Grazza

Yep, I'm getting a "best since the GameCube" vibe too. I think it's because the graphics and controls seem really good. He's right, isn't he? Real 3D should be captured with a twin lens, so you would be able to see the sides of things. Apparently the 3DS's camera is not like this, but shows layers of 2D. Not a deal-breaker, but a tad disappointing.

Don't miss the 700th episode of The Sky At Night, tonight at 11.25 on BBC1. Also of interest may be Wonders of the Universe, also tonight, at 9pm on BBC2.

It's certainly baffling me. I don't think it'll be a compilation, as the exact versions of the older games are available on WiiWare. Plus, there was never a revamped "Zelda AllStars", so that rules out making that available. I'll rule out a 3D remake of something. Maybe a 2D remake, but I thought it sounded like some sort of online thing. To be honest, I am getting my hopes up for something quite good.

My three picks are: * Zelda: Spirit Tracks * Dragon Quest IX * Shantae: Risky's Revenge Three different genres there and, overall, the best of their types.

Well, I finished it (with 37 items out of 40). It's not a short game, in my opinion, if you find everything yourself. Took me over 9 hours. I just loved it, such was its joie de vivre. Can't remember a time when I've seen graphics, music and gameplay so perfect. Shantae controls so brilliantly - just the tiniest press of a button will make her jump a tiny amount. You'd think the buttons were analogue. The game structure is highly unpredictable and fresh, and certainly the best "Metroidvania" on the DS. It feels like a retro dream come true, only real retro games never looked or played this good! So, well worth £12. If parts 2 & 3 become available, I will buy them in an instant. Same goes for any sequels on 3DS Ware. Score: 10/10

Yep, half-inch = pinch. I suppose it's Cockney Rhyming slang.

Oh, gotcha, I can see why you thought that. To me, Wind Waker's finished graphics are better than the original trailer, whereas Twilight Princess is the reverse. If only Nintendo could give us "The Legend of Zelda 2004" as a free WiiWare download to play about with.. Hopefully the finished Skyward Sword graphics will blow away both trailers we've seen so far...

Maybe it's just me, but the lighting looks better and Link seems to be more detailed. When it was remodelled for the Wii, it went all "bloom". As for hype, Twilight Princess was the last game I was hyped for too. I'll be honest, I'd like to feel that excitement again. I believe if the game is good enough it can live up to the hype.

I've watched that 2004 trailer so many times, I know which bit of music should be playing where, even though I'm currently using no speakers or headphones... It's a masterpiece. Anyone can see why we were looking forward to the game so much. I still say that trailer had much better graphics than the finished game. Look at how the trees in the forest are fully-modelled and three-dimensional. I'm a huge fan of Wind Waker's cel-shading, but the 2004 trailer makes an unarguable case for the realistic style too.

Hard to explain, but it just doesn't feel as though they've really aimed that high, however much fun it is (which is a lot). It feels a bit... "throwaway". Don't get me wrong, it's in my Top 3 Wii Games, but a real 9 or 10/10 game feels different to Other M. Take Metroid Prime, for instance, which is in many ways less fun than Other M, but feels far more epic, has immense graphical detail and an intense soundtrack. Or, to compare to something on the same console, rather than the same series, Other M doesn't feel as ambitious as Super Mario Galaxy. Let's say you download a game for WiiWare or DSi Ware for £10. It might be brilliant, but you wouldn't expect it to be up there with Mario or Zelda. Metroid, on the other hand, could be up there with those two, but Other M feels like a game that's aimed to be £20. A great £20 game, but still £20. To be more specific, I feel a 10/10 console Metroid would have nailed all the issues like analogue vs d-pad control, or 1st- vs 3rd-person perspective etc, difficult as they may be. Whilst I agree it's the best attempt at translating the 2D games into 3D, it doesn't give me the same feeling of brilliance as them.

I reckon Nintendo are going the right way with the trailers, to be honest. TP's were a bit.... melodramatic. There's a good kind of hype and a bad type. The thing that spoiled Twilight Princess was when every preview said "You start the game in Ordon Village, then this happens, then you go to the Forest Temple, then something else happens..." We don't need to know story or village info.

Agree. The funniest ones I've played are probably: Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door Shantae: Risky's Revenge To be funny, a game has to be a bit cheeky, a bit surprising - that description fits the above. Also, almost everything in Dragon Quest IX is a pun, although maybe not laugh-out-loud.

Also, it needs to have as many sticks and buttons as the GameCube, or it'll never control as well again.

The launch line-up is... OK. There are a handful of good games, but I think it's fair to say there's no AAA. Like Fierce Link says though, the pre-loaded content is particularly good... I'm most interested in the Augmented Reality. My verdict is that it's a very exciting new bit of tech, but (for now) only if you're interested in the 3D. If not, then at least it's the DS 2, and will be a must-buy once a AAA game is released. In the meantime, £200 is not a bad price for such a machine whilst we wait for Zelda.

I've enthused so much about Wind Waker over the years, I fear repeating myself. However, it is still the best game I've ever played. One thing I'll mention is the graphics, particularly the shading, as I think they're misunderstood. Many games that are cartoony (including the DS Zeldas) get called "cel-shaded", but look at the shading in WW - it's magnificent. That video you posted, for instance - look at how Link's hat has the solid area of shading underneath. This is true cel-shading at work - literally when cels of shading wash over the picture. I've never seen this bettered in a full game, although the cutscenes in Punch-Out Wii give an idea of what might be possible one day. Another reason I say they're misunderstood is because people often say cel-shaded graphics are a way to make a game look impressive on a weak system. Well, the GameCube was not weak - it was a powerhouse - and that's why Wind Waker looked so good. The other thing I'll mention is the sense of exploration. The game begins on Outset Island, giving you an urge to discover what might be out there. Many games start on an island, only to leave it via cutscenes, but in Wind Waker, that is the playable game world. Not an illusion, but the actual game world! Sailing between islands not only fitted beautifully within the game's "wind" theme, but also gave you a sense of journey. Above all, Wind Waker feels like an artistic vision made real. May there one day be a Zelda that exceeds it.

Regarding the problem with this looking like Twilight Princess, I agree with Jonnas that few (I didn't like the wolf or Twilight) of TP's problems could be seen in the trailers. However, the issue is that it uses the same engine (not modified for the next generation like they usually are, but exactly the same thing). Furthermore, Skyward Sword doesn't look like it features roaming landscapes. Instead, it seems just as fenced-off as Twilight Princess. Not a huge problem for me, but not what I expected on the new platform after waiting five years. It's Majora's Mask, except MM only took two years after OOT to be released. My concern about motion controls in general is not whether they are tacked on (obviously not the case with Skyward Sword), but whether they fundamentally improve gameplay in the first place. It's just that, in the early days, reviewers of Wii games criticised tacked-on controls, and that they were not 1:1. Once upon a time, I too thought what the Wii needed was more accurate controls. The trouble is, that's exactly what happened and, rather than improving anything, it just shone a glaring light on the fundamental problem. When I first played Wii Sports Resort in my living room, I was very impressed with the accuracy of MotionPlus. The sword moved in exactly the same way as my hand, and vice versa. Finally, Nintendo had achieved true 1:1. The same goes for Red Steel 2, which had controls that were just as good. However, when trying to play these games in my bedroom (where I play anything lengthy, like Zelda), I realised how tiresome this concept was. When your arm has to move just as much, and as forcefully, as your avatar, there is much more chance of knocking into furniture. Archery, paddling a canoe... they all require much more consideration to what you're doing in reality, rather than letting you immerse yourself with what's happening on screen. The best Wii games - Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, Metroid: Other M - use the pointer and very little (or no) motion control. As it stands, Skyward Sword is due to be highly anomalous - the only big Nintendo game to truly use this concept of moving yourself as much as your on-screen protagonist. If it fails, Skyward Sword will forever be this oddity that you have to break out your Wii Remote Plus for. Whilst I won't berate Nintendo for trying something new, I would like them to realise when something's past its welcome, else they may ruin the best series they've ever created.

Love it. I think this game might be about the various swords personified, ie. the Spirit of the Master Sword vs the Spirit of the Gilded Sword, and maybe others. EDIT - I typed this before your post, Ronnie. We're onto something. By the way, I believe that mystery character is who people think it might be...

Hmm... I think you're right about the first part. Back in those days (2007, 2008), Nintendo were more focused on the casual/blue ocean (whatever people want to call it) market. Remember, they didn't even plan a Nunchuk for the Wii until Retro Studios insisted upon it. Imagine that, no analogue stick! My theory is that, as Nintendo didn't really "want" a Nunchuk, they had in mind a Zelda that only used the Wii Remote, sort of a point & click. Of course, I'm straying far into the realm of speculation here. Then something happened - Nintendo went hardcore crazy around 2009. They revealed Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M in the same E3, the former having insanely difficult challenges. I can't remember exactly when, but it was around this time that Eiji Aonuma revealed that "Zelda Wii" would be based on the Twilight Princess engine, which came as a surprise to me (for the reasons you mention). So, I do think they changed tactics. However, I'm doubtful we'll see that "Fresh Zelda" on the next machine because I, rightly or wrongly, always imagined it as a "Casual Zelda". Sorry to people who dislike those terms, it's just the best way I can explain what I mean.

I think it's so it still feels like the original, just sharper and more colourful. If you changed the polygon models too much (or even made them out of polygons, instead of 2D like the cobwebs), it might not feel like OOT. Yep, OOT Link is the peak of his character design, in my opinion (and I say that as someone whose favourite Zelda is Wind Waker). I thought that too. OOT had such a good vibe when you went into the shops. The potion shop too, was nice and mysterious. EDIT - And that comparison is brilliant! They've worked wonders.

Oh come on, you know I was taking about the N64 version. The 3DS remake has much more vibrant colours.

Or at least use it as model. Why not?

Playing Shantae: Risky's Revenge on DSi W0are just clarified to me how Nintendo could make the perfect Metroid. It has to be fully 2D and made with sprites, it really does - they're just so nice to look at. I wouldn't even mind if it had to be 3DS Ware (rather than a retail product), I'm confident full 2D would be the best way. As much as I enjoyed Other M, I wouldn't really mind if Retro were put back onto console Metroids. Yes, I found Other M more fun than Prime, but I'd still rate it below the 2D ones. That way, we could have 1st-person perfection for those that love it, and 2D perfection for those of us who love that. Other M was a game I think most could enjoy, but was it good enough to be many people's favourite? I liked it, but couldn't really give it a 9 or 10/10. I just think console games in general take themselves too seriously, with all the cutscenes and all. About GDC... this was the first one I've watched live. Is it just me, or was Iwata a bit ominous when he was talking about "Industry Concerns"? I thought Nintendo were going to fold or something!

Absolutely gorgeous. Vibrant, colourful - this is how you do a game with Adult Link in it.

Coincidentally, the famous "Legend of Zelda 2004" trailer actually used music from Conan the Barbarian (as you're probably aware). OK... This Skyward Sword trailer is a lot better than the last and it's sent my hype soaring. I loved the huge Moblin (!!!) with its spear and destructable shield. A couple of concerns though: 1) the gimmicky motion control. But OK, I'm just gonna have to get used to that. This game will be released, motion control and all, and I'm hoping then people come to the conclusion that it doesn't fit in a Zelda game. My biggest concern is the next Zelda (on the Wii 2) having motion control. I hope Nintendo gets it out if its system by then. Not just Nintendo, but sites like IGN. I want to say to them "You've finally got your 1:1 motion control. Happy? No, it's crap, isn't it?" 2) The graphics. As others have said, they are washed-out. I always thought the E3 2010 version of Skyward Sword needed stronger blacks, more black "ink", if you like, to provide contrast with the gorgeous colours. Now they are just duller and less vibrant. But as I've said before, I don't really care if Skyward Sword isn't perfect. If this needs to be a game where Nintendo experiments with a lot of things, so be it. Bring it on.

No, I meant what nando suggested - that every screenshot is from the same angle, which is not behind Mario.