Zelda
Image: Nintendo

The western packaging for the first Zelda game is the stuff of legend today, but we almost got a different version - as discovered by gaming historian (and Time Extension contributor) Martin Lindell.

Lindell has discovered a flyer that was sent to retailers back in the 1980s to showcase upcoming NES games, and while most of the games have the covers they launched with, Zelda and Punch-Out!! both display different variants.

What do you think of this cover? It's certainly in keeping with the theme of those early black-box NES titles, but does it have the same impact as the cover we actually got? Let us know with a comment below.

[source twitter.com]