Topic: Wind Waker 2: Christmas 04!

[ZS_Slayer]

Hey people I can't wait untill WW2. A lot of people say it is going to look like MM and OOT. That would be sweet. One of my freinds said that Anouma is too busy with Mario 128 on the N5. And I found on the forums a Interveiw with Anouma- Here it is.

First you're advertising, now you're cutting and pasting articles.  Read the rules YOU AGREED TO or else you are getting banned the next time you slip up. -Bloodworth

[nolimit19]

there is no way anyone will read all that....sum it up in 3 sentences

[joshnickerson]

Idiot.
The next Zelda game will look like Wind Waker did... that's already been decided.

[Hostile Creation]

Actually, if someone posts the link, I'd be glad to read it.  And summarize it, I suppose.  I like reading interviews.

[cml]

Agreed. Does anyone have the link?


Chris.

[mjbd]

The next game will look like Wind Waker, and I wouldnt want it any other way.  The WW engine is to good to only use once.   Theres not much to be done to the engine, visuals can be cleaned up a bit, framerate can be made even more stable, but other than that there's not much from a technical standpoint that needs to be improved.

[ghostVi]

Searching google for "Interview by Paul Davies" "Eiji Aonuma" reveals this (www.gamecubenetwork.com), which seems to originate from here (www.computerandvideogames.com), but C&VG requires registration...

[Hostile Creation]

Jesus, the things I do for you guys

Okay, that review dates back to May or June.  The first site you gave had the full review (found this out after making an account and going back through four months of archives), but no matter.  Didn't mind it.
The interview is fairly short if you want to read it, but it doesn't give much info about the next Wind Waker.  It's mainly asking Aonuma about his personal outlook on the game and what needs to be improved, and manages to slip in the typical interview questions (you working on online?  how'd you take the graphics turmoil?  etc).  The focus is what Aonuma thinks a game should be about, and how he incorporates them, how did he liked how WW turned out?, etc.  The only thing that may be considered fact is he implies that the sequel will not have a boat as transportation, though he doesn't assure it.

That's about it, fact-wise.  It's not long if you want to see his personal insights, though.

[Sean]

It seems a bit sad to me that so many people are clamoring (if we are to believe it) for the "next step" for Zelda which is a) "realism" and b) full-on, conventional production values (i.e. voice acting, elaborate CGI, etc).  We've talked about this here before, but since Aonuma-san brings it up, it's worth mention again: Link's lack of speech and the fact that you have to READ text in the game is just part of the game's aesthetic.  Engine-based cut-scenes also add to the overall cohesion of the game.  It's rather telling about most gaming journalists that they put what they want (which is typically what the mainstream wants) over the artistic sensibilities of the creators.

I'm always astonished when people try to argue that Nintendo avoids these kinds of prod. values out of some sort of Scrooge-like frugality.  (In the case of Mario Sunshine, I wholeheartedly agree that Nintendo dropped the ball on the CGI and voice acting--it was wretched, even if the game was well-nigh brilliant).  Wind Waker is a fantastic game, and it's no less good because it goes in a different direction than a game like Final Fantasy [insert Roman numeral VII-XI here].  Some would say that Wind Waker "lacks" in this area.  I say Wind Waker is the better for it.  

But, it's not hip to be old-fashioned, nor is it a good idea to not give gamers precisely what they want.  But if we're to believe for one second that games are an artform, even in the slightest degree, we need to understand that the creators, lo and behold, sometimes know better than we do what makes something truly good.  It's different for every game (although, in my opinion, RPGs are like playable books, and are worse off the more voice and less text they have), and if every game looked and sounded like Final Fantasy, I'd cry my eyes out.  Heck, Tidus in FFX makes me want to cry just thinking about his horrible, horrible, nearly-game-ruining voice.

[Don'tHate742]

At first I didn't like the WW graphics, I kept on thinking about how cool realistic graphics would look. But really after starting to play it again with a little visual enhancement(from regular rca output to S-video) and a big audio enhancement (10 speakers 2 subwoffers 2 recievers...10.2) I'd have to say that WW is one of the most beautiful games I have EVER played. Playing it again with out the thought of realistic graphics gives me an unbiased look on this masterpiece. I think the graphics represent zelda better than OOT ever did, i'm serious....I have been a fan of zelda for god knows how long and even watched the tv episodes, and I know what zelda is. But of course its only my opinion not fact.

Now my only gripe is a way to make the game harder....

There should be some option where you can toggle how difficult the game is.

[mjbd]

The difficulty isnt going to change much, Zelda WW wasnt exactly difficult for players who have played OoT and MM, but for a newbie, it may be fairly difficult.  I think it could be a bit more challenging, but would it make the game alot better?  I think almost everyone who has played WW has come to appreciate the cel-shaded style.  Its so immersive, your no longer playing a game, your experiencing it.  If that makes any sence.  

[Don'tHate742]

it would be cool if they made a hard and an easy quest, both differing not only in difficulty but some story elements as well to make it harder/easier respectively. Like for the easy mode, there would be an exclusion of some part of the game that only the hard mode has. You know stuff like that....

[Hostile Creation]

And I would doubtlessly have to play both of them.  Quite possibly several times.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, aside from the social side effects, but still. . .

[Ocarina Blue]

With regards to voice acting, reading that interview that has made me see it in a new light. However, I have a qualm with how the written text was implemented in WW. At the end of the game, when you are talking to Ganondorf, visual techniques are used to indicate the nature of his speech (when he yells, it's in large lettering). I understand the concept of the game developing a personal 'feeling', as a good book does, but resorting to visual techniques such as that is no different to resorting to voice acting, only it's weaker in effect. I now agree that voice acting shouldn't be introduced to the series, but I think they also have to be careful not to ruin the 'feeling' developed through using techniques like that.

[Hostile Creation]

I actually like the technique they use.  It's okay to use small letters in, say, a book, because you can say '!" yelled Arthur.' at the end.  But for that, you have no way of telling how emotional they are.  The little hearts and the big words are both something I liked.

It did kind of sound silly when people mumbled incoherently while the words showed, but I didn't even mind that.

[mouse_clicker]

Quote
The difficulty isnt going to change much, Zelda WW wasnt exactly difficult for players who have played OoT and MM, but for a newbie, it may be fairly difficult.

Nope- I was (surprisingly) the only one of my close group of friends that had played Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, and yet none of my friends had any difficulty at all wizzing through the game. In fact, they all agreed that although the game was unbelievably incredible, it was entirely too easy. All Nintendo really needed to do was increase the amount of damage enemies did, to put you on the edge of death once in a while.  

[Hostile Creation]

Yeah. . . my younger cousin, about twelve, played the Savage Labyrinth.  That thing killed him, but then again, he hadn't started from the beginning, which probably didn't help.

[Gibdo Master]

These are my biggest complaints about Wind Waker. For one thing there really needed to be two more dungeons. Also the difficulty should have been upped. I don't necessarily mean the enemy difficult either although the bosses definitely should have been tougher. I was mainly disappointed in the puzzles and such in the dungeons. The biggest problem here is that a lot of the puzzles were recycled from just about all of the earlier games. You had your standard block pushing, fire lighting, switch pushing, etc. For someone who's played all the Zelda games those things aren't challenging because you've seen them a thousand times before. The first dungeon was actually pretty good because there was quite a bit of original stuff but the dungeon puzzles after that were just more of the same.

Also the fact that the over world was made up of almost nothing but water was a bad idea. It gets very boring and aggravating when you spend most of your time sailing around only to occasional stop to search for treasure or to fight a couple of enemies. It's not that the sailing was a bad idea though it's just they went overboard with how much you had to do.

The bosses were really disappointing to. Most of them were just rip offs of Ocarina bosses. Also they were way to easy. I don't really like the idea of running around with low hearts constantly but I do feel the bosses should actually pose a challenge. I do have to give them props for Ganon though as he was completely original and pretty challenging.

I think in the end the thing that probably hurt them the most was the amount of time they spent on the graphics and engine without actually crafting the game itself. At least that's the picture I get from all the interviews I've read. Wind Waker 2 shouldn't have this problem though since they are using the same graphics and engine from Wind Waker. That's why I have very high expectations for it.  

[Beave]

Quote
As I said before, each player has their own version of Link. And because everyone has created their own Link, everyone can relate to him and have their own idea of who he is.

Lol, yeah took my impression of link and turned him into a weiner.

[ThePerm]

there need to be more games with char editors!

[Bill Aurion]

Errr...May I ask which bosses in Wind Waker were rip-offs from OoT besides Phantom Ganon?...Cause I can't think of any...

And no, we don't need a character editor in a Zelda game...what an asinine idea...(no offense)  

[mouse_clicker]

The Zelda series as a whole has a multitude of reoccurring bosses. I liked the ones in Majora's Mask the most, though.