Zelda's Adventure - Release Date Investigation
The release date for Zelda's Adventure is a confusing mess, both before and after the proper date was figured out. Initially, everyone believed that Zelda's Adventure was released in the United States on June 5th, 1994... or an unmarked date in 1995. It was also believed that its European release was a year later, on June 19th, 1995... or just 1995, or the European date was used as the United States date instead.
One day, I decided enough was enough and decided to figure out when, exactly, Zelda's Adventure was released. Turns out, none of the dates were right, and the United States release never even happened. Here's the evidence...
Sections:
File Date Checkup -- Usenet Posts And Date Delays -- Magazine Reviews And Guesswork -- The ACTUAL Release Dates
File Date Checkup
The first order of business was doing a general file date checkup on the disc, mainly to knock out any dates that occurred before the last file was updated. To reuse a passage from my Hotel Mario release date investigation:
"A cool feature about CD/DVD-based games is that the files stored on their disk reflect the last time they were updated. For example, the released version of Zelda's Adventure had its last files updated on (SPOILER), while Link: The Faces of Evil's latest file date was June 24th, 1993. This is handy as it both points to when a specific game went gold and disproves any "release date" that occurred before it."
So, what did I get?
The released game had its files last updated on March 27th, 1995. A very interesting date indeed, as it invalidates the 6/5/1994 release date but NOT any of the 1995 dates. While I did believe that the 1995 dates were made up by some Internet rando as a best-case educated guess, there was still a chance they were true. Zelda's Adventure could've totally been released on June 19th, 1995 in the United States or Europe.
That is, until I discovered the things in the next section.
Usenet Posts And Date Delays
It's well-known that Zelda's Adventure had a rough development cycle. This interview with James Belcher noted that the game took two years to playtest - longer than its development - partially due to various terrain collision bugs. It makes one wonder about what the game's release date could've been had Philips been more forgiving during the test process.
One day, I decided to check out a Usenet group dedicated to the CD-i, mainly to see how fans of the console felt about the Nintendo games. That was when I found two invaluable posts relating to the release date of Zelda's Adventure. I'll archive their text on this page and leave links to where you can view the originals.
The first post was dated to April 13th, 1995, and is authored by an anonymous ex-Viridis employee giving the CD-i Usenet group users some information regarding Zelda's Adventure and why it took so long to come out:
You're in luck. I just happen to have worked for the company that created
"Zelda's Adventure" for Philips. The game was supposed to have been
released in November '93, but Nintendo screwed around for a long period
of time before they finally signed off (Zelda is a Nintendo creation).
As far as I know, the game hasn't hit the shelves yet, but should within
a couple of weeks. All the bugs are taken care of and they simply had to
add a Trademark symbol after "Zelda" in the title. As far as the game
goes... It's OK. No great shakes. One interesting thing about the game is
that no 3-D rendered creatures or locations were used. Everything was
actually modeled, using clay, rubber, cardboard, and the like. So the
game has a real organic look to it. Pretty good sound, too.
I haven't yet seen much of the game, as I didn't work on it (but for
those of you with CD-ROMs for your PC, you can now purchase "ECO East
Africa" for which I DID create graphics), but the word from the folks at
the company is that it's strictly okay. Ask for a demo before you think
of shelling out the cash for it. I no longer work for the company so I
have no reason to help them make money.
-Uzer
This might seem like some random person making stuff up about the game... until James Belcher replies on the 20th with this:
You all are probably tired of seeing my blank posts, but my newsreader was
munging up my replies.:-/ Anyway, Zelda's Adventure will not be out in a
"couple of weeks." Nor is the delay in it's release solely attributed to
Nintendo "screwing around." Sorry, but I had to set the record straight.
So, while the OP did get some things wrong about the game's delays, a few things were left uncontested. Notably, this included the segments about the delay being partially due to bugs and the game's original release month being November 1993. This lines up to a month after the commonly-assumed dates for Animation Magic's Zelda titles, and this is further backed up by the manuals of 1993 CD-i titles having all three Zelda games in their catalog section. It's also interesting that James said that the game wouldn't be out in a couple of weeks. While it doesn't outright dismiss the June 19th, 1995 date, it does make its trustworthiness just that more shaky.
Alright, now for the second post, posted on April 25th, 1996 and covering a Philips CD-i press release from two days prior. This one is a doozy - while I've archived the whole thing for posterity, you only need to read its first two paragraphs. Also, don't access any of the websites or call any of the phone numbers. They're likely dead by now...
Among the entertainment titles is Zelda's(R) Adventure, the second CD-i title featuring this popular Nintendo(TM) character. The brave warrior journeys deep into the Seven Shrines of the Underworld fighting the evil allies of Gannon who has captured Link(TM). You must help Zelda restore the Age of Lightness to the magical land of Tolenac. Zelda's Adventure will retail for $39.99.
MicroMachines is the CD-i adaptation of the popular miniature car arcade race game from Codemasters(TM). With nine turbo-charged vehicles to choose from and thirty-six challenging race circuits, the disc is packed with hours of fun. Designed for one or two players, the disc also sells for $39.99.
Monty Python's latest interactive game, Invasion from the Planet Skyron or something completely different comes with a warning that it is only suitable for people with a very strange sense of humor. The title is based on Monty Python's Flying Circus and contains fourteen different games and puzzles within the interactive adventure. Not surprisingly, this title which sells for $34.99 contains some material not suitable for young children.
Three more titles round out the additions to the Philips CD-i games line-up. Rise of the Robots(TM) ($39.99) is an action/fighting game placed in a future world where technology is out of control. Lost Eden(TM) ($39.99) is a beautifully rendered adventure game set in an alternative prehistoric past where man and dinosaur coexist. Steel Machines ($34.99) is a fast and furious shoot-em-up game with a soundtrack to match.
Philips latest addition to its multimedia reference catalogue for CD-i is The Concise Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus. In addition to the usual features available in the printed version, which is the world's best selling English language dictionary, you can hear the correct pronunciation of 52,000 words. An added bonus is a game of Dictionary Facts and Fiction for up to four players, making this title an extremely good value at $49.99.
Weather Kitchen is a delightful title for children ages 3-8 featuring original music and animation. The children are taught the "ingredients" of four types of storms: hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, and thunderstorms. When they "cook" them up, a full screen full motion color video of the storm is shown. A coloring book complements the educational aspects of this disc which sells for $29.99.
The two other titles that complete the new offerings are Word Play ($29.99), a game for 2 to 4 people in which players collect letters and create words to gain points, and Gnomes ($39.99), a narrated, interactive version of the beautiful storybook featuring the watercolors of Dutch artist Rein Poortvliet.
The titles will be available through selected retailers and via Philips Media Systems Gold Club direct mail program. CD-i owners who are not members of the Gold Club can join free of charge by calling 800-340-7888 from anywhere in North America. The Dictionary and Weather Kitchen are also part of the CD-i School 2000 program for education. Educators can learn more about School 2000 by calling 800-265-8086.
Philips Media Systems, Washington, DC, is the headquarters for all North American initiatives supporting Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-i), a leading television-based multimedia platform for business, education and entertainment. The organization is responsible for the marketing and distribution of CD-i hardware, software and tools to the corporate, school and consumer marketplace. The group also develops CD-i authoring tools and publishes K-12 curriculum software. Philips Media Systems is an operating division of Philips Electronics North America Corporation. (http://www.philipsmedia.com/systems)
A lot to take in, huh? Let's get the obvious out of the way - this press release indicates that Zelda's Adventure was supposed to be released in the second quarter of 1996 for $39.99, at least in North America. This is an entire year after what everyone thought the European release date was. Furthermore, when I looked up every title apart from the obvious one, I noticed that they were almost ALL Europe-exclusive CD-i titles. Weather Kitchen was the only exception, and it appears to have been an independent release instead of through Philips.
This, to me, strongly suggests that this batch of CD-i titles was cancelled, and that Zelda's Adventure never made it to the USA in any form. A shame... had it happened, it might've been possible to buy a copy under $1,000 on eBay.
As one last side-note before we continue, I found two old previews of Zelda's Adventure that gave earlier and ultimately outdated release periods for the game. They are from the July 1994 issue of Computer and Video Games and the August 1994 issue of the British CD-i magazine by Haymarket Publishing:
As you can see, they gave out release months of August 1994 and October 1994, respectively. None of them stuck, but if either of them did, then it's almost guaranteed that Zelda's Adventure would've made it to the USA.
With all that out of the way, let's use that 1996 clue to figure out the game's European release date.
Magazine Reviews And Guesswork
Let's turn to the 1996 issues of our favorite European CD-i magazines - CD-i by Haymarket Publishing and CD-interactief. We'll start with the former as I can read its issues without needing to rely on a translation.
There are only a handful of CD-i issues circa 1996, as the magazine ceased publication later that year - whether at the end of it or after its October issue. Luckily, they were able to review Zelda's Adventure before then, in the April 1996 issue. And, just like the above previews, it gave out a release date:
Now, remember, this is a UK publication; they write the day of a date before the month. This gives us a UK release date of May 10th, 1996, which lines up very well with the Q2 release window planned for North America. The very next issue, dated June 1996, is the first one to show Zelda's Adventure in the CD-i Catalogue. Magazines are typically written the month before their cover date, so this would've been May. Lines up well, don'tcha think?
We'll turn our attention to CD-interactief now. Being in Dutch, it was a bit difficult to track down a mention of any title's release date, let alone the one for Zelda's Adventure. Furthermore, when it reviewed the game, it didn't out a release date.
It took me a while until I noticed this passage in the January 1996 issue:
Essentially, the CD-interactief magazine got a multitude of letters asking when Zelda's Adventure would release, and they answered all of these questions by stating that the game would come out in the Netherlands in February. Now there's also a chance that it was silently delayed, as it took until the May 1996 issue for Zelda's Adventure to appear on the CD-i best-sellers list:
This could mean that the game ended up coming out around March or April 1996. However, it's also possible that the undated chart was taken from earlier in the year, or that the game sold slowly at first. Given that there wasn't any mention of a date delay in the CD-interactief issues between January and May, the February date does seem more plausible at the moment.
With these three 1996 sources, I think it's safe to say that Zelda's Adventure was released in Europe throughout 1996. Certain regions have more specific release dates, but other regions are impossible to narrow down without any known reviews.
The ACTUAL Release Dates
With my evidence presented, I conclude this CD-i research article by displaying - in big letters - the proper release dates for Zelda's Adventure:
United States: Q2 1996 (CANCELLED)
Europe (general): 1996
Netherlands: February 1996 (most likely)
United Kingdom: May 10th, 1996
Even some simple release date research becomes a rigamarole in the wacky world of Zelda's Adventure. Jeez.
Return to top
Last updated: October 4th, 2024.