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The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets is a little heard of entry to the Zelda series. It was released back in the days for the Super Famicom Satellaview in Japan. The Satellaview was an add-on peripheral to the Famicom working as a satellite modem and allowed players to download and play games over a satellite connection! (Click on the photo below to see how sexy the Super Famicom looked with it )

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Due to this unique method of playing the game, emulating it was no easy task; the game could only be played while it was being broadcast via satellite. Players could only access certain parts of the overworld and specific dungeons depending on what week the title was being broadcasted. The game was played over four weeks and broadcasted for one hour. Progress would be saved to a special cassette tape to transfer over to the next week.

We're now in the 21st century, things have changed and you can now download the game over here. While you're there, you might notice that another game, BS Zeruda no Densetsu, is also available which was a reimagining of the original Legend of Zelda for the Super Famicom.

So hurry up retro fans, Nintendo fans, collectors, Zelda fans and (/or?) tempers before this gets the traditional C&D treatment from Nintendo!

SOURCE

 

[Garblant]

Please redact this. This website has existed for years without any problems. It would be a shame for this site to recieve a C&D after such a long time...

 

[Chary]

Please redact this. This website has existed for years without any problems. It would be a shame for this site to recieve a C&D after such a long time...

It's already all up on Kotaku. Might as well get the attention out, because if anything happens to the project, Nintendo's going to hear it from there.

 

[ShadowOne333]

The translation's been available for a LONG time.
Unless this is the long awaited news about Ancient Stone Tablets finally being available in only one ROM, but I doubt it.
But yeah, it has been available for years, the only news right now is that the guys finally made the fan english dub for the broadcasts.

 

[Garblant]

It's already all up on Kotaku. Might as well get the attention out, because if anything happens to the project, Nintendo's going to hear it from there.

In that case, we should start archiving its pages on archive.org then...

 

[MuscleMuscleHust]

Hasn't this been out for a while now?

 

[osaka35]

The translation's been available for a LONG time.
Unless this is the long awaited news about Ancient Stone Tablets finally being available in only one ROM, but I doubt it.
But yeah, it has been available for years, the only news right now is that the guys finally made the fan english dub for the broadcasts.

Now that's some eshop stuff that'd sell well.

Hasn't this been out for a while now?

from the bszelda website linked to in the OP's article link:
"10/02/16 Finally... the AST MSU1 project has been finished as well!"

 

[ShadowOne333]

Now that's some eshop stuff that'd sell well.

Tell that to Nintendo.
Bastards have a gem right there and they don't even make use of it.

 

[Hiccup]

[nvm]

 

[cearp]

i knew about the bsx alttp but not the ancient stone tablets... cool

http://zeldawiki.org/BS_The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ancient_Stone_Tablets
"The difference being that this time the player does not take the place of Link, but takes part in a new tale set after the events of A Link to the Past."

 

[Garblant]

So it's a hidden game in the timeline? (After link saved Hyrule in Alttp?)

 

[Maximilious]

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MON--- Oh, wait, there's the several download links. This is the first I've heard of this game in the series and I'm excited to give it a shot!

 

[iluvfuzz]

downloaded.... I didn't know this existed.

 

[matpower]

Hmm, isn't linking to the patched ROM technically linking to warez?

 

[migles]

the game could only be played while it was being broadcast via satellite. Players could only access certain parts of the overworld and specific dungeons depending on what week the title was being broadcasted. The game was played over four weeks and broadcasted for one hour. Progress would be saved to a special cassette tape to transfer over to the next week.

i don't understand, can you explain with more detail this part?

the game could only be played while it was being broadcasted (i guess it was unidirectional data broadcasted like a radio station?)

The game was played over four weeks and broadcasted for one hour.

does this mean you could only play for that hour?
i guess nintendo would release a game every offten like a tv show it had it's schedule, after one hour other game would be broadcasted and you could play it for that hour?

how does it actually work? you have to wait some minutes to download the data, which will be saved on ram, or is the game (rom part) actually saved in the cartridge?

 

[ShadowOne333]

Hmm, isn't linking to the patched ROM technically linking to warez?

Not at all.
These ROMs are not being sold nor available anywhere else at the moment, and it is at the moment the only way to play these hidden gems.
Same for all the BS-X games, they were japan exclusive and only during the 92-93 era when the service was available.

 

[_Chaz_]

Why is the SOURCE link Kotaku instead of the actual source website?

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Not at all.
These ROMs are not being sold nor available anywhere else at the moment, and it is at the moment the only way to play these hidden gems.
Same for all the BS-X games, they were japan exclusive and only during the 92-93 era when the service was available.

Just saying, abandonware is a myth. Just because it's not available for purchase doesn't make it legal to distribute.

 

[rad3ds]

Wow, never even knew this existed.

 

[ShadowOne333]

Just saying, abandonware is a myth. Just because it's not available for purchase doesn't make it legal to distribute.

The BS Zelda page has been offering the full ROMs and they never got a C&D in all of these years, same for the rest of the BS-X ROMs.
Besides, you have to take into consideration that these are barely the original ROMs, as they have been modified beyond recognition from the original format with a lot of ASM magic to even make them work, even taking ALttP's assets as basis to recreate some parts.