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[HylianScribe]

Double interesting because of the graphics implementation isn't there yet...

Maybe they'll change it up last minute.

That would only be too awesome. Celda repeat, please. There are still people today who believe The Wind Waker is horrible solely because of its visuals, and a few I know who won't even touch it.

 

[TheGrayGhost]

Aonuma recognizes Celda as a mistake. He said it's not appropriate for consoles, and I agree with him.

 

[HylianScribe]

Yea, I know. Miyamoto did say there would be a certain expectation about the visuals of this new game since it is the first ground-up Zelda for Wii, but that's all he said. I trust that the visuals will be fine, they're not really what concern me at all.

 

[wrowa]

Aonuma recognizes Celda as a mistake. He said it's not appropriate for consoles, and I agree with him.

But it's the other way around!

Really. Wind Waker looks great (even today imo), but Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks are both awful looking.

 

[Zilch]

Aonuma recognizes Celda as a mistake. He said it's not appropriate for consoles, and I agree with him.

A graphical/art style mistake?

I can't imagine any of the devs thinking or admitting to that.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

If the game looks exactly like TP, then I'm not buying it. Okay, maybe I will if the gameplay is super awesome.

 

[Black-Wind]

A graphical/art style mistake?

I can't imagine any of the devs thinking or admitting to that.

He did say that the art style is part of the reason NoA gave him for why WW was flopping. Plus, ever interviewer and their momma brang up how the art style made it look "kiddy".

At one point, I had heard that even Wind Waker, which had reached the million mark in sales, had become sluggish in North America, where the market was much healthier than in Japan. I asked NOA why this was. What I was told was that the toon-shading technique was, in fact, giving the impression that this Zelda was for a younger audience and that, for this reason, it alienated the upper teen audience that had represented the typical Zelda player. Having heard that, I began to worry about whether Wind Waker 2, which used a similar presentation, was something that would actually sell. In addition, because we knew how difficult it would be to create an innovative way of playing using existing GameCube hardware, we knew what a challenge it would be to develop something that would do well in the Japanese market, where gamer drift was happening.

Actually, when I first saw the toon shaded Zelda I was very surprised and excited by it. However, I was startled by the response we got from the press when we showed it off the first time. They all said, "Oh, so is Nintendo now taking Zelda and trying to aim it only at kids?" Really, the whole concept we had behind it was that we thought it was a very creative and new way to show off Link. All the sudden it had been interpreted as Nintendo's new strategy, and that was a shock for us.

 

[Rindain]

If they haven't focused at all on graphics to this point, I wonder if that makes it possible that the game will output in HD for a potential 2011 Wii HD console (and in SD for regular the Wii). Another hybrid release, but with variable graphics depending on the console version on which you play it.

By saving graphics for later, they do open that possibility, especially considering how it's at least a 50/50 shot this will be released sometime in 2011.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

A graphical/art style mistake?

I can't imagine any of the devs thinking or admitting to that.

Oh, he didn't say it out loud, but GrayGhost cracked the code and figured out how the ending of TP was actually Aonuma expressing his entire philosophy of the series through allegory. It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal! Good day sir!

 

[IAmtheFMan]

Okay, I figure this thread is as good as any to post my musings on the Zelda franchise and what I would want to see.

I think it's great that Miyamoto is focusing on gameplay, especially WMP. I think that it could add a huge amount of layers to the game. That being said, I hope that integration of true motion control is NOT the only thing they add.

1) The Overworld: This is my big one. When I was a kid playing the original Zelda, what captured me was the absolute sense of exploration; wandering from screen to screen, not knowing what lay next. Sure, there were some limitations in the exact routes (not having a raft/footladder, etc.) but for the most part, the whole map was accessible right from the beginning. This meant easy areas next to the first temple, and areas like Death Mountain where you got your ass handed to you... and the only way to find out your limitations was to go to those areas.

This has not been captured in a Zelda game, probably since LTTP and I would argue that even there, there were some serious limitations d/t the light/dark mechanic. This was distilled even further in OoT, MM, and TP. Essentially, the Overworld is still not only a hub, but you're constantly ushered in which direction to go. What I want more then ANYTHING is a fully breathing overworld; I want to be able to go into areas where I shouldn't go to yet because I'm not strong enough. I want to have that sense of exploration, and trepidation going into an area. I want to be gently led so I feel like I found it myself as opposed to having a character say "YOU'RE GOING TO THE ICE TEMPLE NOW."

I think WW actually did this pretty well; the Overworld was huge, and I did feel like I was exploring. Unfortunately, the challenge wasn't really there, and uh... the entire map was water. I would LOVE to explore a Hyrule full of land, lakes, snowy peaks, deserts, forests, multiple villages, ruins and oh yes... palaces that was comparable to the size of TWW. That would seriously be my dream game.

Other things:

2) Utility of Items: TP introduced some really cool items... the few times you could use them. What use was the Spinner aside from using it in the Arbiter's Grounds, a few times in the Overworld for a few pieces of heart, and the last temple or so? the Dominion Rod? I'm glad that they introduced so many, but I want them to be more then glorified keys to get to the next part in the game. Hell emulate LTTP and introduce some completely optional items to the mix.

3) Music: Orchestrated, and let Kondo and Yokota do it. The dynamic music thing was worked around in Mario Galaxy (Bowser battles, going underwater, etc.) And even if it isn't exactly what they want, I think that they give more credit to it then how actually effective it is. This shouldn't be an issue at this point.

4) Voice Acting: Like most people's wishes, everyone but Link I would hope.

5) Temples: This is the one area where I think Nintendo is on top of their game. If they keep up the quality that they had in TP, I'd be happy.

6) Story: While I'm not looking for JRPG twists and cliches here, I think that advancing the story to be slightly more complex would be great for the series. We could see the start of this in TP. Hopefully they can keep going in this direction.

7) Misc: Other things would be increase the difficulty and challenge (goes along with the overworld thing,) boss fights that rely on more then the "3 hits you win" formula, multiple villages with multiple NPC's (lemme meet ERROR and figure out who the hell he is 10 hours later,) and more full caves to explore.

Again, I think it's fantastic that WMP is going to be used, but I don't want a rehash of TP with full motion control. I really hope the Zelda team does some, or all of the above things... that would be like my perfect game.

 

[LegendofJoe]

I would LOVE to explore a Hyrule full of land, lakes, snowy peaks, deserts, forests, multiple villages, ruins and oh yes... palaces that was comparable to the size of TWW. That would seriously be my dream game.

Your dream game has already been made it's called Elder Scrolls III.

 

[Masked Man]

3) Music: Orchestrated, and let Kondo and Yokota do it. The dynamic music thing was worked around in Mario Galaxy (Bowser battles, going underwater, etc.) And even if it isn't exactly what they want, I think that they give more credit to it then how actually effective it is. This shouldn't be an issue at this point.

This is probably my one true "hope" for the next Zelda. I have enough faith in the Zelda team to come up with a solid story with great gameplay, etc., but an orchestral soundtrack is a must for me. Kondo and Yokota would be a great team to use, but Ota Asuka and Minegishi Toru both seem to have quite a bit of promise, so perhaps they could come together and form a four-person music team of brilliance.

 

[TheCardPlayer]

Your dream game has already been made it's called Elder Scrolls III.

He didn't say explore shitty ass grey lands and shitty ass puke green lands.

 

[Marvie_3]

This is probably my one true "hope" for the next Zelda. I have enough faith in the Zelda team to come up with a solid story with great gameplay, etc., but an orchestral soundtrack is a must for me. Kondo and Yokota would be a great team to use, but Ota Asuka and Minegishi Toru both seem to have quite a bit of promise, so perhaps they could come together and form a four-person music team of brilliance.

I loved TP's soundtrack. I would have loved it more if it had been orchestrated. This IS a must for the next Zelda....

 

[lancubap]

EXTENDED VERSION OF THE INTERVIEW

Link to Wired

LOS ANGELES — If Shigeru Miyamoto has his way, the next Legend of Zelda game for Wii will require the Wii MotionPlus add-on.

In a roundtable Q&A session last week at E3, the head of Nintendo’s game design department told the press that the game would use the $20 add-on, which adds greater motion-sensing capabilities to the Wii Remote. But he said it wasn’t yet decided whether the MotionPlus would be required or optional.

Speaking exclusively to Wired.com, however, he said that he’s pushing the game’s developers to create a Zelda experience that requires the extra features.

“The goal at this point is that we would make Wii MotionPlus required in order to play Zelda,” he said.

It’s reasonable to assume that Zelda’s use of MotionPlus might depend on how many of the devices Nintendo sells between now and the game’s far-off release date. But Miyamoto says that’s not actually the case.

“The bigger hurdle for us is not really whether people have a Wii MotionPlus or don’t have it, it’s whether or not the experience is one where people will think they want to have a Wii Motion Plus in order to experience it,” he said.

The standard Wii remote controller can only detect its own rotation, but with the $20 Wii MotionPlus, which was released on Monday, it can also detect linear motion. In July, Nintendo will release Wii Sports Resort, a collection of sports games that will illustrate various ways the MotionPlus features can be used.

In an archery game, for example, you can aim your “bow” by moving the controller in a straight line up and down.

Link, the main character of The Legend of Zelda, loves to shoot arrows himself. Might we see a deeper archery mechanic in his next game?

If Nintendo has already committed to including Wii MotionPlus support in the game, it’s quite unlikely that it would make it optional, especially as it can just bundle the MotionPlus in with every copy of the game so that every player has the device.

Miyamoto realizes that Zelda players might not want an excessive amount of motion controls in their adventure game, which has typically been about puzzle-solving and storylines rather than too-intricate action sequences.

“There may be a group of people out there who look at people playing motion control games and have a hesitancy to try to play those because they’re worried that they might not look so cool, swinging a Wii remote around. But in watching people play New Super Mario Bros. Wii, even though it’s just a simple shaking motion, I’m watching people play (it) with a big grin on their face.”

“So I’m hoping that we might be able to create a similar-feeling experience for Zelda,” he said.

Miyamoto went on to say that the game is still in a rougher state of development, which is why Nintendo declined to show any of it at E3.

“The development of Zelda has been focused strictly on the gameplay structure at this point. We haven’t devoted much in the way of efforts to things like graphical representation, and story, and those types of production elements,” he said.

Miyamoto said at E3 that although the current goal is to release the new Zelda in 2010, it could be pushed back. With two heavy hitters, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: The Other M, already on for next year, it seems most likely that we’ll have to wait until 2011 to play Link’s next great adventure.

Voilà. Very interesting. ...I wonder if I should create a new thread for this... Well, we'll see. Discuss!

 

[Jocchan]

The standard Wii remote controller can only detect its own rotation, but with the $20 Wii MotionPlus, which was released on Monday, it can also detect linear motion.

Actually, it's the other way around.