Topic: Aonuma Confirms Wind Waker Sequel

[Jonnyboy117]

It's still early, but he plans to have it playable at E3 2004.

Computer & Videogames, a European gaming site, interviewed Zelda director Eiji Aonuma at last week's E3 Expo in Los Angeles.  In the interview, Aonuma confirms that he is already working on a follow-up to The Wind Waker, much like Majora's Mask was a follow-up to Ocarina of Time.

Aonuma: I am unable to give you any details right now. I am hoping to have a playable version ready by next year's E3, so I'm hoping you'll be patient and look forward to that.

As I did between Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, I will use the same engine and the same graphics of Wind Waker for its sequel. However, I do plan on powering everything up a bit.

Be sure to visit C&VG with the link above to read the rest of the interview.

[Grey Ninja]

YES!  I was SO worried that the next Zelda would be a "realistic" one.  I am VERY happy that Nintendo is keeping the cel shaded style for at least one more game.  It would be a tragedy not to, as it just works SO well.

[bootang82]

FINALLY...some good news that involves both nintendo and E3 in the same sentence.


(Even though it means next e3)

[stevenrwolfe]

I really wish they would hold off until Nintendo launches their next generation console, cuz that would generate an immense amount of publicity and sales for it.  You people would know what would happen if Zelda was one of the first 10 games or whatever on the new system, it's not like I need to explain it to you.
But that's just wishful thinking, eh?

[Grey Ninja]

Why don't they just do both steven?  A Zelda engine already exists for GameCube, so it's just a matter of making a new story and world for the next GameCube game.  Afterwards, they can create an entirely new engine for GameCube's successor.

[mjbd]

Its to early to start ditching Cube, dont you think?  I am also glad to see that they are sticking with the cel-shaded look.  I cant imagine not using this engine at least one more time.  I love the enemies in WW, they seem so much more alive than the ones in OoT.  The pig soldiers are my favorite.  So 2004 will be the soonest we will here about it, oh well, lots of good game's between now and then.

[Michael8983]

I remember hearing that Wind Waker was in development well before Majora's Mask was finished.
I think something similar will happen this time around.
Hopefully Nintendo's next console will launch with an amazing, innovative Mario title that will take the world by storm followed by an even better Zelda title the year after.

[bootang82]

I know people might try and kill me for saying this, but I wouldn't mind having to wait for the next console to get the new Zelda as long as it is launched with the system.  Having said that, I would totally welcome another gamecube zelda if it didn't take away from what could be a great launch title.

[stevenrwolfe]

Quote
Originally posted by: bootang82
I know people might try and kill me for saying this, but I wouldn't mind having to wait for the next console to get the new Zelda as long as it is launched with the system.  Having said that, I would totally welcome another gamecube zelda if it didn't take away from what could be a great launch title.

My sentiments exactly.

[PIAC]

yay im excited now!
i just finnished wind waker and BAMM new zelda game is announced this makes me a happy happy panda

[Matrix]

I hope it's more difficult.

[sycomonkey]

Allright... But you have to wonder why this wasn't announced at E3, at least with some vague alpha screenshots.  However, I'm absolutely inthralled.  Wind Waker, while not leaving much open in the way of Hyrule, certainly left room for a sequel.

Granted, there will be hell to pay if Zelda is permantently turned into a Cel-Shaded franchise.  After playing WW I see why they did it, and I think it was probably a good idea.  Also a direct sequel should obviously be simular in style, but whenever the next Zelda comes out, probably for the 5th gen race, I'm kind of hoping to see a darker, edgier title.  See the way I see it Zelda games really come in two styles, Light and Dark.  Light titles would be Zelda 1, Zelda 3 LttP, the GB zeldas, and Wind Waker.  The Dark titles would be Zelda 2, Zelda OoT, and Majora's Mask.  Before wind waker there never was a light 3D Zelda, so the Cel-Shading thing was a good thing to introduce, but I'd love to see the dark, grungier style in OoT revisited on more advanced hardware.  The series obviously has room for both.  

[Nintega]

Great news.  I loved Wind Waker and knew there had to be a sequel.  Now all I want is the sequel to be longer and a more difficult.

[Knuckles_69]

I can't wait for the new zelda. Although I really enjoyed the cell shading I would like to see a zelda game like the footage shown at spaceworld 2000. That looked incredable, the battle between Link and Gannon look intense and excting. If nintendo were to realse a game like this I think older gamers will be more appealed to it other then the cell shading. I still love the cell shading but nintendo lost sales because of it. Most of my friends turned the game down without even playing it, even though i told them dispite it's looks the game is excellent.

[Koopa Troopa]

I just hope, really, really, hope that it is more difficult. Significantly more difficult. It would be cool to see some different character models too, not that the old ones are bad, it'd just keep the visuals fresh.

[NWR_Lindy]

I don't mind Zelda keeping the cel-shaded look.  No Zelda game will ever be dark and realistic, that's just not true to the spirit of the series.  Zelda has always been about light-hearted, fun adventuring.  Kinda like an interactive fairy tale.  Now what I would like to see is a brand-new franchise with the same play mechanics and production quality, but a grittier style and meatier plot that's made for adults.

silks

[HappyMaskSalesman]

Hooray! While The Wind Waker had a nice ending, it didn't answer some stuff, (I don't wanna give any spoilers.) so a sequel was almost inevitable. Of course, Majora's Mask had little/nothing to do with Ocarina of Time. I hope it's not the same with Wind Waker. Basically I'm saying, a continuation would be a good idea (Least for me)before going off in a new direction.

[theRPGFreak]

Alright fellow gamers!
This is none other than the RPGFreak who searches the web(while after partying) in search of the latest in the world of the console war, role playing games, and of course, Zelda.
What do I think of a Wind Waker sequel? Not suprise really! I think that what they should do with the Zelda series is to simply keep making cel-shaded graphics for the Game Cube until a new Nintendo console comes out.
To tell you the truth, I wasn't really happy with the end of wind waker. I liked the game play and graphics, but I couldn't belive how the ending was.  XO
One thing that I worry about is that since a "darker" Zelda game is not Miyamoto's style...  this could lead up to not see this style at all in a full Zelda game. Miyamoto said that this style in a Zelda game is simply too hard to make, which is why they went with cel-shaded look. I think that while a Wind Waker sequel is being made, they should start work on a realistic Zelga game for Game Cube 2. I also think if they do this, they should do it with either Namco or SquareEnix, who have had alot of passon for graphical games.
Thats the RPGFreak over and out!

[Ocarina Blue]

I disagree, I think that if there is enough requests for a 'darker' style Zelda game, then Nintendo should work with SquareEnix or Namco in a completley new franchise, but the same genre of game. Destroying the Zelda series for something different is un-nessecary. Zelda is uniqe and it always will be, OOT and MM strayed from the path only a little (in having sadder (if thats a word)/more serious overtones), I doubt Nintendo will do anything more extreme with the franchise that leads down that path.

[PIAC]

they could keep zelda and create a more serious themed adventure at the same time, let another dev house handel zelda for a bit so mr miyamoto can head up the creation of the new game

something like that

[Ian Sane]

Well I know a bunch of people will ride my a$$ about how The Wind Waker's graphics are amazing and totally fit the original Zelda vision or whatever but in general I didn't really care for the cel-shaded style and I'm kind of bummed that it will be used again in another game.  Now from a development point of view it makes sense to stick with the old graphics engine.  Realistically I'm not expecting them to make a whole new graphics engine when they can use the old one, thus saving time and money, and most fans wouldn't mind.

Now I'm not saying that Zelda should be dark and gritty with a style like Lord or the Rings or anything like that.  I want a style similar to Ocarina of Time that is fairly light-hearted but everything is detailed and what's supposed to be scary and intimidating looks scary and intimidating.  In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask non-threatening areas like the towns were generally pretty cheery and friendly looking.  However the dungeons were generally very dark and many of the enemies that were only found in the dungeons were reasonably scary.  It was a style that made sense.  The dungeons are a "no nonsense" part of the game and thus had a more realistic and intimidating look compared to the rest of the game.  It's a similar style to some of the old Disney classics.  When Snow White and the Dwarfs are singing everything is all happy and funny, but when the witch appears then everything gets serious and dark and scary.

With Wind Waker everything seemed very happy and cheery throughout the whole game (except for the ghost ship).  I never really felt like I was in danger or that the enemies were truly intimidating.  Now some of this is due to the lowered difficulty level but the graphics were such that the feeling I got when I first entered the forest temple in Ocarina was never felt.

Plus one thing I'm worried about is that after Nintendo has made two cel-shaded Zelda games they might start to get comfortable with the idea of that being the new style for the Zelda series from now on and I do not want to see that happen.  Zelda can still remain a light-hearted adventure without being a cartoon.

[PIAC]

im pretty sure i read somewhere mr miyamoto didn't want todo cellshading again, so i guess aside from this game which is compareable to majora's mask, we wont see it again, which is neither a good or bad thing

[theRPGFreak]

Woah now doggy! I am not saying that they should destroy the classic Zelda gameplay, I am just suggesting that they take the series to the next level! Take Mario for example, when Super Mario Sunshine came out for the Nintendo GameCube, it stayed true to the good old red, white, and blue, and a bag full of chips that Mario 64 has! But one of the main reasons that it didn't sell like hotcakes was because it was the same concept. If games dont evolve and change, then we will have nothing new to expect from games. I dont want to think that in the next ten years the newest Zelda game will be about Link still having to save Zelda from Ganon while collecting heart pieces and rubees along the way. I am not saying that this method of gameplay is already worn out, but ir could possibly be if we dont kick it up a notch. I also made the suggestion about Square Enix and Namco, because they are very creative with games like XenoSaga and the Final Fantasy series. Do you not think that it would be cool to see an FMV of Link fighting Ganondorf like we saw at Space World but much deeper? Would it not be cool to run through Hyrule with living breathtaking evects that could change the concept of video games?! How would that not be unique for the Zelda games?
I do however, like your idea of Nintendo working with Namco and SquareEnix on a whole new series. I think that your on to something!
This is the RPGFreak over and out!

[Ocarina Blue]

I see what your saying, but I think changing Zelda's graphical style to something like that on the grounds that it would bring something new to the series is the equivelent of giving Link a gun instead of a bow and saying the game is fresh - it wouldn't innovative and wouldn't be Zelda Majora's Mask was a good example of a Zelda game that bought something new and innovative to the series and kept the Zelda feeling, but how much hype did it recieve compared to OoT? I understand how Wind Waker lacks the feel of seriousness in the dungeons, but I believe that can be ammended with the current engine. Nintendo will have to walk a fine line between keeping the ALttP feel and keeping the OoT/MM mask feeling present in the next Zelda.  

[Knuckles_69]

One thing about the cel shading is that people may think it's easy because of the way it looks. In this case thats true. Zelda wind waker was good but it was too easy. There wasn't enough dungeons. The last boss was really disappointing as well, easier then the final boss of mario sunshine and thats no good. It was a good game but you could beat it in a 2-day rental, the next Zelda should be alot more difficult.