Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma recently had the chance to sit down with gaming publication Nintendo Power to discuss the eagerly anticipated Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword which is due for release in 2011.

• the area from the E3 demo will be divided in the final game
• bosses from the demo will not appear in their locations from the demo
• the demo area was the realm below the clouds
• the demo area was a field, not part of a dungeon
• once again, field and dungeon layouts are being reworked
• elements of dungeons and fields are being combined
• some dungeons may feature areas where you have to run from enemies, or you don’t have a weapon
• there may be more items than the 8 seen in at E3
• Gorons and Zoras are mentioned in passing, but not confirmed for the game
• MotionPlus may lead to new puzzle types
• the sword has a treasure-seeking ability
• no comments on Ganon appearing
• no interest in having Link speak due to ruining the image of the character thus far
• Link does have a method of travel between the two worlds, but that’s not being discusses yet

Since the game is partially set in the sky, any chance Epona is a Pegasus?

“I hadn’t thought of that! You surprised me with that one! Of course, you know, Link does have to travel between Skyloft and the land below, and back and forth, so he’s obviously going to have to do that via some sort of conveyance. That being said, I’d like to reveal that at a later time, so I don’t want to give away too much other than to say that he is going to be traveling between the two. However, I can guarentee he’s not going to be flying around like Pit from Kid Icarus!”

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Epic Mickey lead designer Warren Spector has reiterated that Disney’s fantastic looking Epic Mickey is staying Wii exclusive, though the development studio could be swayed by Microsoft’s Kinect and Sony’s PlayStation Move.

“Before Move and Kinect I probably would have said no, because the game is built around gesturing. Now, however, there’s no reason technologically why we couldn’t. But that decision is really above my pay grade, ano one’s asked me for a port.”

So although the possibility still does exist (all that’s gotta happen is for someone to as him to do a port), Epic Mickey remains to be Wiixclusive for now. Not that he minds this limitation anyway.

“I’ve been a Nintendo fan, well, not as long as I’ve been a Disney fan, but a long time, and I’ve been pretty open about the fact that the Zelda games are some of my favorite of all time. So, we’re a Wii exclusive and I’m happy about that.”

- Warren Spector

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Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has explained why his team decided to incorporate a new art style for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Nintendo Wii.

“One of the reasons we’ve chosen the art style we have with Skyward Sword is that it is a better vehicle to showcase the exaggerated characteristics of some of the characters.”

“Not only of the enemy characters, but as a representation of the sword spirit itself. Because of the way we have put the game together you have to focus on how the enemy is carrying their weapon, and there are a couple of different ways you can go about that.

“One, you can be super realistic, and the other, not so realistic. We thought that because we want to highlight the sword fighting combat, we have to exaggerate the features. We thought that the art style we chose was best suited to do that.

“You have to match the art style to how the game plays, and we thought this worked best. We matched the artwork so that we can highlight the over-exaggeration in the gameplay.

- Eiji Aonuma

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Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has told the Official Nintendo Magazine that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is absolutely perfect for the Nintendo 3DS system.

“I am excited. With the Nintendo 3DS, all of the new elements and the 3D technology is perfect for The Legend Of Zelda series. It’s everything from the depth that you get from riding through vistas or a more accurate sense of distance between you and the enemy you are fighting. I think it is perfect for this series. Of course we are very excited to see what it can do.”

“Of course I look at what the development environment is like and one of the things that I want to take up further going forward is how playing in 3D effects things. Does it make you tired? Do you want to create a game where players are sitting in front of their systems for a long period of time? Obviously there are things that can be 3D but we don’t have to shoehorn it in.”

“If it’s beneficial, of course, we’ll want to use it. So what I would like to do is to take a look at what other people are doing out there, see what the reaction is, then go back and figure out exactly what I want out of 3D.”

- Nintendo’s Eiji Aonuma

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Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has informed the Official Nintendo Magazine that the highly anticipated Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii takes place before the events of  Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

“Yes there is a master timeline but its confidential document! The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We cant share it with anyone else!”

“I have already talked to Mr. Miyamoto about this so I am comfortable in releasing this information – this title (Skyward Sword) takes place before Ocarina of Time. If I said that a certain title was ‘the first Zelda game’, then that means that we cant ever make a title that takes place before that! So for us to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other.”

- Zelda producer, Eiji Aonuma

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Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has revealed to online gaming publication GameInformer that his team are tinkering with the idea of downloadable online content and possibly a multiplayer mode for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

- “Having people play together is a theme that’s always stuck in my mind, but it’s about trying to create what would work best for Legend of Zelda.”

- “”Let’s say a player does something in their game that affects an area, and then that is communicated back to another system, and that would introduce new elements to your game. I find that sort of communication really interesting.”

- “We have thought about DLC, and we are thinking about it.”

- Eiji Aonuma

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Zelda series director Eiji Aonuma has spoken to online gaming publication CVG and informed them of the mysterious storyline that players will encounter once they play The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

“The final scene of our E3 trailer saw Link diving off a cliff into clouds – a very memorable scene,” he said. “That’s a very important point in the story this time around. Link is a young man who’s born and raised in this floating land – Skyloft. It may sound an interesting place to live, but Link doesn’t think about it like that.

“However, one day an incident reveals there is a land beneath the clouds. This other world is ruled by evil forces. It’s very dangerous. But Link is forced to go into it.

“One of the driving parts of the story is that Link has to travel back and forth between Skyloft and this other land. The thing that leads Link down is the subtitle, the Skyward Sword. The mysterious figure in the artwork we released last year is the Skyward Sword. When it’s leading Link or advising him it will take on this appearance.

“You’ve probably realised this already, but the Master Sword is very important. What exactly is it? That’s something you can maybe imagine for yourselves. Actually, I’ll go and tell you right out: The Skyward Sword becomes the Master Sword. Sorry about that.

“Sky or skies is also very important to the game. These clouds that surround these beautiful vistas is very powerful and that’s one of the reason we’ve implement the graphics style that we have. I really like this art style a lot. It only took one step in the approval process to get the okay from Mr Miyamoto!

“There’s still some work to do, a lot of polish, and when we’re finished we’ll find a nice harmony between graphics and gameplay.”

- Eiji Aonuma

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Nintendo decidedly conquered E3 during today’s highly anticipated press conference, with the Japanese games company showing off a plethora of top class software and some extremely innovative hardware.

Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS games:

• Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii) – 2011
• Mario Sports Mix (Wii) – Fall 2010
• Goldensun: Dark Dawn (DS) – 2010
• GoldenEye 007 (Wii) – Fall 2010
• Disney Epic Mickey (Wii) – Fall 2010
• Kirby: Epic Yarn (Wii) – Fall 2010.
• Dragon Quest 9 (DS) – July 11th 2010
• Metroid: Other M (Wii) – August 31st 2010
• Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii) – Fall 2010

Nintendo 3DS: (via Kotaku)

• As promised, this is a glasses-free 3D device
• Two cameras on the outside of the device for 3D picture taking
• 3D depth slider on the side of the device
• Round numb analog stick called the “Slide Pad”
• Bottom screen is a touch panel
• Below the touch screen are Select, Home and Start buttons
• Underneath the A, B, X, Y buttons is the handheld’s power button
• Motion sensor and gyroscope
• Compatible with Nintendo DSi
• A camera facing the player above the portable’s 3D screen
• The ability to play 3D Hollywood movies, like Legends of the Guardians from Warner Brothers
• The 3DS launch game will be Kid Icarus: Uprising
• It is a powerful system, featuring improved graphics
• The 3DS periodically searchs for WiFi spots and other 3DSs
• Easy online navigation
• No monthly fee for Nintendo’s 3DS online access
• Nintendo is developing 3D Nintendogs
• More than twenty companies have signed on to develop for the 3DS
• The top screen is 3.5 inches
• Release date is TBA

Key games in development:

• Kid Icarus: Uprising
• Nintendogs and Cats
• Kingdom Hearts
• Resident Evil
• Metal Gear Solid
• Assassins Creed
• Saints Row
• Guitar Hero
• Ridgeracer

Edit: More games announced by Nintendo

Fansite Zelda Informer claims to have insider knowledge regarding the next instalment of the highly awaited Zelda game for the Nintendo Wii ahead of its expected reveal tomorrow at Nintendo’s E3 press conference.

Zelda Wii’s official title is “The Legend of Zelda” without a subtitle.

The game’s setting is said to take place several hundred years before the events of Ocarina of Time, revealing how the Master sword came to be.

The girl in the Zelda artwork previewed at last year’s E3 is called “Zordiana”, and as expected she plays an important role.

Seamless dungeons – smooth graduation. There will be dungeons with no bosses, and bosses with no dungeons. The first “dungeon”, an ice level, is said to be playable at E3.

The hookshot is also used, but unlike past zeldas it won’t pull a player immediately towards a selected target. Players can swimg with the hookshot (like the grappling hook from Wind Waker).

The control for bow and arrow is said to be similar to the one used in Wii Sports Resort.

There are two levels of difficulty put in by Aonuma. Miyamoto didn’t want this option included, however there will be a normal mode for regular players, and a “Hero” mode with harder enemies and no “Super Guide” feature.

Sometimes you have to “draw” a specific symbol on a door with your sword, to open it.

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Edit: Fake, here’s the real deal – Zelda: Skyward Sword

Shigeru Miyamoto has clearly stated to gaming press that the forthcoming Legend of Zelda title for the Wii will include a simplified control scheme.

He also suggested that the integral gameplay of the series will become more intuitive to enable the company to reach out to more casual gamers.

“For us, it is important to optimise gameplay and make the controls easier. We do our best to make the controls player friendly, since Zelda has become complicated.”

“For us, two things are important: to meet expectations and to surprise people. How we do it this time, I will not reveal.”

- Shigeru Miyamoto

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