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Zelda DS producer speaks News

DS News by Ellie Gibson

7 October, 2005

Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has offered the first hints as to how the DS instalment in the popular series will make the most of the handheld's unique capabilities.

Speaking to US magazine EGM, Aonuma declined to go into details but did say: "What I can tell you is that it's going to use the touch screen for a very unique control system that people have never experienced in a Zelda game before.

"What I I think one of the important elements of the Zelda series has always been that you feel like you're in the world doing the things that Link is doing and touching the things that Link is touching," he continued.

"This time you'll be able to use the touch screen and actually touch those items and objects yourself.”

Hmm. Not a lot to go on, then, but at least we know that Zelda DS will definitely be making use of the touch screen. All we need now is some screenshots and a release date...

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Comments: 1-48 of 48 in total

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oerhört
07/10/05 @ 10:44
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Just hoping that if they're going to use the touch screen, they won't make it an on-and-off feature. They should use it in the core game design, so that I don't have to find the pen from the back of the DS in the middle of a heated battle, Spider-Man 2 style.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 07/10/05 @ 11:44
hp_on_toast
07/10/05 @ 10:48
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Damn, I bet they are just going to make it control like a point-and-click (Neverwinter, DS etc) PC RPG with the stylus behaving like the mouse. One of the best things about Zelda is that it features direct control of your main character!!!
Blerk
07/10/05 @ 10:49
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What I can tell you is that it's going to use the touch screen for a very unique control system that people have never experienced in a Zelda game before.

Why does that sentence fill me with dread? :-)
tengu
07/10/05 @ 10:51
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I don't want to buy a DS.
Hog-lumps
07/10/05 @ 10:54
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Why does that sentence fill me with dread? :-)

Becuase you're afraid of change? :-)
disc
07/10/05 @ 10:56
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GIMMICKY!
Razz
07/10/05 @ 11:09
#7
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ooo.... flick your own arrows eh
rotat your own boomerang
manual aim the hookshoot


Cool.
tengu
07/10/05 @ 11:14
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"flick your own arrows
rotat your own boomerang
manual aim the hookshoot"

Euphemisms?

volb
07/10/05 @ 11:16
#9
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Because you're afraid of change? :-)

Speaking for myself, I am afraid of change. I would be filled with nothing but elation were it a new, unrelated IP.

Edit: formatting
Edited 1 times, most recently on 07/10/05 @ 12:16
smelly
07/10/05 @ 11:16
#10
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"GIMMICKY!"

Nah, relying on pretty pixels is gimmicky.

Changing how a game is controlled to be innovative is a different kettle of fish.

Im all for this, And i have faith in him that this'll work.. cant wait! I dont own a ds, but with this, new mario, advance wars, etc etc.. i'm REALLY tempted (if my bank balance can cope).
smelly
07/10/05 @ 11:17
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"heated battle, Spider-Man 2 style. "

I read spiderman 2 was the worst ds game? Hardly a fiar comparision?
Kami
07/10/05 @ 11:36
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Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Advance Wars are two extremely good reasons to have a DS.

And to Zelda, I am dreading it but also looking forward to it as well... I don't believe that the formula needs changing, just needs to go back and see why it was so good some years ago... but then, I do like the touchscreen of the DS...

We'll have to wait and see... but to be honest, as long as Zelda is on the box, I'm sold already...
oerhört
07/10/05 @ 11:52
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Not at all, Spider-Man 2 is perfectly servicable, a 5/10 for me, for pure hardcore challenge. But the attempts at using the touch screen were slapped on and not well integrated.

As for the quality of the game: OF COURSE it will work. It's firstparty Nintendo goodness, in a game series which has always brought us consistently excellent outings.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 07/10/05 @ 12:52
aabyssx
07/10/05 @ 11:55
#14
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I hope it will be a new Zelda and not an Ocarina of Time remake.
djchump
07/10/05 @ 12:08
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Well I'm looking forward to it.
I trust the Nintendo games designers and the Zelda team - of any of the games Nintendo release, I think they'll want to make sure the big IPs like Zelda, Mario and Metroid are real selling points for the platform ;-)
disc
07/10/05 @ 12:12
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Changing the way a game looks is finding more exclusive clothes.

Changing the way you control your avatar is like changing the type of clothes, so instead of some easy jeans with a zip you might now give it buttons.

Underneath you still have the same gameplay bits.
Owain
07/10/05 @ 12:15
#17
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If anyone can do touch screen interaction well the zelda team can, I mean think of the puzzles!!!1

nintendo4life :p
Lost_in_Darkness
07/10/05 @ 12:30
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Cell shaded please!
Repsode
07/10/05 @ 12:41
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More late news from EG, heard this ages ago.
Mr_Whacker
07/10/05 @ 12:54
#20
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Why is everyone so scared of change? They are trying to dop something new which is commendable. And if its shit they won't do it again. Why is that so bad? As much as I love Zelda games, I can't be arsed with OoT remakes for ever.
Psi
07/10/05 @ 12:55
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ooooo ahhhhh weeeee gooooooo

k, gonna go buy a ds now
disc
07/10/05 @ 12:59
#22
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Sure it can be made well and since it's Nintendo they will make sure it is done well.

But still, this is a game shaped to suit the platform instead of a game spawned from the platform.
djchump
07/10/05 @ 13:10
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Disc - "But still, this is a game shaped to suit the platform instead of a game spawned from the platform."

disc - how do you know this? I was under the impression it was a new Zelda game from scratch, designed and made for the DS... unlike Mario64 DS which WAS a game shaped (and badly IMHO) to suit the platform.
Ranger101
07/10/05 @ 13:18
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Monkey Island style point and click.
smelly
07/10/05 @ 13:36
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New is bettter than regurgitating the same old same old with no new ideas.

Everyone moans about mario being used to death, at least they try something different with each new one rather than relying on same old same old.. smae with zelda.

Compare this to (say) sonic (or to show im not just picking on one company) halo or erm.. (what francises does the ps2 have which i can highlihgt at this point?).
Lost_in_Darkness
07/10/05 @ 13:41
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What do you mean No?

This is the DS we're talking about, only by using cell shading can they give this game justice, with standard 3d it'll look like ass. Compare the difference between the DS' cell shaded games and the ones that are just normal 3d, cell shading looks immensely better. Look at Viewtiful Joe for instance, that looks damn good; even as good as the GC ones.
Xerx3s
07/10/05 @ 13:41
#27
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"Becuase you're afraid of change? :-)" -And why is that? Because most changes are usually for the worse *CO-aoe3-UGH*.
oerhört
07/10/05 @ 13:54
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Lost in Darkness: It doesn't have to be cel shaded, technically speaking, just to use common sense when it comes to texturing. Super Mario 64 isn't cel shaded, it's just fitting. Textures can be used in a good way on the DS, but you have to make things specifically for it, not just downsizing console-made stuff.
smelly
07/10/05 @ 14:07
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Cel shading is actually a gfx intensive technique.. dunno if ds could cope.

what was wrong with how OOT and MM looked? I played them recently on my cube, and not once did i think "gawd, that looks guff"
caligari
07/10/05 @ 14:14
#30
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No really, OOT now looks so "guff" that I had to turn it off, especially after playing the beautiful Wind Waker.

OOT is what the Zelda world would look like if it was made from sea sick Lego gods.
tiddles
07/10/05 @ 14:31
#31
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More late news from EG, heard this ages ago.

What do you want, a medal?
oerhört
07/10/05 @ 15:02
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The processing needed to use some flavour of cel shading is highly reliant on the algorithm used. So no, it doesn't necessarily need to be very intensive. Some people would even consider flat shading to be a variant of cel shading, and that's about as cheap 3D as you get.
GuiltySpark
07/10/05 @ 15:22
#33
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isnt tony hawk sk8land (or whatever) cel shaded?
07/10/05 @ 15:52
#34
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OOT now looks so "guff" that I had to turn it off, especially after playing the beautiful Wind Waker.

Have to agree with the man here.

Ocarina looks shite with horrible fogging, useless draw distance and muddy textures.
paralipsis
07/10/05 @ 15:57
#35
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I like the touchscreen on the DS, and I think in the right circumstances it can realling enhance a game, but I am not too happy about using it as the core control mechanism for a zelda game. If it were used for puzzle solving or cetain specific items that would be great.

One of the problems that arises is that using a stylus is alot like writing, and therefore handedness comes into play. This calls into question what buttons are used if you are holding a stylus.
abigsmurf
07/10/05 @ 16:16
#36
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pleeeease give this game a full single player game. I know they said there would be four swords type multiplayer but it's rare to get four people with DS's together and I like games I can play when I feel like it (ie on the bog)
ProfessorLesser
07/10/05 @ 17:09
#37
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Disc, I don't know where you get your anaolgy from, but it's about the worst I've ever heard.

And surely you can see that your argument is 100% opinionated, and therefore not really worth arguing? If you think new graphics make the game different, then fine. Some people won't. You can't just say your way is the right way. I know which camp I'm in.
SuperGamerMatt
07/10/05 @ 17:36
#38
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I hope they take a long time on this title, another year and a half. Alot of DS titles (especially the launch ones) have been a bit rushed. This needs to be a gem, better than the Minish Cap.
Nikanoru
07/10/05 @ 23:15
#39
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Haha, great how people are now knocking a game based purely on a vague hint towards what kind of ideas the developer has.

You fucking retards. Jesus.
Burton2000
08/10/05 @ 07:51
#40
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i have to admit cel shading on the ds luks prity sweet tony hawks sk8 land graphics are very good and so is viewtiful joes.
Kami
08/10/05 @ 16:05
#41
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@ those dissing OoT:

GET A ****ING GRIP! Bloody graphics whores.

We're talking about a game which is nearly eight years old. Bad fogging? Problematic draw distance? Angular models? Can't we argue MOST games of that period and slightly after had exactly the same problems?

Get past the graphics, and you'll find the same old brilliant gameplay which won us all over, and continues to make it to most one of the most memorable games ever created. If you can't get past the graphical end to see the beauty underneath... well, retro gaming is definitely not for you. You'd probably be much happier with "EA Graphic Showcase 20XX"...
Kami
08/10/05 @ 16:09
#42
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Sorry, that was out of line. Just still manage to be shocked by the way some people can still be superficial enough to only see the graphics...
ProfessorLesser
08/10/05 @ 21:10
#43
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Kami, have you... been somewhere?

Only, it's just recently that I've started to see you around here frequently again. Maybe it's just me.
SirScratchalot
09/10/05 @ 07:17
#44
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I´m intrigued but afraid, then again all the Zeldas have been VERY different from one another. Nothing new here then.
Nikanoru
09/10/05 @ 08:12
#45
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Actually, Kami, OoT's graphics were awesome. Locations like Lake Hylia, the water temple, the forest temple, the waterfall near the Gerudo's hideout, the sunset while walking up the Death Mountain trail....hell, they all looked good.....at times it made me just drop the gameplay for a bit and just cruise around sightseeing, taking in the scenery, admiring stuff in first person mode...


People who say OoT looks bad are either little kids, fucking retards, trolls, or the kind of sad nerds who jerk off to numbers (I know a few of these myself. Ugh). You know who you are.
smelly
09/10/05 @ 13:09
#46
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I aggree.. OOT and MM still look good to me.

And more importantly.. PLAY good.

But it seems that nowadays people are more interested in pretty pixels than fun games which look reasonably good. Beats me why all these graphic whores dont just all rush out and buy myst games and jack off over how good they look.
Toonster
10/10/05 @ 02:23
#47
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All I'm hoping that Zelda DS will be in 3D. That would absolutely kick ass to have something like OoT on a handheld.

EDIT: not like a OoT remake, heavens no. Just that the graphical capabilities are similar.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 10/10/05 @ 03:23
Nikanoru
10/10/05 @ 08:51
#48
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Well that's the thing, Smelly. I AM a graphics whore, I admire what artists do with the hardware at their disposition. Legend of Mana ranks among my favourite games because of its graphics, even if the game itself isn't that special. I have bought games purely for their graphics. I will buy Okami when it comes out, simply based on its screenshots.

But then there are dumbfucks like Mo, who will judge graphics simply based on the meaningless numbers and the graphic card effects mentioned in the feature list. If a game has beautiful artwork, yet lacks reflection light mapping, they will brand it as "ugly." When they see the well-implemented atmospheric fog on Hyrule field (which you can look across all the fucking way from one end to the other btw) they will talk about "horrible fogging" because they really know jack shit about anything. On the other hand, when a game has characters that look like blow up dolls with sausages for arms because the 3D modelers are incompetent fucks, but it pushes a trillion polygons a second at 1600x1200 with all the special effects in the book, these types will love it.

My point is that "graphics whores" isn't a good term to describe these people, because obviously they couldn't tell a game with good visuals if it came up and fucked them in the eyesockets. "Tech spec tards" or something similar would be more appropriate.

Comments: 1-48 of 48 in total

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