Wii Zelda - 2008? Discussion.

The new issue of Game Informer (#165) reportedly alleges that the next Wii installment of The Legend of Zelda has been "deep in development for around a year." Admittedly, this rumor comes as little surprise, since consistent first-party support is crucial for Wii's success.

We needn't remind you that Twilight Princess is a GameCube game with tacked on Wii functionality. While no doubt a key asset to the Wii launch, Twilight Princess is not a showcase for the new platform. Rest assured Nintendo has been working on 'that' particular Zelda entry since the moment the Wii concept was birthed. That's not to say we expect a true Wii Zelda before 2008. Remember, Metroid and Mario are holding it down in '07.

I got that from joystiq.com

This seems somewhat exciting. Now if the Wii Zelda has been deep in developement since the birth of the Wii concept, then this means that the Wii Zelda has already been in production for 18-24 months. Now if you take into count that consistent first-party support is crucial for Wii's success, then there will be a Wii Zelda released some time in 2008 (preferably fourth quarter).

It seems to add up when you think of what first-party games we'll actually be getting from Nintendo in 2008. Let's look at the 2007 line-up shall we? Mario Strikers, Paper Mario, Super Mario Galaxy and Mario Party 8 - all these games are highly anticipated Mario games from a very-well known franchise. Another first party game is Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. And even though Pokemon Battle Revolution isn't as highly anticipated and most probably won't sell as well, it is still a strong first-party game that the Wii will rely on (like the rest of the first party games) to do well and be strong in the market.

But what will be in stall for Wii owners in 2008? Perhaps a few more party Mario titles, or maybe another installment in the Pikmin series. Anything else? I don't think so. So if the Wii Zelda has been in development for over a year, and by 2008 that will make it more than two years in development, expect to see a new Zelda Wii title in 2008, late 2008 or early 2009 (if it's pushed back).

The new Zelda Wii title could be so well developed (in terms of controls) and so innovative that it could be what Nintendo are relying on in 2008. I'm not saying it will be the only game they'll be relying on, but when the 2007 line-up are already released, the new Wii Zelda will be all they need to continue a strong performance (that's if they set that performance in 2007).

And coming close to E3, soon in May, we may just get to see a pretty 30 second trailer of what this game will be all about. Expect it to be different to any other Zelda seen before (if going by Miyamoto's quote about how TP and PH will be the last of their kind).

Discuss.

The typical Zelda game spends two to four years in development. I'm not totally convinced that development began with the "birth of the Wii concept", since the actual concept itself has been around for over two years. They spent the latter time fine-tuning things for mass production. I'd say either late, late '08, or somewhere early to mid '09. Anything less is pretty unreasonable. November 7th '08 seems likely, since Nintendo apparently associates Zelda launches with that date. We shouldn't have to wait as long this time around, since they won't have to withhold this title to retool it for the Wii, so '08 does sound good.

*CoughSSBBcough* ...Man. Gonna have to do somethin' about that cough.

Anyway, what can we expect? Better aiming. It was a little glitchy in TP. A smart-aiming function would be really nifty since the controls are so fine. Everyone remembers missing the gem on the Dodongo Cavern boss's head.

New motion-sensitive features? I'm not too good at this. The Wii's possibilities are a little mind-boggling for me. Whenever I try to think about it, I just kinda...draw a blank. That might be due to the fact that it is currently... *glances at the clock* ...4:00 AM. (Omigod, Sarah's gonna kill me.)

But dude, your mention of a trailer is suddenly making me drool. @.@ I remember the first TP trailer... Oh, God, people were crying... I read about it before I saw it, and found myself almost in tears from the article alone. Geez, just thinking about it makes me overflow with nostalgia. ;__; Oh, man, I do hope we see a trailer at E3 '07. And '08 just feels so far away...

Yeah. TP was just the GC game tacked to the Wii with Wii controls. Imagine what a true Wii Zelda game would look like....

Let's hope that there's a trailer for E3 '07!!!

Originally Posted by Link the Zora

Yeah. TP was just the GC game tacked to the Wii with Wii controls. Imagine what a true Wii Zelda game would look like....

Let's hope that there's a trailer for E3 '07!!!

Yeah. I don't want any information revealed, except a short trailer. That's all I want for E3 '07.

I doubt it's going to be a sequel to TP though. As good as TP looked both in the light and shadow worlds, it got some bad feedback by reviewers and gamers alike. A new art style is not necessary, in fact, TP's is perfect, but it wouldn't hurt for a new one (but it should be similar and realistic).

A new graphics style however is probably what the game needs.

TP grew up in some way or another from the rest of the series. I expect a much higher level of maturity in this new Zelda. It can still be Zelda, but I want there to be a mood, (that the game has almost all the way through) of despair. There should be a sence of duty as you as a Hero and a sence of panic in the people. The towns should be similar in design and similar in population to Castle Town but even more realistic.

I want there to be way more NPC interaction. I also hope the formula changes. I think there should be very few dungeons or no dungeons at all. Now I'm not going to get into what I would like to happen storyline wise, but it would be good if the game was more focused on helping citizens, the army, and Hyrule as a whole and saving the land that way rather than finishing dungeons to advance the plot... Know what I mean? It could have many awesome horse battles; like the ones we saw in TP with King Bulbin, but also horse battles with small armies and fighting alongside other people with great epic cutscenes riding in the Hyrulean plains at sunset...

Also the game should have great boss battles where when you look at the bosses when your not fighting them - they look realistic and impressive and ALIVE, not just like still enemies that flap their wings (Argorok?). Maybe a few boss battles on horseback where you have to fight a dragon or an eagle like in TWW, except 10x the size and on a Hyrulean field. Seriously, the more realistic they make the cutscenes, the more epic the boss fights and the more interaction between ie. peaple (all races), Royalties, bad guys, main characters etc.

The cutscenes in TP were great. But in the first King Bulbin fight, after you defeat him, Epona will stand on her hind legs and Link will put his sword in the air. I want to see things like that! Things that blow my mind away because I'm loving this game, and the thing I'm loving just did something spectacular.

But it's not just about cutscenes, it's also about the swordplay. The controls need to be fully developed this time. If TP did what OoT couldn't, this game has to do what TP couldn't. Whether that's in cutscenes, gameplay, sound or whatever. Swordplay has to be fully developed and that's a staple. Nintendo boasted that they'd give us a new way of playing games. Sure spinning the nunchuk was far better than pressing a button and holding it down to perform a spin attack; and pointing at enemies is far better than using a control stick to do it, but is that really worth the time? Sacrificing great graphics and realistic worlds for pointing and shaking a remote? Nintendo has to fully develop the battle system in real-time (like always), to show what the Wii is really made of. I want to be able to perform vertical slices, horizontal swings, thrusts, stabs and everything else. And my foes should do exactly the same. Hell, they should cover for echother...

The Wii should also be able to pull off textures that don't look muddy and that look quite crisp actually. There should be obvious graphical improvements but the biggest improvement I want to see is textures.

VA and orchestrated music isn't really that important right now, is it? And MIDI works better in real time action anyway...

Backstory... I want to see a lot of developed Hylian/Hyrulian Lore included to build the story up.

Also, I don't want the same old cliche sort of storylines. I want something NEW and that's all there is to it. NEW and more epic than ever.

ALttP's type of formula is finally up, it's been used for far too long and far too much and Nintendo have the big chance to make use of a new style. Uniqueness is what Nintendo can be known for - so do your best Nintendo!

Ganon the King--I agree with just about everything you mentioned. I still think there should be light-hearted areas in the game, and I found those to be a necessary part of TP, but a couple of places (like the clowns in Lake Hylia) were a little high on the weirdness scale and didn't seem to fit. I do think that TP took many steps in the right direction in terms of cutscenes, swordplay, graphics/art style and NPC interaction--I'm just anxious to see all of the above developed more deeply.

I don't know where I stand on orchestrated music or voice acting. I think orchestrated music would be especially good for times when the music doesn't need to change actively according to the situation, but even some of TP's midi tracks sent shivers down my spine. (Others were very obviously midi, though...) As for VA, I think it could be beneficial if done right, but disastrous if done improperly. Some of the cutscenes in TP were just begging for voices to go with the brilliant animation and music, but at the same time I don't know how the whole naming of Link (and Epona) could be handled with VA. Also, I do find that Link being silent makes it easier to identify with the game.

Originally Posted by trainiax

Ganon the King--I agree with just about everything you mentioned. I still think there should be light-hearted areas in the game, and I found those to be a necessary part of TP, but a couple of places (like the clowns in Lake Hylia) were a little high on the weirdness scale and didn't seem to fit. I do think that TP took many steps in the right direction in terms of cutscenes, swordplay, graphics/art style and NPC interaction--I'm just anxious to see all of the above developed more deeply.

I don't know where I stand on orchestrated music or voice acting. I think orchestrated music would be especially good for times when the music doesn't need to change actively according to the situation, but even some of TP's midi tracks sent shivers down my spine. (Others were very obviously midi, though...) As for VA, I think it could be beneficial if done right, but disastrous if done improperly. Some of the cutscenes in TP were just begging for voices to go with the brilliant animation and music, but at the same time I don't know how the whole naming of Link (and Epona) could be handled with VA. Also, I do find that Link being silent makes it easier to identify with the game.

Yes, I'm very excited to see if this new game will have all the deeply developed things, mainly including the gameplay and interaction between people.

I don't care if we don't get orchestrated music - maybe just a few songs for important cutscenes.

For VA however - it could work. But it's as easy as saying just name Link "Link" and name Epona "Epona". I myself find myself liking the game better when I call myself Link rather than my own name.

I'd also like to see Link speaking and having a personality. How or what personality he should have is not a problem. Leave that up to Nintendo. But he should have the qualities of a strong-hearted person, brave, but not a cliche hero at the same time either.

Wow.. If you think about it, if Nintendo were actually thinking about making him speak and developing a strong personality for him that would be incredible. Think about all the new storyline possibilites and openings that would be created. Put it in the setting of Hyrule but with the full power of the Wii - and it could create a very nice, polished looking game. As for Link now being able to speak, that would help NPC interaction and interaction between characters so much more... Hell, imagine the side-quests.

I was also thinking that the storyline could be focused on the people of Hyrule - Hylians in particular, their origin, what their ears are for, the gods, etc etc. It could create an immenselely impressive storyline like none Zelda games have ever had before. And thats exactly what is needed; a good developed, original, un-cliche storyline. This could open up so many new possibilities for gameplay ideas.

However, if the developers create a storyline that is too familiar and similar to the other Zeldas and try and make it connect with the rest of the games - then they will fail because then they'll be retelling the same story over again.

Hah. I'm amused that you specifically mentioned the function of Hylians' ears. *Points you in the direction of OoT, to the guy standing atop of the awning* Listen to the man. He says Hylians have large ears so that they can listen to the voices of the gods, although he mentions that he's never heard them. It would explain why Link must always be a Hylian and never a Hyrulian, though. Otherwise, he wouldn't hear the gods, and thus be unable to accept his title as the Hero.

If TP was lacking in any one area, it was side-quests. I was severely disappointed by both the glaring lack of in-depth side-quests and NPC expressiveness. Don't get me wrong, I love TP for what it is. Haven't picked it up in awhile. *Wonders if his PS2 will arrive today* The really sad thing is that the news didn't have to spread, because everyone noticed. I'd like to see this problem fixed in Zelda Wii, and if it isn't, I'm going to be terribly upset with Eiji. Such a large overworld, and so little to do. v_v It would be preferred that they not skimp in other areas just to add more side-quests.

I did like the storyline style in TP, too, and wouldn't mind seeing it again. By the "style", I mean the brave hero sucked into a battle not his own on and then continuing the fight for his own reasons until the time comes when he has achieved his goal and finds that the battle is much bigger than himself or his friends. Classic. It's been used so many times, but somehow, it always seems to work. If Link is ever a tragic hero, I'll be disappointed. Fortunately, I doubt we'll have to worry about that, as he is the holder of the Triforce of Courage. The Zelda crew is smarter than that.

Personally, I will be happier if Link never utters a word. Voice-acting for other characters is an iffy issue in my opinion, as Nintendo doesn't have a good reputation when it comes to voice-actors... I'm worried, but I guess I'd be willing to give it a try. But never a word from Link. The more I think about it, the more I realize just how different Link is for different people. Miyamoto's repeated claims that Link's personality varies from person to person and that he doesn't want to interfere with that is not bull. It's actually very clever of him.

Just a few things worth thinking about.

Originally Posted by Wielder of the Sword

Hah. I'm amused that you specifically mentioned the function of Hylians' ears. *Points you in the direction of OoT, to the guy standing atop of the awning* Listen to the man. He says Hylians have large ears so that they can listen to the voices of the gods, although he mentions that he's never heard them. It would explain why Link must always be a Hylian and never a Hyrulian, though. Otherwise, he wouldn't hear the gods, and thus be unable to accept his title as the Hero.



Personally, I will be happier if Link never utters a word. Voice-acting for other characters is an iffy issue in my opinion, as Nintendo doesn't have a good reputation when it comes to voice-actors... I'm worried, but I guess I'd be willing to give it a try. But never a word from Link. The more I think about it, the more I realize just how different Link is for different people. Miyamoto's repeated claims that Link's personality varies from person to person and that he doesn't want to interfere with that is not bull. It's actually very clever of him.

Just a few things worth thinking about.

It doesen't seem clever anymore. It's gotten to the point that Midna seems to be like Link's translator or something. Hell, Midna was only put in the damn game because Link can't speak. Otherwise, there was simply no need for her...

Also on that Hylian ear's thing - I know all about that. I want it to be a bit elborated on though. I want to see some epic cutscenes... of I don't know.

More of the same regurgetated.

They said TP will be the last Zelda of it's type. Trust me, thats not just controls. I am only excited for the next one because supposedly it will FINALLY BE DIFFERENT from the norm.

Still, it's nintendo. Even if it's true, you wont see it till 2009.

That's far too long for me... I have things to keep me occupied and that has nothing to do with games but I don't know how long it is going to take for my hype to go down. It is a good feeling but also a bad feeling at the same time

2008 at the very earliest, if we're extremely lucky. I actually doubt it's even been in development for long if at all, seems too good to be true. late 2009, 2010, even later seems more likely, they haven't exactly released Zelda games very consistently. Although you do have a point, they don't have much announced for 2008... I don't know why they should think about TP as a failure, it did well commercially and in professional reviews. It brought in a lot of cash no doubt despite the complaints of many hardcore fans.

Originally Posted by lordandyofx

2008 at the very earliest, if we're extremely lucky. I actually doubt it's even been in development for long if at all, seems too good to be true. late 2009, 2010, even later seems more likely, they haven't exactly released Zelda games very consistently. Although you do have a point, they don't have much announced for 2008... I don't know why they should think about TP as a failure, it did well commercially and in professional reviews. It brought in a lot of cash no doubt despite the complaints of many hardcore fans.

It only brought in cash because:

- it was the best-looking game at the Wii's launch
- it was so highly anticipated but turned out to be a very indirect and repetitive (dungeons) game that was way too linear.
- It's Zelda, so ofcourse it will sell.

However, I was hoping to see a game that would blow me away. A game that would impress me for it's storyline and I don't know what else. I didn't even know what I was buying when I picked it up. I think the hype for a new Zelda really got to me and clouded my judgement. But, I can say this, if the next Zelda has a lot of change and has a completely new and refreshing storyline and way of gameplay I will be impressed.

Originally Posted by Ganon the King

It only brought in cash because:

- it was the best-looking game at the Wii's launch
- it was so highly anticipated but turned out to be a very indirect and repetitive (dungeons) game that was way too linear.
- It's Zelda, so ofcourse it will sell.

Actually, TP got outstanding critical reception(ridiculously high sometimes), it even made it's way to the top 20 best rated games of all time. It was also very well recieved by fans. Being the preffered game, or second favorite after OoT, is a lot . Both of those things helped to boost sales.

Anyway, back on topic. In all honesty, I doubt we'll get a new Zelda until late 2009, if not 2010. They'll want to take their time if they're not stupid. After all, like you said, Miyamoto said TP would be the last of it's kind, that's clearly a radical statement, so we'll probably see something entirely new next time. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see a thing about it in 2007, and maybe get a small trailer in 2008. It's sad, but I'm willing to give them all the time they want if they trully can change Zelda completely.

There's no way there will be a new Zelda by the end of 2008.
Look how long it took to develop TP? I would of sworn I read somewhere work on TP started even before WW. TP has years and years put into it.

If we get a Zelda game by then, expect a disappointment.
I can quite easily see a late 2009 release.

TP took how long? 4 years? I am expecting 2009 at the least, 2010 would be a more likely date.

Originally Posted by Ganon the King

It only brought in cash because:

- it was the best-looking game at the Wii's launch
- it was so highly anticipated but turned out to be a very indirect and repetitive (dungeons) game that was way too linear.
- It's Zelda, so ofcourse it will sell.

True, although the bit about the dungeons and stuff is your opinion. What I meant was that regardless of WHY it did well, it did well, and it will no doubt happen next time too. TP caused no one to give up on the Zelda series. But thats off topic. I also wanted to say that the more I think about it, the more possible a 2008 release is. Still not probable, but they may want to fill 2008 with another Zelda because there really is nothing major coming. And maybe now that TP, supposedly the last of its kind is out, they want to hit us with new Zelda as fast as possible.

Originally Posted by lordandyofx

And maybe now that TP, supposedly the last of its kind is out, they want to hit us with new Zelda as fast as possible.

I doubt it, I think i'd be the opposite, they'd want to take their time developing the "entirely new" Zelda. If it came out in 2008 it would be nothing but a dissapointment, because they wouldn't have enough time to develop it and experiment with new ideas.

I still think the most likely release date is by 2010, maybe even by christmas.

As much as I'd want more Zelda as soon as possible, I really hope they take their time making the next one. I don't mind if they don't tell us anything for a year. If they're really going to change Zelda so much, they should take their time, years, whatever they need. Just don't rush it. We'll be here.

On a side note, I wish they stopped with the "Here's a release date! -- delayed -- Just two months now! -- delayed" stuff. It's not the waiting that's killing, it's the repeated delays. Just say it's coming sometime within the next three years, and tell us the exact date when it's three days away and you're SURE! >___< Argh.

I hope there will be voice acting. With the graphics, the characters moving and talking and reacting, really it would be moronic to still leave the game silent. It's so annoying having to look at the little box with a bunch of text, when there's very nicely done animation going on there. We don't see it, we're too busy reading. Annoying. As for Link... I don't know. I'll leave that to them.

Anything else? I hope it'll be big, new, long, wonderful, great, exiting, fun, and all that stuff I love about Zelda. No spesifics now, just make it good. And do something about the bad guys, they all die too easy. There could be different difficulty levels for those who've never played anything and for those who have. Seriously. Three hits -> dead. Not good.

I'll only hope it can come out by '08 IF they started production a while back. My money is on a mid '09 release because TP took so long and the Wii one will probably be better. I hate waiting this long for Zelda games when we just beat them a few weeks after we get it.

Nope, not when this Zelda has already been in production for two years. Maybe that's why TP took so long...