The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Ascend ability, which lets players move through cave roofs straight to the surface, was originally a cheat code used by developers for a quick escape.
Speaking to Polygon, long-time Nintendo developers Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi said they found exiting Tears of the Kingdom’s long and winding caves so tedious that they would essentially hit a special escape button that was available to them in a debug version of the game.
“The Ascend ability was actually the result of a debug feature that we have in the game,” Fujibayashi said. “When I was exploring the caves, I would get to the destination where I was trying to get to, and once I checked it out, I would just use the debug code to get to the top.
“I thought, ‘well, maybe this is something that can be usable in the game’. And it was right around that time that Mr Aonuma said: ‘It’s a pain to go back.’ And to be blunt and honest, cheating can be fun. So that’s why we decided to drop it in there.”
Tears of the Kingdom has protagonist Link wield four main abilities including Ascend. It’s joined by Fuse, which lets players combine their weapons and gears together in seemingly endless combinations; Recall, which reverses time; and Ultrahand, which allows the manipulation and combining of objects in the world.
In our 10/10 review of the game, IGN said: “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up, expanding a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds.”
We also have you covered with a full walkthrough of Tears of the Kingdom, the best things to do first, a guide on what the game doesn’t (but maybe should) tell you, and handy explainers on how to import your Breath of the Wild horses, how to unlock the full map, and so much more.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.