![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
It's bandwidth killing time again!
For those of you who don't frequent game news sites (yet still care):
New Zelda screens and info from Spanish magazine
The original article w/ translated notes here.
Reactions:
- Well, it looks like it's gonna be a new Link after all. Growing older from 16? How... much further can you go? (And those are some weeird starting clothes. XP)
- 2-3x bigger than OoT = SEX =D~~~~~~
- Cuccos are back! ...Or rather, chickens at least. They're not white like the traditional Cuccos...
- How is it that Spanish magazines/sources always get these first scoops, instead of Japanese or English? o.O
- Need bigger clearer scans~~~ Edit: And there they are. lol pwned
- Woah hey! He has the Triforce mark on his hand already, like in Oracles and Adventure of Link... Must be that 16-years-old thing.
- Hmm, Link has pointy ears, but the other villagers don't. Hmmmmm...
Edit: Allow me to reiterate:
P.S. Wi-Fi online Zelda DS also = hot
Edit edit: Updated again with even bigger scans.
New Zelda screens and info from Spanish magazine
The original article w/ translated notes here.
Reactions:
- Well, it looks like it's gonna be a new Link after all. Growing older from 16? How... much further can you go? (And those are some weeird starting clothes. XP)
- 2-3x bigger than OoT = SEX =D~~~~~~
- Cuccos are back! ...Or rather, chickens at least. They're not white like the traditional Cuccos...
- How is it that Spanish magazines/sources always get these first scoops, instead of Japanese or English? o.O
- Need bigger clearer scans~~~ Edit: And there they are. lol pwned
- Woah hey! He has the Triforce mark on his hand already, like in Oracles and Adventure of Link... Must be that 16-years-old thing.
- Hmm, Link has pointy ears, but the other villagers don't. Hmmmmm...
Edit: Allow me to reiterate:
--> SEX <--
P.S. Wi-Fi online Zelda DS also = hot
Edit edit: Updated again with even bigger scans.
no subject
Sorry, it really bugged me that Epona wouldn't go anywhere near water in Ocarina or MM.
And now I can see the Triforce on his hand, I completely missed it earlier...
Balrog = change of underwear. Jesus H Christ that thing is scarier than Frank the Mutant Bunny in Donny Darko!
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.
no subject
Hands-On Report - Part One: TOARU VILLAGE
Ah, the tranquil hamlet that kicks off nearly every Zelda game. The one thing that stands out about Toaru Village (Japanese for "unspecified"--the English name is to be determined) is, like everything in this new Zelda, the sense of realism. And we aren't just talking about the graphics: townspeople go about their business, cats and chickens wander here and there (one attacking the other if they get too close), birds scatter out of the tall grass as Link approaches... The sense of scale is impressive; maybe it's just a reaction to Wind Waker's squat characters, but everything seemed taller, bigger, more spread out.
As in the last game, Link starts out without a weapon or his trademark green outfit. "If someone happened to see this scene without knowing what game it is," says Aonuma," they probably wouldn't even guess it was Link in The Legend of Zelda." Upon closer inspection, however, one detail is a dead giveaway: on the back of Link's left hand are three dark triangles--Zelda's Triforce symbol.
"Stick it to 'em"- Eventually Link gets a wooden sword and learns combat in a familiar scarecrow-bashing tutorial. As before, the L trigger locks on targets and B performs different attacks, depending on the direction of the analog stick. But if you don't lock on you can now swipe your sword as you move around, without stopping (handy for clearing tall grass, no doubt), and Link has a special coup de grace: press A for a jumping downward thrust to finish off enemies you've knocked over.
"At home on the Range"-- Another early minigame teaches the player how to ride horseback. As in previous games, you can simply push in the direction you want to go for a slow trot or hit A to apply the whip for a burst of speed. You can also see where "Cowboy Link" (Aonuma's name for our hero before he earns his green duds) gets his name--the goal here is to round up and force all the grazing animals into the barn before time runs out. It's a little tougher than you might think.
"Flying the coup"- Good news: Chicken-gliding is back! Just grab one of your fine-feathered friends, find a tall building or cliff, and jump off--Link floats slowly down, which enables him to reach areas he couldn't otherwise. This technique came in handy during our demo: a pregnant woman asked Link to retrieve a baby basket on the other side of an otherwise unscalable fence. After getting it, he slowly (move too fast and you'll be scolded) escorts her back to her home with it. What a guy!
no subject
"Horseback Attack"- Horseback riding has an expanded role in this new Zelda--as Aonuma tells us, fast transportation is basically a requirement from the very start of the game because of larger environments. The second scene we played proved his point with a full-speed boss fight; Link chased down this big-horned baddie atop his bigger-horned steed, first slashing him to remove his armor, and then pelting him with arrows. A very cool and very challenging concept for a boss.
"Fighting The Horde"--Other mobile enemies swarmed Link, trying to distract him from his true target. Horseback combat felt smooth and natural; as always, you can lock on to targets or go into first person and aim manually, slinging arrows with X (or the R trigger for exploding bomb arrows). Link's head tracked nearby foes, and he pivots in whatever direction you point to attack with his sword. He could also dismount anytime and the enemies would circle, making passes until he knocked them off their battle-boars or killed them right in the saddle. (Aonuma told us that in the final game, Link can even steal some of the bad guy's rides.)
The scenery was lovely--rolling hills with the shadows of clouds floating past--but sparse, with only a fence now and then to break things up. Then again, most of our attention was on the enemies--seven or eight (counting thier boars) on screen at once, without a hint of slowdown.
"Steeple Chase"-- As in the earlier cattle-driving minigame, you can make Link's steed trot in any direction by pushing on the analog stick. You can also whip his horse with the A button for a boost (an action again limited to six times, with a corresponding meter that slowly regenerates). Speed is important; unless Link is moving fast enough to automatically jump over the same wooden fences the boss leaps over, he'll slam into them and stop completely. So that's three things you need to worry about : Keeping up with the boss, attacking him, and avoiding his minions.
Last but not least, I want to mention the beautiful drawing of Princess Zelda holding a sword, and three sketch drawings of Link's different emotions, assuring me that this part of the game isn't being overlooked.
DAMMIT THOSE PICTURES ARE WHAT I WANTED, FORGET THE INTERVIEW
no subject
Have the cover and other pics from EGM too, but will wait for larger scans or whatnot.
no subject