flood of all-new information on The Legend of Zelda came pouring through the Internet this morning, thanks to Spanish games publication Hobby Consolas. Fans of the Zelda series have faced an arduous wait for details, since Nintendo has kept most everything concerning the game a guarded secret. Apart from an aesthetic makeover, most gamers could only speculate as to what elements would separate this new Zelda from previous titles in the series.
The new report points to several key aspects which should pull the new Zelda ahead of its older brethren. For starters, The Legend of Zelda for GameCube promises some 70 hours of gameplay spread across a world eclipsing that of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In fact, the new adventure sports a gameworld two to three times larger than the classic Nintendo 64 title. With such a massive play area, Link will need serious transportation. As seen in previous trailers, Link will once again call on a loyal steed to carry him around Hyrule.
That chunk of information seemed obvious given the official trailers. It was also easy to guess combat on horseback would play a significant role in the game, but now it's confirmed thanks to recent reports. Gamers can fully expect spectacular horse battles. Whether gamers will fight bosses on horseback remains uncertain, but it seems likely. According to the publication, this new information comes from three separate game demos shown to the writer of the article. Link sports a new farmer's outfit in one of the demos, which takes place at the beginning of the game in Tauro Village. At this point in the game Link is said to be 16 years old. But according to the report, Link will mature during the course of the adventure. Whether this means he will simply "grow up" in terms of character or age physically remains unknown...it could be both. But the direct Spanish tranlsation of a passage in the article states that "although Link will be an adult at the start of the adventure, he will also mature little by little, over the passage of time."
From screens printed in the magazine, the new outfit looks to blend "peasant" clothes of different cultures to achieve an altogether unique style. These same screens show the Triforce emblazoned on Link's left hand. Cool indeed. Link himself looks different from any other Zelda title. Eiji Aonuma wanted Link to sport a manga-inspired look, partly because the Link shown in the Space World 2000 looked like a lifeless puppet. Link and other characters still look more realistic, especially considering the visual style employed in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, only with slightly exaggerated facial features. It's an interesting blend of realism and fantasy.
According to the report, Taoru Village looked huge and boasted several zones. It also acted as a tutorial of sorts, much like Kikiri Village in The Ocarina of Time. Eiji Aonuma designed the tutorial as a fun, seamless experience so fans of the series and newcomers alike wouldn't get bored or frustrated with it. In one instance, Link needs to help a pregnant women carry heavy objects into her house as a way of teaching players specific skills. Another demo has Link on horseback herding cows into a ranch. This mini-game has a time limit, so players need to guide Link quickly to achieve the goal.
Yet another demo, arguably the coolest, saw Link battle a horde of armored minions while riding his horse. The article stated a player could choose between Link's sword and bow to take down the enemy riders. Apparently, Link's bow no longer boasts infinite range, so players need to move in for the kill with both weapons. Players will also need to dodge long-range and short-range attacks from enemy riders, making room for strategic battles. The battlefield featured in the demo seemed massive, according to the publication, with ample room for each rider to maneuver his horse, or bore, whichever the case.
Unlike the aesthetic elements, controlling Link will feel familiar to anyone who has played the last two games in the series. Jumping will be automatic, for example, and gamers will once again use "Z targeting" to lock on enemies. Only now, of course, the GameCube controller's L trigger replaces the N64's Z trigger. Unfortunately, there's no new info regarding the game's story or title, since Eiji Aounuma wants to save all the "big" surprises for the Electronic Entertainment Exp next month. Well, Aonuma did let something slip. He said the reason they chose to go with realistic, transparent water as opposed to the type seen in The Wind Waker, is that it simply makes the world more beautiful and also opens up a new "subaquatic" world. A new, underwater temple, perhaps?
And there you have it folks, new information. Such a rare thing these days.
Stay tuned for more.
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