Retro Replay Retro Gaming History, Reviews & Emulation
Before Epona carried Link across Hyrule, Nintendo had talked about giving Mario a horse in Super Mario 64. Picture that for a moment: the plumber, the cap, the overalls, and a horse waiting outside Peach’s castle. Yoshi would have had questions.
It never happened. But Yoshiaki Koizumi hadn’t lost interest in the idea, and when he worked on Ocarina of Time, he was determined to make horse riding happen there. Mario went on collecting stars on foot. Link got the reins.
An idea Koizumi wasn’t ready to leave behind
In Nintendo’s Iwata Asks interview, the Zelda team is asked where Epona came from. Toru Osawa remembers the horse arriving suddenly. Koizumi steps in: they’d already been discussing one during Super Mario 64.
“But it didn’t happen for Super Mario 64,” he explains. For Zelda, he got ready to make it work. So the idea that led to Epona started with Mario, even though the interview doesn’t describe a finished Epona model sitting unused in his game.
That makes the what-if all the more fun. Mario already spends his adventures flinging himself off things with very little concern for his safety. A horse might have been a welcome break for his knees. Whether she’d have appreciated his driving is another question.
Link had somewhere worth riding
Once Epona was in Zelda, she had room to make an impression. Walking across Hyrule Field gets you where you’re going. Riding across it feels different: the hoofbeats, the speed, the pleasure of heading somewhere just because you can. Suddenly that wide stretch of land is an invitation.
Miyamoto wanted that feeling too. In another Nintendo interview, he remembers growing up with Westerns and imitating galloping horses with overturned cups. Getting to ride one in Zelda meant bringing some of that childhood excitement into the game.
One last fence between you and freedom
The game makes you earn your getaway. Link wins Epona from Ingo at Lon Lon Ranch, only for Ingo to shut the gate. Winning the race apparently wasn’t enough to make him a good sport. The way out is over the fence.
Miyamoto originally imagined an even bigger escape, with Ingo setting the ranch on fire and Epona jumping against the flames. Then someone asked what would happen when Link came back later. Fair point. Dramatic exits are easier to plan when you don’t have to keep the place open for business.
The fire went, but the leap stayed. And the horse idea that never found a place in Mario became one of Zelda’s best memories: clearing that fence, landing outside, and having all of Hyrule ahead of you.
Sources
- Nintendo: Iwata Asks, original development staff, part 1, chapter 5, for Koizumi’s account of the horse idea during Super Mario 64; the supplied shortlink resolves here.
- Nintendo: “Everyone Loves Horses”, for Miyamoto’s childhood memories and the ranch escape’s development.
- Retro Replay: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, for the original Nintendo 64 packaging.
More #RetroReplayFYI
Follow another influence into Hyrule with the Indiana Jones story behind Zelda. Or explore a different Mario what-if: Arnold Schwarzenegger being approached to play King Koopa.
