Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for DS

[Soapy]

This really makes me wonder if that old supposedly fake "Project Deluge" interview was real after all...

>Aonuma: Now I’ve heard many fans tell me that they’re interested in a steampunk-influenced Zelda, even though the series has always maintained a very medieval foundation. I thought about this shortly after completing [Wind Waker], and I started compiling ideas in my head and eventually relayed them to Miyamoto-san, who seemed surprisingly pleased with the idea of a more progressive Hylian history. We had a meeting halfway through development of Twilight Princess and agreed to set aside an entire portfolio of ideas for a more industrialized Hyrule. We figured that if Hyrule has enough time to develop its kingdom, it would eventually discover the steam engine and gunpowder and such. Well gunpowder was there to begin with. We’ve had cannons in Zelda, so I suppose you could say that Zelda was always really in a kind of medieval-steampunk limbo.

>Interviewer: What exactly do you have planned for this kind of transition? I mean, do you actually want guns in the Zelda universe, or is that just wishful thinking on my part?

>Aonuma: Muskets, certainly. They wouldn’t be the kind that you’re familiar with though, and all items we create in the universe will retain their respective fantasy styles. So for instance, you can expect a deku musket that fires gunpowder-filled deku nuts. It sounds a bit obscene, but when you see the concept art and visuals in July, you’ll realize how well it all merges with the world. I don’t want to spoil too much, but we intend to have a railroad system in Hyrule. It’s actually something I’ve wanted to implement since Majora’s Mask, but we’ve never had a large enough world, you know?

Interesting...

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Should be very interesting.

 

[Electro UK]

Driving a train DOES sound interesting.

...

No. But the rest of this game will be great.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Driving a train DOES sound interesting.

...

No. But the rest of this game will be great.

I enjoyed sailing in Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass. Using a train to travel around Hyrule will be interesting and something new. Nintendo seems to be using the Zelda DS games to add new stuff.

 

[Electro UK]

Yeah but you have FREEDOM in those games. I'm sure there'll be a lot of branching paths and it'll be fleshed out etc, but right now... give me the boat.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

You're still going to be able to travel on foot. The train will likely be there to provide quick transportation.

 

[Mogwai]

i like the idea of a more technologically-advanced hyrule.

 

[Mogwai]

does anyone know if this takes place in the 'wind waker' series or if it's just using the design?

 

[Spidey-Bat]

It's most likely in the Wind Waker universe.

 

[Electro UK]

You're still going to be able to travel on foot. The train will likely be there to provide quick transportation.

The boat damn you!

 

[Mogwai]

if it takes place in the wind waker universe, the flood water must be receding for there to be all that land for a train to traverse.

 

[hippie_hunter]

It's most likely in the Wind Waker universe.

I hope it is because it really feels that the story started in Wind Waker isn't over yet.

 

[NinjaFerret]

Holy crap! When did VirginRail get into Hyrule?!

But seriously, this looks...wierd. I'm not criticising it or anything, but the train idea seems a bit silly to me.

Meh, as long as the travel method is the same (draw path on map and let vehicle follow it) as Phantom Hourglass, then I'll be happy.

BTW Link in a train driver's uniform? Clearly, it's not Link anymore :P

 

[Mogwai]

he'll have his classic garb most of the story though, i'm sure.

 

[DACrowe]

Eh. Link in cartoon form (and I really liked WW) driving a choo-choo train across Hyrule?

Really? this is the future of Zelda?

Please let an awesome AAA Zelda game come to Wii by the end of 2010. Please! I'm sorry when you first saw Epona in OOT, the first thing you wanted to do was ride her across the fields. The sense of exhileration you got from that in OOT, MM and even still in TP is unsurpassed. When you first played Wind Waker, having to wait through the first mini-dungeon and hour(s) of exploring to get your own boat was a real gift. The immediate freedom you felt from traveling around the sea was awe-inspiring when the game was first started.

This does not give that feeling of awe and immediacy. It looks...bad. Honestly.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I'm sorry when you first saw Epona in OOT, the first thing you wanted to do was ride her across the fields. The sense of exhileration you got from that in OOT, MM and even still in TP is unsurpassed. When you first played Wind Waker, having to wait through the first mini-dungeon and hour(s) of exploring to get your own boat was a real gift.

You do remember that to get Epona, you had to beat 3 dungeons and then win 2? I don't see how you can knock Wind Waker for taking so long (when it really wasn't) to explore with the boat on your own when it took a lot longer to get Epona in OOT.

This does not give that feeling of awe and immediacy. It looks...bad. Honestly.

Jumping the gun a bit on that one. It's 2 min of footage.

 

[DACrowe]

Oh I was not knocking WW, at all. It was quite brilliantly done. The sea was the big mysterious force you could not possibly master or dare to step foot upon by yourself. When you're sister disappears you have to join forces with pirates and sail to the ends of the world. It was all done intentionally that you would play hours with the sea being an epic and foreboding presence so when you finally get the Red Lions ship you immediately feel freedom and the fun that goes with it.

You meet Epona when you are a child and instantly want to ride the horse in OOT, but you are told to wait. And you do so, impatiently. As soon as you are an adult, where is the first place you go? To get Epona (well maybe the hookshot first, but still) and once you have the horse you again feel that sense of freedom as you speed through the fields that previously you labored through on foot.

Both were classy and smart designs. Being on a track just does not offer that freedom, especially if it is a cartoony train and Link is wearing a conductor's hat.

I just don't like it. I want a real Zelda game on Wii. It's been nearly 3 years and I'm ready to return to Hyrule.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Other than wearing a conductor's outfit (which is kinda lame), I don't think you'll be limited by the tracks. There's never been a lack of places to explore in Zelda games.

 

[Mogwai]

i'm betting this hyrule will be expansive and the train will be there for great distances only.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I really want Nintendo to divulge more details on this game.

 

[Mogwai]

you and me both. e3 is coming up this month.

 

[Astrø]

Zelda+Trains=Fail. Link is not a conductor...

 

[Spidey-Bat]

It can't be worse than, say, Sonic as a knight or werewolf.

 

[Mogwai]

^let me be the first to say....it WON'T be.

 

[Astrø]

It can't be worse than, say, Sonic as a knight or werewolf.

Realy, Come on that burns. Thats a low blow.