Zelda: TotK and Super Mario Bros. Wonder patents surface

Nintendo diehards know that the Big N’s patents are the place to glean details of what’s to come. Sure, there are plenty of patents for ideas that never see the light of days, but others end up getting utilized in Nintendo’s biggest titles. That’s why people keep deep-diving to see what they can find, and today brings us a pair of interesting finds.

Fans have discovered patents related to both Super Mario Bros. Wonder and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and while both were filed in 2023, they only recently became public. Once again, it seems Nintendo felt some of the mechanics and methods they used to create these games was worthy of locking down, and patent offices appear to have agreed.

With Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Nintendo sought to patent the “ghost” mechanic that is utilized in the game’s multiplayer mode. Specifically, the patent relates to when a player makes contact with an item to revive someone else. As for Zelda: TotK, the patent there is related to Link’s Ultrahand ability and how it allows the player to “glue” items together when building.

Long story short, these patents were both crucial for specific mechanics in their respective games, but the details were locked down until both games arrived in Switch players’ hands. That made sure we didn’t get to learn any game details earlier than Nintendo wanted!