Zelda Infinite

With all the awesome new material that has been floating around the internet regarding Zelda 2005 lately, I thought it was time for the game to have its own section, for all the new information and screenshots... not to mention the plethora of stuff we're gonna have after E3.

So, we've got people working on that right now. Expect it soon!

For the manga fans, I'll be done with my finals and all moved back home by the end of this week. At that time, manga translations will resume.
One exam down, three to go. Ugh.

Through the combined efforts of Draknek and myself, we have the start to our section covering the Legend of Zelda 2005. This is not finished completely, but we figured the sooner we had something for you guys at least in some form, the better. You can find all of the current information related to this upcoming title here.

As always your comments on what we have and other material are always welcome, don't hesitate to visit the forums and make a suggestion.

Also in case you have not heard the news Hiroshi Yamauchi, the man who used to be the President of Nintendo for over 50 years, has recently stepped down from the Board of Directors without his pension. For more information you can read the article here.

I’ve got a few more Zelda tidbits to share about the upcoming “Legend of Zelda” for the GAMECUBE, courtesy of 1UP.COM. Their feature consists of EGM editor Mark MacDonald detailing his trip to Kyoto Japan and his interviews with Director Eiji Aonuma and Composer Keji Kondo. Included in the feature are portions of the interviews that were not included in latest edition of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

It was revealed that Link will only be able to steal his enemies’ mounts at certain times during the game, therefore that giant boar which Link can be seen riding in the GDC trailer will not always be available. Another interesting piece of information is that the Gorons found in this Zelda are not the Gorons of “Ocarina of Time.” Whether this means that the Gorons will act differently from their brethren in OoT, or whether they will differ in some other way was not revealed. Mr. Aonuma also stated that working on the graphics engine for “Wind Waker” was more difficult that it has been for this more realistic Zelda. He explained that WW graphics engine was more difficult to create because they were basically forging new ground and had no prior experience to help guide them through it. For the new Zelda however, they had already had experience creating a realistic look with “Ocarina of Time” and “Majora’s Mask.” Aonuma also hinted that fishing, which will be making a return in this new game, might play a part in one of the boss battles. Moreover, Aonuma explained that this new Zelda would not necessarily be any darker than previous instalments. He stated that whoever captured the video for the trailers just happened to focus on the darker parts of the game. In reality, the game will feature a healthy blend of dark, sad moments as well as bright, happy ones.

If you’re interested in reading the article for yourself, click here.

Chapter 6 of the first OoT manga is now up. Sorry for the slight delay. Firstly, there was a lot of talking in the latter half that took me some extra time to wade through. Secondly, Tales of Symphonia is really addicting. ^_^;;

Enjoy.

Though not directly related to Zelda, I figured that everyone would benefit from a little news on the future of Nintendo in the console market. In a recent newspaper article, NOA Vice President of Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan has described Nintendo's next-gen console, codenamed Revolution, as very, very sleek. The new console will reportedly stand horizontally and be approximately one inch thick. In addition, it was revealed that Revolution will be using standard DVD's as it's game medium. Based on this, it would seem that it is quite likely that Revolution will also be able to play movie-DVD's.

Coupling these new details with those already revealed (i.e. that revolution will be Wi-Fi ready right out of the box, be backwards compatible with GameCube, and feature wireless controllers), things are shaping up quite nicely for Nintendo in the next generation. Revolution is expected to ship in mid-2006.

More on Revolution and Zelda as Nintendo's pre-E³ conference approaches.

According to Game Informer Magazine, The Legend of Zelda for the GameCube finally has a name, "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess." Whether this is indeed the name for Zelda's next interation, or just another hoax, we'll find out for sure at E³, which is just a few short days away.

Just to show you all how much I love you, I have Chapter 7 of the manga finished already. How cool is that?

In case you haven't heard, E3 starts this week. I'll keep you guys updated with all the lastest news. First off, here are some screenshots from a magazine scan if you haven't already seen them:
Artwork

Now, here are the latest screenshots from the new Zelda game (special thanks to TSA):
Latest screens
Go to pages 2, 3, and 4 for the latest images.

Artwork:
Artwork
The subtitle "Twilight Princess" has been now been confirmed.

Here's the new Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess trailer posted on IGN:
Twilight Princess; Trailer 3

Update: According to the Nintendo website, Link gets transformed into a wolf as he travels the dark lands of Hyrule. He is captured but set free by a mysterious companion named Midna. Together, they must scour the land from the shadows.

In a newly relesed trailer, which I haven't personally seen as of yet due to my horribly slow internet connection, can be found over at IGN. The new trailer confirms that name of the new game as "Twilight Princess". Like it or love it, it's here to stay.

Also revealed was that Link does indeed change into a wolf, and the footage spotlights some of this action.

Interestingly, Link can also been seen walking around with a Hawk perched on his arm during the trailer. This would seem to indicate that the new Zelda will follow the storyline of a manga based off a movie called "Ladyhawk." This movie is about a couple in love. The woman changes into a hawk during the day, and a man into a wolf at night. They are only able to see each other in human form for the short time as night changes to day, and vice versa. If the game does indeed follow the story of "Ladyhawk," then the hawk will more than likely be Zelda.

Another new gameplay dynamic shown in the new trailer is Link riding a canoe.

It all sounds pretty sweet! I can't wait to see the trailer for myself, and I'm sure you all feel the same way.

Wow, the Twilight Princess information has really been surging today!

I noticed that the new trailer that we linked to earlier today was only viewable by those with IGN Insider. So I thought I'd let everyone know that the trailer is also viewable at the official Zelda site in both high and low resolutions.

Watch it, if you haven't already. It is SWEET.

When Zelda.com updated their Twilight Princess page with the awsome new trailer, they also gave a brief description of it. The description is as follows:

When an evil shadow stretches from the heart of Hyrule to its peaceful borderlands, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero within and stand tall in defense of his village. Lead Link and his beloved steed into battle against hordes of foul creatures with an incredible horseback combat system, then take on massive bosses that have to be seen to be believed. The last ray of hope for a dying realm, Link finds himself on an epic journey that will challenge him endlessly and transform him in ways unimaginable.

The Z-I team will continue to bring you new information on TP as it becomes available.

Well, a few more updates for your enjoyment. First we have 94 new screens, bringing up our total screens from the game so far to 149. These are from Gamespot, IGN, and ZHQ, so thank you to them.

However I have also put up the audio from the two most recent trailors, as to our knowledge, this is some form of in game music and hopefully points to the fact that it will be fully orchestrated.

And of course don't hesitate to check out the forums for discussion on the game.

Since I know that not everyone has the benefit of high-speed internet, I thought that those of us who are constrained by slow download speeds would benefit from a scene by scene depiction of the action in the latest trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. You can find the scene-by-scene here.

The trailer clocks just over 2 minutes. I’m sure you can tell by my descriptions that it is very action packed, but I couldn’t convey the beauty and epic feeling that you can only experience by watching the trailer. I highly recommend finding some way to watch the trailer for yourself, if at all possible.

I should also note that Zelda.com has listed the release for Twilight Princess as holiday 2005, so it looks like we’ll be seeing Zelda this year after all, despite growing doubt by many people.

A few things I would like to point out at this point as E3 continues:

*If you'd noticed from the latest trailer and new screenshots, cel-shading is still used to some extent in the actual game.

*Nintendo Insider notes the following things:
-The title of the game comes from the "Twilight" which is apparently a dark and evil force spreading throughout the world. Seems like there's some sort of a Dark/Light world thing going on.
-Link Transforms into a wolf whenever he enters the "Twilight" world. He is NOT a Werewolf
-The Female creature shown in the trailer riding link is an enemy of some sort, but you have to team up to fight an even greater evil.
-Link can talk to animals, and they teach you abilities throughout the game.
-Certain puzzles in dungeons require you going back and forth between the Light and Twilight worlds. (Similar to Link to the past and Metroid Prime 2)
-The entire soundtrack is fully orchestrated for the first time in Zelda history.
-The game is going to feature more Dungeons than OOT and the overall scale of the game is much much larger.

*Here's what you'll really love- actual gameplay footage taken from the French website Jeux-France
The important thing to note is that you can actually name your horse, so nostalgic OoT gamers, 'Epona' is back. Note that downloads might be slow and full of spoilers.

According to Jeuxfrance.com, Link will come into possession of a special shield with new powers. What special powers the shield will have was not revealed, but perhaps it has something to do with helping Link stay in human form while in the Twilight Realm.

We'll continue bringing you new info as it becomes available.

Those of you that were away from your computers yesterday are probably coming back to the world of the internet today, and are being completely overwhelmed by the vast amount of information that has surfaced about Twilight Princess in just a 24-hour period. So, for your convienience, I'm working to keep all of the little tidbits of information about TP in one convienient place. So if you can't keep up with all the Zelda sites that are constantly updating with new stuff, just keep watch on the info page I've created. It will contain all the TP information that Z-I has gathered up until this point, and I will undoubtedly be adding new things and editing existing things pretty much constantly as E3 rolls on.

So, please check it out: What we know so far.

Time for a quick update. There are now new gameplay videos posted on IGN and Gamespot. Keep in mind that if you don't have IGN Insider, you won't be able to view the higher quality videos on their site.

If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend checking out some of the gameplay videos, especially the horseback boss battle. In this update, I will note some of the similarities and differences in the gameplay for this game compared to previous Zelda titles. Small spoilers ahead:
*No voice acting, but the NPCs’ mouths move when they talk.
*Epona’s Song is back.
*Link can pick up leaves to play songs. I don’t know if the game will utilize some sort of OoT style instrumental playing.
*Chicken gliding is back.
*The game takes place a few decades after OoT, between OoT and TWW.
*Facial expressions from WW are back.
*Horseback boss battle – the fighting field (most likely Hyrule field) is enormous. The weather randomly changes from a rainstorm to clear skies. Certain items, like the sword and Red Potion in a bottle, are usable while on horseback. Link has the ability to ‘defend’ while on horseback. He can get knocked off his horse and take damage, but the game AI is programmed to make his horse stop a few feet in front of him if he gets knocked down (that’s a smart horse). The horse can jump pass short fences, similar to OoT and MM if you give it enough speed. It can also break small rocks in its path and can quickly turn around. Link attacks with his sword, and can also perform his classic Spin Attack while on horseback.
*There’s a dungeon called the Forest Temple. Dungeons will have themes to them.
*Link has a finishing move that he can perform to enemies that he’s knocked down.
*The Lantern from LttP is back, along with an upgraded boomerang called the Gale Boomerang.

For your convenience, links to Game Spy‘s, IGNCube’s and Game Spot’s hands-on Zelda impressions. Also, take a look at this Zelda Roundtable.

I have a few more Zelda details to share as well. It has been confirmed by Nintendo that TP takes place several decades after OoT and that the cloaked figure in the trailer is Zelda. It was also revealed that there is a connection between Zelda and Link changing into a wolf when he enters the Twilight Realm.

Link will be able to call Epona by whistling via a piece of grass. He will also be able to call the hawk the same way. Apparently this hawk is not Zelda after all. In any case, Link can call the hawk and get it to perform tasks for him, such as knocking down bee hives.

Some of the items that will be appearing in the game are the lantern, deku nuts, and the gale boomerang. The gale boomerang is like the normal boomerang, except that it can be used to whip up whirlwinds. According to Nintendo, many of the items in the game will be new to the Zelda series.

An interview with Zelda director Eiji Aonuma can be found at IGN. It reveals some interesting game play information such as when in wolf form, Link will gain enhanced vision and hearing abilities. Also, while Link is in wolf form, he will always be accompanied by Midna. She will also partner up with Link when the Twilight is pushed back and he returns to human form, though their partnership will be different then when he was a wolf. Mr. Aonuma also revealed that Link’s horse will not be his only means of transportation, including more canoeing which was seen in the new trailer. Mr. Aonuma and his team are trying to make this game better than Ocarina of Time in almost everyway. Sounds good to me!

There were some questions floating around this morning about where in the timeline Twilight Princess will fit. It was confirmed that it would take place a few decades after Ocarina of Time, but there were some conflicting stories when GameSpy's partial transcript of the Round Table interview was published. They have Mr. Aonuma's answer to said question as taking place after Wind Waker, not OoT. So naturally, there was some confusion this morning.

Since I speak decent Japanese, I listened to the related part of the interview again. I listened to it over and over again, just to be certain of what I was hearing and understanding. There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Aonuma said that Twilight Princess will take place a few decades after Ocarina of Time, not Wind Waker. Whether this is a royal screwup on Gamespy's part, or on Aonuma's part, I'm not sure. But, judging from the interview, I find it hard to believe that it was just Aonuma misspeaking, because there was more than one question asked about where TP would fit into the timeline, and he not only said it would be after Ocarina of Time, but also answered a followup question by saying it would be between OoT and WW. So I'm more inclined to believe it was Gamespy's error. Do I know for certain? No. But that's what I will believe until I hear otherwise. It may be that I've missed a really vital piece of information, and what Gamespy has is indeed a correction that I somehow missed. We'll just have to wait until we have more information.

Nintendo has confirmed the placement in the timeline of Twilight Princess. It will indeed come after Ocarina of Time, not Wind Waker.

Also - how's this for cool? Nintendo, it seems, is planning a worldwide release of Twilight Princess. Meaning, it will be released in Japan, America, and Europe at the same time, probably this coming holiday season. Wow.

In a recent interview with Game Informer, Zelda Director/Producer Eiji Aonuma stated that the Zelda game being developed for the DS is not a Four Swords game. It is in fact, an entirely different game. Rumours circulated that Zelda DS would be a Four Swords game after comments made my Aonuma. What Aonuma meant to say; however, was that a Four Swords game would be very easy to do on the DS, due to it having two screens, not that Nintendo was in the process of making one.

We'll have more on this game, as it becomes available.

Yeah, the manga is running late. I know, and I'm sorry. I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm not dead - I just have a lot going on at the moment. I'm transferring to a new college, and there's a surprising amount of stuff involved, none of which is all that much fun. But I'll get Ch 8 out as soon as I can. Just keep being patient.