It was way back in December when we were celebrating Wind Waker‘s 10th anniversary in Japan, though it wasn’t until this day a decade ago that this wonderful game hit Europe. It’s almost difficult to imagine such a long delay for localisation these days, with so many simultaneous worldwide releases and games arriving in all territories at least in the same week. And believe me, those extra months were all the more agonising to the 11-year-old me who couldn’t wait to get his hands on The Wind Waker.

Leading up to the release, those months were spent gazing at the colourful screenshots and re-reading the previews in the UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine. Having received my GameCube the prior Christmas, I became obsessed with reading about the new games–and for whatever reason, Wind Waker in particular caught my eye. I wasn’t a fan of Zelda in particular at this point–I’d had my run-ins with Link’s Awakening and Ocarina, but hadn’t yet become all that invested in the series as a whole. That, of course, was all about to change, and little did I know that The Wind Waker would practically save my life.

In a recent interview with CNET, Eiji Aonuma discussed what is on every Zelda fan’s mind—A Link to the Past 2. According to Aonuma, this sequel feels “different” than any Zelda predecessor.  While this statement was obviously vague in context, Aonuma stated that having a clean slate to work with on the 3DS provided inspiration for the title. This translates to the game’s visual depth that is only achievable on the 3DS; moreover, Aonuma assured readers that no matter if they play with the 3D on or off, they can still enjoy the game.

Aonuma also discussed the story behind Link transforming into a 2D figure and scaling along walls. In Ocarina of Time during the Forrest Temple boss battle, Phantom Ganon has the ability to leap in and out of paintings on the wall. Aonuma liked this idea and questioned, “What if Link could have the same power?” The player taking on the role of an artist using the stylus is also a possibility brought up by CNET.

Finally, Aonuma explained that this entry into the series was the perfect way to revisit the world in the original A Link to the Past and confirmed this sequel will contain both a light and dark world.

Source: CNET (via GoNintendo)

With all the excitement of A Link to the Past 2 launching, Nintendo has decided to give us another surprise. In a Wii U Virtual Console video, A Link to the Past was showcased as a game to be launched in the near future. I can’t help but think that this is appropriate, as more people will get the chance to play A Link to the Past in addition to the second installment. If you have not had the opportunity to play this amazing entry in the Zelda series, then I command you to download this game once it launches if you have a Wii U. With the Oracle series coming to the 3DS Virtual Console and A Link to the Past releasing on the Wii U Virtual Console, who knows what could be next?

Source: Official Nintendo Magazine

Have you ever wanted to wear something on your hand to represent your love for the Legend of Zelda series and Irish tradition? Possibly not, but I guarantee these Triforce rings will spark your interest if you love Zelda merchandise. Way back in the seventeenth century, a tradition was started among the Irish to wear rings depicting two hands holding a heart and a crown. The idea was to represent friendship, love, and loyalty respectively. Now this traditional ring takes on a new three part meaning with the Triforce’s Power, Wisdom, and Courage. Read on for more details!

There is certainly a lot to look forward to as a Zelda fan. With a remake, sequel and a brand new game, there’s something for everyone with The Wind Waker HD, A Link to the Past 2 and the untitled Wii U instalment. But how on Earth does Nintendo manage all three games simultaneously?

Nintendo of America translator Bill Trinen offered us some insight into the development process when talking to Kotaku, and it’s pretty interesting.

“They kind of shuffle people in and out, so they’ll sort of have their core group, but then they’re bringing new people in and out, so that helps bring in fresh ideas. Each of the different games will have their main lead director, or maybe depending on the game, they may have two…Generally the way that the Zelda team operates is they may have one or two people who carry over or take the lead, but they do a lot of kind of jumping in and out in terms of moving from handheld to console, or vice-versa.”

This is a clever approach, as it undoubtedly keeps employees mentally active when switching between titles. It also allows for new inspiration and ideas on a regular basis with new people constantly being introduced to the projects and encouraged to provide their own ideas. It seems Nintendo’s headquarters are as organised and unique as ever, and all three games are in good hands.

Source: Kotaku (via Nintendo Everything)

Japan had a recent Nintendo Direct broadcast focused on the Wii U Miiverse, with Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma addressing series fans. Most interestingly, he revealed that the concept of restructuring a 2D Zelda title into 3D has been something in the works at Nintendo since 2011.

He also noted that development progress is going well:

“The world of Hyrule has been reborn in a highly realistic stereoscopic vision, which will feature a new story and new puzzles to be solved. The development for the successor of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is going smoothly, so, please look forward to it!”

Hats off to Nintendo to keeping that huge secret under the lid all this time, without so much as a leak or accidental slip of the tongue. Miyamoto did say back in 2011 that the original A Link to the Past could be remade on 3DS, so it’s likely that the initial remake eventually turned into a sequel at some point during development – yesterday’s overworld comparison can support that theory!

Source: Siliconera (via GoNintendo)

Nintendo’s press conferences have become a staple of E3 each year. Normally, Nintendo takes the opportunity in the days preceding E3 to hold a large press conference where it announces new hardware and software for the coming year. However, in a dramatic shift in strategy, Nintendo of Japan has announced that it will not be holding its normal press conference at E3 this year, choosing instead to hold smaller private media venues with a focus on software. With Wii U sales staggering and Nintendo’s viability coming into question, this move comes as a surprise.

While there could be endless reasons why Nintendo would choose to do this, the move could possibly be a part of a larger plan for Nintendo to distance itself from the general gaming industry and convince customers that there is a “Nintendo industry” transcending gaming. We’ve already seen hints of this attitude with Nintendo Direct, where Nintendo has been making the vast majority of its important hardware and software announcements, including its recent announcement of an A Link to the Past sequel on 3DS.

We’ll have more information on Nintendo’s E3 plans as we move closer to June. As with every year, we plan on being there with real-time coverage of whatever Nintendo’s plans are.

Source: Nintendo (via The Verge)

We’ve just announced that Squareknot, our very own startup focused around building communities and discovering new things to do, will be launching this summer. Squareknot lets you share what you love, and discover interests you never knew you had in a global community of the creative and curious. Members can create workshops and share projects they’re working on, and show others how to do the things that they love.

To kickstart Squareknot this summer, we’ve got workshops planned from folks like our own Cody Davies, former members of Zelda Reorchestrated, let’s players like Chuggaaconroy, and more all sharing how to do what they do. So what are you waiting for? Check out the Squareknot’s new landing page and sign up to get notified when we launch the site.

Source: Squareknot Blog

Nintendo Europe President Satoru Shibata already told us that the new Zelda 3DS title will be set within the same world as A Link to the Past, but it looks like he meant it literally to some extent. As you can see from the comparison image above (thanks to NeoGaf), at least some sections of the overworld map, if not all, will be exactly the same as in the original.

GameXplain went further and made a side-by-side comparison video, by painstakingly recreating Link’s actions and movement in the original A Link to the Past as he is seen in the Zelda 3DS footage. The resemblance is even more striking in motion. This practically confirms that the same Hyrule will feature in the new game, or that Link will at least be doing some revisiting at some point.

Earlier in the week we posted about an easter egg in Link’s Awakening in which the game plays a special song if you enter your name as “ZELDA”. Well, it turns out that’s not the only player screen easter egg in the game.

Claude Moyse, the official German translator for Link’s Awakening, decided to add a special secret of his own: if you enter your name as “MOYSE”, the music will change to a strange techno beat.

It only works in the German version of the game, so to see it for yourself, hit the jump to watch the video and experience “the Moyse song”.

UK online retailer The Hut has something very interesting in its listing for The Wind Waker HD: a release date. The website recently added an October 15th release date to its listing. Is this simply a placeholder, or do they perhaps know something we don’t?

It’s very much more likely to be the former, before anyone gets too excited. Still, it seems pretty specific to be just a placeholder date – most other retailers opt for “December 31st” to be safe. Also, it’s worth considering that, in the UK, games usually release on Fridays. October 15th is a Tuesday. Only when games receive a simultaneous worldwide release are they released on Tuesdays in Europe. This means that, if there is any truth to this rumour, this date could very well apply to you non-UK citizens.

Source: The Hut (via My Nintendo News)

You may remember the report we posted a while back concerning the production of a fan documentary about the Legend of Zelda series. Joe Granato, the man behind this project, has now started the Kickstarter campaign as of yesterday. With a goal of fifty thousand dollars, this fundraiser will run through the first of June. As a part of the campaign, Joe has released a much longer trailer, compared to the three second trailer we saw last time, to whet your appetite. Read on to view the video and additional information!

Eggbusters host Austin sure loves Zelda. Having previously exploited the glitches in Ocarina of Time and returned to Twilight Princess a second time, the show sees another Zelda revisit in the latest video.

In this redux episode, Link paddles through the air (and into the sun!) when a sunny day of swimming at Lake Hylia goes very wrong, and the entirety of Hyrule Field turns into an endless haze of sinister green mist. Seriously, it gets pretty weird after that point. What’s more, these glitches appear to be incredibly easy to do, and yet are infinitely amusing. Hit the jump and see for yourself, and why not boot up your copy of Ocarina and join in?

As part of our collaboration with Chuggaaconroy on his Let’s Play of Link’s Awakening, we will be regularly updating the site with interesting Link’s Awakening-related posts. Today’s feature is this strange Japanese commercial for the game, in which puppet versions of the characters dance together and re-enact the start of the game to catchy music.

Hit the jump to watch the video.

The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses series is back! Nintendo has announced that the concert series will return for what is being called “Season 2.” The ten date tour will kick off on June 6 in Atlanta, Georgia and wrap up on October 19th in Grand Rapids, Michigan, bringing with it some of the most beloved music from many of the biggest hits in the Legend of Zelda Franchise.

Fans who attended the original round of symphonies can expect some of the great music from the previous concert as well as many new pieces which explore additional titles from the series. The events will be hosted by concert producer and lead creative Jeron Moore and conducting duties will be handled by Eímear Noone with musical arrangements by music director Chad Seiter.

If this weren’t sweet enough, Club Nintendo members can receive a 15% discount to the shows just by clicking on the “Symphony of the Goddesses” banner in their Club Nintendo Account and retreiving the discount code!

For more information visit http://zelda-symphony.com, and hit the jump for the full line-up.