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Lakitu
Posts: 1,276
Join Date: Dec 2004
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Hyrule Times is back: An ancient IGN tradition awakes. IGN
May 13, 2005 - Hyrule what? Yes, I know -- it's been a few years since you've seen the name of this column grace the front pages of an IGN site. But with Nintendo about to unveil its latest adventure in the Legend of Zelda series, it's time to once again bring back our 100% Zelda-dedicated column. Enjoy.
Where were we?
It's been three years since Nintendo unveiled its last Legend of Zelda game in playable form at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The game, remembered as the most controversial entry into the series since Nintendo shook up the formula with Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, initially garnered the same kind of attention an Uwe Boll-directed Tango and Cash movie sequel starring Carrot Top and Tingle would: stunned faces, anger, and disbelief. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, with its cartoon-style character design and cel-shaded worlds, was meant as a return to the "good old days" -- when games didn't have to sport hyper realistic visuals and a movie-like feel to suck players in. Instead, many seasoned players took it as proof that they had begun to outgrow the company that turned them on to videogaming in the first place.
Some voices from inside Nintendo claim that Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto asked "why are they not clapping?" when the new Wind Waker look was met with stunned silence at the initial unveiling. When you expect chocolate ice cream and you bite into a scoop of liverwurst instead, "pleasant surprise" are usually not the words that come to mind to describe the experience (I say "usually," since I'm sure there are some readers from the UK shaking their heads in disagreement now). There's a time for liverwurst and there's a time for chocolate. And GameCube gamers were in the mood for something sweet.
Still, Wind Waker was a success. With around 1.9 million copies sold in the US alone, Wind Waker has already surpassed Majora's Mask as the second most-popular Zelda console game in recent history. You can chalk that up to the power of the brand, the amazing pre-order bonus offer at launch, an increasing audience of younger GameCube owners, or the fact that gamers couldn't help but fall in love with the game once they tried it, but Wind Waker found an audience just like the titles before it. But it never managed to generate the same kind of excitement as the N64's The Ocarina of Time (3.5 million units sold in the US) and -- take it from someone who has covered Nintendo since the mid-'90s -- pre-release buzz was oddly muted and occasionally even hostile. Perhaps it was the vindication of the game's commercial success mixed with a little bit of old-school stubbornness, but Nintendo stuck to its guns and sprung another surprise on gamers: the 2D multiplayer game Four Swords Adventures for GameCube.
When the Four Swords Adventures debuted, response was much more positive. Gamers and press said "oh, neat" and pondered how much fun it would be to play Link to the Past with four players. But when the game hit shelves, relatively few gamers actually bought it. At just over 300,000 copies sold in the US, Four Swords Adventures became the worst performing Zelda title in the franchise's history (CDi games not included). Whether it was planned as a small "filler" game all along or expected to perform better, Four Swords Adventures still made more than $15 million -- a nice chunk of money considering the no doubt cheap development cost of a game devoid of voice acting and complex visuals. But the question has to be asked whether Four Swords Adventures added anything to the brand, or further drove home the niche appeal of many recent Nintendo GameCube games. Nintendo quickly severed the purple umbilical cord between Game Boy Advance and GameCube, but continued to preach about "simple games," a cel-shaded future for Zelda, and the fallacy of pursuing better visuals over innovation. That same year, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for PlayStation 2, the antithesis to Nintendo's "simple is better" mantra became the best-selling game of all times.
Why am I telling you all this? Because it's time to get to the chocolate, and eat it, too.
Nintendo's unveiling of a more grown-up looking Zelda universe came at just the right time to stop the Zelda franchise from losing its universal appeal. Head online in an Xbox Live game like Forza and look at some of the user-made decals or browse through a few gamertag names and you'll quickly realize where a good portion of Nintendo's fanbase disappeared to over the last two years.
With more and more power brands emerging, gamers are no longer a captive audience. If the look of Zelda doesn't please them, they won't wait around and will play Fable, Halo, or Final Fantasy instead. Nintendo's games can no longer just "play right" -- because, let's face it, creating compelling gameplay has never been Nintendo's weakness. No, games have to look right and sound right, otherwise gamers will grab the next loudest thing. Luckily, The Legend of Zelda GCN roared and rampaged... and hopefully, it'll do a bit of the old ass-kicking and name-taking when we get to finally play the game next week.
Turn the page to read about our expectations for the next Zelda.
With the exception of the teaser trailer releases, Nintendo has been very tightlipped about the next Legend of Zelda. Even our friends over at EGM, who were invited to NCL's Kyoto offices, were only given a fleeting look at the game, with the core gameplay elements and even the title still a mystery. Rather than regurgitating some our earlier guesses and trailer analysis, I figured it'd be nice to offer our different takes on the game to jumpstart our classic Hyrule Times column on IGN. What elements of Zelda are the Nintendo fanboys at IGN most excited about? What are you expecting from the E3 demo?
Matt: Well, the visual enhancements are obvious. The gritty, realistic style, the bigger world, the detailed characters, the impressive lighting and particle effects -- there's no denying that these are all significant graphic improvements over previous Zelda games. I take these upgrades as a given.
I think the new Zelda will, mechanically speaking, feature a combination of tried-and-true elements and all-new additions. The video trailers released seem to show a game that controls very similarly to other Zelda titles. A lock-on fight system appears to be in place. Link once again fishes. He can hang onto chickens and glide. He starts out in a village and advances. He rides a horse. It's easy to fall victim to the misguided impression that there's -- graphics aside -- not a lot of changes.
I don't think that's true, though. Rather, I believe Nintendo took a look at what worked in the past games and decided to keep it or to embellish upon it. That makes enough sense. No need to fix what isn't broken, after all, and I think most gamers will agree that the control mechanics in the Zelda franchise have rarely, if ever, been broken.
I don't just think there are new, innovative elements -- I know there are. You can already see them in screens and trailers for the game. Link can ride all sorts of new animals and he can fight while riding them. In some cases, enemy characters will flank the hero as he rides through a vast plain and an epic horseback battle will ensue. I'd say that's a pretty significant new mechanic. Also, we know from interviews with Eiji Aonuma and Shigeru Miyamoto that this time around Link will be able to interact with animals on some fundamentally important level. He's seen carrying cats and walking with dogs in screens and videos. I'm confident that this will have an important role in the game -- and possibly one that separates this Zelda from any other.
What I'm most intrigued by, however, is the wolf mechanic. Link changes into the beast. I don't know how this plays into the storyline or the adventure, but I'm really, super psyched to give this mechanic a try. I can just imagine running around huge worlds on all fours, howling at the moon. I wonder if Link will be forced into a change when the moon shows itself? Maybe he's cursed. Perhaps the storyline is influenced by the movie Ladyhawke. In that film, the hero of the story turned into a wolf by night and the woman he was in love with turned into a hawk by day. The two of them could only see each other in human form for a split second before one of them turned into an animal. How cool would it be if the Link and Zelda dynamic functioned in a similar way? I really can't wait to find out if it runs that deep or if Link can merely change into the wolf whenever players desire. Either way, I'm itching to try it out.
Juan: I'm expecting a blend of old-school Zelda elements with new, currently unknown gameplay elements. I'm also expecting the new Zelda game to squeeze every last bit of visual pizzazz from the GameCube, much in the same way Resident Evil 4 did. Nintendo will most assuredly reveal the game's new theme, along with the official title. I'm not sure what this new "hook" may be, but I'm guessing it's a number of things, which may or may not include the ability to communicate with animals. And I'm hoping for a playable boss fight, preferably on horseback. In short, the new Zelda will most likely deliver an experience along the lines of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, only greatly enhanced with an array of new elements. And considering Ocarina's status as ultimate Nintendo classic, it's a pretty safe bet anyone expecting to be blown away by the new Zelda on GameCube will be.
Personally, I'm most excited over the prospect of exploring Hyrule again on horseback. Trekking across the fields of such an expansive, beautifully realized gameworld has got me really hyped.
Peer: The name Ocarina of Time comes up again and again when describing the new Zelda, but if Majora's Mask was any indication, Eiji Aonuma likes to throw people curve balls. Go watch one of the old trailers for the second N64 game -- would you have guessed that the game had a three-day dynamic that involved righting wrongs in the past to unlock new areas and spying on NPCs to fill your stamp book? We already know the game will feature its fair share of chicken gliding, fishing, horseback combat, dungeon spelunking and puzzle solving, but I'm also expecting something twisted and new. Don't get your hopes up, though, not everything will be unveiled at E3.
I'm confident that Nintendo will soon confirm that Link can turn into a wolf (a very Majora's Mask-like gameplay dynamic, don't you think?) and reveal a return of the "princess in disguise" subplot like in Wind Waker or Ocarina. But I also think we'll see some interesting uses for Link's horse beyond its role in battle or traversing the landscape. Given Link's starting job as a "cowboy," it'd be great to see a cattle drive or similar non-militaristic mini games to add to the already large cadre of Zelda in-game distractions. I'm actually most excited about Link's ability to ride other animals. Usage of vehicles has become a staple element in most FPS or action adventure games, but few titles pulled off the feel of horseback riding with the elegance as Nintendo's 3D Zelda titles. I've got to think that if Link can jack a Bokoblin's boar, he might just be able to tame some of the nastier creatures that appeared in the series (Dodongo or Volvagia, anyone?).
While I doubt Nintendo will add more RPG elements like an experience system or a deep weapons system like the current crop of hack'n'slash games, I'm pretty convinced the Lord of the Rings-inspired visuals hint at a bigger focus on story. With Link's development from simple village boy to warrior once again in the foreground, I'm also expecting a much bigger focus on the female lead in the series: Zelda herself.
Craig: I'm not expecting gameplay innovation in any way, but don't take that as a negative. If they apply all the game design elements from Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask into a less cartoony, more realistically-styled environment, I'll be absolutely content. The latest game in the series, Minish Cap stuck with successful formula but enhanced it with a basic, subtle shrink and grow element that opened up the game's potential, at least in setting and storytelling. If there's something equally subtle in the new GameCube game, great! But it's the classic Zelda design that I'm looking for, not some brand new control scheme or hugely different gameplay mechanic. I like Zelda the way it's been for years and hope it sticks to the familiar structure as faithfully as possible.
Fran: It's easy to look at the screenshots and trailers that have been released and just say that this game will be a more beautiful Ocarina of Time. In fact, at first glance that's precisely what it is. However, having played Ocarina of Time, directed by Miyamoto, and Majora's Mask, which was directed by Aonuma, it's pretty apparent that Zelda isn't stuck in a rut.
The team strives to do something new. Thank goodness they brought back the style of Ocarina, but I think there will be a lot more to the new Zelda than just rehashed ideas. I expect that production will play a big part in enhancing the experience. They've already hinted at the new camera angles for the dungeons, and I think they have the potential to just feel more intimidating, complex, or whatever Nintendo wants you to feel about them. Likewise, my expectations for the boss battles are pretty high. They need to meet and exceed the kind of visceral experience that God of War recently delivered on.
Admittedly, those expectations are a little superficial, but Zelda has always been about all those little things that add up to a much larger whole. But, beyond that new level of polish, I think that Nintendo is in fact going to introduce something in the same vein as the ocarina, the three-day cycle of the planet's end, or the wind waker. Likely it will have something to do with the wolf, which is of course the much-gossiped-about theme behind the game. Link seems to have a more intimate connection with creatures, and I believe that mechanic will play a part in the adventure.
So, in a nutshell I expect more polish, more production values, and definitely some new gameplay elements we haven't seen, but I also don't feel like I'll see something that will knock me out of my seat and make me think, "Woah! Why didn't anyone else ever think of that?" Meaning, I don't expect something truly innovative.
I don't think that's a bad thing, though. Innovating from 2D to 3D, the door was wide open, but now it's all about how you take the ideas you had in 3D and expand on them, polish them.
Hit the next page for a Zelda-only mailbag.
Reader Mail
I looked on Best Buy's site and found a pre-order page for the next Legend of Zelda. They have a tentative release date of 10/2/2005. Do you think that's a good guess?
Any such release dates are just educated guesses. You see, most retailer's systems require them to enter a numeric value for the data field -- otherwise the systems would catch fire and instantly burn part of the country. Hence, you'll see plenty of month/1 (beginning of the month), month/15 (middle), or month/31 (end) dates, all of which are tentative guesses by retailers so they can get the games in the system and start preorder programs. Nintendo has always released its big holiday game right before the Thanksgiving break in November. While it's not out of the question that it could move the game ahead to get the jump on the competition, the fact that October 2 is a Sunday pretty much means it's another date approximation. Nintendo's official line: we haven't announced a date yet.
-- Peer
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Hey guys! Love the site. ANYWAY, I noticed in the newest trailer for the new Zelda that there is a statue of some sort in the beginning, shown in half-angles and all mysterious like.
Any theories about any significance this might have? I was thinking that maybe, rather than a statue, it's a stone person. You may recall Gannondorf's fate at the end of Wind Waker: A sword in the skull and being cast in stone. Just a thought. Care to reap off of this? I haven't read about it anywhere, but I'm thinking it's gotta be significant SOMEHOW, or why would it be in the trailer and all? ANYWAY... Post some thoughts on this!
- Raya
A good theory -- if our new adventure does in fact follow chronologically after Wind Waker. But somehow the area surrounding this stone statue looks a little too bright and happy to hide such a dark secret. And there's no sword stuck in the guy's head, either. Personally, I think we're dealing with a wood creature (both LotR's ents and Zelda's Deku creatures come to mind).
-- Peer
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I know you guys get tried of hearing rumors from game store clerks but I have to ask. I was at my local game store today trading in some games for Resident Evil 4 and the clerk ask me if I wanted to pre-register a copy of the new Zelda game. Seeing how much of a fan I am of the Zelda series I of course did. But he also told me that by advance ordering I would also get a version of Wind Waker with the realistic style of graphics. An updated version of the game with no cel-shading. Is this old news, BS, or something that is going to be announced at E3? Thanks for your time. Good luck at E3!
Wow, we're STILL getting these emails. Curse you, Shoe! Seriously, don't get too excited about this. The EGM folks ran a particularly nasty April Fool's joke this year and there are still quite a few people who believe it to be true. Creating a realistic version of Wind Waker and effectively re-making every single environment, effect, and creature in the game would not be a small task. Please let your local game store clerk know that it's a joke to protect the innocent.
-- Peer
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Hey Matt-
Appreciate all the work you do on the site etc. My question is, is there any chance whatsoever that Zelda will have a widescreen mode for those of us with 16:9 displays?
Don't flatter Matt too much. He's really a horrible person who just updates the site because I make him do it. As you no doubt know, Matt's proud owner of a frivolously large widescreen plasma TV -- so the "widescreen, progressive scan" question is usually the first thing out of his mouth when he interviews a developer. "Hi, I'm Matt. Widescreen, progressive scan?"
You should note that Nintendo's in-house developed games almost always support 480p, but never widescreen. Given the fact that the newer GameCube systems on the market don't support the Nintendo component cable anymore and all screenshots shown thus far are in 4:3, it's pretty much a given that Nintendo is optimizing the game for the standard screen format. It isn't all that easy to create a graphically intensive game that features such sweeping vistas and get the framerate to be steady in two different display modes. With the push for high-def visuals with the upcoming crop of new consoles, I'm sure you'll get your 16:9 Nintendo experience starting next year, though. Until then, I hope your set is good at faking the ratio.
-- Peer
Hello I never wrote anyone before about stuff like this but I saw this month's issue of EGM with link and some guy with his back turned to link and thought out of the blue could that be Link's father? Maybe it's just me.
It'd be nice if Nintendo had Link meet up with his daddy -- but I don't think the artwork shows a direct relative of Link's (unless there's some George Lucas twist brewing). The last shrouded character to appear in Zelda artwork behind Link in a similar mysterious fashion turned out to be not a "he" at all. I know that solution is a bit obvious, but I doubt the identity of the character is meant to be such a huge secret.
-- Peer
With that, I leave you to enjoy your weekend. Make sure to hit IGNcube's front page next week when Nintendo gives the world a first hands-on demo of Zelda GCN (along with the official name). See you then!
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Didn't they say the starting town was near by, and traded with, Hyrule?
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