April 25, 2005 - Late last week, the Spanish games publication Hobby Consolas gushed new information on Nintendo's upcoming The Legend of Zelda for GameCube. Up until that point, the ever-secretive Nintendo had barely released any information at all, opting to keep Link's latest adventure buried under hype and speculation. A few days after Hobby Consolas exposed the new information, another games publication, Electronic Gaming Monthly, hits newsstands revealing even more details.
For starters, Link doesn't come from Hyrule. Instead, he hails from a quaint farming community called Taoru Village, which also marks the geographical location of the start of the game. Hyrule and Tarou form a partnership, with Tarou raising the livestock used and eaten by its much larger neighbor. Every year, each village or town sends its mayor to a meeting in hopes of strengthening or maintaining the overall sense of community. One particularly year, however, the mayor can't make it and sends Link as the town's last-minute representative. During the trip, Link encounters something that triggers the start of his epic adventure.
In the article, director Eiji Aonuma reiterated that Legend of Zelda for GameCube would eclipse The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in terms of gameplay length and overall physical size. The combat system, however, will feel very familiar to those who've played Link's previous outing on the Nintendo GameCube, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. That's not to say it's identical. Aonuma states the team has reworked the system to include new moves, such as a downward stab, plus other refinements. Also, the cool counter-attack move from Wind Waker will make a comeback.
It should seem pretty obvious, but Aonuma confirmed both Zelda and Ganon will appear in the game. And yes, Link needs to rescue her. Also, gamers can expect to spend time fishing. And not just for treasure, as in Wind Waker, but for actual fish like in older Zelda titles. Unfortunately, the new Zelda title is still unclear, but Aonuma hints it will be "mysterious" and could allude to something major that only players knee-deep in the adventure will understand.
Furthermore, Link will gain the ability to communicate with animals. Aonuma didn't go into any details, so it's anyone's guess as to how Link will do so. Maybe this has something to do with another one of Aonuma's revelations: that there is one very important item Nintendo has yet to disclose which greatly influences the flow of the game. Sounds very interesting, no? In addition to all the aforementioned info, Aonuma and company have not yet decided when exactly this new Zelda adventure takes place in terms of the grand Zelda timeline.
But there will be much more information soon, so stay tuned.
. Here are two trailers for the new Legend of Zelda. I really cant wait for this game now.
