Topic: Question regarding Zelda: TP for Wii

[GoldenPhoenix]

Has there been anystatements regarding whether or not Zelda: TP for Wii will have a graphical boost over the gamecube version?

[SixthAngel]

I haven't heard anything besides the Wii version having widescreen available.

[Bloodworth]

No statements made to that effect, but the Wii version definitely looks a lot better than last year's demo on GameCube.  I really wish I had them both to compare, but I think the draw distance and framerate are better, and there may even be opportunities to include more objects or enemies.

[18 Days]

It's safe to say they'll use the extra storage to use less compressed music sound and textures.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Well I hope you guys are right, mainly all I want is a smooth framerate. Visuals are secondary to a solid, smooth framerate to me .

[Mario]

Is it possible to use the GC controller on the Wii version?

The Wii controls for this are just sounding like the awkwardness of Super Mario 64 DS all over again, and I don't want to buy the GC version if I miss out on even the smallest graphical feature.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: Mario  and I don't want to buy the GC version if I miss out on even the smallest graphical feature.

OMG!!!! Mario's a GRAPHICS WHORE!!!!

But seriously, they took a whole extra year to add the proper controls to the Wii version. In the case of Mario64 DS, the controls were slapped on and they performed a function which wasn't optimal for the touch screen.

The Wiimote is ideal for aiming, which is exactly what it will do in TP.

[trip1eX]

No TP for my Wii!  Sorry just had to say that.

Since they are releasing two skus I would guess the Wii version will have an enhanced loook.  I don't expect much tho.

[NWR_pap64]

Quote
Originally posted by: trip1eX
No TP for my Wii!  Sorry just had to say that.

Since they are releasing two skus I would guess the Wii version will have an enhanced loook.  I don't expect much tho.

*Pulls shirt over head

I AM THE GREAT PAP-HOLIO!

I WANT TP! TP FOR MY WII-HOLE!

...I just had to do it, I'm sorry XD

Yeah, I too have been wondering if the Wii version of TP will have a slight graphical upgrade.

[Svevan]

Quote
Originally posted by: Smash_Brother
But seriously, they took a whole extra year to add the proper controls to the Wii version. In the case of Mario64 DS, the controls were slapped on and they performed a function which wasn't optimal for the touch screen. The Wiimote is ideal for aiming, which is exactly what it will do in TP.

If what we saw at E3 took a whole year, color me unimpressed. Though the game itself looks great, and the Wii version does not play like crap, I really don't think it adds much playability, while adding a learning curve. We'll be writing some stuff up about this issue later in the week.

[ShyGuy]

I'm guessing they didn't take a whole year to add wii support. It probably went something like this.

"How long will it take you to add wii support to Zelda:TP?"
"If you give use everything we need, a few months"
"Hmm, well we aren't releasing Wii till next fall, so work on this other stuff until then."

[NWR_pap64]

Quote
Originally posted by: EvanTBurchfield

Quote
Originally posted by: Smash_Brother
But seriously, they took a whole extra year to add the proper controls to the Wii version. In the case of Mario64 DS, the controls were slapped on and they performed a function which wasn't optimal for the touch screen. The Wiimote is ideal for aiming, which is exactly what it will do in TP.

If what we saw at E3 took a whole year, color me unimpressed. Though the game itself looks great, and the Wii version does not play like crap, I really don't think it adds much playability, while adding a learning curve. We'll be writing some stuff up about this issue later in the week.

I won't judge your opinions since you have played the game at E3. But what you say about the learning curve, you have to remember that the Wii version is a really different version. Originally, TP used the same engine as Ocarina of time, Majora's Mask and Wind waker did, so there was no need for a learning curve. The Wii version, however, radically alters this and now you have to learn how to play Zelda all over again.

This may not seem big, but I think it adds some freshness to the formula.

And you have to remember, this is first and foremost a marketing decision. Even if the controls on the Wii version ends up not being not that impressive, you can rest assured that a lot of Wiis will sell thanks to Zelda (I think Nintendo will push the Wii version harder than the GC version. I think they might say "Also available for the GC" at the end of the commercial, but rest assured the Wii version will get the most attention).

EDIT: You guys have to remember that these are early demos running on early hardware. Nintendo and the other developers still have 6 months to fine tune everything for the release. Zelda TP is far too big of a game for Nintendo to mess up. I know they will fine tune the controls before it is released.

And guys, please, this wasn't a last minute addition...

Think about it for a second...

They had to reconfigure an ENTIRE game engine in order to accomodate Wii controller functions. That means they must have gone through the entire game and reconfigure EVERYTHING so that it responds to the controller of the Wii.

I doubt they added this in like 2 or 3 months. In fact, don't be surprised if this was worked on way before the controller was announced...

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I'm inclined to believe TP Wii is running at 60fps (GC version is 30fps).  I base this off some of the hi-rez direct-feed Wii trailers, which show signs of 60fps -> 30fps video conversion artifacting.  And just about everyone who had a hands-on said the demo looked smooth.

Word.

[mantidor]

Its funny how people said in the past that Nintendo wasnt going to push TP as a launch title, that there was no reason for me to doubt about the implementation of the rev controls and that I was being pessimistic, that the GC version wouldnt be delayed because of the Rev version etc ,etc, etc, and here we are, the pessimistic predictions were true, Nintendo is pushing a last gen game as one of its mayor launch titles, and its not the best implementation it could have been made, and worst, GC owners have to wait anyway until the Wii's launch to get the game, because its a simultaneous release.

But at least we are getting the GC version, and I like a lot everything about the game (except the remote functionality of course), that the implementation isnt perfect makes me feel a bit more confident that the focus was always really in the GC version. It really sucks this graphical improvement, if its just simple embellishments is a bit acceptable, but things like draw distance affect gameplay one way or the other. Im still hoping they are going to make up for us GC version supporters with something.

[EasyCure]

Quote
Originally posted by: mantidor
Nintendo is pushing a last gen game as one of its mayor launch titles

whenever i read your post i read them in a spanish accent so that made sense to me

[mantidor]

hahaha

mayor =/= major

me = owned

I hope that at least Im getting better with the language.

[Bloodworth]

Remember guys, E3 is used by Nintendo as kind of a large-scale focus group test.  There were some very knowledgeable guys at the Zelda demo, and they were paying close attention to how people adjusted to (or had trouble adjusting to) to controls.  I went back to Zelda at the end of E3, since it was the first Wii game that I had played.  The controls turned out to be less of an issue for me after I had spent a little more time with the controller in a variety of games.  

I also have no idea what Evan's hoping to address - I thought I made it pretty clear that controls were awkward at first.

[Crimm]

Do you know if the Wii-mote has sensitivity settings, or settings on a game by game basis?
If the story of the wii-mote holding your personal settings is true, that would be a great aplication for them.

[stevey]

Iwata said, they're the same but only in widescreen.

[mantidor]

link, please? the only thing Ive seen remotely related to the GC version was the interview at EGM.

[NWR_pap64]

Quote
Originally posted by: Bloodworth
Remember guys, E3 is used by Nintendo as kind of a large-scale focus group test.  There were some very knowledgeable guys at the Zelda demo, and they were paying close attention to how people adjusted to (or had trouble adjusting to) to controls.  I went back to Zelda at the end of E3, since it was the first Wii game that I had played.  The controls turned out to be less of an issue for me after I had spent a little more time with the controller in a variety of games.  

I also have no idea what Evan's hoping to address - I thought I made it pretty clear that controls were awkward at first.

I doubt it...

*Points to Evan's TP impressions

[denjet78]

I don't really know what to make of TP on Wii. On the one hand, it's an incredible move marketing wise. How many times have people been complaining about how Nintendo seems to release big titles at the end of a consoles lifespan rather than just porting those title up to the next generation of hardware? The same things were said about a number of titles that were released near the end of the N64s lifespan. There were a whole host of titles that everyone was saying Nintendo should have ported to the next generation. They didn't, however, because they were trying to ensure that the people that bought N64s got what they paid for: A full generation of really good games.

Twilight Princess is strange though. People with GCs are still getting it but at the same time, it's going to be a launch title for Wii. And not in the same way that Dragon Quest 8 was seen as a launch title for the PS2. I'm really not sure what to make of the whole situation. All I can say is that at least Nintendo isn't cutting off GC owners.

As for how well the game plays with the Wii controller... How well would a digital game play being mapped to an anologue stick? Not very well if you ask me. That's basically what's going on here. You have a game that was built from the ground up using a standard 2 dimentional controller. Now you're trying to get it to work using a 3 dimentional controller. The features simply aren't going to match and without scrapping the entire game and starting over, you're not going to get a smooth product. The pieces just don't fit. You might as well be watching a black and white movie on a color TV.

The same thing is going on with the 3rd party demos that aren't stacking up either. Most minds are still stuck in 2 dimentional control. This is a completely new paradigm. As it is it took developers years to catch up to Nintendo with the simple shift from 2D to 3D gaming using a regular controller. Anyone care to guess how long it's going to take for developers to catch up this time?

What I find most interesting is how all of these complaints about the controller are based around how it works too well. When was the last time you heard someone complain about something being too good? Nintendo really nailed the hardware. Now it's up to developers to decide how to control that power.

[IceCold]

Quote
As for how well the game plays with the Wii controller... How well would a digital game play being mapped to an anologue stick? Not very well if you ask me. That's basically what's going on here.

Heh - that's exactly what mantidor kept saying over and over when we were speculating about it..

[Requiem]

Not really...

It's more like analogue to a pc. If you've ever played Max Payne on Xbox or PS2, then you know what can be improved.

[Kairon]

Read the entire interview at GoNintendo. But here's a little bit of it:

Quote
EGM: Any other differences when you play Twilight Princess on the Revolution?

EA: The one question everyone kept asking me in interviews last year was “is Zelda going to have a widescreen mode?” On the Gamecube, we weren’t able to do it but on the Revolution, the game will have a 16:9 [widescreen] mode- not streching the screen but actually adding to the viewable area. It sounds like a small thing, but once you play the game in widescreen and try to go back to the standard screen, it will feel really cramped and almost claustrophobic.

Another change is [that] when you play on the Revolution, [the helpful fairy] Navi will appear and you can use her as a cusor in terms of pointing at different objects and highlighting things. And we’re still looking at other things we can add in terms of graphics and programming to make [Zelda] feel like something special.

SM: The one thing we want to clarify is [that] we aren’t developing two different versions of Twilight Princess, where one might have different events or different dungeons or different enemies. [But] we are looking at things like minor graphical upgrades or some additional features.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com