News

Well, I'm sure many of you have seen Nintendo's latests Zelda '05 magazine scans, but most of you will have noticed they are in Spanish! For all you non-speakers, here's a complete translation, provided by the Almighty Darth Link! Scroll down and feel free to click on the scans (you can then zoom onto them in the new window they open in) and read the translations to go with them. Scans originally taken from here.

Anyway, first of all, this is the main text of the article:

It all happened in Nintendo HQ in Kyoto, Japan. There, I had the immense privilege of checking the new Zelda out. And I’m still trying to get over it! I can assure you, this game will become an authentic classic. Anyway, I will come down from the clouds to tell you about my experience with this marvel. The story that will support the adventure is still a mystery, and according to what Anouma, the genius behind this project, told me, they won’t reveal too much until next E3. However, he did reveal something important: “For the first time in the saga, the game will start with Link as an adult, specifically at the age of 16”. As you know, in all of the previous games our dear hero started out as a kid and, as the adventure unfolded, Link grew up. This new characteristic will influence directly in the development of the game, as Link will be able to do a good number of …

I think there’s an awful error in the magazine. Part of the text seems to be missing.

… and a couple of combat scenes with Link on horseback and some enemies riding wild boars. All of them left me in awe! The first of these demos, which takes place in Toaru Village, was kind of a tutorial, so I suspect it will be the first place we will visit in the game. Besides, Anouma wants this tutorial to be as natural as possible and that anyone that plays it learns the basic controls rapidly (they will be very similar to the ones in OoT and WW) while haves fun completing different tasks. For example, one of them consisted in helping a pregnant woman transport some heavy objects to her house, which helps get ahold of the 3D stick. Taoru is divided in different areas, it is of considerable size and it’s populated by a good number of inhabitants to which you can talk.

The second demo I could try took place in a ranch, in a minigame where Link mounted on a horse to lead some cows into a stable within a limited amount of time. I had a great time trying it! However, the part that impressed me the most was the one I tried next. It was a frenzied battle on horse against a huge enemy and his henchmen. The guy wore nice armor and rode a giant boar. To defeat him, Link had to shoot arrows at him or hit him with the sword, but in order to do that, he had to get close enough first, while avoiding his henchmen attacks. The battle field where the action took place was enormous, and it made my wonder about the size of the overworld map in the final version of the game. Anouma’s answer was clear: “The game will be two or three time larger than Ocarina of Time, maybe more, and we’re trying the adventure to last around 70 hours”. And seeing that the world in OoT was already big, I can’t imagine how big this one will be. Finally, I also had the chance to play another part of the game, really short, in which Link had to face a rival on horse, classic medieval joust style. The battle took place on a narrow bridge, built over a canyon, a beautiful view. In fact, and despite the current development status in which the new Zelda is, the title already has a wonderful graphic display. Regarding this matter, Anouma revealed something interesting: “I don’t want the game to present an extremely realistic graphic style, as in a CG, I want it to have a Japanese manga style approach”.

Anyway, seeing the illusion and care that Anouma and his team are putting into this game, it’s impossible that they don’t make a great game. Link’s adventures fans can be relieved.

Now scroll down to read the extra bits! A big thanks to Raul/Darth Link for the translation!

Pic 1: The new Zelda will once again feature a very absorbing plot, full of combat, action, exploration and of course, lots of cool minigames.

Pic 2: The plot is still a mystery. What we do know is that Link will start the adventure as a 16 year old adult.

Eiji Anouma: A great talent. This man may not be as famous as Shigeru Miyamoto, but thanks to his wonderful works in Majora’s Mask for N64, or the more recent Wind Waker for GameCube, he’s little by little working on a great future. However, his best work is still yet to come. Believe me when I say that the new Zelda will be a very special game.

Pic 1: The tasks we will take will be very varied, from watching over cattle, solving puzzles, to fighting bosses.

Quote: Although Link will be an adult from the beginning, he will mature as time passes.

Pic 3: On horseback we will experience really exciting situations, as we will able to fight hundreds of enemies or, like in the picture, perform incredible leaps.

Wind Waker column: The development, control scheme and other aspects of the new Zelda will be inspired by this great RPG.

- Anouma and his team have a lot of expertise behind them, mostly because they created Link’s latest adventure, Wind Waker, which was popular for its flashy cartoony graphic style.

Pic 1: Graphics in the game will be completely impressive. Backgrounds and characters will have a level of detail not often seen in a console.

Pic 2: We will see a good bunch of characters throughout the game, some of them well known, like this Goblin-like creatures attacking Link.

Pic 3: Dialogues with many people will be fundamental once more for the adventure development and to get valuable information.

Bottom left corner: From paper to the console. Some great designs. To create the character that will appear in the game (there'll be alot, I can assure you) Nintendo has put its best graphic designers to work. And as you can see, looking at the sketches here, characters and enemies will show a very attractive look, and why not say it, more adult and realistic. Besides, every character will have a much defined personality and will react differently to our actions. The animations will be fantastic as well and, again, very natural. They’re taking care of the tiniest detail.

These are the sketches that Nintendo designers are creating. As you can see, characters have a great look.

Pic 1: The world where the adventure will take place will be enormous, much bigger than in any other Zeldas. So we will be able to visit places like this forest.

Quote: The game will be two or three times bigger than Ocarina of Time.

OoT column: This adventure, the best on the saga to many, will also clearly influence in the new Zelda.

- The first adventure for Link on the N64 is considered one of the best RPG in history. It was the first thing the saga was made in 3D and both graphics and gameplay took benefit from that.

- One of the characteristics that the new Zelda will take from OoT (revolutionary then) will be the control scheme. For example Z/L targeting in a battle.

- Also, Link will jump automatically when required in a situation…

Pic 1: Dungeons will give us trouble once more, and we will have a good number of them! We better get ready!

Pic 2: Battles will be in real time again, so they will be very dynamic and fun. Link will also count on many weapons.

Quote: Zelda will have anime-like aesthetics.

Bottom left corner: A more adult style. Graphics with personality. You will surely remember the first GC Zelda images shown in SpaceWorld 2000, which served to show the technical capabilities of the console. Since then, fans have implored Nintendo to create such a realistic Zelda, something that will be conceded in part. I say in part because Anouma says those characters “looked like puppets without a personality. I prefer our new look, close to manga style”. Truth be told, looking at the results, he’s right.

The graphic quality of the current Zelda (bottom screen) surpasses even the CG shown in SpaceWorld 2000 (upper screen).

Pic 1: Made in Nintendo, sense of humor will be present, and we will have a good laugh with pretty funny moments, like this one.

Pic 2: The camera system will let us follow the action without any problem during any situation, even if we’re in combat.

DS column: The future of the saga. Zelda DS. Thanks to the new technological possibilities that the DS offers they will make this version unique.

- When I asked him about connectivity between both versions, Anouma said that “in order to create a connection, you need to create both games with a common junction. And that’s pretty difficult to achieve. If I find a great idea to connect both versions, I will, in the meantime, there’s nothing”. Well, seems like good old Anouma isn’t very optimistic about it, but the game release is still far away, he’s got plenty of time to think of something. In the end, the game will surely rock.

Don't forget to leave any comments/thoughts/questions!