There aren't many gamers who don't harbor fond memories associated with the Nintendo 64's classic adventure (and to many, the greatest installment in the Hylian franchise), Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In addition to its beloved story and incredible visuals, it was a groundbreaking third-person adventure through an intricately detailed fantasy world -- but would we (and Game Rankings) still hold the triforce-hunting adventure in such high regard if we had experienced Hyrule directly through the point-eared protagonist's eyes?

In a recent discussion between Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and revolutionary game developer (and Time's most influential person of 2008) Shigeru Miyamoto, it was outed that Shiggy secretly possesses a penchant for first-person shooters (notably, Rare's seminal N64 shooter Goldeneye), and that he'd considered creating Ocarina of Time using an Oblivion-esque first-person perspective. We're not quite sure how this would have affected the title -- but we're certainly terrified of the prospect of witnessing Darunia's sexy dance of seduction first-hand.

Big thanks to Supafine's "Legend of Zelda: Visceration Station" webcomic for finally (and logically) explaining the heart system to us. The least we, as the Joystiq community, can apparently do is bestow you the honor of best game-related webcomic of the week.

Second and third place went to XKCD and College Humor, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!

Usually, we don't often partake in "the mangas." Sometimes you have to read them backwards, which makes our heads hurt, and frankly, we don't think our black jeans are comically baggy enough to pull the whole "manga reader" look off. That said, we think we'll be forced to make an exception for a Legend of Zelda manga that's reportedly coming stateside.

In an effort to make no more than one manga-related post per month, we also wanted to let you know that GoNintendo got its hands on the cover for the Phoenix Wright manga headed our way. It's totally uninspiring, save for the presence of Godot, the coolest prosecutor since Sam Waterston. ... Crap, are we going to have to buy two mangas? We're going to have to go get our jeans let out.

IGN has a little fun this April Fools' Day with its exclusive Legend of Zelda movie trailer. The preview plays out like one giant cliché with fan service and a distinctive Uwe quality to it. We'd love to embed the preview and show you, but the code is broken and all we seem to get is some PSP-licker (and game butt-rubber) hosting a show.

Last year we had another impressive Zelda-inspired April Fools' joke with a preview for a Legend of Zelda game set in a future/Star Wars version of Hyrule. We can't help but think IGN's trailer would have been better (and more over the top) had Link been walking down the street of some poor provincial town and people started bursting out singing like the opening of La Belle et la Bête Beauty and the Beast.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Take what many consider the greatest game of all time. Add multi-player support, which everyone knows makes any game better. What do you get. An even greaterest game of all time, of course, which is what this four-player Ocarina of Time hack could very well be.

Okay, maybe we're overselling what is, at this point, just a video of an early, choppy test version the hack. But considering it comes from the same people that brought us the ability to play as Dark Link and fight an Arwing in Ocarina of Time, we have no doubt he'll be able to pull it off. Whether the final result turns out more like Four Swords Adventures or The Wand of Gamelon, though, is still anyone's guess.

[Thanks Tanks]

Intrepid hackers have figured out a way to run homebrew code on the Wii, through an exploit available through none other than Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

By using a specially hacked Zelda save file, hackers have been able to run unsigned code straight off of the Wii's SD card. The hack is still in its early stages, but one user has made a pseudo-functional version of Pong that runs on the console. There are no working controls, and the whole thing moves at a snail's pace, but the community seems optimistic that this is a very good sign.

Check out a video of the hack in "action" after the break.

[Via Engadget]

We love unique, video game inspired artwork just as much as the next guy -- our weary-spined copy of "i am 8-bit" can vouch for that. However, we also love our preserved, cherished memories of our NES era heroes. These two feelings conflict when looking at Jimi Benedict's surreal video game art -- our inner Andy Warhol loves Benedict's incredibly unique and lovingly detailed portraits, but the traditionalist in us prefers not to think of Link as a gap-toothed, Sloth-faced dwarf.

You can see both full portraits after the jump, but to see the rest of Benedict's art (including what appears to be a mock-up title screen to the lesser known NES game Obama: Take the Power Back), you'll have to go to his website -- a swirling vortex of complete madness and totally rad drawings.

[Via DSF]

MTV Multiplayer has been on a quest recently to find the very best video game animal, and they've begun with man's best ... non-mechanical mode of transportation, the horse. Now a panel of experts, that included 2K Boston's Ken Levine and Penny Arcade's Mike "Gabe" Krahulik, are back with their decision: Epona, Link's trusty steed in several Legend of Zelda games.

But controversy is a-brewin' dear reader. For while the esteemed panel chose Epona, the readers have selected Agro of Shadow of the Colossus fame. Which one will go on to do battle with the other members of the animal kingdom? We're sure the competitors wait with baited, oat-scented breath to learn.

Gamers concerned that their favorite gender-confused Zelda alter-ego would be absent from Brawl have absolutely nothing to worry about. The Hyrulian princess's down-special move will still transform her into Sheik, now re-imagined to match the visual style of Twilight Princess.

According to the official Smash Bros. Brawl blog, Sheik's look is based on an early design drafted during development of Twilight Princess, meaning that at one point Sheik was a shoe-in for Link's grittiest adventure to date. Sheik appears to retain the needle storm, chain, and vanishing moves from Melee, and shares the "Light Arrow" Final Smash with Zelda.

We've all, at some point, had a game that we decided not to put down until the closing credits. Whether you uncompromisingly soldiered on through a Warcraft III campaign, or decided to topple Bowser before turning in for the day, we're all familiar with marathon gaming. However, a small gathering of Zelda enthusiasts are attempting a seemingly impossible gauntlet of non-stop dungeon raiding -- all four 3D Zelda games (Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess) in just 48 hours.

That's four water temples, three Ganondorf confrontations, and a whole mess of heart containers, stretched over a two day period. With nearly thirty hours to go, the CameronBanga.com team have already bested Ocarina of Time, and are currently trudging through the most tedious of all the Zelda titles, Majora's Mask. We can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night than watching these goons sink into sweet, Hyrulian madness via their live webstream -- but then again, we're what most camp counselors would call "indoor kids".

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)

Though its puzzles may occasionally infuriate, the real source of frustration regarding Zack & Wiki stems from the fact that nobody bought it. Every year has its share of titles that deserve an audience yet never find one, and in this regard, Zack & Wiki is easily one of the most tragic games to put an uncontrollable smile on your face. Relentlessly charming and beautifully presented, the debut of Capcom's choc-chomping pirate and his simian sidekick challenges the mind and warms that cynical, meh-spouting lump in your chest. How refreshing it was to overcome obstacles and bosses by choosing the power of the mind over an impossibly large bazooka.

Pac-Man Championship Edition (XBLA)

If not worthy of a Top 10 spot, then certainly Pac-Man deserves Joystiq's 'Comeback Player of the Year' award. I covered Pac-Man CE's overblown launch in early June, but it wasn't until I became a devoted player at home that I realized the sheer genius of the first true Pac-Man sequel since 'the Ms.' hit the maze in '82. Designer Toru Iwatani managed to scrape off a quarter-century of rust and fashion a remarkably relevant game that held me down during an otherwise punishing summer drought. Geometry Wars might be the most celebrated, but Pac-Man CE is Xbox Live Arcade's true star.

Though not as much of a technical achievement as the Pac-Man tree, we love any and all holiday video game references. This picture of a Triforce atop a 50-foot tree was reportedly snapped by Nick and Will from Gnatline podcast. Shall we cry Photoshop? Nah, it's the holiday spirit, we'll let our lingering doubts lie elsewhere for the night. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Readers pick best webcomic: Karma
Today's manliest video of manliness: TNA Impact trailer

News
Xbox Live Video Marketplace live in Canada, UK, and elsewhere
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 teaser has glam, forgets gameplay footage
MS explains why you can't use exact change on XBL
Witness Super Mario Galaxy's deepest secrets
Patapon to arrive in U.S. in February 2008
Rock Band Weekly: You're such a punk
Battlefield: Bad Company trailer takes stab at humanity
Reminder: New Halo 3 maps available now
Mass Effect amasses a million in sales
Slot machines to become more like video games
Square wins plagiarism case against Korean music video
Hudson developing games for iPhone and iPod Touch
Stringer: 'Actual innovation' and PSN expansion in Sony's future
GameFly opens Tampa, Florida distribution center
Nvidia drops new GEFORCE 8800 GTS 512 MB
LittleBigPlanet demo not coming this year
Hot Shots Golf 5 swings into US March 2008
EA: European developers more creative than American developers
GameStop opens inaugural tournament center
Rebellion to develop Shellshock sequel for sure
Lost Odyssey gets found in North America Feb. 12; free DLC with pre-order
Passage is a lifetime in five minutes

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: PSP Silent Hill being ported to PS2
Rumor: Bizarre working on James Bond game
Analysts: Board games are the next big thing

Culture & Community
The Gaming Club sounds off on the year in video games
Gamecock sorry about crashing Ken Levine's VGA speech
Time magazine names Halo 3 game of the year
Rock out with your block out: i am 8-bit guitar straps

It might never get released in the States, but that won't stop MTV's Stephen Totilo from dissecting Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, the Nintendo DS anti-Zelda game that's, apparently, all about the Benjamins.

According to Totilo, Rosy Rupeeland makes money the center of everything. Tingle's health meter doubles as his wallet, which means players are taking damage every time they spend money. This would be a minor problem, except that Rosy Rupeeland turns practically every interaction into a transaction. The game even allows you to sell your in-game map, sacrificing navigational assistance for a few extra rupees.

As if that wasn't cruel enough, characters who are gracious enough to pay you actually ask how much you want, and either chastise you for asking too much or mock you for asking too little. Totilo argues that the game seeks to undermine the good-natured currency exchange of normal Zelda titles by making the player stress about money. Maybe it's the American capitalism talking, but sign us up. Anyone else have a renewed interest in Tingle and his Rosy Rupeeland?