Miyamoto: Zelda Wii coming in 2010, at the earliest
by Christopher Grant 
{ Jun 2nd 2009 at 10:32PM } 
The "announcement" included artwork – we weren't allowed to take pictures of (sorry!) – which was Twilight Princess-esque, featuring Link and a female Zora character. Here's the bad news: the more astute amongst you may remember that Miyamoto took the opportunity at last year's E3 developer's event to reveal a new Pikmin title for Wii in development (not the Wiimake) and, almost a year and two major keynotes later, we've yet to hear about it again.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Shadow Hog @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:37PM
Surprise!
Actually, if it's better than Twilight Princess was, I can gladly wait a good deal. Not that Twilight Princess was BAD, but it felt a bit lacking...
Jeffrey Haywood @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:42PM
same, idk why but i liked twilight... but i didnt i really dont know how to explain it
MaRRODkez @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:45PM
I thought TP was great, and a wonderful use of motion controls, mainly the IR pointer. That said, it was perhaps a bit too grandiose for me? I finished it over the course of many, many months. Trekking through deep puzzle dungeons became cumbersome and a bit tiring to me at some point through the game, still loved it though.
Massmass @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:54PM
TP was a major let down. I mean, if you loved Ocarina so much that you wanted to play it again, only prettier, then yeah it was good.
It was just so average for the series. I can understand the appeal but it was just the same old crap. Go into dungeon, find key, find another key, find compass/map, find treasure, find key, find boss, kill boss/die from boss. Rinse and repeat. It's the epitome of formulaic gameplay. I won't even get into the waggle controls for the Wii. If I hadn't seen the E3 footage where they actually tried to make it meaningful, maybe I wouldn't have mind. Still, using waggle to swing your sword was of questionable taste.
I just hope the next one tries something different. Sort of like Wind Waker, but more familiar and not on the open seas. Or, release another 2D Zelda. That'd be great too.
MaRRODkez @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:56PM
Never played OoT...
*runs and hides
Massmass @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:00PM
Well, you got a good idea of what you missed through TP then. ;)
Matias @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:11PM
The only thing I didn't like in TP is that it was too short, 25 hours with 100%, then again, it may be that I'm too experienced in zelda and know most of the usual puzzles and enemies, but it's still too easy.
Saria the Cat @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:17PM
My problem with TP is that lacked soul. It had a moody atmosphere but it seemed unjustifiably so. The environment just didn't seem as rich and engaging as OoT or MM. You didn't feel part of a culture.
VaultICEE @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:23PM
I have the exact same opinion as Saria. Twilight just felt like it didn't have the same soul that breathed light into OoT, MM, or even Wind Waker.
Stix Remix @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:29PM
Guess I'm the odd one out.
Twilight Princess is my favorite Zelda game, and I've played a lot of them.
Velsar @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:50PM
Twilight was my first Zelda and my current only Zelda, though I'd seen or played pieces and bits of others throughout my life in the past, but the thing that I saw with Twilight Princess was that it had the chance and the story that initially appealed to a darker more mature audience, the prison scene could have been much darker, the shackles being magically blasted off was just ridiculous and the fact they only had one shackle... that was just weird.
The fact of forcing Link into a shape that wasn't of his own and not allowing him to get out of it was something that could have played into much more. In extension the fact that he became a mount and indirectly a slave could have also been made into something darker or at least into a more mature style.
What distilled much of this was the bosses that no longer were of a dark nature but instead were just rehashes of all the same old bosses that are iconic in Zelda, and the spider while a bit dark could have been made much more so, perhaps even using cocooning abilities to trap him, perhaps even hurt him... The real point that I saw when seeing it on E3 was making Link vulnerable, making him hurt, and essentially making him weak... the Wolf spirit was supposed to according to what I know be the one thing that gave him hope, as someone else had fallen into this trap in the past as well, but instead it didn't and was used as a skill collection meter of sorts which wasn't really good.
The Twilight Beasts could have also been made much less incompetent as well but instead it became a simple thing to defeat them and the Twilight Princess began to take over the show, instead of focusing on the forced into slavery Dog-link, and worse even though the focus on her could have been used to show how Link was becoming no longer important in the Grand Scheme of things due to the princess and his slavery, it was instead used to just give her a ride and a connection.
Many may disagree and I'll undoubtedly be down voted, but TP in my eyes and the reason I picked it up ( and consequentially the reason I was disappointed in it ) was because it had the potential to bring true darkness, because at the time the Wii wasn't thought of as a for everyone kid-machine no it had potential, as Corruption was dark and many other chances to retain such darkness and imprisonment and loss... the truth is that a good story requires sacrifice, vulnerability on the part of the hero, and loss... and in this none were made.
Just to give you something to think about.
Cody @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:51PM
"My problem with TP is that lacked soul. It had a moody atmosphere but it seemed unjustifiably so. The environment just didn't seem as rich and engaging as OoT or MM. You didn't feel part of a culture."
Spot on.
And the perfect opposite of that in my opinion? Majora's Mask. Probably my second favorite Zelda behind Minish Cap.
Dave @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:08AM
Ocarina of Time > Link to the Past > Twilight Princess > Link's Awakening >Majora's Mask > Wind Waker > Wand of Gamelon > Faces of Evil > Zelda's Adventure
I'm just sayin'.
Saria the Cat @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:09AM
@Velsar: Definitely go back and play any and all Zelda games. Get an emulator and play Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, get your hands on the Cube discs of OoT and MM. You may find the N64 games to be a little dated, but Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, and the Oral of Seasons/Ages are timeless. Wind Waker is also great, even though it seems like a departure. If it's just darkness you want, you won't find them in the older games, though there are some dark parts in OoT (e.g. the Shadow Temple).
@Cody: Majora's Mask was definitely what I was thinking when I wrote that. It felt like a perfectly self-contained world. I still can't decide which is my favorite, OoT or MM.
MaRRODkez @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:20AM
Traversing the oceans and playing through WW will always probably be my favorite Zelda memories. I really, really loved that game.
Not a typical feeling amongst big Nintendo fans, but then again I liked Mario Sunshine over Mairo N64, so I guess I'm an odd duck.
jeffrey.rommel @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:21AM
The other major problem with TP was that the way in which you had to slowly unlock parts of the world from darkness to light killed any sense of exploration and made the game feel very linear. One key quality of the Zelda franchise has always been about the ability to freely explore the world, and TP really shut that quality out (probably thinking that a more linear game would be more casual-friendly).
Incidentally, this was a major problem in the Metroid Wii game too. Metroid and Zelda, two games that are based on a sense of open world exploration both suffered from an overly heavy-handed "you must go here next" syndrome.
Gillfigno @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:28AM
I hate Zelda games. So much so that I even hated Okami because it played just like one. That being said, I've played all of them save for Minish Cap and whatever else the Gameboy ones are. However, I enjoyed the following three Zelda titles:
The Legend of Zelda
Wind Waker
Four Swords Adventures
So, these are the Zelda's that this non-Zelda fan would recommend. I figured I'd get my two cents in since others were listing their favorites.
Skyla @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:47AM
i totally agree. TP seemed like too much was happening and at the same time felt hollow.
bm @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:47AM
Midna is sad from all your comments. :'(
Velsar @ Jun 3rd 2009 1:37AM
Saria your name rocks, and you're my favorite user on these forums, GREAT JOB!!!
Alas, I probably won't stomach going through low graphics on an emulator, I just can't stand low graphics these days, but I will research the story a bit to get back into it before the new one comes out. If you read my post above you'll see I really had high hopes for Twilight and perhaps the game would have been better if it fit the Dark Theme it had going for it initially.
Oh well.
Tim @ Jun 3rd 2009 2:17PM
I thought TP was terribly boring... I didnt even finish the game. After about half or so, I returned it and went back to playing CoD. It just felt exactly like the older games. WW was one of my favorites, and OoT was original for its time, but I feel that TP didnt do anything new or different. I am genuinely surprised that it did so well.
bm @ Jun 4th 2009 4:25AM
"I returned it and went back to playing CoD. It just felt exactly like the older games"
LOL, you're playing fucking War Shooter XXVIII and you dare accusing anything else from being similar to another game?
Yatcho @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:39PM
Pictures please?
CJLopez @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:50PM
Miyamoto Forbid pictures on his prense conference and only showed a art concept of the game
TheDemiurge @ Jun 3rd 2009 2:55PM
I was hoping for a return to the Wind Waker art style. Oh well. Twilight Princess was just so boring looking. The art design was really uninspired.
GoldN @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:39PM
If they had shown even a smidge of this Zelda at their press conference they would have completely stole the show with the classic Nintendo trifecta (Mario, Metroid, Zelda). A new Pikmin (which REALLY needs to get made) would have just been icing on the cake.
CJLopez @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:50PM
they are reserving that for next year
CJLopez @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:52PM
My Douchebag wiifanboy personality thinks: besides, they are letting their competitors have a little glimps of light and hope before Nintendo takes it all from them again
muajaajajajajajajajaja
GoldN @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:59PM
They're probably not talking about it too much because, to start, the way this article talks about it makes me think they still have some crucial game design choices to make before they feel comfortable showing it off (Ex: no confirmation of Wii motion plus support). Plus, there is probably a business related reason. What people sometimes forget is that E3 is not only around for the company's to show off to the fans. It's also for the retailers, developers, etc.
Spartan @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:46AM
Zelda didn't earn a spot in the keyunote?
WTF!!!
Zelda shoulda HAVE BEEN the fucking keynote.
If shiggy had walked out and hyped the new zelda to high hells, even without a single pic they would have got a world wide standing ovation.
But your telling me that mystery book-games for and I.P. i have never heard of did earn a spot in the keynote?
Man im glad im ion the MS camp now.
GoldN @ Jun 3rd 2009 6:14PM
"Man im glad im ion the MS camp now."
The MS camp? Are you serious? *eyeroll*
Fanboyism is so fucking stupid... They are all BUSINESSES. They want your MONEY. In the end they are always going to do what is best for their business, not necessarily what the fans want. I can understand loving or hating a particular product, but a company is not always going to give your exactly what YOU want. That's not how they work. They don't cater to individuals so everyone needs to get over this fanboy crap (as if that'll ever happen).
MaRRODkez @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:39PM
Hopefully it's not a sidescrolling 4p co-op affair with a pulse monitor, AMITIRE!? HIYOO!!!!
Yes, I'm a tire.
Young_Nastyman @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:43PM
Legend of Zelda and the Four Swords
ONLY...for the Nintendo Gamecube
THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:24AM
and GBA.
sam @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:42AM
where have you been the past year? duh the new zelda will be a rail-shooter. (sorry, 'guided experience').
Young_Nastyman @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:40PM
Step 1: Announce new Zelda for Wii
Step 2: ?
Step 2: Profit
Mr Khan @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:05PM
Step 2 would be "release"
Young_Nastyman @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:44PM
and apparently so is profit
stupid keys just have to be right next to each other -_-
Anti-Villian @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:40AM
Step 1: Mutter the word Zelda
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Profit $
cuso26 @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:41PM
Zelda is just a TAD bigger than Pikmin... I'd say that if they were willing to talk about it now, we'll see more details by the end of the year, and maybe a release in late late 2010.
Brodo @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:53PM
Im predicting a March 2011 release. It will originally be announced for early December 2010, pushed to Feb, and then just for the heck of it push it back to March.
Residentevil72501 (PSN: rankore) @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:41PM
Twilight Princess was utterly flawless after you got past the stupid being a wolf collecting little lights part. After that I was in awe of the game throughout. I hope the new one is as dark and grim, and hell it could even have the wolf but i DO NOT want to go pick up 50 stupid lights again.
lanceyami03 @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:55PM
He said in the meeting that the next Zelda will feature a more mature Link than before.
devilsei @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:03PM
A more mature link... than what we've seen...?
My god...
Legend of Zelda: The Walking Cane of Oracles.
Tired of all his "Hya!"s and "Aaaaugh!"s?! Well, listen to over 10 new voices! Including "Dang-nabit!", "Back in my days!" and "I ain't payin you rupees for cuttin my lawn with a sword!".
Featuring Ol' man Gannon and his castle-turned-retirement home!
And don't you worry ladies, cause Zelda is back and knitting more than ever!
Watch out Summer of 2010! The Triforce is wheelchairing its way back into your homes!
Vcize @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:08AM
Well, maybe by "more mature link" he means one that can talk. Or something. I mean, it is 2009 after all, not 1989 still.
Saria the Cat @ Jun 3rd 2009 12:47AM
@Vcize: I don't think they could find a voice that would fit enough fans' conception of Link and there would be mass panic and uproar. We've had Link so long as a character, I'm sure every fan has their own voice for him by now.
Hearing an official "Link" voice for the first time will probably send me into cardiac arrest. Kind of like when I watched the Harry Potter movies after reading the books (though I do like the movies).
Quattro @ Jun 3rd 2009 1:50PM
A more mature LInk? Isn't he already an adult in Twilight Princess? And besides, I'd rather play with Link as a kid again. All my favourite Zelda games have been the ones where he is a kid.
DasFoote @ Jun 10th 2009 12:13AM
I hope that they get the guy that did the Zelda TV Series! That would be the best fan service evar!
MechaGamerX @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:41PM
Or in Nintendo years: 2014.
Rob @ Jun 2nd 2009 10:50PM
No, that's Final Fantasy years.