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Two Zelda Titles Are Coming to Wii U

by Minoru Yamaizumi - January 23, 2013, 8:01 am EST
Total comments: 23

An HD remake of Wind Waker and a "brand-new" title are in development.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, originally released for the GameCube in 2002, is being developed for Wii U with HD graphics, announced Eiji Aonuma, the producer of recent Zelda titles, in today's Nintendo Direct on January 23. This HD version will support Off-TV Play and will receive tweaks to its gameplay. The game is scheduled to release fall 2013.

Also, a brand-new Zelda title is under development for Wii U and coming sometime after Wind Waker HD, Aonuma revealed. This time around, he decided not to go into detail. Instead, he suggested it will be quite different from previous titles, and made its development concepts clear: rethinking Zelda’s structure, such as having to make progress alongside a scenario, beating dungeons one by one in a predetermined order, and playing alone. 

These are aimed at modernizing Zelda (i.e., remaking in the style that is attractive to current gamers). He confessed that they have tackled a similar challenge in the development of Skyward Sword, but could not change the linear structure.

Talkback

geoJanuary 23, 2013

Was in no way expecting any zelda news at all this morning.  Very pleasantly surprised.  Very reassuring to hear that they plan on shaking up the foundations of zelda, particularly relating to linearity.  A dark souls-style open-ish world would work well, I think, rather than something like skyrim.  Give you plenty of places to go and things to do, but have an 'easiest' or 'best' path you can take that will make progress smoother.  Let me do dungeon 2 if I want, but the enemies will be too tough without the item from dungeon 1, or something along those lines.

FjurbanskiJanuary 23, 2013

If only you could hear my voice and the girlish squeals of joy emitting from it.




Can't wait for the WW remake. And yes, I also think the new Zelda should take a Dark Souls-like approach to it's world and dungeon design. Which would be more in line with the original Zelda, or even Link to the Past.


Either way, I'm excited.

TJ SpykeJanuary 23, 2013

Wind Waker HD? Take my money already Nintendo.

AnGerJanuary 23, 2013

While I am to a certain extent happy that the WiiU is getting a Zelda this early, I don't quite like the fact that this probably means that we won't get an all-new Zelda game for 3DS that soon. Unless Nintendo outsources the title, of course.

geoJanuary 23, 2013

Quote from: AnGer

While I am to a certain extent happy that the WiiU is getting a Zelda this early, I don't quite like the fact that this probably means that we won't get an all-new Zelda game for 3DS that soon. Unless Nintendo outsources the title, of course.

They worked on skyward sword and spirit tracks concurrently.  We'll still probably get a 3DS zelda between wind waker and wii U zelda for sure.

Ian SaneJanuary 23, 2013

Wind Waker looks nice, but I can't see myself buying a remake.  I fully expect Nintendo to go HD remake crazy like Sony did and I do not plan on supporting them on that.

I want them to shake up Zelda BUT I don't like rethinking “to play alone”.  I like that Zelda is a great single player game (Four Swords is really good but not what I want out of a typical Zelda).  I want to go off on an adventure by myself.  Metroid has similar appeal.  So that really isn't something I want changed.  To me that's as desirable as a single player Mario Kart.  As the industry moves more and more towards multiplayer I think everyone is missing the point that for a lot of gamers, the fact that can have fun by yourself is part of the very appeal of videogames.

AnGerJanuary 23, 2013

Quote from: geo

They worked on skyward sword and spirit tracks concurrently.  We'll still probably get a 3DS zelda between wind waker and wii U zelda for sure.

I certainly hope so. But if they want to put it out, they should announce it soon. (possibly even before E3)

ChiramiiJanuary 23, 2013

I-Is this ... real life?  Holy SHHhhhh...

Killer_Man_JaroTom Malina, Associate Editor (Europe)January 23, 2013

Day one for Wind Waker HD. Not just because those visuals are unreal, but I would also love to know what aspects of the gameplay are getting "tuned up." It's an opportunity for Nintendo to take another look at some parts of the game that perhaps got less attention than they need the first time around e.g. the Triforce Hunt, which could become a good sequence if streamlined and tweaked a little in certain areas.


In terms of the new Zelda game, they have to find a very delicate balance - by all means mess with the conventions, but they risk alienating either camp if they go too far in either direction. If they're considering removing the linear order of dungeon completion, that could mean less emphasis on item-based puzzles, a potentially interesting change.

KeyBillyJanuary 23, 2013

It is interesting how different WW looks compared to the screenshots from WW on Dolphin.  They may be putting some effort into this, similar to the OoT remake for 3DS.

TJ SpykeJanuary 23, 2013

That's because all Dolphin did was upres the GameCube game, Nintendo is re-doing the entire game.

house3136January 23, 2013

I’ve never played The Wind Waker before, and I thoroughly enjoyed Skyward Sword and OoT3D, so I’m REALLY looking forward to this. I grew up on N64, but now I don’t mind missing the GameCube era. Just like Iwata said, it’s new to me.

CericJanuary 23, 2013

Quote from: house3136

I’ve never played The Wind Waker before, and I thoroughly enjoyed Skyward Sword and OoT3D, so I’m REALLY looking forward to this. I grew up on N64, but now I don’t mind missing the GameCube era. Just like Iwata said, it’s new to me.

You should.  Gamecube was a gem for the right people.

AdrockJanuary 23, 2013

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Grezzo was handling Wind Waker HD. They've been on radio silence since Four Swords Anniversary.

ShyGuyJanuary 23, 2013

Wind Waker my old friend... IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU  ;D

the asylumJanuary 23, 2013

Imagine: Playing a open-world sandbox Zelda game.

Like any Bethesda game, but without all the horrible and hilarious bugs.

StrawHousePigJanuary 23, 2013

Wind Waker... Wii remote... should have been so...  :'(

house3136January 23, 2013

@Ceric… Oh, I understand the importance of GameCube, I bought PM: TTYD and Super Mario Sunshine a while ago for my Wii.  I just haven’t played them yet because I have to borrow my brother’s GameCube controllers! I’m just saying, as a Wii U owner, I have a “new” Zelda title coming this fall.

I'm really glad they're doing this, but I wish they'd tone down the shiny shaders. Many of the Wii U games look like plastic -- it's kind of like the bloom lighting phenomenon on Xbox 360. So far, it seems like Wind Waker is losing its cartoon quality with the re-texturing.

DamabaJanuary 24, 2013

Wind wakers graphics out of all the 3d zelda games look the most timeless. Im surprised that nintendo is sinking time into putting extra work into the hd remake. This also does not bode well for gamecube games being released in hd on virtual console. None the less I will play the remake, but dose it really need a new coat of paint? I think not.

SheckyJanuary 25, 2013

Wind Waker on GC suffered a bit in the sailing as the islands couldn't be placed closer together because of technical limitations.  Islands would pop-in as you entered their grid, and prominent islands became a silhouette.  It would be nice if they shuffled the islands so it wasn't so grid like.  Extra horsepower of the Wii U would allow them to be closer together, add islands, or place more than one in a grid space.  That would also cut down on the sailing portion of the game.

Kytim89January 26, 2013

I kind of forsee the Wii U being a repeat of the GameCube when it comes to having multiple Zeldas. Nintendo is going to go all out and produce a number of good quality Zelda titles that different from one another. Here is a few examples:



A new Legend of Zelda with cel-shaded graphics that is a successor to Wind Waker (Gamepad only).
A realistic, gritty (Twilight Princess) Zelda game co-developed with Retro Studios (Wiimote style).
A top down-style successor to A Link to the Past that might be co-developed with Capcom to save time.
A successor to the LoZ: Four Swords but with online co-op play with three other people.
Ocarina of Time (3D) HD on the Wii U eShop.
Majora's Mask (3D ;) ) Hd on the Wii U eShop.
Legend of Zelda 3DS.

AdrockJanuary 26, 2013

Lulz. kytim, your title...

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