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[Anth0ny]

From the new Zelda: Art & Artifacts book:

Nintendo shed some light on The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker 2, a sequel to the then-divisive cel-animated Zelda adventure, would have taken on a “more land-based setting.”

The new information came from an interview with artist Satoru Takizawa, design manager and enemy designer of Wind Waker, in the Japanese edition of The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts (called The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Graphics in Japan). It was translated by Nintendo Everything.

When asked about the shift towards realistic art direction for Twilight Princess, Takizawa admitted that the team had begun the initial steps towards creating Wind Waker 2, but the demand for a more Ocarina-like game couldn’t be ignored.

“However, Wind Waker 2 would have taken place in a more land-based setting,” Takizawa explained, “rather than on the sea, so that we could have Link gallop across the land on a horse.

“But Link’s proportions in Wind Waker weren’t very well suited for riding on horseback, he was too short, and an adult version of Toon Link did not seem appropriate either. So, while we were stuck on those problems, we became aware of the greater demand for a more realistic, taller Link.

“High-budget live-action fantasy movies were also huge at the time,” he said, ”so with all things considered, we decided to have at it.” With that, the game shifted to what would become Twilight Princess.

IGN Article

So we can thank Lord of the Rings and the stupid fanboys crying about Celda for Wind Waker 2 being cancelled.


Hey Nintendo... maybe come back to this after Breath of the Wild?

 

[enigmatic_alex44]

We already have a Wind Waker 2

 

[freethoughtbubble]

*punches wall*

 

[Firehead]

A horse? Why not a train? That makes more sense.

 

[Moonlight]

That makes sense. I always suspected WW2 was a thing, mostly on the basis of how Ganondorf died. It always struck me as a missed opportunity for a game not to pick up on pulling the sword from the stone only to free him in the process.

 

[Toth]

We already have a Wind Waker 2

and Wind Waker 3, aka Spirit Tracks.

 

[SolarPowered]

They should revisit this idea, but with water again and a more fleshed out world. It would be fitting in the current climate (yes, I'm going there) thanks to climate change (and I went there). A waterworld-like take on a ruined world could be great.

 

[thepenguin55]

Twilight Princess can fuck right off.

 

[LewieP]

After the tease of the tease of Hyrule beneath the Great Sea, I would have loved this.

 

[BY2K]

Hey Nintendo... maybe come back to this after Breath of the Wild?

Isn't that already what they're doing with BotW?

Art style is similar.

 

[WillyFive]

We already have a Wind Waker 2

That was a terrible sequel. A huge let down from the ending of Wind Waker.

 

[Anth0ny]

Adult Toon Link concept art, just to get an idea:

 

[phanphare]

sounds like Breath of the Wild is going to fill this void, and probably more effectively at that

 

[AgeEighty]

So we can thank Lord of the Rings and the stupid fanboys crying about Celda for Wind Waker 2 being cancelled.

This is why it's sometimes hard to digest the group think of gamers. How many times has our gut reaction to something proved to be wrong in hindsight?

 

[Nickle]

Wind Waker 2 would have been like 80% similar to TP, guys.

 

[gogojira]

My biggest group with WW was sailing the endless sea. I loved the art style and any time I was running around on land. This would have been so fucking good.

Ah well, I'm a fan of TP, too, so whatever.

 

[foxuzamaki]

I forgot lotr was huge back then and was coincidentally around the time tp was coning out, now its got and skyrim took advantage of that

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Could they not have given him a pony instead?

 

[Arrrammis]

Honestly I really enjoyed the sailing in WW. About halfway through the game you got the ability to teleport, so it was never too cumbersome, and the music is so relaxing.

 

[Sami+]

TP's problems went way beyond its lack of cartoony visuals. I'd still say it has my favorite art style in the series, actually. It's just too bad that the mechanics and pacing weren't as good as they should have been.

Still holding up for another go at that kind of game. But better.

 

[Enforced]

Saw this other day. Really interesting. I still like what we got on phantom hourglass. I enjoyed the game.

 

[humansarehorses]

We already have a Wind Waker 2

These poorly controlled games don't even deserve to be mentioned along Wind Waker.

 

[Anteo]

Maybe with WW and WW2 we would have enough content for a zelda game.

 

[Anth0ny]

I forgot lotr was huge back then and was coincidentally around the time tp was coning out, now its got and skyrim took advantage of that

there's also this thing now:

apparently it's popular or something

 

[Ninjimbo]

While I would have loved to see a Wind Waker 2 on consoles, I'm really glad we got Twilight Princess. Also, I loved the big ocean in Wind Waker. Making it more land based in a sequel would have been messed up.

 

[PK Gaming]

Sad but understandable

Though Toon Link becoming an adult is a major, major faux pas

 

[120v]

yeah... i've always felt TP - while a fine game - was "the dark timeline" of zelda.

if they'd ignored knee jerk reactions and popularity of LotR we probavly would've ended up with something much better

 

[facetheslayer92]

We already have a Wind Waker 2

I bought my Zelda DS Lite for this game. Loved it.

 

[Luigiv]

Needs quotation marks around the words "Cancelled" in the title, for accuracy.

 

[LelouchZero]

Interesting, I loved Wind Waker!

 

[Soriku]

Wind Waker 2 without the water would basically be any other Zelda game. They should revisit a water setting again.

 

[KeyBladerXIII]

Shame, but as long as they keep using Toon Link in games, I'm okay.

The best Link from the best Zelda game.

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

We should've gotten this over Twilight Princess. Truly we live in the darkest most terrible timeline.

 

[AgeEighty]

I will say though that TP had a few of my favorite dungeons in the series.

 

[Freshmaker]

From the new Zelda: Art & Artifacts book:





IGN Article

So we can thank Lord of the Rings and the stupid fanboys crying about Celda for Wind Waker 2 being cancelled.

That, and they noticed that toon Link is an abomination unsuited for riding a horse and then the low sales.

 

[Hydrus]

Twilight Princess can fuck right off.

No. TP was awesome.

 

[Ninjimbo]

Nintendo ended up almost selling 10 million copies of TP. They were right in going that direction.

Sorry to Wind Waker, but adult Link will always be more popular.

 

[KHlover]

there's also this thing now:

apparently it's popular or something

That's literally what the post you quoted was saying.

got = Game of Thrones

 

[Crimsonlink]

Twilight Princess can fuck right off.

No WW 2 can fuck right off because it went where it belonged. In the handheld family.

 

[Maxinas]

We already have a Wind Waker 2

I enjoyed this and spirit tracks, the OST is godtier in spirit tracks. Would play again if they were remastered like OOT and MM for the switch in the future.

 

[Anth0ny]

That, and they noticed that toon Link is an abomination unsuited for riding a horse and then the low sales.

It looks fine in fan art:

it's a cartoon god damn it Nintendo just figure it out

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

Nintendo ended up almost selling 10 million copies of TP. They were right in going that direction.

Sorry to Wind Waker, but adult Link will always be more popular.

Justin Bieber sold 50 million albums. Doesn't mean it was good.

 

[Joqu]

I still want this Nintendo. Please

 

[DecoReturns]

I loved both TP and Wind Waker.

I would've loved a Wind Waker 2, but I think it would've just been TP with a cell shaded skin. Maybe.


Doesn't matter, Breath of the Wild seems to be Wind Waker 2 in a way.

 

[Aldric]

Twilight Princess is a far better game than TWW though, l don't see the issue. Even if you have terrible taste and like TWW better, surely you'd agree it's better to have a variety of artstyles and tones for the Zelda series?

 

[NMFried]

Adult Toon Link concept art, just to get an idea:

It looks fine in fan art:



it's a cartoon god damn it Nintendo just figure it out

Neither of these look that bad at all. I'm happy with where things are going in BotW though.

 

[mrmickfran]

Hope all those edgy teens who were complaining about WW being "too kiddy" are happy that we got Twilight Princess instead.

I know, completely subjective, but I'm not a big fan of TP. I'll never understand it's appeal besides its dungeons being great.

 

[Eusis]

vaderno.jpg

Seriously, I got to the view of Hyrule and thought a whole game like that on land would've been amazing! And of course they worry about how to make a cartoon Link ride a cartoon horse without just adjusting portions slightly (if that!) and now we'll never have it.

Well, Breath of the Wild will probably be close enough. Yes feeling like the 80s cartoon filtered through Nintendo proper, and more like a Miyazaki film turned into a game by Nintendo.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

Wait, what book is that?

 

[disappeared]

That horse is so cute :3