Aonuma shares his top three Zelda games, most underrated entry
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Wii, Wii U | 92 Comments
In conjunction with its month-long coverage on Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Game Informer asked series producer Eiji Aonuma about his three favorite games in the series.
He ranked Twilight Princess third “because I wanted to create something better than Ocarina.” Ocarina of Time was next, which he says “is a game that gave me the opportunity to create a 3D world.” Finally, he picked Phantom Hourglass as his top choice.
More: Eiji Aonuma, interview, The Legend of Zelda, top
Nintendo considered making Link 25-30 years old in Zelda: Twilight Princess, Wolf Link design talk
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Wii, Wii U | 11 Comments
A few years ago, Nintendo and Dark Horse brought out The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. The book showed a bunch of concept art from the series, including Twilight Princess. There were many interesting designs depicted for characters such as Link. In some of the drawings, Link looked quite a bit older than his final version in the game. Now we have an idea about the potential age Nintendo was thinking about.
Nintendo artists Yusuke Nakano and Satoru Takizawa spoke about designing Link for Twilight Princess in the new Zelda: Art & Artifacts book. Nakano touched on how Nintendo considered making the character “twenty-five… maybe even thirty.” The intent was “making him quite sturdy”
Also worth mentioning, when designing Wolf Link, Takizawa noted how Nintendo thought about giving him a wolf cut hairstyle, “which would have given him a more wolfish look.”
Here’s the full transcript about Link’s design in Twilight Princess:
Artists on why Nintendo didn’t move forward with realistic Zelda on GameCube after Spaceworld tech demo
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News | 47 Comments
One of the more memorable moments in Zelda history was when Nintendo showed a GameCube tech demo at Spaceworld 2000. A brief scene depicted Link and Ganondorf duking it out in a realistic style. But as we later learned, it was just that – a tech demo and nothing more. Nintendo ended up going in a completely opposite direction for the next Zelda game following Ocarina of Time. Around two to three years later, Nintendo released the cartoon-esque, cel-shaded Wind Waker.
So what’s the story behind that tech demo anyway? And why did Nintendo decide against moving forward with it? In the new Zelda: Art & Artifacts book, artists Yoshiki Haruhana and Satoru Takizawa commented on the situation:
Fan discovers unused Smash Bros. Melee item that looks a lot like GoldenEye 007’s timed mines
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 8 Comments
YouTube user crashandcortex has managed to find an unused item in Smash Bros. Melee, which seems to be the timed mines from GoldenEye 007.
Even though Melee has been around for 16 years, a new graphic file was unearthed from the game’s files yesterday. It does give off the impression of being the Motion Sensor Bomb, but it’s actually a completely different item.
crashandcortex has come to the conclusion that its appearance is almost identical to GoldenEye 007’s timed mines. An accompanying sound effect further supports this.
crashandcortex’s video is below. He compares the timed mines and Motion Sensor Bomb, and also plays the related sound effect.
More: Super Smash Bros. Melee
Smash Bros. Wii U and Melee return at Evo 2017, Arms and Pokken Tournament nominated for final game
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Wii U | 23 Comments
Evo 2017 has announced its lineup for this year’s tournament, which includes the return of two popular Nintendo games. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Smash Bros. Melee will both be represented. The news was shared during a live stream event on Twitch just a short while ago. Super Smash Bros. Melee has been a mainstay at Evo, and Smash Bros. for Wii U has been featured since its release.
The one Nintendo game not officially returning from last year is Pokken Tournament. However, a vote will be held to determine the last game at Evo, and that title is nominated – along with Arms, the brand new Switch game from Nintendo.
Voting will be done through donations on the website Generosity. If you’d like to participate, you can do so here.
More: Evo 2017
Nintendo files new trademark for Eternal Darkness in the U.S.
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News | 24 Comments
On Tuesday, Nintendo filed a new trademark application for Eternal Darkness in the United States. It was then officially published yesterday.
This actually isn’t the first time we’ve seen a trademark pertaining to Eternal Darkness. The filing we heard about a few years ago is still in place, though only until the end of the year. When that happens, Nintendo will need to provide a Statement of Use if the company doesn’t want the application will be abandoned. There are also slight differences between the new and old Eternal Darkness trademarks.
You never quite know what you’ll get with these trademarks. This one had a 1B filing, meaning it’s an application based on intent to use. That doesn’t mean Eternal Darkness is getting a sequel though. Nintendo could be looking to protect the name, or could be interested in something like a Virtual Console release.
More: Eternal Darkness, trademark
Former Rare dev on redesigning Donkey Kong, Star Fox Adventures changes, meeting Miyamoto, more
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments
Kevin Bayliss left a huge mark on Rare during his nearly 20-year run at the studio. As a designer and art director, he contributed to Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, Star Fox Adventures, and much more.
UK magazine GamesTM spoke with Bayliss (who is now at Playtonic) this month, and asked him plenty of interesting questions about his time at Rare. The topics we’re mainly interested in focus on Nintendo specifically. Bayliss commented on the process of redesigning Donkey Kong for Donkey Kong Country, the initial changes that Star Fox Adventures went through, meeting Shigeru Miyamoto, and more.
We’ve included Bayliss’ comments below. You can pick up GamesTM now for the full interview.
More: interview, Kevin Bayliss, Rare, top
Rumor: Details on plans for Switch’s Virtual Console, include specific GameCube games
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, Rumors, Switch | 54 Comments
A few hours ago, Tom Phillips from Eurogamer tweeted that GameCube support is planned for the Virtual Console on Switch. The site now has its full report up about the situation.
Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi’s Mansion, and Super Smash Bros. Melee are the first games Eurogamer claims Nintendo has been focusing on. The original Animal Crossing is also being looked into, with all of its NES games included. Eurogamer adds that Nintendo is considering support for the GameCube controller adapter on Wii U, though “a final decision has not yet been made.”
More: top
THQ Nordic acquires Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy IP, says it’s “very well suited for the Nintendo audience”
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News, Switch | 27 Comments
THQ Nordic announced today that it acquired three new IPs from Mobile Gaming Studios and Enigma Software. The company now owns Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, War Leaders: Clash of Nations, and Legends of War.
That first one might be the most interesting to Nintendo fans. Way back in 2003, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy landed on the GameCube. It’s a third person action-adventure titles that takes inspiration from the mythology of Ancient Egypt.
More: Lars Wingefors, THQ Nordic
Nintendo on why Wind Waker 2 became Zelda: Twilight Princess
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Wii, Wii U | 33 Comments
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess wasn’t the game Nintendo always intended it to be. Initially, development on the project began as a sequel to Wind Waker.
Series producer Eiji Aonuma actually “announced” Wind Waker 2 during a talk at GDC 2004. A slide included in his presentation showed that the game was in the works, though we know that plans ultimately changed.
Now we have some insight into the situation thanks to a new interview from The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts. The book is coming west next February, but it’s out in Japan as “Hyrule Graphics”. And a section of the discussion with artist Satoru Takizawa talks about what happened back in the day.
