Zelda Infinite

The last two evenings have been nothing but me, the couch, my laptop, and a kanji dictionary. So, Chapter 8 is out.

IGN posted a new video and a couple of images for Twilight Princess. You'll notice that the Skull Kid is back to cause more trouble.

Also, in their latest article, they pieced together all the known info and observations:

- According to Eiji Aonuma, Twilight Princess is set after Ocarina of Time and before Wind Waker. This has of course created a bit of controversy, as the storylines from Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker do not seamlessly connect, as purists have pointed out. Still, Nintendo has never gone out of its way to chronologically align the series, and has instead preferred simply to say that with every game there is a new Link and a new Zelda.
- In Twilight Princess, Link is about 16 or 17-years-old, according to Eiji Aonuma.
- The video of course confirms that Link can change into a wolf. However, it does not appear that gamers will be able to trigger the change whenever they desire. Rather, the transformation occurs depending upon where Link goes.
- In Twilight Princess, Hyrule is under attack by a mysterious force known as the Twilight Realm. The shadowy alternate dimension is spreading throughout the land, sucking anyone or anything in its path through.
- When Link enters the Twilight Realm, he automatically changes into a wolf. According to Eiji Aonuma, humans cannot exist in their current form in the Twilight Realm. When they cross over, they change into animals, which can exist in the alternate dimension.
- When Link enters the Twilight and changes into a wolf, he encounters a mysterious new female character named Midna. She dons a magical mask that covers one eye and rides on top of wolf Link. The two are inseparable in the Twilight Realm.
- When Link clears an area in the Twilight Realm, it changes back to normal Hyrule and he returns to human form.
- Midna also undergoes a change when she exits the Twilight Realm. "If you go with the strictest definition of exist then yes, she can exist in normal Hyrule," explains Eiji Aonuma. "But there is a certain kind of subtlety to that which I can't reveal at this point in time." Some gamers have speculated that Midna is in fact Link's shadow, which comes to life in Twilight.
- Ganon is in the game and very likely the main antagonist.
- The creatures and look of the Twilight Realm will have sci-fi elements to them, according to Eiji Aonuma. However, he says, the title will still be fantasy based.
- Link will be able to combine items in the game. He combines bombs and arrows to create bomb arrows in an older trailer. In the latest footage, he carries a lantern and oil, presumably to refill the light-giving device when it runs out.
- The game is much bigger in scope than Ocarina of Time, which it strives to better in every way. Because of this, Link will actually need to use Epona to cross very long distances as it would simply take way too long to travel on foot.
- Eiji Aonuma says that with Twilight Princess, locations -- presumably structures and temples -- will be enormous, truly dwarfing Link in scale.
- Link can use a canoe to traverse waterways.
- The hero can dive and swim underwater, which suggests there will be a Water Temple.
- According to Eiji Aonuma, Link might be able to fly across great distances, presumably on the back of a still-unrevealed winged beast. We're hoping for a dragon.
- The character will gain more weapons and items than ever before. Some will be returning weapons and items while others will be brand new to the series.
- Link will be able to fish again and also use chickens to float.
- There will be more dungeons and boss battles in the game than in any other Zelda.
- Zelda is in the game. She is the cloaked figure seen in videos. She wears this mourner's robe to mourn what she sees as the death of Hyrule at the hands of the Twilight Realm.
- Zelda may be able to transform into an animal, according to Eiji Aonuma.
- There will not be any significant time travel in the game, as there was in Ocarina of Time. That seems to indicate that Link will probably stay the same age and not grow older.
- The game will run in progressive scan and Dolby Pro Logic II, but not 16x9 widescreen mode.
- The title will feature orchestrated music as well as MIDI songs.

More details soon to come.

This isn't directly related to Zelda, but as an amateur translator, I took a great interest. Lord-of-shadow over at Zelda Legends, our affiliate, conducted an interview with a Japanese-to-English translator that works for the game industry. It's really a cool read, so you may want to check that out.

Also, I'll be releasing Ch9 and Ch10, the final two chapters of the first Ocarina of Time manga, in a pack together, hopefully in the next few days, so expect that soon.

Chapters 9 and 10 are complete and ready for your reading. And with this, the first Ocarina of Time manga is complete. You know you love it. XD

Besides that, I got to thinking about how incredibly long it's been since I gave thought to my fanfic. It's mostly because I'm not sure where to take it. But I'm going to try putting some work into the next chapter of it, for those that are, for whatever reason, STILL hanging in there and waiting for me. Luv you guys.

The sketch board and chat room are going to be down for a while, while we make some modifications. Apparently, some not-so-nice things have been going on in there, and we're going to revamp our system and do things differently. So it's inaccessable for now. Sorry. I'll let you know when it's available again.

Okay, the sketch board and chat room is back up, after a much-shorter-than-expected downtime.

The reason it was taken down was because it was abused.

We initially put the thing up long long ago, and kinda forgot about it for the most part. But we've recently been noticing bad behavior, and needed to modify things a bit.

There are now a set of rules to agree to and follow. There will also be moderators watching most of the time, which is a big change from before, when we just kinda forgot it existed. So, if you choose to break the new rules, you get warned, and banned if it continues. Simple as that. So, those of you that thought it'd be funny to draw dirty pictures and whatnot... behave yourselves this time, okay?

The first chapter of the second Ocarina of Time manga is now available.

The word on the street is that the second Four Swords manga has finally been released in Japan. This calls for a birthday present to myself! *frolics to Ebay*

The second chapter of OoT II is ready.

And, oh my goodness, there was A LOT of talking in this one... *passes out on a pile of dictionaries*

Can we say, "personal record"? Chapter 3 of OoT II is ready.

I am on a roll! Yeah, this chapter was a little shorter than most of the recent ones... but hey, it's still a roll.

Just a bit of interesting information regarding the upcoming GameCube title, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. According to Eiji Aonuma in a recent interview, the North American audience has greatly influenced this latest Zelda installment. Apparently, American localization teams were heavily relied upon for such things as designing the Link model.

Mr. Aonuma also explained that working with realistic graphics has been a bit of a challenge for them. With realism, they have to make sure that everything seems as realistic as possible. They had to do things like slow down the sword battles, to make it seem as though Link feels the weight of his sword as he swings it.

Keep checking back to Z-I.com for more information on Twilight Princess as it becomes available.

And now, for a special treat. I have not one, but two manga chapters ready for you to read. These two chapters are the final chapters in the actual Ocarina of Time story. All that remains in the second OoT book is the two Child Saga extra chapters and the extra Adult Saga chapter. Don't let that fool you, though - those three chapters alone are the entire second half of the book. They're kinda long. So, they may take me a little extra time to get through.

I've also alphabetized the Affiliates list, because it was looking messy, and I finally got around to updating the Twilight Princess fact sheet with some of the new information we've gotten since E3.

Looks like Nintendo intends to pull out all the stops for the launch of its next-generation console, codenamed Revolution. In a recent issue of EGM, Nintendo VP Reggie Fils-Aime was interviewed and he divulged a few details about the launch of the Revolution. In addition to Super Smash Bros. 3, which is more than likely to again feature Link, Nintendo will also be launching the Revolution with ZELDA. That's right! Nintendo is finally using its most beloved franchise to push their console at launch.

Also of note to Zelda fans is that Eiji Aonuma has stated that Zelda DS will be controlled primarily with the touch screen.

Zelda Infinite will have more on Zeldas DS, Revolution and Twilight Princess as soon as it becomes available.

I've just finished and uploaded the first extra Child Saga chapter. So. Much. Talking. X_x

Also, I made a new poll, for my own information-gathering purposes. Translating these mangas takes up so much of my free time that I want to make sure that people are enjoying them. I mean, the personal satisfaction alone is almost enough for me to make it worth the time, but I want to know what everyone else thinks of them, too. Check that out, okay? <3

The second Child Saga Extra Chapter is finished.

Thanks, everybody, for voting in my little poll! So far the response has been overwhelmingly for me to continue what I'm doing, so I'll do so. It's good to know.
I'll leave it up for another couple of days.

The next chapter I'm doing is the extra Adult Saga chapter, so expect that one in a few days.