Kompozinaut
Sylph Sword
I'm kind of excited about this new Zelda, though I don't have a Wii U. Not convinced that it's a console seller or anything. I might be able to swing something once the price drops some more.
The Thread of Zelda
- Thread starter Griffith
- Start date
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Aazealh said:
The one that shoots frickin' "laser" beams out of its head?
I'm not a big fan of the whole thing, really. They're saying all the right things, but they always do. I'm waiting for all the caveats to this open world presentation that's already been done to death by others. Plus, the "incredible" cel-shaded style... we've been there and done that a few times already. It's just another rut the series is stuck in at this point. Anyway, all that skepticism doesn't mean it won't be good, A Link Between Worlds was pure fun, and it looks like the more free style of that game wasn't just an anomaly but truly a new mandate, so I'm looking forward to seeing what surprises they have in store.
The initial impression I got from the demo they showed (which really was just Aonuma talking over a static camera shot before the trailer starts) was Skyrim. Aonuma even mentions that you can go to those mountains over there in the distance, which was one of Skyrim's big pitches back in 2011. But I truly wonder if the game will be that expansive. It'd be a huge departure for Nintendo, to paint a world in broad strokes like that. It's just not their style, and it'll be interesting to see if they can manage it without erecting arbitrary walls.
I don't really mind the "lasers" bit. Just a cool effect, particularly with the smoke trails erupting from where the shots landed. Nintendo is always good at small touches like that. What impressed me the most throughout the whole thing were the particle effects on the lasers, Link's bow, the flames, etc. I also didn't mind the return of the cel-shading effect, particularly since it just looks so damned good on the WiiU's better hardware.
Like Griff mentioned, its no surprise to see some of the design elements of Link Between Worlds bleeding over into the next big Zelda title — namely the out-of-order dungeon notion. That game always felt like a testbed for new ideas, so that's cool with me.
One thing Aonuma mentioned in interviews at E3 was that, "No one explicitly said that that was Link." (link). So, maybe they're really going for it, story-wise this time? Link's son? Link being an established character of legend instead of just the generic hero of old? Either way, could be interesting.
So, with this, there are now what, 2 reasons to buy a WiiU?
I don't really mind the "lasers" bit. Just a cool effect, particularly with the smoke trails erupting from where the shots landed. Nintendo is always good at small touches like that. What impressed me the most throughout the whole thing were the particle effects on the lasers, Link's bow, the flames, etc. I also didn't mind the return of the cel-shading effect, particularly since it just looks so damned good on the WiiU's better hardware.
Like Griff mentioned, its no surprise to see some of the design elements of Link Between Worlds bleeding over into the next big Zelda title — namely the out-of-order dungeon notion. That game always felt like a testbed for new ideas, so that's cool with me.
One thing Aonuma mentioned in interviews at E3 was that, "No one explicitly said that that was Link." (link). So, maybe they're really going for it, story-wise this time? Link's son? Link being an established character of legend instead of just the generic hero of old? Either way, could be interesting.
So, with this, there are now what, 2 reasons to buy a WiiU?
Walter said:
I guess if one's optimistic and interested in various genres, the following exclusives could be worth it:
Already released
Super Mario 3D World
New Super Mario Bros. U
The Wonderful 101
Pikmin 3
Mario Kart 8
Yet to be released
New Zelda game
New Starfox game
New Super Smash Bros game
Bayonetta 2 (apparently comes bundled with Bayonetta 1)
Devil's Third (click for trailer)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (click for trailer)
Splatoon (click for trailer)
Hyrule Warriors
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (click for trailer)
Kirby Rainbow Curse (click for trailer)
Mario Maker (click for trailer)
Yoshi's Wooly World (click for trailer)
Still relatively light I guess (and I don't have a lot of confidence in the last 5 titles of that list). Maybe by 2015 the outlook will be a bit better.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
That's my biggest point of skepticism, are the overprotective parents at Nintendo really going to just drop you in the middle of an open world full of "dangerous" enemies? Do they even know how to do that? I mean, they held our hand and literally gave us a scanner when there was only one way to go anyway, how are they going to overcompensate if you actually can get lost (they might put Link on a leash connected to the helper character =)? Same for the enemies, though I don't see how they could get any easier from SS; you could literally back attack one in a row of three without the other two turning around. My overall fear is that they're going to do the bare minimum in the service of an "open" world, but it's going to be a mediocre compromise compared to what's already out there, and it'll come at the expense of any other progress like the lack of enemy A.I., lack of difficulty in general, or even relatively superficial shit like basic voiceover or, more importantly, a story written by a professional story writer (if you're going to tout your game looking like a beautiful animated feature, it might as well sound like one as well). We'll see.
An in-depth analysis of the trailer with some strange but interesting assumptions.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Hyrule Warriors... has voice acting! Though, only partially, and nothing special. Still, the world didn't end, and it's nice to hear Zelda lore actually spoken with a little dignity rather than CD-i youtube poop. Too bad the whole game doesn't feature it (a perfect opportunity wasted of course), but maybe next time. Progress!
So far the game is fun but woefully repetitive, I'm hoping it's just because I don't really know how to play yet.
So far the game is fun but woefully repetitive, I'm hoping it's just because I don't really know how to play yet.
Johnstantine
Skibbidy Boo Bop
Griffith said:
That's Dynasty Warriors for you.
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Griffith said:
There's not much of a learning curve. Once you get into DW-based games, you realize it's just to fuck shit up on a massive scale. That's it.
Also, for the record, I had no idea that the game was released today.
O
Obscure
Guest
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D:
Announcement trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqp9fpMqhCo&list
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wskuFyYW4Ds&list
European special edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urlpc8bvMEg&list
Announcement trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqp9fpMqhCo&list
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wskuFyYW4Ds&list
European special edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urlpc8bvMEg&list
Johnstantine
Skibbidy Boo Bop
Obscure said:
That's a great cover. Hope it's the one we get in America...
I've never completed Majora's Mask. Got through the second dungeon, I think? Seemed interesting, but quite a different experience from other Zeldas. The limited time thing and repetition of events always sort of annoyed me, but I know some people love that stuff.
O
Obscure
Guest
Walter said:
I'm using the cover as my cellphone wallpaper, it's gorgeous. I hope they stick to the purple color palette, instead of going for the gold cover as usual.
Oh how I wish I was in your shoes man. Majora's Mask is one of my, if not my favourite game of all time. I'd love to be able to re-experience it all without a clue of what's going to happen next. Nintendo hasn't really been able to capture the darkness and atmosphere that Majora's Mask brought to the series (Twilight Princess tried too much). I'm hoping they soon announce a release date for the ''New'' Nintendo 3DS, I've been meaning to buy a 3DS for a long time now, and it seems my reasons not to buy one have been eliminated.
Kompozinaut
Sylph Sword
I've grown to appreciate Majora's Mask over the years, but I don't know if I can justify a 3DS purchase, though this certainly is another reason to buy one.
Heavily scripted dialogue between Miyamoto and Aonuma, but worth it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypR03D1nISA
From my recent experience playing Dragon Age inquisition and Skyrim, I highly doubt Nintendo can deliver interesting content for an open world map. From the preview, the world itself looked so empty, and the enemies completely harmless. Its Zelda, and they want to target young audiences, they're not making a complex RPG. I don't see the purpose of a huge map if theres no crafting, no hunting, no exploring left to do.
In Dragon Age Inquisition, theres a purpose for scouting, you get crafting materials for armor, weapons, potions, you get collectibles etc. The enemies are tough and require a strategy.
Its Zelda, it has a big franchise name, so it will sell . But I don't feel that interested in easy gameplay.
In Dragon Age Inquisition, theres a purpose for scouting, you get crafting materials for armor, weapons, potions, you get collectibles etc. The enemies are tough and require a strategy.
Its Zelda, it has a big franchise name, so it will sell . But I don't feel that interested in easy gameplay.
I think that's selling Nintendo's proven ability to innovate a little short. I doubt they'd have picked an open-world framework if they didn't have something interesting to add. I certainly don't expect Skyrim + Link, but rather, something unique to the Zelda world.
Dar_Klink
Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
The Zelda series isn't exactly a stranger to explorable open worlds, it was one of the draws of the first game and Wind Waker had a huge map, although you had to sail around on it. I don't doubt Nintendo can do something interesting with a more open world, since they've already done it in the past. Skyward Sword had a lot of collectable items for crafting, which can easily be applied to this type of open world gameplay. It's not like Skyrim had any challenging enemies in it really, so I don't see the enemies not being a huge threat being a problem exactly. Hell, just spreading the usual heart pieces, rupee caches, collectables, and dungeons around a bigger map with many areas to explore Zelda-style already sounds appealing to me. More appealing than the Skyrim style randomly generated boring loot and badly level scaled enemies.
Also, I like how they're going with a Shadow of the Colossus style horse system now.
Also, I like how they're going with a Shadow of the Colossus style horse system now.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
I bet the original Legend of Zelda has a better, more challenging "open world" than Skyrim or Dragon Age: Inquisition, and whatever immersive advantages hey have over it are just ripped off OoT; unless you're talking about the texture quality of virtual tree bark nowadays (ooooh fuuuck, take all my money Bethesda and Bioware!). Harumph! 
Unfortunately, it probably has a better open world than this game will too.
Unfortunately, it probably has a better open world than this game will too.
Aazealh said:
I love Zelda, and Zelda has its own formula. I was just trying to point out that Nintendo is trying to market the new zelda to this particular niche, and I fail to see how it can accomplish that.
I was stoked by the Majora's mask remake. Zelda is one of the few things which I plan on getting a tattoo of.
Anyway, I wasn't trying to bash Zelda,I'm just a bit sceptical of the way Nintendo is trying to market it, or at least how most gaming websites have been trying to push the "open world" as a skyrim like feature.
Sankari said:
Well, Nintendo has traditionally been among the worst companies in marketing and handling their own properties (WiiU unveiling, anyone...?) So sure, it was cringe-inducing when Miyamoto said: 'See that mountain? You can ride there.' It's natural to draw parallels to Skyrim from that one line, since that was the same approach by Bethesda in marketing their game. But that doesn't mean the game is going to play like Skyrim. And as for most gaming websites... well, I don't think we really need to have a discussion about their authority.
Griffith
With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
What I realistically expect is something akin to A Link Between Worlds done on a much larger scale. Really, they just need to ditch the whole opening up the world like zones that was necessary in the time of OoT but strange in TP and especially SS. They seemed to have naturally grown out of it in Wind Waker, though your main game progression was still almost totally linear (more than OoT), but for some reason they never figured it out in 3D when Link was on the ground. Best case scenario is LoZ 1987 style, "here's a sword, you figure out the rest" updated for 2015 and appropriately huge. I'm not getting my hopes up though, I don't think they'll ever be that hands off again.
