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Thanks to Game Informer for their hands-on impressions of Legend Of Zelda: Collector's Edition, as the GameCube bundle/bonus compilation approaches release. The article describes "The first two old-school games [The Legend Of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link] look just as they did when they released way back in the day", and shows comparison screenshots for the N64 titles [The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask], for which "...the graphics are now in high-res." Elsewhere, 1UP has news on Nintendo release dates for 2004, as "The four-player GameCube Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is still on track for February 9", and "will share that ... release date with Metroid: Zero Mission for Game Boy Advance... [which] expands on the original 8-bit Metroid adventure with revised levels, new story elements, and other added features."

Thanks to Game Informer for their hands-on impressions of Super Mario Advance 4 for GameBoy Advance, as the 20th October U.S. release nears for this handheld remake of Super Mario Bros 3, which GI suggest is "...probably the best platformer of the 8-bit generation, and also the best-selling video game in the United States of all time, across any platform." The game features e-Reader compatibility, "...where you can add new levels, power-ups, and level demonstrations by scanning in e-Cards", but unfortunately, "you will need two GBA devices" to use the e-Reader capabilities properly. IGN has an enthusiastic review of the game, mentioning Nintendo "will reportedly even create [e-Reader] cards featuring levels from the original Super Mario Bros. game", and elsewhere in the Mario franchise, French site GameKult has many new screenshots from the GameCube title Mario Party 5, due out Stateside on the 11th November.

Thanks to Game Informer for their interview with Nintendo Of America translator/localizer, Bill Trinen. He discusses being Shigeru Miyamoto's translator for American trade shows, as well as localizing many of Nintendo's top titles, and says a major challenge is that "...up until recently, there hasn't been a whole lot of continuity... I think originally on the NES [Zelda] Ganon's name was spelled with two N's. We've actually been going back and trying to solidify and define all the terminology and the names of all the franchises." He also discusses Mr.Resetti, the mole who chides you when you reset without saving in Animal Crossing, saying: "...in Japanese Resetti had this very, very gruff Osaka accent and [the translator] took that and... as he was writing it he was saying the lines out loud in the thickest Bronx accent you could think of."

Thanks to the Gaming-Age forum regulars for pointing to info on the EB Games site showing Microsoft's Xbox hardware bundle for Christmas, consisting of the online-friendly Star Wars: Clone Wars, Tetris Worlds, and 2 free months of Xbox Live, priced at $179. Meanwhile, GameInformer.com has a rumor (via unconfirmed sources) of a Zelda-related GameCube hardware bundle this Xmas, including "...a bonus disc that will include the following Zelda games and goodies: Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Zelda Documentary." While this GameCube bundle is still a rumor, new Player's Choice budget titles from Nintendo have been officially confirmed, including (from September 25th) Metroid Prime, Animal Crossing, and Super Mario Sunshine for $29.99, and Star Fox Adventures, Pikmin, and Luigi's Mansion for $19.99.