The Official Nintendo Magazine has revealed that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is easier to play through than the highly regarded Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Whilst you may think the combat would be tougher due to the precise nature of Wii Motion Plus, Steve Hogarty from the publication says that you’ll soon learn exactly how to find enemies weak spots and destroy them in no time.
Nintendo of America has issued a press release stating that the incredible Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time 3D managed to shift more than 283,000 units after only 11 days on sale in the United States. The numbers were revealed by the NPD group , which tracks video game sales in the United States. Hopefully Nintendo will now decide to bring The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask to the Nintendo 3DS.
Source: Nintendo of America
According to a few Club Nintendo members Nintendo are currently in the process of shipping out The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D soundtracks. The whole ordeal was plagued with problems and Nintendo rather kindly decided to extend the offer. So for those of you that were successful registering your copy of Ocarina of Time 3D your soundtrack CD should be with you shortly!
Tip: Kenny G. Mercado
Eiji Aonuma, the director of The Legend of Zelda has revealed that Grezzo, the developers behind The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, have made the Master Quest even more ‘formidable’ this time around to please Zelda enthusiasts. Apparently they didn’t believe the original Master Quest provided enough of a challenge to competent gamers, so Link now takes double damage.
“People who play the Master Quest are looking for something formidable,” said Aonuma. “But I didn’t think it would be that challenging if it were the same as in the original, so Link takes double damage.”
“The world of the Master Quest is a mirror reflection of the main game, so if you go somewhere thinking you’ve already figured it out once so it’ll be easy, you might be out of the game simply by falling off a cliff! You’re like, ‘What?! That’s a game over?!’”
He added: “You can clear a lot of games today just playing them casually, so it feels nice to have to go back and heal before a boss battle. The Master Quest is extremely tense and rewarding.”
Ever wondered how The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would look if it was recreated using Minecraft? Well, some ambitious Minecraft players have done exactly that and have faithfully recreated a number of familiar locations from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Enjoy!
Tip: Joe Meinen
Many eager gamers have desperately been trying to register their copies of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D only to find out that they’re greeted by an error message stating that ”An error occurred when your data were being validated.” What this actually means is that Nintendo has allocated all the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time soundtrack CD’s to the first 2000 customers who registered the game. So if you’re trying to register the game now to get the CD then unfortunately I’m afraid you’re out of luck.
A forum member over at ONM decided to phone up Nintendo and ask what the issue was, only for the reply to be that all the 1000-2000 slots for the free soundtrack had now been filled despite no mention of a first-come, first-served basis, but instead the website just saying that users who want the chance to get their hands on a copy of the soundtrack must register their game code before June 30th.
Tip: Harry Zing
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has described how Shigeru Miyamoto originally wanted to make The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time a first person game. Initially Miyamoto wanted to remove the Link character model from the screen altogether and just have the game playable as a FPS. Later into the games development Miyamoto decided against the idea, as he claims it “wasn’t interesting visually”.
“I talked with Miyamoto-san about how we should make The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo 64 system, and he asked, ‘How about making it so that Link will not show up?’,” Yoshiaki Koizumi remembers. “He wanted to make it a first-person game.”
“He wanted to make an FPS (first-person shooter),” Iwata added.
“Right. In the beginning, he had the image that you are at first walking around in first-person, and when an enemy appeared, the screen would switch, Link would appear, and the battle would unfold from a side perspective.”
Finally, we now know what North American consumers who pre-order The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will get; a Zelda poster. Yes, you read that correctly, it’s a Zelda themed poster that’s exactly the same as the one posted with this blog entry. Unlike Greece, who get a wealth of interesting special gifts, US customers who purchase the game from either Gamestop or EB Games will receive a poster to adorn their room. Anyone particularly disappointed with this pre-order bonus?
Tip: Video Game Chronicles
To celebrate the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D in Australia EB Games are giving away a special edition box set. The lavish golden box set comes with an authentic Zelda themed Ocarina along with a song sheet to practise your melodies. This should certainly make up for the delayed release of the game in Australia. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is released in Europe, June 17th, North America, June 19th and Australia, June 30th.
Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma recently had the chance to answer some questions about the highly anticipated Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for the Nintendo 3DS.
Moving onto 3DS, can you tell us more about the new Ocarina Of Time game?
“I am excited. We are at the planning stages at the moment. I don’t want to give away too much right now, but I am looking forward to showing everyone what we have.”
“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.”
Is developing for a 3D console more demanding?
“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 done in 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.”
Would you ever work on another franchise?
“I probably have to at some point! The problem is that when I start thinking about new ideas and new gameplay elements I end up incorporating them into a Zelda title! For me to be able to create a non-Zelda title I might have to take a leave of absence for a year and go away from the company and do it!”
- Zelda series producer, Eiji Aonuma
