Check out this little exchange between Reggie Fils-Aime and Jimmy Fallon…
Jimmy: Nintendo DS is my favorite system I think out there and I heard a rumor that there’s a 3D NIntendo DS is coming out. Is that true?
Reggie: That is absolutely true.
Jimmy: When is it coming out?
Reggie: It’s coming out next year.
Now, I’m not saying this is true, but I can’t fully believe this yet. Iwata, Cammie Dunaway, and even Reggie himself have been very reluctant to talk about the 3DS’ release date. It just seems odd that there would be a confirmation on a late night television show!
Aonuma talking about the story in Skyward Sword…
“Well, you saw the trailer this morning, and the presentation. The final scene is Link jumping off those cliffs and diving through the bank of clouds, and that’s a very key element behind the story in the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. This time around, Link is living on a series of floating islands above the coulds, and that land is called Skyloft. Link lives in this floating land, and it’s his natural world, so he doesn’t think there’s anything strange about living above the clouds. One day, an incident occurs, and he discovers that beneath the clouds is another world, and that world is ruled by an evil force. And the thing that leads link on in his adventure and guides him is the titular sword – the Skyward Sword. When the sword is leading Link and helping him do things, it actually transforms into a human figure. [In] the artwork revealed at E3 last year, that was the figure that was in that artwork. So basically the story evolves in his travelling from Skyloft to the land below, and back and forth, as he is lead by the Skyward Sword. As he travels, the story of how the land below came to be ruled by these evil forces is revealed.”
We’ve seen plenty of people play video game songs on a violin plenty of times, but these videos have a twist. The performer actually included the sound effects from the titles as well. For instance, in the Super Mario Bros. video above, the violinist cuts from the song to the “coin jumping sound” when Mario hits one of the blocks.
You can check out a few additional videos after the break.
Retro Studios’ Bryan Walker on Miyamoto’s initial involvement…
“He was very clear from the get-go about his expectations for the ground-pound. It wasn’t just BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. It had to be [slapping his knee rapidly] buh-BAM, buh-BAM, buh-BAM! He was extremely emphatic about our direction, that we’re making a better DKC.”
Kensuke Tanabe on including family characters…
“There was a direction from Mr. Miyamoto as to what to up point in the series’ legacy to draw from, but I think it will be the most fun for people to play it themselves and see who pops up along the way. I know people certainly have enjoyed them in the past so we are definitely considering those elements of gameplay. But you’ll have to excuse me for keeping this secret for a little while longer.”
Tanabe/Walker on water levels…
Tanabe: “There are no underwater stages this time around.”
Walker: “[The water levels] felt slow… It just wasn’t the kind of gameplay we were looking for.”
Tanabe on a possible King K.Roo return…
“There will be no alligators in this game.
Retro president Michael Kelbaugh on changing from Metroid Prime to Donkey Kong Country…
“Initially we were thinking storyline, storyline. We would constantly re-focus the designers and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t Metroid Prime. This isn’t a long, detailed lore-based historical story.’ This is as simple as ‘Somebody is stealing bananas and I have to get them back.’ We shifted gears from making a very gritty, sci-fi edgy type of environment to such a whimsical character. We constantly have to revisit [questions like] ‘Why would Donkey Kong do this?’ or ‘Why would this environment be like this?’ And then we start thinking: ‘We’re making a game about a gorilla wearing a tie.'”
