227 replies to this topic

[Raien]

Literally just announced seconds ago at GDC, this new DS sequel to PH (not story-sequel) will involve driving a train with a cannon attached. The game will be released later this year.

Edited by Raien, 25 March 2009 - 12:11 PM.

[Masamune]

I can already see a monocled Ganondorf twirling a handlebar mustache while Zelda is tied to the traintracks.

I will be extremely disappointed if this isn't in the game.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Goodness, I havn't finsished PH yet! Well, it should be interesting to see what exactly will be going on beyond the train--or in fact what they plan to do with the train itself.

What I find hilarious is that apparently in the demo they showed, Link apparently battles a giant "crab-like" enemy.

Edited by Ken the Wandering Soul, 25 March 2009 - 01:28 PM.

[Crimson Lego]

Oorah. Hopefully, Ganondorf will unturn from stone then pursue the pirates and Link.

[spunky-monkey]

Oh my giddy aunt, he's actually a train driver driving round Hyrule, hat n' all - A BLOODY TRAIN DRIVER PEOPLE. >:c

Nintendo... stop this gimmicky bullshit, just stop piss arsing around PLEASE. Watching you churn out Zelda lately is the equivalent of George Lucas masturbating with his Star Wars franchise, its so painful to observe. Bugger this nonsense, the only DS title I'm giving any serious consideration at the moment is Mario & Luigi RPG 3, because unlike Zelda at least that series has stayed true to its roots.

[JRPomazon]

Please tell me this means Zelda is going Steam Punk!

[DarkJuno]

So it's basically Phantom Hourglass, except with trains instead of boats?

I can live with that.

Also: Nintendo owns up and does the storage solution - the Wii can now support up to 32 GB SD cards and you can play directly off the card, though saves have to be on the Wii itself.

I can also live with that.

[Raien]

Kotaku has the proper trailer up on their site, and I can now see that the Deku Leaf has been revamped as an early item, and that everything within the dungeons are a literal cut-and-paste of PH. It's really annoying when a developer cheaps out.

Also of note is the train map on the top screen; the overworld looks really small. I'm hoping that one dead end leads to another section of the map.

[NM87]

^In you're infinite wisdom and observation of a teaser trailer, I want to know your justification of these claims, when to me it seems like we have seen one dungeon, and one map portion of the overworld. As I recall, PH had four maps to its overworld, and probably "cut and paste" some elements from previous dungeons anyway, like all Zelda games do.

I was just talking about a Steam Punk-like Zelda with a friend, and this is a step in the right direction. Zelda is in this game, which means it is probably in Hyrule.

[Raien]

^In you're infinite wisdom and observation of a teaser trailer, I want to know your justification of these claims, when to me it seems like we have seen one dungeon, and one map portion of the overworld. As I recall, PH had four maps to its overworld, and probably "cut and paste" some elements from previous dungeons anyway, like all Zelda games do.

Don't get smart if you don't bother to read my post. I said that the dead end on the world map could lead somewhere else, but if not, it would be too small otherwise.

And as for Zelda cutting and pasting, the only games that have done that are the Oracles. Every other game has been developed with unique designs, and I don't see any good reason why that should change. It does nothing for immersion if the environments are literal clones of previous environments.

[Average Gamer]

Literally just announced seconds ago at GDC, this new DS sequel to PH (not story-sequel) will involve driving a train with a cannon attached. The game will be released later this year.

Did they actually say it was a sequel to PH?

[Raien]

Did they actually say it was a sequel to PH?

I don't know. The information originally came from the Kotaku liveblog, and they may have suggested a sequel of sorts from the clone-like trailer. I say don't presume anything until we get more information.

[Chiaki]

If I wasn't wearing glasses and using a laptop on a small surface, I would be slamming my head and puking on the desk at the same time. THIS IS EFFING BULL! Why why why why why why why why why..........!!!!

I am seriously nearly in tears right now. How. Could. They. Do. THIS!


...I will wait patiently for Pikmin 3 and Mass Effect 2. My Zelda fangirl will lie dormant for a few more years it seems.


......I need a new name.......;_;


/initial reaction

[D~N]

^My initial reaction. Just let how AWESOME a freaking Train is soak in. Give trains a chance; they're cool, you know it! You just don't want it in a Zelda game, I think. And neither did I at first. But when I realized the potential of this, I saw it would be no worse than a horse or a boat. Remember how random a talking boat sounded at first. Well this is just as random, but at least the train doesn't talk.

This is gunna be some crazy game. For the first time in a long long time, I have no clue what direction a Zelda game is going to go in. Think about this - this is the first really truely unpredictable Zelda game we've had in a long time. We knew PH would be WW2, we knew TP would be OoT rehash, etc. This is something we know nothing about, and a Train is just random enough to keep me guessing.

And the Darknut! We can play as a darknut! This is big stuff!

*is very excited*

[Raien]

The train would be much more awesome if you could draw the tracks with the touch screen (hence, Spirit Tracks). As it is, I can only look at how bad Hyrule's (assuming it is Hyrule) construction engineers are, having just plonked train tracks down in nice circles without thought as to whether commuters might want to go straight from A to B.

[Fin]

Zelda... with a train?

>_>

Well, I guess it could work. Not like I originally liked the idea for a sailing game, and Wind Waker's one of my favourite Zeldas now.

[Green Goblin]

If I wasn't wearing glasses and using a laptop on a small surface, I would be slamming my head and puking on the desk at the same time. THIS IS EFFING BULL! Why why why why why why why why why..........!!!!

I am seriously nearly in tears right now. How. Could. They. Do. THIS!


...I will wait patiently for Pikmin 3 and Mass Effect 2. My Zelda fangirl will lie dormant for a few more years it seems.


......I need a new name.......;_;


/initial reaction

Ok, I'm officially confused. WHY are you upset?

I mean, it's a new top-down Zelda adventure for the DS using the WW style design (which it seems is now the standard for handheld Zeldas) with a semi-steampunk style.
What's not to like?

[TheAvengerLever]

I think it looks amazing

And I can't wait to see what the geography is like for this game.

[Chiaki]

If I wasn't wearing glasses and using a laptop on a small surface, I would be slamming my head and puking on the desk at the same time. THIS IS EFFING BULL! Why why why why why why why why why..........!!!!

I am seriously nearly in tears right now. How. Could. They. Do. THIS!


...I will wait patiently for Pikmin 3 and Mass Effect 2. My Zelda fangirl will lie dormant for a few more years it seems.


......I need a new name.......;_;


/initial reaction

Ok, I'm officially confused. WHY are you upset?

I mean, it's a new top-down Zelda adventure for the DS using the WW style design (which it seems is now the standard for handheld Zeldas) with a semi-steampunk style.
What's not to like?

I was expecting another console epic. Phantom Hourglass's gameplay really didn't do it for me, so I'm not happy to see more of it, and...TRAINS? In Zelda? Ugh....I really don't know what they have in mind with this. It just seems weird. Too foreign. It feels like they've abandoned everything that Zelda is supposed to be in favor for something gimmicky and casual-gaming friendly. Like what a Mario spin-off would be. Only they decided to use Zelda characters instead, for some reason.

[CID Farwin]

I should be with all the people screaming "NOOO!" clinging by my fingernails to an idea of Zelda that died long ago, but the die-hard Zelda fanboy in me must be deader than I thought, 'cause this looks Awesome.

I mean, come on. You control a Dark Nut.

And drive a freakin' train!

It's nice to see Nintendo trying something new and not catering to fans and re-hashing what's already been done *looks at TP.*

I'm currently thoroughly enjoying Phantom Hourglass, and I hope this is as much fun.

[DarkJuno]

.....are people seriously already writing this game off because it has a train?

Primus.

[Selena]

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.....!

[Green Goblin]

I was expecting another console epic. Phantom Hourglass's gameplay really didn't do it for me, so I'm not happy to see more of it, and...TRAINS? In Zelda? Ugh....I really don't know what they have in mind with this. It just seems weird. Too foreign. It feels like they've abandoned everything that Zelda is supposed to be in favor for something gimmicky and casual-gaming friendly. Like what a Mario spin-off would be. Only they decided to use Zelda characters instead, for some reason.

True, the main temple parts were annoying after the 4th time (that being said, I felt SO MUCH gratification once I got my upgraded sword and just laid waste to every enemy in that bitch), but other than that, it was a very enjoyable game, IMHO. Utilized an interesting and easily-accessible control scheme while remaining true to a top-down LoZ style of gameplay, allowed for note writing on maps, and had a lot of very interesting boss fights.

As for all the moaning about trains. So the hell what? You keep with the standard formula for too long, you're eventually gonna stagnate. I LIKE that they're trying to mix things up. I mean, so what if he's not in the green while he's conducting? at the end of Twilight Princess, you could have Link looking like a rejected Marvel Supervillain if you wanted (Spinner + Magic Armor + double clawshot = Menace?)

I say, wait for the game to come out, and give it a try. You're at least guaranteed a DECENT game.

[canas is back]

well, it's interesting to say the least, of course an IRish link might be cool too

[Raien]

I find it hilarious that people are justifying the train with the "Zelda is stagnating" argument. The whole reason why Zelda has been stagnating at all is that the developers have foregone actual gameplay developments in favour of gimmicks. Since OoT, every game has introduced some new item or power (often highlighted in the game's title) that is only used within specific contexts, as opposed to changing the entire game as a whole.

List of past gimmicks: the Ocarina of Time, the Wind Waker, the Minish Cap, Wolf Link, the Phantom Hourglass. This new train has to be the most obvious gimmick of all; it looks so forced and irrelevant to the rest of the game.

In that regard, I see modern Zelda as making the same mistakes as the Sonic franchise, and I think both series will continue to stagnate horribly.

Edited by Raien, 26 March 2009 - 06:45 AM.

[TheAvengerLever]

They aren't really gimmicks. They're gameplay devices, and they happen to be the very thing that's keeping the series alive

[Raien]

They aren't really gimmicks. They're gameplay devices, and they happen to be the very thing that's keeping the series alive

Lol no. If they were keeping the series alive, everyone would be all over TP and Wolf Link. But general reaction to the series has been in a constant decline since OoT, and it's no coincidence that this was when Nintendo started using these "gameplay devices". *coughgimmickscough*

Edited by Raien, 26 March 2009 - 07:52 AM.

[Steel Samurai]

I don't think you can say the series has been in a decline since OoT, at least on the console. Majora's Mask, for example, had better gameplay than OoT. I don't like it as much because the story and atmosphere wasn't quite as epic, but the gameplay was inarguably better. Wind Waker's story I loved almost as much as OoT, though I don't really like to compare them because they were so different, but the gameplay was excellent there as well. Don't let nostalgia cloud your reasoning. TP I have not actually finished yet, mainly because I had to give up my console in the middle of a game and haven't mustered the will to go back and retread old ground, but, unlike a lot of people, I thought it worked. The atmosphere was epic, and I had no problems with the twilight realm gameplay. PH was a different story. I don't particularly like the isometric style, especially when a 3D engine is being used, but that would have been easily overlooked had they made the villain a little more hateable. It's difficult to dislike a mindless jellyfish, even if it is holding your true love captive. Having said that, the game stole DS game of the year from multiple publications, and sold rather well, as I recall.

I think it's way way to early to even be thinking about calling this game. People said 'Celda' would suck, and the game turned out to be awesome. I honestly don't think a train is that big of a stretch after the steamboat in PH. Hyrule can't stay in the same technological era over hundreds of years, it wouldn't make sense. What would be hella interesting would be if they gave it more of a western feel, like parts of TP had. That would give it a bit more of the coherency that PH lacked, and if they included a decently rounded out villain, could have a good story in it.

[SnowsilverKat]

I kind of feel like Nintendo's in a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation with most Zelda fans.

If they made and released a game with no new gameplay elements, fans would complain about the lack of said new gameplay elements, and that the series is stagnating.

If they made and released a game with many new gameplay elements, fans would complain that those new gameplay elements are 'gimmicks,' that the series is becoming too 'gimmicky,' and therefore is stagnating.

I know I'm not the be all and end all of opinions here, but I need to say something: for crying out loud, the game was just announced yesterday, and people are already proclaiming judgements. We have a small trailer of it in action and a few screenshots, that's all. Just my opinion, but I'm going to wait to play the game before I declare a blanket statement of 'this game is awesome' or 'this game sucks.'

That being said...I like trains.

Edited by SnowsilverKat, 26 March 2009 - 08:18 AM.

[Raien]

Majora's Mask, for example, had better gameplay than OoT.

Personal opinion. Popular opinion and sales say otherwise.

I think it's way way to early to even be thinking about calling this game. People said 'Celda' would suck, and the game turned out to be awesome. I honestly don't think a train is that big of a stretch after the steamboat in PH. Hyrule can't stay in the same technological era over hundreds of years, it wouldn't make sense. What would be hella interesting would be if they gave it more of a western feel, like parts of TP had. That would give it a bit more of the coherency that PH lacked, and if they included a decently rounded out villain, could have a good story in it.

General opinion on Celda is divided, with the Japanese taking to it much more than the West. Vice versa for TP; the West took to it much more than Japan, and general opinion was also divided. The fact is that when everything is put together, no Zelda game has received the same reputation as LoZ, ALttP and OoT for innovation in video games or setting the standard for high quality. Regardless of your beliefs, the series has been stagnating since OoT because Nintendo have refused to make changes to the core gameplay or structure of the series. And ST is a perfect example of this; without the train, the game is a literal PH clone.

I kind of feel like Nintendo's in a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation with most Zelda fans.

If they made and released a game with no new gameplay elements, fans would complain about the lack of said new gameplay elements, and that the series is stagnating.

If they made and released a game with many new gameplay elements, fans would complain that those new gameplay elements are 'gimmicks,' that the series is becoming too 'gimmicky,' and therefore is stagnating.

Rubbish. The problem is that these new "gameplay elements" do absolutely nothing for improving the core gameplay. It's like the Sonic series; new additions (i.e. characters) are kept at a distance from the core gameplay, and likewise the Train and the Wind Waker etc, have nothing to do with the main game.

What people want is something like a progression from the first Fable game to the second. A general all-round improvement of the Zelda format. We have not been getting that since OoT, and that's why the series is stagnating.

Edited by Raien, 26 March 2009 - 08:42 AM.