darkjak Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 What a hollow way of describing Zelda games. You've pretty much described a formula that is applicable to any or most games on the market. Say what? Very few games apply to my description. Very few games push their hardware to a new level, very few games have new, innovative cutting edge controls. And very few games have gameplay innovations that everyone copies. You're very right that "magic" is a part of the formula. But as you say yourself: that isn't quantifiable and what you consider magic is very individual.
Rummy Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Honestly I think limited the game to certain speech voice acting etc will ruin some of that magic, it's like reading a book then seeing the film of it, it changes everything. I CAN see the point, but I prefer how zelda characters tend to make strange noises and mumbles in place of speech, theres something very...welcoming? accomodating? a word i can't quite place, about it. As for the why, I was just curious as to why you believed Zelda to be the creme de la creme of video games. Like genuinely wondered your reasons why. Just because of rave reviews? That's not a good argument for a series you argue as being one of the best of all time. I think we have too much choice these days which skews our perception. Not denying they're all fantastic games, but what's the real difference between LA, LttP, and...the original Zelda 1(does it have another name?)? Graphical upgrades, gameplay upgrades, what? I'm playing devil's advocate to some extent here, but I think that shouldn't detract anything from my actual points.
Hero-of-Time Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Rumours! Yes, we do remember Zordiana - but that doesn't mean that we're now so paranoid of rumors that we don't think they're worth discussing. I think that should be pretty obvious based on all the Project Café stuff we've been posting about lately. Anyway, let's cut to the chase. These rumors come from 4chan, which unfortunately is an extremely mixed bag in terms of authenticity that makes these hard to peg one way or the other. Yes, this is a rumored "leak" of information about Skyward Sword, similar to the infamous Zordiana rumors from last year - except without reference to a fictional Aonuma speech. Yes, there's no real way to verify their accuracy - just like most rumors - so I'm not even going to try. I am, however, going to rate the individual parts of this rumor based on how plausible they seem to me. (Note: Me means me personally.) Skyward Sword is complete, but still needs debugging/testing. Given that the game's status in January was "in the final completion stage," I'd say this is probably pretty accurate. Testing is going to be a very important and very lengthy process given this game's heavy use of Wii MotionPlus, which of course comes with a whole slew of potential problems that Nintendo's never really had to work around in any of their games before (since, of course, only one of them has actually used Wii MotionPlus). Of course, this is a pretty "safe" rumor in that it could basically have arisen from information we already knew without any real insider source to tell us so. So while I'd say I probably believe this is the case, I wouldn't say I believe this means these rumors come from an actual leak. There will be a demo at E3 with three different aspects of the game explored: Flying combat, overworld + sky exploration, desert dungeon. Not exactly sure what to think about this one. I'm not even sure there's going to be any kind of flight combat - although if this game's gameplay is based on Wii Sports Resort as much as it seems I wouldn't be too surprised if they found some way of splashing a skydiving/combat hybrid in there. And what would "sky exploration" consist of? I was under the impression that most of the "exploration" would take place on the ground, with Skyloft being a sort of starting point. Maybe the idea is that we'll finally get to see Skyloft at E3? That's possible. The desert dungeon demo sounds pretty plausible, though. We already got a glimpse of the desert area in the GDC Skyward Sword trailer, so it's not much of a stretch to say we'll get to play through part or all of it at this year's E3. (Personally though, I think that fire dungeon we saw way back in the E3 2010 trailer is a more likely contender - although who knows? Maybe they're one in the same.) Skyward Sword girl's name is "Dorella." I remember Zordiana too well to really place much stock in this one. There's no real way for me to say whether a character's name is especially likely or unlikely, so this sounds like a case where I'll have to stick to skepticism. "No source, no credibility." Magician from GDC trailer's name is "Nephiburoo," he'll be a part of a group of evil sorcerers who wish to obtain the Triforce. What is it with this obsession with naming in rumors? They're just about the easiest parts to debunk! At least if you left out names and kept your speculations vague enough you might possibly be able to pass them off as confirmed later on. Ah, well. The evil sorcerers thing intrigues me, though. I mean, of course that guy was clearly some kind of sorcerer, so already this one sounds pretty neat. But given Skyward Sword's chronological placement relative to the rest of the series, this seems like a likely way to retreat an already-prominent backstory: the tales of strife in the land as people fought over the Triforce told in A Link to the Past, alluded to in Ocarina of Time, and featured prominently in Twilight Princess. And speaking of Twilight Princess, let's not forget that that sorcerer dude bears some similarities to the Twili - which has already led me to speculate on the subject. I can't call this confirmed (and I'm not even going to consider thinking about the name), but I can call it "just about the most likely thing we don't know about the game." Ganondorf is in the game briefly as a child. Isn't too important to the story. At first when I read this, I thought "no way, Nintendo never gives that much attention to timeline-related issues." But then I thought back on the fact that the Spirit Tracks team has moved over to work on Skyward Sword and suddenly this one started to seem a whole lot more likely. Spirit Tracks was full of direct references to The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, including a handful of specific characters who either lived to old age or were held in cherished memory. Is a young Ganondorf really that implausible given that they featured Niko the pirate swabbie as an over-100? Zelda has a new design, similar to an Egyptian princess with brown hair. She's still recognizable however. This one's a curious rumor as well. Given the game's largely exotic aesthetic - with hints of zen paradisaical settings, Aztec-style temples, and other strange new landscapes - I wouldn't be surprised if Hylian culture shows a very different face during the Skyward Sword era than it does in other games. Not to mention that even though there's definitely a large basis on Twilight Princess graphically in this game - look at Link's animations especially - almost all of the enemies have gotten some kind of remodeling treatment, and the princess is probably more susceptible to a redesign than Link. Zelda being essentially Egyptian is oddly specific, though, and unless the source of these rumors is somehow misunderstanding the cultural influence, we haven't really seen anything to suggest an Egyptian presence. Of course, just because we haven't seen it doesn't mean that won't be the case. I'm gonna slap this one dead in the middle on the accuracy scale since I honestly have no idea what to make of it. Full orchestrated soundtrack by the person responsible for Super Mario Galaxy's soundtrack. This one was actually confirmed a few days back! Mahito Yokota, one of the major composers for Super Mario Galaxy, is in fact back for Skyward Sword. This of course more than likely suggests more live orchestral performances, which I'm personally ultra-excited about. I'd be curious to find out whether this leak predated this discovery - although, honestly, with Nintendo already talking about wanting a live orchestra sound in Skyward Sword, bringing the guy behind the Galaxy music seems like a no-brainer. Two overworlds: Skyloft and Hyrule. Contrast is similar to Heaven and Hell. Now this one's interesting. At first glance it sounds like something we already know, but then you look at the implications of calling Skyloft an "overworld" and suddenly it means a whole lot more. I was originally under the impression that it would be some kind of hub world akin to Super Mario 64's Peach's Castle from which you'd access a number of conduits to the lower world, where the real action would take place, but looking back on Aonuma's statements on the matter it seems as though Skyloft may in fact be a full-blown world in its own right. So basically the story evolves in his traveling from Skyloft to the land below, and back and forth, as he is led by the Skyward Sword. That Aonuma describes the relationship between the two lands in the story as "traveling back and forth" makes it sound a lot more like the classic "two worlds" concept seen in many RPGs and several Zelda games. We know that the surface world is ruled by evil forces, and we know that Skyloft is a heavenly sort of land, so the heaven and hell comparison may for our purposes already be more or less confirmed. How far that comparison could go is still up in the air - the rumors are careful to keep it vague enough so as not to leave much room for discrepancy. We'll see if Skyloft is actually a true "overworld" in the same sense that the surface world is soon enough, but for now, after rethinking what we've been told, this one seems pretty sound. Ten minute live-action prologue that'll be posted on the net a couple of months before release. This was another of those pieces that at first I didn't believe at all. Then I took a moment to think about it and realized that the idea probably wasn't to have this as the opening for the game, but rather as a pre-release marketing stunt. But this has never really been done by Nintendo before! It seems like making an actual movie to tell the story of their game is a little out of their ballpark (unless you're Sean Malstrom, who believes that most games these days try too hard to be movies). One thought crossed my mind, though: could this be Zelda Williams' secret project? Thanks to our commenter mrawful for this observation: Zelda is rumored to have brown hair and take on an Egyptian princess aesthetic. Zelda Williams also has brown hair and could definitely pull off the Egyptian look. Could there be a connection? After you complete the game, the game goes into a storyless, neverending epilogue. Every dungeon in the game gets another dungeon inside of it utilizing everything you've obtained in the game with new bosses. New areas on the overworld are unlocked in places you wouldn't expect. Similar to the original Zelda. A true "second quest." A "Master Quest." But this time, it actually consists of post-game content rather than rehashed dungeons from the original. Yeah, I have to say I'm down for that. But is it something that would actually happen? Well, I mean, if you look at Metroid: Other M - then yeah, there's no reason why Nintendo couldn't add a real post-game to Skyward Sword that isn't story-driven and is all about new content. And if they're really going as "back to basics" with this one as they claim, a second quest that majorly extends playtime seems like common sense. I'm not sure the new stuff would be quite as extreme as this rumor is letting on, but I think Nintendo has learned enough to know the value of such an approach. Game will feature horse riding and boat riding. Not as expansive as seen in Twilight Princess and Wind Waker, however, but a boat will be required to complete some dungeons. Honestly, from what I've seen of and heard about the game's focus on increased content density versus world size and scale, it doesn't seem like they're leaving enough open space for a horse or boat to be especially practical. Of course, this doesn't mean they're not tossing in a couple large fields or waterways amidst all the dense overworld areas for old time's sake, but suffice to say that I don't know that they'd really want to focus on including vehicle travel in any substantial capacity when this game's supposed to be all about advancing the series' gameplay with Wii Motion Plus. Not to mention that if any special travel mechanic were to appear, it'd probably have something to do with the sky. Coming November 1st, 2011. Wow, this looks almost exactly like GameStop's projected release date! Not sure I place much stock in the specific date of November 1st, but that timeframe seems pretty likely - Nintendo loves giving their big games the holiday season spotlight. Nintendo of America usually saves the big releases for Sundays - of course with some exceptions - but Japan's big releases usually fall on Thursdays. November 1 is of course neither a Sunday or a Thursday, but then do you really think Nintendo has a set, specific date in mind already? November is still five months away, and usually true release dates don't pop up until about two months before the scheduled debut. As a target date, though? Yeah, I could see Nintendo having a "okay, we're going to get it out by November" mentality. So while I doubt this is the "real release date," I do think that "before November" is probably the basic schedule Nintendo has in mind. Alot of these must be bogus but I love the idea of revisiting dungeons.
LostOverThere Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Okay, now I'm hyped. :P The idea heaven and hell thing makes a lot of sense and prove to be an incredibly interesting idea. I always feel Zelda games make the most impact when they deal with universal themes like this.
killer kirby Posted June 1, 2011 Posted June 1, 2011 Two overworlds: Skyloft and Hyrule. Contrast is similar to Heaven and Hell. I swear if they make both worlds fleshed out and make it simmilar to what Horii did with DQVI (Going back and fourth between the dream world and reality world) Then I will be fucking hyped. I just wanted to say, when I first played Zelda Wind Waker, I was so hyped when I finally got to underwater hyrule I thought to myself "SWEET ANOTHER WORLD TO EXPLORE!!!" The land looked huge and I was grinning throughout the whole event in the castle...however there was no exploration...just a straight line...to go to Ganon's tower...biggest tease Nintendo has ever did to me:( Anyway 4chan is always an interesting read sometimes, there was a board I once read about info on Red Dead Redemption, a lot of it sounded BS but in the end it was true.
The Peeps Posted June 2, 2011 Posted June 2, 2011 Starting to feel some real interest in this game again. Not quite up to hype levels... I think the incredibly long wait for Twilight Princess killed my ability to hype. I was hyped for that game for years
Jamba Posted June 2, 2011 Posted June 2, 2011 The point about the game being "pretty much ready" and therefore will come out in November is garbage. The idea of a game being in Beta that long is frankly a waste of time and money. Contrary to what most people think, games are tested all throughout production, right from early alpha right through to gold and afterwards. As for the most of the other points, I'm extremely skeptical about the open world ending. It just doesn't seem very Nintendo.
Burny Posted June 2, 2011 Posted June 2, 2011 After you complete the game, the game goes into a storyless, neverending epilogue. Every dungeon in the game gets another dungeon inside of it utilizing everything you've obtained in the game with new bosses. New areas on the overworld are unlocked in places you wouldn't expect. Similar to the original Zelda. That sounds incredibly unlikely... I mean, it might completely feasible for the typical (semi-)turn based JRPG to repackage dungeons after the initial ending like that. Give every monster 10 times as much health, change the immunities a bit, throw some stronger enemies from the late game into the fray and you're done. But for a full featured 3D Zelda? Why on earth would they bother to design a completely modified version of every dungeon with a completely new boss for after the game is finished? That'd roughly double the amount of time they need to design the dungeons. And only making it accessible for people who have completed the game means that maybe half of the people buying the game would ever touch these dungeons and areas. Not that I would complain if they bothered to include large amounts of post-game content. I just can't see them letting their team spend a significant amount of time on "free" bonus content when they could use that manpower on other projects.
darkjak Posted June 2, 2011 Posted June 2, 2011 That sounds incredibly unlikely... I mean, it might completely feasible for the typical (semi-)turn based JRPG to repackage dungeons after the initial ending like that. Give every monster 10 times as much health, change the immunities a bit, throw some stronger enemies from the late game into the fray and you're done. But for a full featured 3D Zelda? Why on earth would they bother to design a completely modified version of every dungeon with a completely new boss for after the game is finished? That'd roughly double the amount of time they need to design the dungeons. And only making it accessible for people who have completed the game means that maybe half of the people buying the game would ever touch these dungeons and areas. Not that I would complain if they bothered to include large amounts of post-game content. I just can't see them letting their team spend a significant amount of time on "free" bonus content when they could use that manpower on other projects. The thing is, if you look at Ocarina, there was a "dungeon" in Gerudo Valley where you could unlock some or other object. If I remember correctly, you needed to complete everything except Ganondorfs castle to win there. I believe Nintendo should give players something to do once they've completed the game. Something else than finding all the golden skultulas so you can get rewarded with infinite rupies, which you won't even need because you've allready won the game. However, I don't believe this dungeon within the dungeon-stuff. Maye a couple of secret rooms, or a Master Quest-ish thing. Not to go off topic, but I feel more hyped about this supposed new Zelda game than for SS. Even though I don't have the slightest doubt that I'll buy both (if the myster Zelda title isn't something completely underwhelming, like a Crossbow Training).
Rummy Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) The thing is, if you look at Ocarina, there was a "dungeon" in Gerudo Valley where you could unlock some or other object. If I remember correctly, you needed to complete everything except Ganondorfs castle to win there. I believe Nintendo should give players something to do once they've completed the game. Something else than finding all the golden skultulas so you can get rewarded with infinite rupies, which you won't even need because you've allready won the game.However, I don't believe this dungeon within the dungeon-stuff. Maye a couple of secret rooms, or a Master Quest-ish thing. Not to go off topic, but I feel more hyped about this supposed new Zelda game than for SS. Even though I don't have the slightest doubt that I'll buy both (if the myster Zelda title isn't something completely underwhelming, like a Crossbow Training). Semblances of unofficial dungeons have been in OoT, MM, AND WW. Not sure if there was anything in TP. OoT you had bottom of the well, that gerudo training ground(it was for ice arrow btw, and kind of nice despite being frustrating in that you only got so far before knowing you needed another item). Even the gerudo fortress sneaking itself was like a mini-dungeon type thing in my eyes. MM had both the skulltula houses, and I'm sure a few other bits I can't recall to mind right at this moment. WW had like the whole triforce quests etc! Mini/side dungeons are a definite plus in a zelda for me, the unexpected ones and bits you don't see coming. In fact, I think a big essence of zelda IS that whole world sort of approach/immersion, that there's...an entire actual world. Heart pieces, scattered across the land like treasure. The skulltulas, 100 to find in so many strange locations in weird variety of places across the entire world of the game, tediously annoying in that you can hear but cannot see. The heart piece/skulltula collection often gives them reason to throw in lots of these little bits that make a zelda zelda, for me. Edited June 3, 2011 by Rummy
Burny Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 Yes, yes, that's fine and all and we're probably going to see something like it in every Zelda (think stamps in Spirit Tracks, optional dungeons in TP, fairies in MM's temples etc.), but it's a completely different quality from what that rumor says or the way the guy interprets it. It's all relatively easy to include collectibles or one or two optional mini-dungeons. That's not redoing every dungeon in the game and designing a new boss for it because that means major effort. Though that's not "never ending" either, like the wording of the rumor would suggest.
Rummy Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 Oh yeah, I wasn't addressing the rumour, I think its validity of 'never ending' is nigh impossible, maybe a second quest akin to master quest, MAYBE, but probably not. I just wanted to address the aspects of it which I believe 'makes' zelda zelda for me, from what darkjak was mentioning.
Burny Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 Ah sorry, I read that as "but we have all this kind of stuff"-response.
banjothreeiechapters Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 good points i reckon link will somehow fly in this game. instead of epona/boat/train
Ronnie Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 good points i reckon link will somehow fly in this game. instead of epona/boat/train Yes that's been that strongly hinted by Aonuma
Hamishmash Posted June 4, 2011 Posted June 4, 2011 I don't know if this has been posted but it's the first I've heard of it. The "Skyward Sword Theme" is actually Zeld'a lullaby in reverse.
Burny Posted June 4, 2011 Posted June 4, 2011 I don't know if this has been posted but it's the first I've heard of it. The "Skyward Sword Theme" is actually Zeld'a lullaby in reverse. It has been discovered a couple of weeks ago and I made a post a couple of pages back. I strongly hope the GDC trailer music is not the Skyward Sword theme. :p Nothing so far indicated it would be except this title some youtuber chose. It's a very cool easter egg for a trailer, but not for a game's soundtrack.
LostOverThere Posted June 5, 2011 Posted June 5, 2011 I seriously cannot wait to hear this game's soundtrack. Fully orchestrated OST's blow my mind.
Hero-of-Time Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 From N-E. http://www.n-europe.com/news.php?nid=15561 Nintendo are allegedly hiring the services of a college choir as part of their Skyward Sword E3 push tomorrow... Here's an interesting one. A reader of Zelda Universe has tipped off the popular Zelda site with news of Nintendo's plans to showcase The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword this at E3 week. Allegedly, the company have enlisted a choir from California to perform as part of Skyward Sword's presence at the show. Greetings ZU Staff, I wanted to let you in on some info on Nintendo’s press conference. My classmate at a southern California university CSUF will be performing with his choir at E3. Today is a rehearsal at the university. Monday night is his dress rehearsal. He has informed me that the music is for Skyward Sword. That’s all I have. Enjoy the choir and E3. It isn't clear whether this performance is set to be part of Nintendo's press conference or the show floor, and it goes without saying that it should be taken as nothing more than a rumour. Having said that, it might be a cool thing to look out for; with most eyes and ears prepped to indulge in news on their next home console, Nintendo will probably want to give Skyward Sword the most memorable show possible. The stream/current of news is tantalisingly close, so stay tuned. Interesting.... Nice use of the next consoles rumoured names, Aaron.
Lens of Truth Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 Very interesting indeed. If true, this would give a much needed lift to Skyward Sword's presentation (given what it's up against, not least from Nintendo themselves!).
D_prOdigy Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 Nice use of the next consoles rumoured names, Aaron. No it wasn't :p
Owen Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 Here are my predications & ideas on what i think will be the next Zelda: Link will fly a plane made out of wood (Remember, we've had a boat and train in this series..)..you control this like you would the aeroplane game out of Wii Sports Resort. This plane will be one of the main forms of transport..you can either fly by air or use Epona for land transport. As you fly above a huge world, your able to land where ever you like...you may find a new village or a dungeon you must complete to forward the story. While flying you may get into dogfight type battles! The girl (shown in artwork form last E3) is indeed the mastersword...you control both characters at different times like the Zelda/Link feature in Spirit Tracks. She also looks like she has wings and can fly..but i'm not convinced Link will use her as the plane (yet). A war between good and evil is happening while you play the game...often areas are beautiful while others have been partly bombed ...huge battles take place, ala Lord Of the Rings style. The main new feature is that you are free to do everything at your leisure, if you need help a new 'hint' system will tell you what to do...the whole feel of this Zelda is indeed the epic, huge world you will come across..the feeling of unknown. Link will not talk..but voice-acting will now be included for alot of the characters you come across. Dungeons will be filled with puzzles, some are to progress through the story..others are to obtain heart pieces and treasures..Most of these will be huge. and think its obvious that the length of the game will be greater (i believe this is because we won't see a Zelda for quite some time now) and the graphics will be even better then Twilight Princess. Just some ideas..be cool to see if any of these are correct. :p Wonder if my predictions from 2010 will be correct...will Link fly a plane or is your sword your means of transport? Will you be able to fly around a huge world and land where-ever you wish? Hopefully find out tomorrow!
Retro_Link Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 Do people genuinely want to find out all this stuff from E3? Wouldn't you rather be surprised when the game comes out? I might choose to not watch the Zelda footage. Can't say I'm all that excited for it atm, so if I spoil everything now, I'm gonna be seriously underwhelmed playing it!
Owen Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 Do people genuinely want to find out all this stuff from E3? Wouldn't you rather be surprised when the game comes out? I might choose to not watch the Zelda footage. Can't say I'm all that excited for it atm, so if I spoil everything now, I'm gonna be seriously underwhelmed playing it! Would like to know some more details personally...a release date being the main thing, haha.
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