3DS Zelda: Set in ALttP's Hyrule

[hisak]

Okay.





North America Holiday 2013, Japan early 2014.

More at E3, I guess.

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

Well, Miyamoto did say he wanted to revisit A Link to the Past.

Europe given 2013 release date as well. Quite thrown by this one. The visuals are novel, almost Plasticine-like, much as the Yoshi's Island sequel's are. And the health bar and magic meter are in the bottom, breaking two decades of tradition. Curious.

And then there's that becoming a drawing idea... The heck? Really want to see the 3D trailer now...

[hisak]

The announcement's been uploaded to Youtube.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oaS9yBGbmU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oaS9yBGbmU</a>

I wouldn't be surprised if health and stamina were just moved up to the top screen for trailer purposes.

[Rew]

Interesting concepts, and looks like it'll be a fun game.

I have to say, though, the visuals are shit.

[hisak]

There's a trailer on the eShop but it's mostly just the footage from the announcement so I'm not posting it.

I'm feeling ambivalent about the game itself right now. I was really looking forward to see what EAD did with a handheld 3D Zelda, but even with regards to top-down Zelda (whose return I don't begrudge), I'd rather see something brand new.

The visuals certainly aren't stunning but they look like Link to the Past to me. I really like the Link model, whose floppy bangs more than make up for the mistaken hair color.

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

Having now seen the game in action, I can't help but be excited. It's the music man, always that theme promising excitement and adventure. I like the visuals, and they feel like the natural evolution for ALttP's artistic style, just as the move forward for Yoshi's Island has been. Visuals will always be secondary to the gameplay for me and if the team can get the right amount of evolution of ALttP's massively successful formula in there, I can't see how they can go wrong.

I hope that there will be a mix of old and new bosses, as we've already seen the giant Moldorm in the trailer. I really want to see the Helmasaur King in modern graphical glory, but I want to see that Ninty still have some fresh ideas since with both the upcoming Zelda releases for Wii U and 3DS there's certainly an awful lot of... links to the past.

Oh, and let's hope Nintendo resist the urge to call it Drawn To The Past...

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

Behold! The glory of the item menu of the demo that various journos are getting their hands on. 20 spaces, Bow and Bottles confirmed in addition to the Hammer we've already seen.

Other details from the demo include:
- The return of dodging tiles.
- Confirmation (you may have noticed in the trailer) that the magic bar replenishes like the stamina meter of SS.
- X and Y buttons for Bow and Hammer (so we can assume changeable with those other 18 items).
- B for the sword (hold for spin attack).
- L for the shield.

And, finally, if you really want to spoil yourself (I'm not going to), here's nine minutes of gameplay from the demo.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4X-pg7w8KU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4X-pg7w8KU</a>

[Carl Jr.]

Welp, I'm excited.

  Alttp was an excellent example of what I look for in a Zelda game. The overworld was interesting and didn't involve a great deal of sailing or flying to pillars of light to get to otherwise unconnected areas. (The Dark World had a lot of entrances to find, too.) The dungeons also gave an eerie sense that they were not meant to be traversed by humans (which later games also did well).

  While this location and incarnation seem to be perfectly familiar so far (I'm sure they'll find some interesting ways to screw with the overworld while still keeping it familiar), It *is* a new adventure, and not likely a rehash. It's a new Zelda adventure, in a world that did things right.

  Also, I guess it was inevitable, but seeing that model and incarnation of Link resurface once again really brings a smile to my face, though this only helps confirm his age-retcon from the oracle games...



At least his hair isn't pink anymore.

 Huh, new Alttp-ish game, new Yoshi's Island-ish game...    wonder what else they're cooking up...

The Galaxy is at peace.

[hisak]

- Confirmation (you may have noticed in the trailer) that the magic bar replenishes like the stamina meter of SS.

That's because it's a stamina meter. If they're using it to replace things like arrows and bombs as pick-ups, I'm all for it. It's a much better use for it than Skyward Sword ever found.

While this location and incarnation seem to be perfectly familiar so far (I'm sure they'll find some interesting ways to screw with the overworld while still keeping it familiar), It *is* a new adventure, and not likely a rehash. It's a new Zelda adventure, in a world that did things right.

I'm just worried about the idea of lifting an entire overworld from a previous game. One of LttP's strengths was the sense of discovery that the overworld frequently gave, but unless Nintendo has some tricks up its sleeves, this game won't have that advantage.

The Galaxy is at peace.

Maybe next year.

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

That's because it's a stamina meter. If they're using it to replace things like arrows and bombs as pick-ups, I'm all for it. It's a much better use for it than Skyward Sword ever found.

That leaves me with one concern: What do we get as pickups instead? Leaves hearts and rupees, both of which are plenty abundant already. Maybe it's opening the way for Kinstone-like items or the return of seeds, but I dunno... Actually, I love that uncertainty!

I'm not too concerned about the re-use of the ALttP overworld. If enough time has passed in-universe, then while things may feel largely familiar there can be plenty of changes to the landscape. Failing that, they can rediscover Skyloft to beef up the content...

On the one hand it seems lazy and complacent of Nintendo to revisit a land they've put together before, on the other hand, the overworld is a lesser part of the Zelda formula and since it's something they've been a bit challenged by of late (with boats, trains and birds proving an easy way out) I have no qualms with them revisiting a previous, hugely-successful template and tweaking it here and there for a touch of freshness.

[hisak]

CNET interview with Aonuma. Dark World confirmed, plus some vague comments about progression in the game "feeling different."