Next GameCube Zelda "Completed" but not coming until late 2005? Wha?

[Draygone]

http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q1-2005/021905a.html

Aonuma, who worked on The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time as a level designer and directed the follow-up The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was, for the most part, tight-lipped concerning the new Zelda titles: "The next episode in the Zelda series for GameCube is already completed, but I can't say absolutely anything about it," he said. "You know the deal -- even the title and theme are still secret."

He did, however, disclose a few bits of previously unknown information. "The next grand Zelda game, which follows chronologically after the Wind Waker, will be released at the end of 2005 in Japan." When he was asked for more specific details, he only said: "I can reveal one lone secret: it'll be very, very beautiful."


He can't possibly mean it's finished and ready for production. If it was, it would be out in Japan by July at the latest. If it is finished, I'd rather get it in a few months rather than wait until Christmas, where I'll have to decide between it and like 10 other games that I'll probably want real bad by then.

[Mistafopa]

Wow, what a craptacular press release.

[Dreamknight]

"I can reveal one lone secret: it'll be very, very beautiful."

No kidding?

[Denmo]

Glad I bought a GameCube.

[IRC]

That's fine with me. I'm still playing the Bonus Disc so by the time I'm finished with OoT and MM, this will finally be out.

[Kire]

""I can reveal one lone secret: it'll be very, very beautiful."

OMG SPOILERZZZZZ!!!!!

Denethor, you could've bought a Gamecube in like 8 months.

[Denmo]

You're right. I could've.

[Dreamknight]

I bought mine when it first dropped to 99 dollars, I bought it for Resident Evil 4 and it now that I have RE4 it was well worth it.

[Nixon]

I haven't been interested in a zelda game since Link to the Past, but I'm going to pick this up... regardless of what Alzar says about Zelda's "new look!"

[Naruto]

The plan has always been to save it for E3. I'm thinking the game will be released a few weeks after E3. It's all about building up the hype. This year's E3 will be the biggest EVER with the 3 (maybe 4?) new systems being revealed and Nintendo needs all the big guns it can get.

[Mistafopa]

Exactly.

Plus it's a zelda game, no way they're going to do it any less of a service than a christmas miracle release.

[highwind]

Read Nixon's post again.

Those are my feelings.

[Alzar]

I liked Zelda's New Look. But actually I didn't like Wind Waker very much. I did, up until the end, I guess. At the end it turned into this horrible fetch quest.

[Denmo]

That and the bosses were super-mega-topia easy.

[JLaCroix]

They're waiting probably because they want to give Zelda a rest for a while, or to build suspense and momentum which makes more sense financially. I say both.

[Denmo]

I think the change from Windwaker style back to OoT style was a conspiracy to keep the series fresh. Like what they did with Coke, New Coke, and Classic Coke

[JLaCroix]

No, going from WW style to a realistic style is fixing a major error.

[Denmo]

Just like removing a world map in FFX was a major error?

[Draygone]

I liked its graphics, and the game itself, right up to the last few hours, where the whole game just crashed and burned. And then sunk. But not before giving some terrible speech before its last breath.

[SirTMagus]

I wonder if they'll incorporate the Conan the Barbarian music from the trailer somehow.

Seriously. Who was NOT pumped after that?

[JLaCroix]

Just like removing a world map in FFX was a major error?
Pretty much, although that was sarcasm. With FFX I just don't see why they did it, I vote that the deadline had something to do with it.

[Loki]

Or the fact that they wanted the game to have a more realistic flow without the interuption of a map screen.

[JLaCroix]

Thus throwing the exploration that made the series famous out the window.

[Dreamknight]

Nah man, there was some notably detours from the straight line that was FFX :|

[Loki]

I don't think exploration was what made Final Fantasy famous.

Especially world wap expoloration specificly.



I agree with you that the lack of a map took away from the game, but it was a concious design choice on the designer's part, not a time constraint or anything like that.

[archerarmored]

this is sweet because it means ill have a game for my gamecube. that is, if it's any good.

[IRC]

I liked Zelda's New Look. But actually I didn't like Wind Waker very much. I did, up until the end, I guess. At the end it turned into this horrible fetch quest.

That's kind of strange because I didn't much like it until the very end. I didn't like the ocean and boat aspects at all but there were some moments that I did like. And the last boss was tre cool.

[SirTMagus]

Wind Waker was fun, if not entirely the epic jawdropper it should've been.

Best part: Nostalgia Castl-- er, Hyrule Castle.

[IRC]

I was not pumped by that music.

[SirTMagus]

You must lack a pulse.

[IRC]

I liked the fiddle song from wind waker more.

[SirTMagus]

More than Conan.

[IRC]

Was that Conan? If it was it was a really weak Conan. It sounded more like Miyamota tries to be hard. I know everyone's been obsessing over a "dark" zelda game, but it doesn't really fit. Unless want to do a PoP2 trick.

"After beaten and left for dead by Ganondorf Link crawls out of the dungeon and onto your gamecube. Zelda: Scars that somehow let you play music to do stuff Summer of 2006"

Honestly the best parts of Windwaker were things like the forest dungeon and the underwater castle. Seriously how badass was that last fight? Imagine a game that looked like Windwaker being played in a traditional setting similar to Hyrule? I'd much rather see that than Ocarina of Time 128bit.

[Loki]

I agree.

But whatever. The new one has the potential to be great or stink worse than WindWaker and it has nothing to do with the graphics. If they take the same shortcuts that they took with WindWaker than it will blizow.

That's why I'm happy that it's compleated and not released. WindWaker suffered so that it could be released earlyer, and they didn't make two dungons, replaycing them with fetch quests. Lets hope they won't pull the same crap.

[BeeZee]

I thought Wind Waker's graphics were sexy.

[Draygone]

The last boss fight for me was a disappointment. Not only were they incredibly difficult for me (first form I couldn't figure out what to do for a while, and when I found out and during the last two forms I had a heck of a time hitting that weak spot; would've lost had it not been for Link being nearly invincible in this game), but the last fight seemed, well, uneventful. I guess after having played and beaten Link's Awakening, OoT and Majora's Mask, I was expecting to fight some monstrous beast. Especially considering who the villain was. But all I got was a sword fight that wasn't too much different than the regular monsters with swords.

People expect a "dark" Zelda because of how realistic the two N64 games looked (and heck, Ganondorf spit BLOOD at the end of OoT in the earlier editions). After seeing those games, one can't help but wonder what a Zelda game with a look like that on GameCube would be like. And they expect that if one 3D Zelda would look realistic, all 3D Zeldas would look realistic. Makes me wonder how many of these 3D Zelda fans have played Link to the Past or any of the Game Boy Zeldas. I wouldn't be surprised if OoT and MM would've looked a bit like Wind Waker had the N64 been capable of cel shading and if realistic graphics wasn't such a big trend back then.

[SirTMagus]

I dunno. Since 1992 I always considered A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening "mature" Zelda games. In the instruction booklet artwork and in the *****in' Nintendo Power graphic novel Link was clearly in his late teens and the stories and games always had this kind of darkness to me.

In how many Zelda games does Link's uncle die in the first five minutes?

[pinkymadigan]

Heh. We'll be torn no matter what they do. Half of us will hate it, half of us will love it. I think I'm gonna like it a lot.

[IRC]

He doesn't die, he's shown in the ending.

[Kefka Jr.]

I always thought the Triforce brought him back or something... Where the hell was he for the entirety of the game?

I just took a gander at my Link to the Past player's guide, and the Zelda timeline pictures are really badass, as can be seen here (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/KefjaJr/shadowlink.jpg) and here (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/KefjaJr/aghanim.jpg).

Oh, and according to the timeline, his uncle is just "wounded and unable to carry on".

[Naruto]

I never noticed that Agahnim has a Star Trek TNG communicator on his forehead.

[SirTMagus]

He doesn't die, he's shown in the ending.

Oh, and according to the timeline, his uncle is just "wounded and unable to carry on".
Pfft. You guys lost your balls.

He definitely died! Only, in 1992, dying was getting "knocked out." He was resurrected by Link's wish when he touched the Triforce.

BONG!

[Draygone]

In how many Zelda games does Link's uncle die in the first five minutes? Um, just Link to the Past I think. Actually, I think the only three Zelda games where Link's family is mentioned at all are LttP, Ocarina of Time (it talks of Link's dying mother after the Forest Temple), and Wind Waker.

Those are some cool pics. A wonder the games didn't look that way, unless that was American art.

[Loki]

The artist who did those pictures did a lot of art for Nintendo Power that wasn't officaly tied to the game. I have no idea who he was but his stuff was definetly cool.