Yes, given the evidence, there was probably no doubt in your mind that the Zelda manga would be translated, but it lacked one very important thing: official confirmation. Until now.

Viz Media announced at BookExpo America, in Los Angeles, that they would be releasing the ”The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” manga series in English. We finally know that the manga series, of the many Zelda manga adaptations by Akira Himekawa, will be the one based on Ocarina of Time, as expected. Viz Media have previously stated that they will release further Zelda manga adaptations if sales figures are good.

Also on the manga front, Akira Himekawa (actually a pen name for two people) announced on their blog that their next project will be an adaptation of Phantom Hourglass. Which seems a bit odd, considering they never adapted The Wind Waker, of which PH is a direct sequel. But it will be a long time before we see that one in English, so let’s save the confusion for then!

Gowans007 has posted a thread at the criminally misunderstood NeoGAF about an effort to mod Ocarina of Time to allow multiple simultaneous players. An early video of this can be seen at MetaCafe which shows a buggy yet impressive implementation. Currently the mod supports Dark Link vs Link deathmatch, and the mod’s creator Cen is hoping to incorporate a fully-fledged split-screen co-op mode. - - - -.

We will be updating you on any further developments, because we’re really kind and in no way conceited, but you can check out Cen’s original thread here.

Ocarina of Time

The Ocarina of Time section has been buffed up all nice and what. More PNGs, more Lightbox, Random Quotes and of course, more coherence.

A small word of warning, though. Restoration updates will crawl for a few weeks for a couple of reasons; one, I’ve just found a job in London and will have to put up with all that ‘finding a home’ malarky, and two, I’ve hit sections that are going to be completely reorganised, remade or even removed. That last one doesn’t take much time but the former two will, so I apologise in advance.

The Smash Bros. DOJO!! has been updated with a jaw-dropping Ocarina of Time medley that will be used in one of the game’s stages. You know that any BG music that incorporates Song of Storms and makes the Lost Woods music sound so epic is going to be legendary. The announcement of this composition also allows us to make an educated guess that the Zelda-themed stage will be based on a locale(s) from the Greatest Game of All-Time rather than Twilight Princess.

Nintendo of Europe have announced that Ocarina of Time will be coming to Europe’s Virtual Console in the next three months. It is likely to cost 1000 points, a great deal for anyone who has yet to experience what all the “fuss” is about.

Ocarina of Time - Beta Quest

A departure from the usual literary feast this week, because the Captors have had me working the fields as further punishment for my initial rebellion against their regime. While it was wonderful to get out of my dingy chamber at the summit of Elements Towers, my artificially pale skin didn’t take kindly to the harsh summer sun and burns have rendered me immobile. Tater was quite jealous that I was allowed to see the outside world until I pointed out that had he ventured from the Towers, I’d now be living with a chip. When the Captors realised I’d probably be unable to write another textual behemoth, they provided me with a copy of Ocarina of Time and an Action Replay. Using its powers of genetic manipulation I mutated the greatest game in the world, ever, into a glitchy, incoherent monster. With the Moon Jump as my scalpel, I probed the beast’s intimates and created this educational autopsy report, which you can browse here.