Nintendo originally had grander plans for the Fuse ability in Zelda: TotK

One of the big new additions in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the Fuse ability, which allowed you to connect to items together to make a unique tool, stronger weapon or more. That ability opened up gameplay in all sorts of interesting ways, but apparently Nintendo’s original plans would have been even wider in scope.

According to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, one of the Fuse ideas that was dropped was the ability to connect multiple items together. This would go along with the idea that connecting two things would result in a new item altogether. Nintendo even considered letting players choose the orientation of fused materials, but that idea was abandoned as well.

One example revealed by Fujibayashi was a shield that had swords attached on either side. This would have allowed you to cut the grass around you simply by walking around. The director also shared the idea of connecting a Boss Bokoblin blowhorn to your weapon. If you then swung the weapon around, it would make a sound that would let you control other Bokoblins. One final example included the attacking wings to a Zonai Device, which would then allow you to fly freely.