News: Zelda 'Surprises' In Store For E3

Posted by Aaron Clegg - Nov 18th 2009 20:04

Nintendo starts the hype train a-rolling for Zelda Wii...

Considering the game is realistically still so far away, we're surprised to see Nintendo talking so openly about the much anticipated Legend of Zelda for Wii.

Speaking with ONM, series director Eiji Aonuma reiterated full MotionPlus support for the game, and when asked about the possibility of the series receiving a formula change, Aonuma hinted at a majorly new approach.

"It is something we used to talk about with Mr Miyamoto, and he and I agree that if we are following the same structure again and again, we might not be able to give long time Zelda fans a fresh surprise. So we have been trying something new in terms of the structure of the Wii version of the new Zelda game this time. I am really hopeful that people will be surprised with the changes we have implemented for this Wii version."

And when will we be able to bear witness to these changes? Aounuma adheres to all our expectations and specifically singles out the largest games convention in the industry:

"I hope that we can show you something at the E3 show next year and it is something we are hopeful will be surprising."

Hyped for E3 yet? Leave your comments below...


Source: ONM

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Comments

Toots Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 14:10 || Total Comments: 207
Hopefully it's not a shooter-on-rails or a mini-games compilation ;)

The old structure still pleases me a lot, but I'm always curious to see what Nintendo has come up with this time! I'm a bit reserved though.. After all, don't mess with one of my favorite series!! :)
Sean161 Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 14:10 || Total Comments: 77
Great, i just want a brilliant zelda and to play and remember it like i do with Ocarina of time! What is it that makes this game so memorable and the best one!!!!! agghhhh!!
Guardiandevil Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 14:23 || Total Comments: 353
"Hyped for E3 yet?" I dont want to wait till June! *Opens a dusty chest and a glowing light emanates from within, while a catchy tune echoes in the room. A blue box appears at the bottom of his field of view, escorted by a friendly, yet overly used and annoying "Hey!"
He reads the message in silence: "This is your magical ocarina, known as the Ocarina of Time, given to you by Princess Zelda." He places the ocarina in his hands and stands on the altar. He places the ocarina in his mouth, closes his eyes and begins playing the only useful song he has learned so far:
C-Right, A, C-Down, C-Right, A, C-Down!
As the song somehow is repeated with various harmonies and instruments, he opens his eyes and finds himself in a dark room...* "Dammit! The light's out again!"
Darkflame Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 16:15 || Total Comments: 961
As long as they dont do anything stupid (like remove the exploration/open-plan) nature of the game, I'm fine for structure changes.
Less predictability. Themed areas, but no standard map/key/boss progression.

I also dont mind waiting for news.
I dont even want news at E3. Just let me know 6 months before release...or less.
RawkingRawlings Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 16:27 || Total Comments: 344
I REALLY hope they don't go with Shigsy's original idea of making the game in First Person. I hope the developers were thinking: "Poor sod, he's had one too many sherries again, will ignore that suggestion and stick to what works".
Auntnadia Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 17:03 || Total Comments: 740
not too hyped about news of news that will be news in half a years time.
Flameboy Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 17:11 || Total Comments: 118
I want to see them move away from the traditional closed off dungeons of the series. The best dungeons in Twilight Princess were the more organic and original ones that felt like they were part of the world as whole.
Darkflame Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 17:44 || Total Comments: 961
"I REALLY hope they don't go with Shigsy's original idea of making the game in First Person."

Not sure.
First person certainly makes jumping/navigation/block-pushing harder.

But I can see it working better for sword fighting, aiming, and even puzzles with manipulatable objects.
(ie, motion plus based stuff).

Penumbra-style physics puzzles could work nicely in Zelda.

I guess I wouldn't want it completely first person, but I can see arguments to have more of it first person.
Mako89 Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 19:18 || Total Comments: 421
If it changes people complain, if it doesn't it gets criticized for not evolving... But I tend to see that more with Nintendo titles than any other. I guess they are held to a higher standard.

I trust the end product will be entertaining whatever happens.

In before SOL's babble. ^_^
Tphi @ N-E Says: 
November 18th, 2009 at 19:28 || Total Comments: 426
Just hope it's out before Xmas 2010, although realistically I fear it could be 2011 before we see it.
Seamus_aran Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 22:30 || Total Comments: 249
the last E3 I was hyped for was eight years ago

sort it out nintendo
Pod Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 03:12 || Total Comments: 1037
This is the best announcement they could make to get me excited.

After something as relatively conservative as Twilight Princess, I could really do with a change-up.
NintendoRevo Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 03:49 || Total Comments: 51
To be honest almost 12 years after OoT i still sit down and finish it once a month. So yes i get excited when i hear new about a Zelda game. After all lets face it. I love Nintendo but they follow a road with the Wii that i don't like. The only reason i still have the Wii is because no other company can give me Mario/Metroid/Donkey Kong (maybe!) etc etc. So yes even the slightest of the news about Zelda, the biggest and the best frachise ever imo gets me excited!
Darkflame Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 10:06 || Total Comments: 961
"To be honest almost 12 years after OoT i still sit down and finish it once a month."

You have completed it 144 times O_O
Drift Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 11:01 || Total Comments: 261
1:1 sword swinging has been confirmed over at IGN. Apparently Nintendo is very happy at how the sword folows the players movments.
Major_tom Says:
November 19th, 2009 at 12:19 || Total Comments: 64
Thank goodness! I'm sooo bored of getting the same weapons, and then trawling through the same dungeons with the same themes, the same enemies and the same bosses with the same glowing weakspots! Make the "dungeons" more integrated into the rest of the world!
Solitanze Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 01:06 || Total Comments: 1655
To prevent further decline in the series, Nintendo must have 97.4% average ratio with 70+ editorial reviews in mind (to drop by one to two places the most overrated game of all time in Grand Theft Auto IV). To achieve that feat, the following MUST be in the game:

- SD/High Definition Graphics with Blood - Hopefully Wii HD will be announced at E3 2010 with this game to be available for that system as well as regular Wii. Two retail releases; LOZ & LOZ HD;

- 100+ hours gameplay BARE MINIMUM first time through for the EXPERT/HARDCORE gamer (Excluding 30+ hours of available side quests);

- Virtually 1:1 control with Wii Motion Plus, not TACKED on, but rather an integral part of gameplay;

- Drastic change in setting/plot (i.e. possibly part of it being set far into the future) with an emotionally gripping story that places significant emphasis on the power of the enemy. There must be at least one key character that dies in the game to the shock of everyone;

- Harder difficulty (You fall off a cliff, you die, plain and simple, considerably more powerful enemies, some almost killing you with one swipe and rubies/hearts being a lot more scarce with necessity items being much more expensive. Bosses should take 20,30,40 hits to die, not 3 hit death pushovers);

- Huge array of inventory/items to collect, with some new ones to boot, some hidden, some can only be bought. But all items should have multiple and important uses, not be used for a dungeon and then be useless;

- Orchestrated Music (No Midi) with voice acting for EVERY character (perhaps excluding Link);

- Online multiplayer mode with modes such as head to head swordfighting (see who really is the best hero), Links Crossbow Training style shootout (points shooting gallery & deathmatch), horse racing on Epona(s) and more all with online leaderboards;

- A virtual console code included with the special edition of the game to be able to download every LOZ game released on there for free OR include another Zelda - Collectors Edition disc but with even more than what was on there last time;

If any of the above is missing, the game will be a failure both critically and commercially...
PanzerEdge Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 07:20 || Total Comments: 1
Sometimes I think that even Zelda fans don't know what they want from the next game. It was only until TP that people who wanted a realistic zelda more like OoT realised that if you keep the same format things are gonna start getting stale. TP is the most complete Zelda in terms of story, world etc yet it lacked something. Not that it was a bad game because it wasn't. It is better than OoT for many reasons. The only reason ppl still rate OoT as the best is because of the initial wow factor. OoT was something that we've never played before, much like Mario 64. You will never beat that initial wow factor now so every other game will struggle to compete.
I think the new zelda will go along the Metroid Prime route, being mostly first person but with 3rd person views for puzzles etc.
IronKnuckool Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 07:29 || Total Comments: 23
I think we can safely rule out the Vitality Sensor being used for this game as it would sacrifice the nunchuck which is fundamental to controlling Link... I suspect though the surprise will relate to a fundamental change to the traditional gameplay formula, perhaps even more reminiscent of Sandbox games, Grand Theft Auto style, in terms of the exploration aspect...
Fromouterspace Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 12:01 || Total Comments: 18
PanzerEdge: "TP is the most complete Zelda in terms of story, world etc yet it lacked something."

It's a very shallow game, actually. I wonder how long it's been since you played Ocarina of Time, because that game is blessed with significally more content, vision and talent than Twilight Princess.
Darkflame Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 16:20 || Total Comments: 961
No, it really isnt.
I played TP/Oot back to back.
TP is suppour in every measurable way. The gameplay and controls more refined.Story and directing especially better handled. OoT really dosnt have more "content" either.

But, as PanzerEdge points out very well, TP just didn't have a "wow" factor.
The improvements were incremental, and while it gave us a "best of" not much new was introduced thus its impact on us was less.

OoT, by comparison, revolutionised not only the series, but gaming as a whole.
For Nintendo to make the same impact they dont just need a better game. They need a more important one.
And thats rreeeeaaallly hard.
Darkflame Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 16:42 || Total Comments: 961
Solitanze - You left out quick time events. Everyone loves quick time events.
Fromouterspace Says:
November 20th, 2009 at 18:36 || Total Comments: 18
Darkflame: You know what I'm going to do now? I'm going to have to ask you to come back when you're a professional storyteller, actually working with packaging a story to other people, because before then there's nothing you can offer me on this subject :)
Darkflame Says:
November 24th, 2009 at 06:53 || Total Comments: 961
Actually, I do work with other people on storytelling projects. Im a technical coder for ARG games, amongst other things.

That said though, you dont need any professional skills to see better storytelling and directing.
You only need professional skills to break that down and say -why- something is better.

One simple example any lay person can spot is TP's scriptwriting and characterisation. The secondary characters of TP are infinitely stronger. Specifically Midna vs Navi. I cant rationally see any argument to the contrary.
Not only was Midna much more believable as a sentient character (and a lot less integrating), she also had a clear storyline.
Navi on the other hand...umm...well, comparisons to the microsoft paper clip arnt far of the truth.

The other case of storytelling methods evolving beyond OoT is in the progression of the game itself.

Whereas OoT was (mostly) "go here to collect this medallion", TP gave specific reasons to go to each area with much more subplotting. The artefact you collected from each dungeon was more incidental.
(I would admit though that both games could have done better in this regard overall..."collect X what its" is a very blunt and inelegant story excuse for gameplay).

TP also had a much wider cast overall. The group of adventures in the bar that help you near the end. Its not a big deal, but TP did have a lot more of these sorts of small elements that helped make the world more alive.
With the exception of Shiek, OoT didnt have a particularly cast beyond Link.

You can also look at stuff like camera framing, angles and such. This naturally comes evolving technology and virtual camera techniques, but TP is a much better shot game then OoT.
(harder to pick up specific examples here, but you can see it in the smaller cutscenes quite often).

Really though, I'm quite convinced if you play both back and back you will see how gameplay and storytelling evolved in the decade between them.
(of even just OoT to Majoras Mask for that mater, already theres a big leap in direction and story).

What lets TP down is not that it is a step back, its that its step forward is so slight considering there was such a vaste timescale inbetween.
Darkflame Says:
November 24th, 2009 at 06:54 || Total Comments: 961
integrating should be irritating, sorry.

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 The Legend of Zelda Wii (Tentative) - Click to see game details
The Legend of Zelda Wii (Tentative)

System:
Wii

Genre:
Adventure/RPG

Developer:
Nintendo

Publisher:
Nintendo

Release Dates:
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA

Memorycard:
N/A

Multiplayer:
Unknown

Last updated on:
Jun 4th 2009