E³ 2004

Nintendo Confirms that There is a God

Second Gamecube Zelda Game Revealed to the Drooling Public

I think every real Zelda fan was ecstatic to see what Nintendo has revealed so far at the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo. If you are not ecstatic, you're either not a Zelda fan, haven't seen the news, or are living in an amazing LSD-induced fantasy world where pink elephants and cute little green imps playfully sing happy songs and poke you with stale loaves of French bread. But what, do you ask, is the cause of this euphoric ecstacy? I'm glad you asked. On Monday and Tuesday (May 11th & 12th, 2004 for those of you in the future who are reading this to reminisce) Nintendo released details about the next real Zelda game. This game may or may not be a sequel to the Wind Waker, as storyline details aren't available yet. However, what is known for certain is that this will be the next installment in the Zelda series, and not cheap minigames like Four Swords. It will be for the Nintendo Gamecube, and is tentatively set to be released next year. The actual worldwide release dates are currently known only to the Nintendo hot shots.

Now for the cool technical stuff. Everyone has known that the "Wind Waker II", as it is called by fans, was going to use the same basic engine as the Wind Waker. What everyone also assumed, and incorrectly I might add, was that it would have the same cel-shaded look as the Wind Waker. People assumed it would be like Majora's Mask would be to Ocarina of Time: a different world and a different game with the same basic feel. For this new game, the same basic gameplay is there, but the look is radically different. I'm no game programmer, but it seems like Ocarina of Time introduced a radically new game engine, which was probably modified for the Wind Waker, which will be modified for the next Gamecube Zelda. Anyways, Nintendo medium and big cheeses say that the engine of the new Zelda will be like Wind Waker, even including the "eye-tracking system" used in the Wind Waker. I can only assume this is the targeting system thing. They also said something about Link knocking enemies off their horses, which sounds pretty cool to me. There will also be new camera angles in the game. Supposedly some areas, perhaps dungeons, will use special birds-eye angles to show more of the layout, but will switch back to the familiar behind-Link's-back angle when a bad guy approaches. Sadly, the God of Video Games, Shigeru Miyamoto, will not be the director, but just a producer. So he will be the big cheese, but not the guy involved in the day-to-day creation of the game.

Now, I don't believe that looks are everything, but I also can't ignore them. The Wind Waker was a decent game, and had nice graphics, even if it looked a little cartoonish. The new Zelda is totally in another league. This game looks real. From what they have revealed, the future looks very promising for Zelda fans. The game has a very realistic look, even better than the way Link looked in Super Smash Bros. Melee. This Link is as close to real as you can get without actually looking like a living, breathing person. But don't take my word for it, take a look at some of the pictures below.

The first picture is by far the best, because it's an official art picture. It's the only one so far, but if it's any indication of what's to come, I can't wait. As some of you may know, I'm a big fan of the Zelda art. This picture is definitely drool-worthy (and perfect fodder for the romantic fantasies of girls who are in love with Link). The rest of the pictures are some really awesome screen shots.

Click the thumbnails to open the full-size image in a new window

Click here to download a ZIP file with all the images on this page (782 KB)