Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Spirt Tracks Trailer

[mac<censored>]

Color me underwhelmed as well. I liked the stylus controls in PH, but the train seems too derivative.

Er, what on earth do you expect them to do?  It seems like anything they pick is going to seem derivative in some sense (e.g., a motorcycle would basically just be a horse with wheels).

Or do you mean you don't like the whole separate over-world?  I might agree with that; one thing about traditional zeldas I liked over e.g. FF was that you just walked from place to place, with no viewpoint shift.  However, based on this video, the train actually seems much closer to the "integrated" zeldas in feel than PH did -- even when travelling on the train, the viewpoint doesn't shift to "satellite view", and you don't feel like you're playing on a map.

But who am I to speak -- I like trains (in real life), so I'm pretty jazzed about this.

[NWR_pap64]

Color me intrigued.

I would love to know how the train plays into the Zelda myth.

[NWR_Lindy]

Wow, how...underwhelming and oddly unexciting.  It's Phantom Hourglass with a Train instead of a Boat, which has me wondering if that's really the best they could do.

My feelings exactly.  I'm kinda like, "Is that it?"

[Kairon]

I'm excited and totally insta-buy, but I have two questions:

1. Land? LAND!?!?! Did they dry out Hyrule or is this in another part of the timeline?!?!?

2. Who is working on this? Hopefully not all the Zelda team.

[IceCold]

Wow, these are hands down the most apathetic reactions I've ever seen to the revealing of a new Zelda.

[Kairon]

Well, in truth, it really wasn't that great a trailer.

The most interesting thing about it is the guided giant statue buddy you get.

[Caliban]

You're all a bunch of party poopers. Link in a train is a significant technological advance for the series, and who knows what the future will bring us.

[Kairon]

You're all a bunch of party poopers. Link in a train is a significant technological advance for the series, and who knows what the future will bring us.

LAND is a bigger advance for the series!

[Caliban]

Land, sea, it's all the same. You have land, but you can't go underneath to explore. You have the sea, but you can't submerge and explore. So what's the point if it's land or sea, you can't do anything in it.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

You can walk on land without being stuck in a stupid boat.

[Urkel]

Link in a train brings us one step closer to a steampunk Zelda.

This can only be a good thing.

[NWR_Neal]

Link in a train brings us one step closer to a steampunk Zelda.

This can only be a good thing.

QFT

[KDR_11k]

New Zelda game same as previous one with one minor change, news at eleven!

Seriously, it's freaking Zelda, that never changes much. The only recent change was PH's new control and item paradigm. As for those demanding dpad controls, forget it, that would mean they'd have to dumb the items down massively and pretty much turn it into LttP again. The whole point of PH's revamp was that items became more versatile with the improved controls. Dpad movement plus stylus aim wouldn't work either, it hurts since it leaves you without enough hands to support the system's weight. Believe me, I loved PH's use of the stylus for movement after playing Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland because it meant my hand would no longer hurt.

There is a number of people who have been clamoring for a futuristic Zelda type game. Of course when one does come out (Beyond Good and Evil) nobody buys it.

That's because BG&E was more like Splinter Cell or something than Zelda.

[broodwars]

Wow, these are hands down the most apathetic reactions I've ever seen to the revealing of a new Zelda.

Can you blame people for not being excited?

1.  It's not a good trailer, being neither terribly exciting nor interesting.
2.  We're shown that Link uses a train in the trailer, but the trailer doesn't go that extra distance to show us what it can do that makes it unique and interesting.
3.  It's a re-skinned clone of the most thoroughly bland Zelda ever made.
4.  Is it just me, or does the graphics engine actually look worse in this game than in Phantom Hourglass (despite it being the same engine)?  Phantom Hourglass looked like a prototype Wind Waker.  This looks like something you'd download off the N64 Virtual Console shelf.

I'm not opposed to the Train idea, so long as the Train has a unique function that makes it fun, fresh, and exciting.  But in that trailer it looks like it's just a damn re-skinned boat that can only move around on land.

As for Beyond Good & Evil, calling that thing a game in the Zelda mold is being rather kind as it's much more of an action/stealth game.  It's also incredibly short, and also has a very misleading title...

[Caliban]

You can walk on land without being stuck in a stupid boat.

You're still stuck either way.

[Ian Sane]

I'm not that interested but it has nothing to do with the trailer.  I just didn't think Phantom Hourglass was all that hot.  I hate the controls and I hate the central dungeon design.  It totally seems like a really great game is stuck in there somewhere but it's a huge chore to get it out.  Zelda was never a chore for me before.

So now they're making a sequel to it.  And that's not unexpected or even a bad idea in theory.  I think the train is a very odd idea but not necessarily a bad one.  I'm sure anyone that liked Phantom Hourglass will get a huge kick out of this game.  I just didn't like PH so I'm not going to like another game with similar gameplay.

[mac<censored>]

I just didn't think Phantom Hourglass was all that hot.  I hate the controls and I hate the central dungeon design.

Ian, you hate everything.

[Stogi]

Everyone is hating on this game; why and for what reason?

The train?

The statue?

The similar gameplay?

I for one am looking forward to all the neat and crazy things you can do in cooperation with the statue; from solving puzzles to killing baddies. I'm also looking forward to using the train. Why? Because it's a new form of transportation and that's always exciting. Sure it maybe like the boat, but is that necessarily a bad thing? And finally, I found the controls intuitive in PH to say the least. Everything was easy to do. It looks like they plan to add to it, which can only make it better.

So why all the hate?

[Nick DiMola]

Everyone is hating on this game; why and for what reason?

I'm guessing because generally speaking PH didn't connect with people. I really disliked PH, so a sequel isn't of great interest to me. Of course I'll still buy it anyway, the Zelda pedigree demands that much; however, my expectations are extremely low.

[Stratos]

I liked the multiplayer from PH a lot. I hope they expand on those ideas and even add more more game modes like the battle mode in Four Swords.

But I agree that the game did feel a bit bland and like a chore in a number of places. Maybe the removal of the central dungeon will liven it up a bit and if there are no invincible enemies.

[Stogi]

You guys are pansies. The central dungeon wasn't so bad.

[GoldenPhoenix]

You guys are pansies. The central dungeon wasn't so bad.

Tedious, timed dungeons with stealth are not fun.

[Stogi]

Ya but say the game was bad simply because of that is pansyism.

[Kairon]

PH was epic... it was the best Zelda since OoT... you're all mean!

[King of Twitch]

I think the fact that the most annoying aspect of the 3D Zeldas, transportation, (running around Hyrule field in OOT, sailing in WW) is suddenly being pushed to the front is what turns me off. There's no reason for it on a handheld with no loading times to mask and whatever happened to warping?

And the repetitive tree/cloud/grass/dungeon textures don't do much for me but these are just my first impressions don't kill me