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Wednesday 16 June 2010
In Zelda news
It’s tradition every year for Nintendo to host a roundtable conference at E3, where developers of the recently-announced titles discuss and expand on them. This year, among others, Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s famed game designer, and Eiji Aonuma, who having directed pretty much every Zelda title since Majora’s Mask, is the most important man in Zelda today, were attending to discuss, you guessed it, Zelda.
So what was revealed? Lots. So here’s a quick recap about went on.
First, some plot details were revealed. In previous titles, Link has been everything from a ranch worker, to an island dweller, to a forest lurker. This Link comes from the sky. He’s an inhabitant of the floating island Skyloft. When we meet him in the game, he discovers that there is a whole new land below his feet, and finds it rife with evil. During the game you’ll travel between Skyloft and this land below (Hyrule?). This adds some meaning to the game’s title, and also the skydiving Link in the trailer. It also may have something to do with Aonuma’s hint from a few months ago that the game will feature flight.
The new art style, and its inspiration, were discussed. Miyamoto revealed that he found inspiration in nineteenth-century impressionism - the likes of Monet, as he claimed to be a fan of the art from that era. He said it not only affects the backgrounds, but the enemies, who have exaggerated dimensions and movements. The lush sky is a tribute to Cézanne. You’ll have to excuse my ignorance, as I have no idea who Cézanne is.
They also discussed the soundtrack, which you’ll be glad to hear is going to be fully orchestrated for the first time in the series. Miyamoto said that after Mario Galaxy 2, it wouldn’t be right not to do the same for Zelda.
Some gameplay aspects were expanded upon, too. The screen-consuming Wiimote HUD which was permanently attached to the side of the screen in the demo can be turned off, so hooray for that. They also said that maps will be easier to follow, as they felt previous games used maps which were difficult to read. Finally, they mentioned that the game will use MotionPlus and the sensor bar to track the player’s actions, even if you’re pointing away from the screen.
They also shed some light on the mysterious Ocarina of Time screenshots that appeared out of the blue yesterday. Miyamoto acknowledged them, and said that they were having a look through their back catalogue for titles that could use a 3DS version, by adding new features or simply giving them an extra dimension. Referring to Ocarina of Time, he said he enjoys the openness of Hyrule Field, and wanted to see how it looked in 3D. He confirmed that the game, and Star Fox 64 3D aren’t just tech demos, but they are being “actively developed”. Whether that development will result in a game on store shelves remains to be seen, but after revealing so much, I don’t think the fans will let them get away with not doing it!
And lastly, in reference to the remake, Aonuma revealed possibly the best news of all. He admitted that the game’s Water Temple stage was tremendously difficult (if you found it easy, you’re lying), and said that the new game could be improved by making it easier. He mentioned the touch screen could make the ability to change boots quicker and easier. Hear that? The Water Temple is going to be easier. Playing Ocarina of Time won’t make you bald.
*UPDATE* The existence of Ocarina of Time 3D has now pretty much been officially confirmed, thanks to this handy tweet from the official Nintendo twitter account: http://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/16268409393
So you can look forward to your 3D classic!
~ Espy
Tags: Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, Events, E3, People, Aonuma, Miyamoto
Tuesday 15 June 2010
In Zelda news
NeoGAF forumer Cygnus X-1 has gone through the trouble of downloading and resizing the screenshots from Nintendo’s E3 media pack, which we’re uploading here. The game looks absolutely fantastic, a real return to form and this time playing to the strengths of the Wii hardware.
Rumours are abound that Nintendo are also planning on releasing an Ocarina of Time 3DS remake because of some screenshots found on their E3 press site. Now, these screenshots are definitely real, so the question remains, is it a full game or just a tech demo?
The screenshots are beautiful but also fairly sparse, with Link so far only shown riding around Hyrule field. It’s also odd that Nintendo haven’t yet said anything about this as yet.
Edit: It’s confirmed! A full 3D remake! Awesome E3.
~ Nexus Zero
Tags: Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, Events, E3
In Zelda news
After the little hint about a Zelda 3DS game at Nintendo’s E3 press conference, we knew that a Zelda game would be coming out on the platform. But did we expect news so soon? A set of six images have unexpectedly and unexplainably popped up on Nintendo’s E3 site, and they look very much like a graphically enhanced Ocarina of Time. Could this be a 3DS title? If so, it means we’ll be experiencing what is often thought of as the series’ highest point in portable form, and in full 3D. That’s pretty exciting!
We’re still working on the new site, so we can’t share the screenshots with you here, but one of the many places you can view them is on Kotaku, here: http://kotaku.com/5564395/rumor-3ds-gets-ocarina-of-time-remake/gallery/
Thanks to Nate for telling me about this!
~ Espy
Tags: Ocarina of Time, Events, E3
In Zelda news
While Nintendo showed off the next title in the Zelda franchise at their press conference, it was the reveal of the 3DS that really stole the show. A new DS with a glasses-free 3D, widescreen top screen, vastly improved graphics, a motion sensor, a gyro sensor, a 3D camera, so you can take photos in 3D, an anologue stick… it goes on. And if that wasn’t enough of a bombshell as it was, president Satoru Iwata showed off the first 3DS game - a new Kid Icarus title, which fans have been demanding for years (view the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWp2MXmFRnQ). Nintendo really ended the show with a bang. While the console doesn’t have a release date yet, their swiss army knife of a handheld is officially in the wanted list of many a gamer.
But one of the smaller hints about the console was in this wacky “trailer” for the console It involves Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto getting sucked into a DS and getting chased by Bowse… actually, you’re never going to believe me, you need to watch it for yourself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oLvWE7xUAM). Notice the Zelda imagery? I think we can assume that there will be a Zelda game for it. Well, that goes without saying, but this counts as a semi-confirmation of that fact. Is the game being worked on right now? The 3DS is still a while away, so we will need to wait to find out.
So, who wants a 3DS? I do.
~ Espy
Tags: Events, E3, People, Iwata, Miyamoto, Reggie
In Zelda news
Well, Nintendo’s E3 press conference just finished, and the general reaction on the twittersphere is overwhelmingly positive. After two shaky years of showing shovelware and mediocre third-party titles as major games, Nintendo have learned their lesson, and showed a huge number of new titles from well-known first-party franchises. The new 3DS was shown, Donkey Kong, Kirby and Kid Icarus all make a triumphant return, and Iwata and Shigsy got sucked into a DS and chased by Bowser while Reggie looked on and laughed. No joke. But we’ll get onto that in a later post. Because there’s one reason why you’ve came to our lovely new Zelda site today: the next Wii Zelda game was finally announced, Skyward Sword.
The game was the first thing to be shown at the conference, kicking off a huge stream of announcements. Two short trailers sandwiched a gameplay demo led by Shigsy (who made an appearance with his now signature “I’m announcing a Zelda game” Master Sword and Hylian Shield). So where do we start? The game has an art style which is directly half-way between the cel-shaded cartoon graphics of the Wind Waker, and the dark, atmospheric Twilight Princess - the character designs are similar to that of Twilight Princess, but the whole thing has been given a pastel shading effect, leading to a very soft, but very colourful feel. This is bound to polarise fans, so form your opinions now.
Two main areas were shown in the trailer - a colourful mushroom-themed land (possibly part of the overworld), and a generic lava cave. Shigsy talked us through the game’s controls in the mushroom area. As announced, the game uses Wii Motion Plus - Shigsy first showed off the sword, which moved more or less as he swung it. Showing how this would be useful in the game, he fought with chomping plant enemies who had to be slashed across their mouth, and moblin-type enemies that used their sword to block in certain directions. Holding the sword to the sky powered it up (Holding your sword skyward, eh? That sounds familiar). He also demonstrated the shield, which can be used to block and reflect attacks, the slingshot, which works pretty much as you’d expect, and the bombs, which can be dropped, thrown and (new to the franchise) rolled along the ground. All the weapons had new motion controls based around the Wii Motion Plus.
Then things started going wrong. The dreaded Technical Difficulties started to arise as Shigsy wrestled with the new bow mechanics, which he joked were due to too many people using wireless - ring a bell?
Finally, he showed off two new weapons - the Beetle, which looks kind of like a flying variant of the bomb-chu, and the whip, making its first appearance in a home console Zelda. He then closed the demo by apologising for the technical difficulties, but assuring the press that when they play it on the show floor, they will see the controls for themselves. He confirmed that the game will be in development for the rest of the year, and won’t be out until 2011.
And that was that. A very brief glimpse of the next Zelda game. We saw a lot of how the game will play and feel, and the art style, but there is still a lot to show. For example, we still have no idea about the plot and scenario, and we were shown very little of the game’s world. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes next, as Nintendo begin the trickle of facts, screens and trailers.
You can view the whole press conference here (http://www.gametrailers.com/e3/livefeed/nintendo) - the Zelda segment starts at one hour and two minutes, and lasts about 17 minutes. Sorry for the ugly link - as a mere newswriter I still need to work out how to work this new site!
We’ll be writing some more about the conference in the coming hours. But right now I have a pizza on the way. Stay tuned!
~ Espy
Tags: Skyward Sword, Events, E3, People, Miyamoto
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