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More Twilight Princess Details Emerge
Press the Buttons has a link to an interview with Nintendo veterans Miyamoto and Aonuma. In it they reveal the identity of the cloaked woman in the trailer and more information about where in the Zelda timeline the new game falls. Press the Buttons has commentary as well: "From time to time I still see posts on online message boards claiming that Twilight Princess is the Zelda game 'we should have gotten instead of Wind Waker', a train of thought that extends from the fact that some people are still against Wind Waker's highly animated visual style despite having never played the game."
Let me throw my sword with power when I have full hearts and the master sword. I've missed that.
The revival of the dark world from Link to the Past is a nice touch. I watched the trailer a little while back and was kind of surprised they did that, until I noted the dark motes/style. So, he's a wolf now, not a bunny.
The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
People who didn't play Wind Waker because they didn't like the "kiddy" artwork are not real gamers...plain and simple.
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
*Off topic...kind of*
I never really liked the Zelda games, they held absolutely no appeal for me. Sometime last year, on a whim, I borrowed The Wind Waker from a friend, and have loved every minute of it...it's got quirk, it's got character, and it plays very smoothly...something my previous dungeon-crawler addiction never really did - Dark Cloud 1&2.
If this is the game we were supposed to have gotten instead of the Wind Waker, what will it take to get something along the accidental lines?
"How like you to drag your keyboard to a gun fight." - Aaron Bedard (BANE)
Aside from playing a bit of the original NES Zelda, Wind Waker was my first time at a Zelda game, and I must say that I actually prefer the cell-shaded Link to the other incarnations. The previous Zeldas had kind of a anime feel to them, while the WW Zelda was more like an American cartoon. I think it's pretty cute, and while others may find it too 'kiddie', the graphics have a lighthearted feel that I like.
That said, there was way too much sailing about in WW. I have friends that liked the game, but refuse to play it again because of the sailing. It looks like the next Zelda won't have that, so maybe it'll be better.
Another pet peeve - I wish videogames would let you play back cutscenes you've already seen. It's not like I'm going to play it all in one sitting, so I'd like to be able to review the plot and stuff.
Random stuff, I know. But I'm hoping the next Zelda will be even better than the last one.
I had the same doubts about WindWaker being cartoony and childish, but after playing it I was satisfied that it belongs in the general pantheon of Zelda games. It clearly grows darker as you progress, and is very hard to put down.
Viewing the 'screenshots' caused my BS detector to go off, of course, because these are very obviously prerendered elements. They shouldn't be allowed to call them screenshots. But those things aside, it'll be nice to see a more adult Zelda, and hopefully a much darker one.
If you own a Gamecube and haven't played this game - please, try it. Even if you don't like the look of the cell-shaded graphics, don't let it discourage you.
After Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, I was shocked when they revealed the stylistic route they went with Windwaker.
However, right from the opening screen all the way to the final battle with Ganon, I loved the graphics. They were able to accomplish environments and effects that are very much unique to the cell-shaded universe.
For instance, there was a dungeon full of lava. I'm sure this would look awesome if they had done the realistic graphcs. However, seeing cell-shaded flames through a heat-induced haze was gorgeous. If you were to present the same environment using "realistic graphics", I'd probably prefer the cell-shaded.
We've all seen lava, water, mountains, and grass plains in real life (or on TV, or movies). But to see these same environments interpreted as cell-shaded is definitely unique, and dare I say, innovative.
I was rather scared at the idea of Link being a wolf, at first. People turning into animals is rather.... cliche and dull. And, I really don't want to spend TOO much time as a wolf. I enjoy playing as Link... not a wolf. Mainly, though, I was concerned he was a werewolf, because that was the way the trailer seemed to show it.
However, as that doesn't appear to be the case, I'm slightly relieved.
As mentioned, all the sailing in WW is what put me off. In fact, WW was the first Zelda game I did not complete. Each island seemed like a separate level, and made the whole game seem linear. At least in the other games you knew over the mountain there was another section of the world, or like in Ocerana, you could actually see features in the distance of other areas, giving the world a connected feal.
Most people prejudged Wind Waker because they were teased with the more realistic graphics, and then discovered an entirely new game was coming. The simplistic-looking Cel-shaded game disappointed us.
I've played it all the way thru. The gameplay really deserves kudos for trying something different with the seafaring Link; however, the mechanic became incredibly boring as the game wore on. As for cartoony, it achieved a coherent style.
Here come the Spoilers for those who plan to play Windwaker
I disliked the fact that Link and Zelda were completely different and just looked like the original Link and Zelda. Its actually a "side story" variant. The final battle with Gannon was very easy compared to all the other Zelda games. I understand this one is a direct sequel with the real Link in it. I guess in the far future, their race's skin becomes smooth and posterized.
I can't wait until the next, next Zelda comes out for the Revolution. Maybe they will have an even more adult Link, like 80 something. Of course he'd still be awesome and kicking butt (ala Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns).
They wouldn't have to give him walkers for weapons or Viagra for health potions though. They'd just make him older and wiser, and instead of having to prove himself to older people, he'd just have to kick the snot out of young wippersnappers that thought he was over the hill. Over the course of the game he would keep getting more and more permanent injuries. Think dentures, magical hip replacement, pacemakers, etc. Some levels would even randomize locations ever once and a while to simulate senility. And then, once the death blow to Gannon was delivered, he would die of a heart attack. Thus leaving Zelda a substantial life-insurance policy to cash in.
That would definitely bring a whole new demographic to Nintendo!
I know i shouldn't expect any less, but _why_ do they require flash just to read a text article? When i load it up with another browser i don't see anything on the page that obviously requires flash, so what's the point?
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
It wasn't the graphics. It wasn't the sailing. Those were both fun in their own way.
It was the fact that the game had 5 dungeons instead of 8 or 9.
It's been a while since I've played, but I remember there being 3 dungeons, and then 2 more. Pretty much every other game before it had 8 dungeons, followed by a boss. They were split 3/5 perhaps, but they were there. I finished WW and wondered where the other half of the game was.
Wind Waker was fucken sweet, and a large part of that was its beautiful graphics. My heart sank when I learned the new Zelda wouldn't be in a similar style.
Aw, c'mon, I had more fun with the Ganondorf battle in Wind Waker than the boring/easy Ganon battle in Ocarina. Once you learned that you had to go between his legs, that it was it, he was a pushover after that. And the final blow to Ganondorf in WW... I'll never get tired of that :D
"When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
I see where your coming from, but in that department I reserve my complaints for Majora's Mask. What it have, like 5?
Yeah, there were the spider houses, but who cares about those. All of the pseudo-dungeons didn't feel like dungeons. That game was more sidequests than dungeons.
My stupid web site
Just because so many slashdotters are lined up one one side of the fence, let me say:
I tried Windwaker. I played it all the way through. I never liked the stylized graphics. I'm very relieved they're reverting to a more traditional style.
This article has been gathering dust at Nintendo's site for weeks. *yawn*
nt
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
I didn't mind the graphics of the world (which looked very good in most places), but I didn't care for some of the character designs.
I didn't identify well with the main character. He was too young, he didn't handle a sword well, and his head was too spherical. I just couldn't picture him as a hero. I'm accustomed to imagining Link as early-teenage, not as a third grader.
The game world was too sparse. Even with warping, it took too long to get anywhere. The levels were good but there weren't very many of them.
I wouldn't say it was a bad game, just not quite as good as it could have been. I'm looking forward to the new Zelda, hoping it's as good as Ocarina of Time.
Link, he come to town
Come to save the princess zelda
Ganon took her away
Now the children don't play
But they will when link saves the day
Hallelujah!
Now link, fill up your hearts
So you can shoot your sword with power
And when you're feeling all down
The fairy will come around
So you'll be brave, and not a sissy coward
Now link has saved the day
Put ganon in his grave
So now zelda is free
And now our hero shall be
Link! I think your name shall go down into history
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Can we have discussion of Twilight Princess without going over Wind Waker and Cel Shading vs Realistic? Wind Waker was different, and despite protests that's what we got. Twilight Princess is realistic, and despite anything we say and do that is what we will get. We simply have to live with it at this point and turn our attention to far more important things like gameplay.
That said...
The idea of revamping old items really appeals to me. Like others, I really long for the age old Sword Zap. The spinning mega slash is awesome as well, but it doesn't replace the original.
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
[S]ome people are still against Wind Waker's highly animated visual style despite having never played the game.
What does not having played the game have to do with it? Will playing the game somehow make the graphics different? I've never played the game, and in fact, it could have the best gameplay of all of the Zelda games (though I hear that it doesn't). But even that would only cause me to tolerate (or at least to attempt to tolerate) the glaringly ugly cel-shading in Wind Waker, not to actually like it. The simple fact of the matter is that this is the Zelda game we should've gotten, at least graphically, especially after being teased with that technical demo years ago.
Just a reminder to the many Nintendo fanboys here: You don't have to play a game to critique its overarching graphical style. Oh, and BTW, since some people have already said it, Wind Waker does not look like the pre-N64 Zelda games, so stop trying to use that as an argument.
Rob
I liked a lot of the other zelda games, but I haven't been able to play windwaker, It's not that the cell shading bugs me because it looks to cartoony, but for some reason the graphcis in windwaker make me horribly motion sick/give me headaches. This is the only game cell shaded or not that does this. Am I alone?