being a highly skilled combatant? Well YouTuber Runnerguy2489 is that guy in real life after completing the entirety of Ocarina of Time blindfolded.
N64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will launch on the Wii U eShop this Thursday.
It's bank holiday Monday, a day on which all the bankers are allowed to come out from behind their side of the counter and roam the countryside for a few hours. At least I think that's how it works.
A team of talented Zelda fans have released a trailer for The Legend of Zelda: The Final Battle, their upcoming live-action film.
The Final Battle will centre around the finale of N64 classic Ocarina of Time, as Zelda hero Link faces off against the evil Ganondorf.
Fairy companion Navi and noble steed Epona also put in appearances.
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UPDATE 23/03/2015 5.47pm: Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has cast doubt on the Wall Street Journal report about a live-action Zelda series coming to Netflix.
In her infinite wisdom, Cher once sang, "If I could turn back time, if I could find a way." Really makes you think. Mind you, the cruel and inexorable march of time is good for some things, like bringing us this bunch of video game remakes that, in one way or another, managed to surpass their progenitors. Who would have guessed back in 1998 that the one thing missing from Half Life was Paul and Barry Chuckle? Technically that's two things, but you get my meaning.
The Awesome Games Done Quick live video game speedrunning event has ended with an impressive $1.5m raised for charity.
Awesome Games Done Quick is back, raising money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation with a week's worth of video game speedruns.
Fans of Nintendo's N64 classic Zelda: Ocarina of Time are trying to remake the entire adventure in 2D for PC.
There's an official The Legend of Zelda version of Monopoly due out next month.
How good would N64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time look if it was made using Unreal Engine 4?
Another musical celebration of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series will be held next year in London.
The Symphonic Legends London concert will take place at the Barbican on 13th July 2014 and feature both the London Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Chorus.
The event is a separate venture from Nintendo's own Zelda concert tour - which began in London in 2011 and returned to the capital earlier this year.
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The original concept for N64 classic Zelda: Ocarina of Time saw the game play out entirely within the confines of Ganon's castle, according to creator Shigeru Miyamoto.
Resurgent dance regime Zumba Fitness has leapt back to the top of the UK gaming chart.
The concept of pressing a button to lock onto an enemy or object is now regarded as something of a standard in video games.
Misty-eyed Miyamoto's Nintendo nostalgia.
Nintendo will unveil a new The Legend of Zelda game at next week's E3 event, a fresh report claims.
Nintendo links to the past.
Gamers will have a fancy new feature awaiting them in Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - an all-fighting Boss Challenge mode.
It seems that the upcoming 3DS revamp of N64 classic Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be more than just a scene-for-scene remake – Nintendo is adding exclusive new content too.
If you're going to start working in games development, you might as well begin on one of the greatest games of all-time. That was the rather serendipitous position Eiji Aonuma found himself in, hired by Nintendo to work on the momentous first 3D instalment of the Zelda series.
Eiji Aonuma has said he won't stop making Zelda games until he's done one that surpasses the renowned Ocarina of Time. He's obsessed. But in a good way.
