The old saying is that money does not grow on trees; however, video game worlds typically defy such laws of nature. From question block coins in the Super Mario Bros. series to actual money trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo worlds are filled with creative means to accumulate wealth. Of course, no other currency is perhaps more iconic or familiar than the rupees found in the original Legend of Zelda.
Scattered throughout the land of Hyrule, rupees became a staple in the Legend of Zelda series following their introduction in the first game. But what could possibly have served as the inspiration behind the original rupee design? To answer this question, let me take you back to the year 2014 and tell you how I stumbled upon this tidbit of lore by watching one of my favorite Twitch streamers, Piotr Delgado Kusielczuk.
Better known on the internet as The Mexican Runner, Piotr set out in 2014 to become the first player to beat every single game in the NES library, which is comprised of 714 titles. After nearly three years and approximately 3,500 hours of gameplay, TMR capped off his feat with a playthrough of Super Mario Bros. 3 and earned a Guinness World Record. But as I followed for most of Piotr’s journey, one particular puzzle game caught my eye: Clu Clu Land.
Developed by Nintendo R&D1, Clu Clu Land is an arcade puzzle game that features a character named Bubbles who sets out to stop the evil villain Unira from stealing the world’s golden ingots. The premise is simple and the gameplay charming, but what caught my eye is the design of the golden ingots. As I watched a portion of TMR’s five-hour playthrough, Clu Clu Land’s treasure became more familiar; however I could not recall the exact reference.
It was not until the launch of the Nintendo Switch Online service that the pieces slowly began to fall into place. After nearly 25 years, I was finally able to replay the original Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Switch. I quickly obtained the sword, and on the way to the first dungeon, I stopped by a field to slay a few Octoroks. As I gleefully collected a left-behind blue rupee, the same sense of familiarity struck again.
As I scoured the corners of the internet in hopes of satisfying my curiosity, I soon discovered that my fascination of TMR and my love for The Legend of Zelda series were intertwined. According to Fandom, the sprite design for Clu Clu Land’s treasured ingots is almost identical to the rupees from the original Legend of Zelda. Although the designs are almost the same, it is believed that each was developed from the ground up by Nintendo’s internal studios.
Although Shigeru Miyamoto’s team likely did not use the same development code as Clu Clu Land for the rupee’s design, I cannot help but feel a little disappointed in The Legend of Zelda creator. The sprite work, size, and aesthetic are just too similar. As I pondered the topic of shared video game assets, a grin slowly emerged on my face. Perhaps Miyamoto hinted at this little secret when he included the iconic phrase “It’s a secret to everybody” in the original The Legend of Zelda. For you see, maybe the secret is not the discovery of hidden cave filled with rupees. Perhaps the true secret is that a forgotten puzzle game called Clu Clu Land inspired the original rupee design.
