Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

[NovaQ]

Back in 2008, Iwata gave a vague and near-useless "reveal" that the Zelda team was working on something after Twilight Princess' release. Finally, at E3 2009, Miyamoto gave a more concrete confirmation of another Zelda for Wii during his roundtable discussion. He gave very little info other than these tidbits (gleaned from Jonny Mett's writeup):

-Players will again control Link to explore dungeons on his next adventure.

-The game will be released in 2010 at the earliest, though 2011 is more likely.

-The game will use Motion Plus, and may even require it (will this depend on how well Wii Sports Resort and MotionPlus sell?)
EDIT: Miyamoto has clarified in a Wired.com interview by saying the goal is to make Motion Plus "required."

-The archery and swordplay controls from Wii Sports Resort may give a good indication of how some of the new Zelda's controls will work.

No footage was shown, despite Miyamoto's hopes that something would be ready for the show. There was, however, a piece of concept art, which was not supposed to be captured by camera (but of course was anyway in very blurry form (EDIT: excellent quality image nabbed!)):



The next day at E3, Miyamoto had an interview with IGN and revealed that this new Zelda would not be directly connected with Twilight Princess. He also made sure to point out that Link is carrying no sword in the image. Interesting...

All sorts of speculation has been going on ever since on several threads throughout the site. What say ye all we do some consolidatin'? Bring your new Wii Zelda ideas / hopes / doubts and any further updates or rumors here.

[Caterkiller]

I am all for 1:1 sword play controls. I expect for the casuals out there defeating most villans would be a matter of just hacking away. But for us I am absolutely certain an awesome system will be created for the people really looking for challenge. Things like, you can only stab at the opponents giant eye because its thick skin/armor wont allow anything else.  Or what about ways to parry an enemies blow and making them fall off balance, without the use of a special action button?  The combat will probably take a dramatic leap, but still be simple enough that its not about sword fighting and any dummy can get it.

Oh hey look, Link is right handed again! Get your torches!

A mixture of the realistic pluss artsy cartoon style like an awesome painting would do the series well I think. I am just so sick of everything looking exactly the same. If Samus wasn't such an odd choice in "robot color" I probably wouldn't like they way Other M looks as well, same goes for her colorful enemies.

Maybe that orange door way is some portal that Link steps in and thats where the game controls itself when you get lost? In game it would be explained as the legends of the past posses Link to guide him through his adventure. Just you wait, this Link is going to be old and incompitent.

[NovaQ]

I agree very much with your painting idea. I think it would be a great aesthetic change of pace and help this title become more distinct. It could be a fantastic way to convey the sense of it all being part of some old legend, too. And just think of what could be done with any magic effects (animations) taking on paint-like qualities. Transitions, too: the title screen could be a still painting that comes to life when you begin a new game, and the file select screen could have the same effect with mini-paintings from whatever part you left off with before saving your progress.

And not to get too crazy about the single, blurry image we have to go off of, but what's up with the cloaked figure? She (he?) seems small and pale. Jonny didn't think it would be Zelda, but who else could it be? Might it be a suggestion of multi-character control, similar to what's being displayed with Spirit Tracks at this year's E3?

Another question: does anyone think the whole game will be in first person, or will it switch the way it has since Ocarina (when you pull out specific items)? Maybe it'll switch when you go into combat for better sword control...

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Red Steak 2 is successfully applying the Graphic Novel art approach (KIZUNA FAIL'D), so some other 3D-imitating-2D style is definitely achievable.

[Caterkiller]

I think it would be much better to stay in 3rd person and have the 1:1 control, I think that would be allot more satisfying for people to play and the fans to just look at.

[broodwars]

I think some people may be jumping the gun a bit suggesting that this game will have a watercolor-esque art style just because one concept art image used it.  While it would be interesting to see a Zelda game play with such a graphical filter, do we really need any more comparisons to Okami than there already are?

I just can't fathom why Nintendo isn't embracing the chaos of the internet and unleashing a high-res viewable version of this image online.  Any hype in their direction is good hype, and all we have to work off is this vague image.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Screw water colors, Okami was hard to look at.  My eyes had nowhere to focus.

[broodwars]

Screw water colors, Okami was hard to look at.  My eyes had nowhere to focus.

Looking at footage of the PS2 version a few years back when Okami Wii was coming out, I agree with that.  I had no problems focusing on things in the Wii version, though, with the saturated colors and harder edges.

[Dirk Temporo]

Screw water colors, Okami was hard to look at.  My eyes had nowhere to focus.

I suppose you had a hard time with MadWorld as well?

You people and your inferior optic lenses.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

MadWorld was great, similar to Viewtiful Joe's application.  Okami Wii is like looking thru the windshield during a machine car wash.  I can't imagine the PS2 version.

[NovaQ]

I think some people may be jumping the gun a bit suggesting that this game will have a watercolor-esque art style just because one concept art image used it.  While it would be interesting to see a Zelda game play with such a graphical filter, do we really need any more comparisons to Okami than there already are?

I just can't fathom why Nintendo isn't embracing the chaos of the internet and unleashing a high-res viewable version of this image online.  Any hype in their direction is good hype, and all we have to work off is this vague image.

I agree that I'm jumping the gun based on a single blurry image, but the idea/concept is too interesting to me to not mention it. As for Okami, while it emulated Japanese scroll paintings, the art style I'm imagining for the new Zelda would be closer to European or American oil or watercolor works. (I mean, Zelda is a Japanese take on more European-style fantasy, right?)

I think it would be much better to stay in 3rd person and have the 1:1 control, I think that would be allot more satisfying for people to play and the fans to just look at.

I imagine the puzzles could likely be more elaborate and easier to understand if the game kept its 3rd person perspective, too.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I agree that I'm jumping the gun based on a single blurry image, but the idea/concept is too interesting to me to not mention it. As for Okami, while it emulated Japanese scroll paintings, the art style I'm imagining for the new Zelda would be closer to European or American oil or watercolor works. (I mean, Zelda is a Japanese take on more European-style fantasy, right?)

Instead of re-describing what you are referring to, maybe you should find an actual example so people understand. I'm sure google pics has plenty of excellent examples to illustrate your idea.

[ShyGuy]

Like this?

[BlackNMild2k1]

2 page interview with IGN (transcript of a video interview - video at link)
 
Part 1: http://wii.ign.com/articles/991/991714p1.html

E3 2009: What Happened to Link's Sword?


Shigeru Miyamoto says the next Wii Zelda will see an even older Link... and could he be minus a sword?


June 4, 2009 - IGN's Nintendo Team met with Nintendo's master designer Shigeru Miyamoto at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles this week. The famed creator of the Mario and Zelda franchises spoke about all of the new each series, covered Nintendo's design philosophy, provided a few more details about Pikmin 3 and more. But he also gave us an exclusive hint about the next Zelda for Wii. Exactly what does it mean? We'll let you decide.

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IGN: Great seeing you again, Mr. Miyamoto. We know that you have been trying to make your games -- even traditional ones -- appealing to a wider spectrum of audiences. In Hollywood, the same studios might make an R-rated horror movie and also work on a G-rated family movie, specifically targeting two very different demographics. Have you thought about taking this approach with your games and do you think trying to appease all players ultimately dilutes your games?

Shigeru Miyamoto: I consider myself in some respects a writer and as a creator in that vein, I don't really have anything negative to say about my own work, of course. The work that I do generally is just something that appeals to a wider range. I've produced other games that third and second-party games have developed for us that are, as you would say, focused on one particular audience and I have no problem with that whatsoever. I've done that. As to why we don't do that, as for example, Mario Paint, if we just went and honed it down, that would be a game that could be just for artists. Again, I would never say anything bad, maybe, those writers focused on making something for a specific audience, but, you know, one of the problems we face in the gaming industry is that the gaming population is shrinking. There are less people playing games. And one of our goals is to bring that back up.
For us, the products that we make really just sort of match that goal naturally, so that's why we are taking that route. To further expound upon that, I think that when we are working with other developers, a lot of times they will try to come and make games that are very Nintendo-esque, and that's something that we actually ask them to stop doing. We say, if you're going to make a game with us, try to make something that really expresses your vision and what you would like to do. So we hope in the future to go ahead and work with people to again make games that are maybe more skewed toward an older audience or a more focused audience.

IGN: At your developer roundtable this week, you showed off a single piece of artwork from the next Wii Zelda game. This piece of art has not yet been released publicly, but we noticed that Link appears to have grown to full adulthood. He looks older than he did in Twilight Princess. Is that a correct assumption?

Shigeru Miyamoto: Well, the story setting for this Zelda is, of course, in a completely different era and Link is older than he was previously. More approaching adulthood. There is one hint. Maybe from the art work you can see that he's not holding a sword.

IGN: Has he lost his Master Sword?

Shigeru Miyamoto: [Laughing] I just wanted to make sure that you understand we are making it. That's all I'm going to say on that subject.

IGN: Does the game follow the story progression of Twilight Princess or is it something completely different?

Shigeru Miyamoto: I can't go into details except to say that it's something completely different.

IGN: You just mentioned that the game audience is shrinking and that Nintendo is always looking for ways to entice new players. Is this something that you're thinking about for the new Zelda, too, or is there a separation where that's off limits because the franchise is traditionally hardcore?

Shigeru Miyamoto: I think we do this with Mario and Zelda as well. When we are working on the plans for them, we are trying to come up with ways where we can satisfy our longtime fans and bring new players into the franchises as well. That's something we're always looking at. However, when I get involved in a title, I focus a lot on more experience and the more advanced gameplay elements. If I get into it, there's a tendency for difficulty levels to ramp up so that's something I really have to watch for myself to make sure that I don't do that.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Part 2 (Mario Galaxy 2 & Pikmin 3) http://wii.ign.com/articles/991/991714p2.html

IGN: Twilight Princess obviously started on GameCube and then came to Wii. We remember you saying that the team wanted to do more visually with the game for Wii, but ran out of time. So can we assume the visuals for this new game will set a new bar for Wii graphics?

Shigeru Miyamoto: Well, yeah, again I can't say anything in detail about the graphics in-game or anything like that. But I can tell you, as you just pointed out, that Twilight Princess was developed and ran on both hardwares while this new game will be only on Wii, so I think there are some expectations as to what it will be since we are focused on this console.

IGN: Tell us about the four-player mode in Legend of Zelda: The Spirit Tracks.

Shigeru Miyamoto: Yeah, if you remember in Phantom Hourglass we had that two-player tag. This time we're bringing four people local wireless and there will be some similar sort of tag-like gameplay. I don't want to give too much away about what the gameplay will be, but I think it will be really exciting. And there are some cooperative elements. Remember back to what, maybe, Four Swords' gameplay was like. But you won't be using any swords.

IGN: Onto Super Mario Galaxy 2. We remember a quote from you awhile back where you said that you loved the foundation created for that game, but you wanted to see it taken further. Maybe make it more difficult. Is that true?

Shigeru Miyamoto: I don't know if I want to make it more difficult or more challenging or maybe just more innovative or unique. But there were so many elements that we want to use and so many ideas that we had that we weren't able to implement last time around. So I'm hoping this is just filled with moments where players go, "Oh, hey, that's a great idea. Oh, what an interesting concept that is." And you saw in the videos that drill item that you use to drill through the different platforms and worlds and whatnot, and that's really exciting -- there's a lot of really high-action moments using that to navigate parts of the world.

IGN: We have to ask about Pikmin 3, of course. What happened to it at this year's show? Also, if we've got it right, Pikmin was the last original IP you came up with specifically for traditional gamers. Any idea when we can expect a new so-called hardcore property from you?

Shigeru Miyamoto: In regards to the IP question, I really don't consider Pikmin to be the last original IP. I look at the Miis, the Wii Sports, Nintendogs -- these are all original IPs from me. Even the island in Wii Sports Resort, I'm considering that an IP -- that island itself.

IGN: We're thinking more along the lines of a strictly hardcore title versus those you mentioned, which fall into the casual category, too.

Shigeru Miyamoto: No, I'm all dried up [laughs]. But luckily, there are lots of young and creative people at Nintendo, so I think they're really going to be driving a lot of that new original IP and yeah, we do have a lot of really great stuff that we're thinking about. And in terms of Pikmin, I've always thought of it more of an expanded audience title myself so if a longtime fans think of it as something for them and if our expanded fans think of it as something for them, well, that's great for us.

IGN: What's the status on Pikmin 3?

Shigeru Miyamoto: As you know, this year we've announced a lot of games. Amongst those there are so many that I've been deeply involved with. Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus, Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii. I have just been running around extremely busy. With Pikmin 3, we've got all the basics pretty much done. Now it's just a matter of how do we go in and fill that out? What sort of work do we give our designers? That team has been constantly been moving forward. So with a little time, we'll be able to make more progress and I hope we can bring you something that will make you happy.

IGN: Have you thought about making a Wii game that uses two Wii remotes with MotionPlus?

Shigeru Miyamoto: I think if Wii Sports Resort sells really well, that's something we'd definitely like to think about. Like, table manners.

IGN: We're going to suggest Marionette, the title that popped up on Nintendo release lists a long time ago and then disappeared. You use two Wii remotes to control Mario like a puppeteer.

Shigeru Miyamoto: That puppet team really still wants to work on that so maybe we've got something really cool with that.

IGN: As far as DSiWare and WiiWare, is there anything you would like to do personally on those platforms?

Shigeru Miyamoto: In relation to DSiWare, Flip Note Studio is something I really wanted to do for a long time. I'm working with Mr. [Yoshiaki] Koizumi, who was the director of Super Mario Galaxy and producer of Super Mario Galaxy 2. This is a really, really innovative piece of software that allows you to create your own flip-book style animations. I hope it's got some really great tools that will allow people to be very creative.

IGN: Finally, can you tell us something cool that you haven't told anybody else?

Shigeru Miyamoto: [Laughs] I think I've told you guys stuff already that I haven't told other people. Now this is something that was just announced last night out of Japan. I don't have any solid plans outside of Japan, but we are releasing with Monster Hunter Tri a black Wii. And then there's a classic controller grip.

Thanks to Shigeru Miyamoto for the interview.

[ShyGuy]

B O O M

[kraken613]

Thank you!!!!!! I have absolutely no idea what it could be about! But it looks awesome!

[stevey]

B O O M

wait what? fanart? Where the old Cell phone pic???

[BlackNMild2k1]

stevey, read the interview right before the posted picture.

2 page interview with IGN (transcript of a video interview - video at link)
 
Part 1: http://wii.ign.com/articles/991/991714p1.html

E3 2009: What Happened to Link's Sword?

Shigeru Miyamoto says the next Wii Zelda will see an even older Link... and could he be minus a sword?

IGN: At your developer roundtable this week, you showed off a single piece of artwork from the next Wii Zelda game. This piece of art has not yet been released publicly, but we noticed that Link appears to have grown to full adulthood. He looks older than he did in Twilight Princess. Is that a correct assumption?

Shigeru Miyamoto: Well, the story setting for this Zelda is, of course, in a completely different era and Link is older than he was previously. More approaching adulthood. There is one hint. Maybe from the art work you can see that he's not holding a sword.

IGN: Has he lost his Master Sword?

Shigeru Miyamoto: [Laughing] I just wanted to make sure that you understand we are making it. That's all I'm going to say on that subject.

IGN: Does the game follow the story progression of Twilight Princess or is it something completely different?

Shigeru Miyamoto: I can't go into details except to say that it's something completely different.

[mantidor]

urgh... right handed link... And you should use "BAM" instead of boom, is the new meme of the week.


If I ever met that casasamasina or whatever guy I'll punch him in the face ok, not really but it would feel sooo good!,"Hey but I want something hardcore, but like hardcore! hardcore!! oooh I'm soooo HaRDCORE!!1". "Hardcore" is now the most retarded gaming term ever, and I love how Miyamoto made his rebuttal and made this idiot realize (or at least ried) that Nintendo doesn't see its games with such stupid divisions, and they actually want the "expanded" and "longtime" audiences to love everything they do, from pikmin to the miis.

As for the art, I'm liking it, and I like all that Miyamoto says about the development, all these things about wanting to involve more the characters and experiences and all that, but then I remember Aonuma talking just like that in TP development and that was a dissapointment. So now actually I'm going in with very low expectations.

[stevey]

Being online once a day is killing me.....(I see the art on the nintendo press site)

So the girl is Link's sword now? I'm not against turning anything into girl, but come on, just turn Link into a girl and give her whatever magical powers you're planing Miyamoto!

[NovaQ]

I agree that I'm jumping the gun based on a single blurry image, but the idea/concept is too interesting to me to not mention it. As for Okami, while it emulated Japanese scroll paintings, the art style I'm imagining for the new Zelda would be closer to European or American oil or watercolor works. (I mean, Zelda is a Japanese take on more European-style fantasy, right?)

Instead of re-describing what you are referring to, maybe you should find an actual example so people understand. I'm sure google pics has plenty of excellent examples to illustrate your idea.

Good idea. I'll look around the Intertubes and see what I can find.

Shy Guy, nice find!! (I've added the new image and a tidbit from BlackNMild2k1's IGN interview to the OP.)

Now, I was wondering about this, but because the original image was so gunky, I saved it. Now, though, Miyamoto has brought it up himself:

Maybe from the art work you can see that he's not holding a sword.

When the original blurry image was posted, I thought Link simply had the Master Sword on his back. Once I heard that it was this strange cloaked girl and that Link didn't have a sword at all, it got me thinking. I wonder if there's any chance that this odd, almost statue-like girl ends up being an embodiment of Link's sword. I suppose, if this were true, it would have more of an effect on the game's story. Maybe there could be some effects on gameplay, though I can't think of any.

I may also be over-speculatin' from this single image.

EDIT: Oh, I guess stevey was thinking the same thing. Plus, with the girl's skin and cloak both being the same color silver, her body looking pointy, and the Master Sword's gem placed on her body, it seems even more likely.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Link can grab her by her neck and swing her around to break stuff... I see nothing wrong with that.

[NovaQ]

Technically, I think he'd hold her by the legs. That way he could bash her pointy head against things.


I mean, there will be magic involved. Probly. Heh, heh...

[Chozo Ghost]

So the girl is Link's sword now? I'm not against turning anything into girl, but come on, just turn Link into a girl and give her whatever magical powers you're planing Miyamoto!

It would have been much funnier if instead of a sword the girl was turned into a pair of Link's pointy elf shoes...