While everyone knows about the First4Figures Zelda statuettes, there has been some Zelda merchandise released recently, mainly due to the release of Phantom Hourglass in Japan, which may have gone under the noses of everyone but the avid collector. As I so happen to be an avid collector, I have typed up a quick guide to the recently released merch for your enjoyment.

For those who don’t like Japanese jargon, Gashapon are small figures which can be bought from Japanese capsule toy machines, or in small “anonymous” boxes. These Twilight Princess themed figures by Yujin, which were released last month, look great. The set of four includes Link, Midna atop Wolf Link, Zelda and Zant. They require some simple assembly, but nothing more than snapping on the arms and legs. To buy them at the extremely cheap price of $2.99 each, try Play Asia, though you will have no choice over what figure you get. Or if you want the complete set, I’d recommend you try Ebay, but don’t blame me if you get swindled!

Twilight Princess Gashapon - Play Asia

Phantom Hourglass Link Plush

This little guy is sure to be a hit with the female fans, and possible male fans with a feminine side too! A plush of Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass Link by Sanei, he comes in two sizes, small (18cm) and medium (32cm). He’s set to be released to screams of “Kawaii!” everywhere sometime in September, and costs $12.90 and $19.90 respectively on Play Asia.

Phantom Hourglass DS Cases

These Phantom Hourglass themed DS Lite cases by Sanei come in two varieties, green and blue, both with a different graphic, and cost a mere $8.90 on Play Asia, so you can keep your DS safe with style.

Phantom Hourglass Pen Set

Want to be the envy of your entire school? Now you can, with this set of two Phantom Hourglass themed pens! Made by TakaraTomy, they are $8.99 on Play Asia.

Phantom Hourglass Pen Set - Play Asia

Of course, note that Play Asia isn’t the only place you can buy these items, but I’d recommend it due to their cheap prices and postage. Also, note that these items are Japanese imports, so you won’t find them in Toys R Us. You’d need to find a specialist shop if you want to buy them without the aid of the magical internet.

After their announcement that Super Smash Brothers: Brawl, a game which would require very little translation, would be delayed to 2008 in Europe, Nintendo of Europe proved today that they are not fully incompetent at releasing games. The European release date of the hotly anticipated Wind Waker sequel, The Phantom Hourglass, was announced today as October 19th, only a few weeks after the American release. So Europeans, mark your calendars, and try to resist importing for eighteen days!

Hi, I’m Espy. As of now, I am joining the newswriting team on ZE. It’s great to work on one of my favourite sites, and I’ll be very careful to keep sarcastic banter to a minimum in my posts. To be honest, this post is just to make sure that I know how to use the newswriting tools, but it serves a good purpose!