Geez, I'm just never gonna stop with these trickles of info.
Painstakingly typed up by someone at the Something Awful forums:
EGM: Will this Zelda be about rescuing the princess again? Eiji Aonuma: Yes, the story will involve Zelda, and the story will involve Ganon, but of course the plot won't be identical to those in past Legend of Zeldas.
EGM: Where does this Zelda fit in the overall series timeline? EA: I can't really go into that, partially because I want to keep it a secret, but also because we haven't decided yet. There are some kinds of...unstable, uncertain ideas we're working on. Depending on what course we choose in terms of developtment, the final ending may change.
EGM: Is it safe to say there is some major gameplay element we still don't know about, like the sailboat in Wind Waker, that will remain secret until just before the game comes out? bA: You're right. (laughs)
EGM: Is that why the game name still doesn't have a subtitle? Will the full name give something away? EA: We really don't know what we're going to do with the subtitle at this point. It could work the other way around--maybe there will be some kind of mystery about the title, and somewhere in the course of the gameplay, you'll realize it's meaning.
EGM: From what we've played, the combat feels exactly like Windwaker-we noticed you can still smash shields, knock off helmets, etc. Do you have any changes planned? EA: Remember how in Wind Waker, if the enemy comes within a certain range of Link and you press the A button at the right time, sometimes Link will do a special attack? We think that worked very well, so we're thinking about intensifying that aspect with this game. We've already added some things, like a jumping downward stab. We're going to incorporate more of those cool-looking performances and a few other changes. People are going to see that this game is pretty different from Wind Waker.
EGM: Besides combat and the graphics, how else will this game be different from Wind Waker? EA: About the setting, in Wind Waker it was the ocean. I really cannot tell you what kind of setting we're going to adapt for this new Zelda, but I can say we are really trying to expand the sense of scale. Before, whenever we made 3D games, we shied away from using too many big objects. If they aren't necessary for specific gameplay ideas, they become a kind of obstacle. But in this game, we are trying to be more realistic. In this horse-riding battle, you can see it takes place on a huge land, even if it's mostly empty landscape. That's why we need the horse from the very begining of the game. We want people to feel that this is a huge land they're playing in, and without a horse, it's impossible for you to explore. Also, sometimes you're going to see something that's just vast, even though it's not involved in gameplay--something huge or something very tall. We want to realize that sense of awe by presenting things realistically.
[omitted some stuff about graphics]
EGM: Let's move on to things we've seen in the two video trailers you've released so far. What's with all the cats, for example? EA: We're thinking of incorporating some ideas where Link can communicate with animals, one way or another. I can't elaborate on specifically how. But the reason you can pick up cats early in the game in Toaru Village, for example, is because we wanted people to understand you can touch the cats, you can play with them. After leaving that impression, it'll become easier for us as developers to have complex ideas afterward, where the players are willing to approach the animals.
[snip]
EGM: And that shadowy figure on our cover with his or her back to Link? EA: Very sorry, but we'd like to keep it secret. People can take your cover as a big mystery. We're not sure when we want to break that infomation--maybe at the next E3 show in May, or maybe not. As a hint, you can also see a kind of castle in the background scenery...
[snip]
EGM: In the movie trailer and on our cover, we see a wolf howling-can you tell us anything about that? There's some speculation maybe Link is a werewolf... EA: Hmm...sorry, confidential.
no subject
Painstakingly typed up by someone at the Something Awful forums:
EGM: Will this Zelda be about rescuing the princess again?
Eiji Aonuma: Yes, the story will involve Zelda, and the story will involve Ganon, but of course the plot won't be identical to those in past Legend of Zeldas.
EGM: Where does this Zelda fit in the overall series timeline?
EA: I can't really go into that, partially because I want to keep it a secret, but also because we haven't decided yet. There are some kinds of...unstable, uncertain ideas we're working on. Depending on what course we choose in terms of developtment, the final ending may change.
EGM: Is it safe to say there is some major gameplay element we still don't know about, like the sailboat in Wind Waker, that will remain secret until just before the game comes out?
bA: You're right. (laughs)
EGM: Is that why the game name still doesn't have a subtitle? Will the full name give something away?
EA: We really don't know what we're going to do with the subtitle at this point. It could work the other way around--maybe there will be some kind of mystery about the title, and somewhere in the course of the gameplay, you'll realize it's meaning.
EGM: From what we've played, the combat feels exactly like Windwaker-we noticed you can still smash shields, knock off helmets, etc. Do you have any changes planned?
EA: Remember how in Wind Waker, if the enemy comes within a certain range of Link and you press the A button at the right time, sometimes Link will do a special attack? We think that worked very well, so we're thinking about intensifying that aspect with this game. We've already added some things, like a jumping downward stab. We're going to incorporate more of those cool-looking performances and a few other changes. People are going to see that this game is pretty different from Wind Waker.
EGM: Besides combat and the graphics, how else will this game be different from Wind Waker?
EA: About the setting, in Wind Waker it was the ocean. I really cannot tell you what kind of setting we're going to adapt for this new Zelda, but I can say we are really trying to expand the sense of scale. Before, whenever we made 3D games, we shied away from using too many big objects. If they aren't necessary for specific gameplay ideas, they become a kind of obstacle. But in this game, we are trying to be more realistic. In this horse-riding battle, you can see it takes place on a huge land, even if it's mostly empty landscape. That's why we need the horse from the very begining of the game. We want people to feel that this is a huge land they're playing in, and without a horse, it's impossible for you to explore. Also, sometimes you're going to see something that's just vast, even though it's not involved in gameplay--something huge or something very tall. We want to realize that sense of awe by presenting things realistically.
[omitted some stuff about graphics]
EGM: Let's move on to things we've seen in the two video trailers you've released so far. What's with all the cats, for example?
EA: We're thinking of incorporating some ideas where Link can communicate with animals, one way or another. I can't elaborate on specifically how. But the reason you can pick up cats early in the game in Toaru Village, for example, is because we wanted people to understand you can touch the cats, you can play with them. After leaving that impression, it'll become easier for us as developers to have complex ideas afterward, where the players are willing to approach the animals.
[snip]
EGM: And that shadowy figure on our cover with his or her back to Link?
EA: Very sorry, but we'd like to keep it secret. People can take your cover as a big mystery. We're not sure when we want to break that infomation--maybe at the next E3 show in May, or maybe not. As a hint, you can also see a kind of castle in the background scenery...
[snip]
EGM: In the movie trailer and on our cover, we see a wolf howling-can you tell us anything about that? There's some speculation maybe Link is a werewolf...
EA: Hmm...sorry, confidential.