Nintendo on why Wind Waker 2 became Zelda: Twilight Princess
Posted on 8 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.
Animal Crossing devs on the series’ modest beginnings, approach to making games, more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, GameCube, News, Wii, Wii U | 12 Comments
Today, the Nintendo UK site issued a new interview with two of Animal Crossing’s primary developers. General producer Katsuya Eguchi and Animal Crossing series producer Hisashi Nogami fielded a number of questions.
The two devs weighed in on the Animal Crossing series as a whole, but more general topics as well. They were asked if they anticipated Animal Crossing becoming so popular, approach to making games, what they aim for when creating titles, and more.
We’ve picked out Eguchi and Nogami’s notable responses below.
Climax Studios pitched Diddy Kong Racing Adventure to Nintendo for the GameCube
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 1 Comment
YouTube user PtoPOnline has unearthed an interesting pitch from Silent Hill: Shattered Memories developer Climax Studios. During the GameCube era, the company was hoping Nintendo would give the green light on Diddy Kong Racing Adventure.
Big plans were in store for Diddy Kong Racing Adventure even though Nintendo decided not to go ahead with the pitch. Climax had a story in mind, with the intent of bringing back the Adventure Mode and multiple vehicles from the original Diddy Kong Racing. Also in place was a mount system so that players could move positions on their vehicle or move to a separate one entirely. Climax was looking to include fourteen different characters with unique attacks for each as well. 4-player multiplayer, along with a slew of other modes, were also in the pipeline.
Plenty of additional details about Diddy Kong Racing Adventure can be found in the video below.
Takashi Iizuka on the physical toll of making Sonic Heroes
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 25 Comments
The development of Sonic Heroes took its toll on director Takashi Iizuka, who is also the head of Sonic Team. Iizuka spoke to Game Informer this month about how difficult it was to create, even labeling it as the most stressful project of his career.
Iizuka was located in the United States as Sonic Heroes was being created. Meanwhile, the rest of the team was based in Japan. Mismanagement was also a major issue.
More: interview, SEGA, Sonic Heroes, Takashi Iizuka, top
Video: NES Classic Edition size compared to Nintendo systems
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, Videos | 3 Comments
We know that the NES Classic Edition is pretty dang small, but how does it compare to the likes of the original NES, SNES, and N64 from a size perspective? Thankfully, GameXplain has all of the answers in a new video. Check out their findings below.
More: comparison, nes
Zelda: Wind Waker Easter egg lets you defeat one of the bosses right away with an unconventional item
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News, Random, Wii U | 12 Comments
In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the Forest Water is primarily used to heal Withered Forest Trees during an early part of the game. However, YouTube user Fish_waffle64 recently came across another usage: to essentially kill one of the game’s bosses instantly.
The Kalle Demos boss fight is normally a battle that would take the average player several minutes to complete. But if you use the Forest Water after exposing its core with the boomerang, it’ll go down right away.
Here’s a look:
What’s amazing about this is that the Easter egg works in the original Wind Waker on GameCube as well as the HD version on Wii U. That means, technically, the opportunity for it to be spread widely online has been there for years. It doesn’t really seem like something that’s really been publicized though!
Thanks to Jake for the tip.
Happy 15th anniversary, GameCube
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 29 Comments
In Japan, it’s already September 14. You know what that means! The GameCube is now officially 15 years old. Nintendo originally launched the console in Japan on September 14, 2001.
The GameCube wasn’t Nintendo’s most successful system, but that doesn’t mean it lacked great games. Metroid Prime, Zelda: The Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, Pikmin, and Smash Bros. Melee are among the more memorable titles. The design itself is also unforgettable with the handle on the back!
More: top
Suda51 wants to remake / remaster Killer7
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, General Nintendo, News | 8 Comments
Grasshopper Manufacture made Killer7 for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in partnership with Capcom over a decade ago. Goichi Suda, known for his work on projects like No More Heroes, directed the game. Now he’s interested in seeing it return.
Speaking with Hardcore Gamer, Suda51 said:
Basically, you are staying faithful to the vision so that new audiences can see it as intended. That’s exciting. Are there any other old works that you have done that you are hoping to revisit, to give this type of remastering treatment?
I feel that Killer 7 is the hardest of my games to play. I want to and feel that I need to do something about that. A remake, or remaster or something like that… (Sly grin.)
More: Goichi Suda, interview, Killer7, Suda51
Metroid Prime director on making the game, Nintendo’s influence, leaving Retro
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, News | 32 Comments
Game Informer recently spoke with Mark Pacini from Armature Studio. Although some of the discussion touched on Batman: Arkham Origins – Blackgate and his new game ReCore, he also spoke quite a bit about his days at Retro and directing Metroid Prime.
One interesting anedcote was about when Retro was meeting with Shigeru Miyamoto and other folks from Nintendo’s main headquarters in Japan. After the meeting, Pacini’s boss said that they were upset with him. Why? Pacini didn’t have a pencil and paper at the meeting, so Nintendo felt he wasn’t listening. Pacini called it a “very noobie mistake” on his part, and wanted to make sure that wouldn’t happen again.
Making Metroid Prime was the toughest project for Pacini from a development standpoint and getting it completed. “I think it was just the amount of stuff we were trying to do in the time we were doing it,” he said.
More: interview, Mark Pacini, Metroid Prime, Retro Studios, top
A look at a few cancelled Star Wars games planned for Nintendo platforms
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in GameCube, Videos, Wii | 2 Comments
A new video from Liam Robertson, Unseen64, and Did You Know Gaming? provides us with a look at a few Star Wars games that never saw the day of light. The different projects were slated for Nintendo platforms, including one for Wii that would have taken advantage of the MotionPlus accessory in an additional mode. Watch the full video below.
