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[Solid Samus]

This game might be in development but what I'm seeing so far doesn't really inspire confidence. And holy fuck. I can see what they say about Nintendo avatars when I'm on the other side for once.

I'm still expecting a quality game. I'm sure it will morph and change into something I'll really like before launch. But this? This was not a good showing, except to the Nintendo faithful, apparently. This was basic as fuck, the game looks basic as fuck, etc.

The original Zelda is an open world game.

3D Zelda ain't exactly original Zelda.

 

[wmlk]

And that's the problem. Zelda shouldn't be open world IMO. It completely goes against what I like about the series.

This is quintessential Zelda.

I'm pretty sure Miyamoto knows what Zelda is.

 

[Jagsrock]

Just imagine what it's gonna look like at night, under the moon light when all the baddies come out, or with weather effects, or what if areas of the beautiful landscapes become degraded and shrouded in darkness. There is still soooo much left for them to potentially reveal that what they showed is not even the tip of the iceberg. I mean we haven't even seen any other characters and we still haven't seen link dawn the Green tunic yet. 4 min of footage showing the scale and travel mechanics is hardly anything to realistically judge a game like this which still has at least 8-9 or so months left in development.

 

[tkscz]

HOW BIG IS THIS THING!?

I don't know, but I would like 300 dungeons on the map please.

 

[Pennywise]

I don't know. I just saw it as a presentation of how pretty and large the world is. Maybe they took it for granted in thinking that people will know that the content will be there when it ships a year from now. I mean, to me it's common sense. It's fucking Zelda.

The difference is the scale though.
Open world games have gotten huge lately, just look at GTA or Dragon Age/Skyrim.
It's really hard to keep it interesting apart from the visuals and the art style.
You've gotta create something to explore, some backround and characters, there is just so much you have to keep in mind.

So many games have failed, simply because they had a huge fucking world and either there were some parts where you could do nothing, or not enough.
That's the big task Nintendo has to handle.

 

[Jarmel]

I just want logical discussion. But then again, I need to remember where I am...

This wasn't even a real walkthrough. All we saw was just snippets of gameplay. There's really not much to discuss or dig through.

 

[nckillthegrimace]

This seems like it's going back to what Zelda used to be about: a fucking adventure where you explore shit and come across dungeons. Down-time included.

Not some puzzle-puzzle-puzzle-puzzle fest.

It's regressing. Fantastic.

 

[Neoxon]

It's beautiful

 

[medze]

Even those that were excited or impressed by what was shown have to admit that it was probably one of the worst ways to present one of their biggest titles on WiiU.

 

[PooBone]

I should note that I'm very impressed with the scale. The world does look a bit empty but I'm fine with that.

Me too, I like having space to just ride that horse, listen to the music, and enjoy the view. The pace of Zelda and the tone is unlike anything else. I think it looks great I just can't wait to get in and start exploring.

 

[Sandfox]

What was the other half? Sounded like they talked about what was happening on screen mostly, not cementing the 2015 release date.

They outright said that the game will be released next year.

Setting waypoints, and giant world maps. Man, what exciting new features. Don't forget auto horse, and Link channeling his inner Max Payne!

Those things are new are new to Zelda so I don't see the problem showing them off since this was obviously supposed to a small showing of the game.

 

[MagnesD3]

Looks amazing, also link still looks like a girl.

 

[ivysaur12]

I don't understand how we haven't had scrutinized looks at that gamepad map yet. CMON, internet!

 

[BY2K]

The Just Cause 2 comparison doesn't look that far off for map size.

 

[Jarmel]

All I know is that they focused on showing me big empty landscapes that I've played a thousand times before in other open world sandbox fantasy games.

So this didn't win me over. But I won't jump to conclusions.

I like the artstyle a lot, and in games like these, that goes a long way.

 

[LordOcidax]

LoL. People complaining about bad textures on a off screen bad quality video, also in development game. This game looks fuc...ing amazing.

 

[Thoraxes]

Even those that were excited or impressed by what was shown have to admit that it was probably one of the worst ways to present one of their biggest titles on WiiU.

By showing a small tease to whet appetites till E3?

 

[zma1013]

That wasn't the whole map of course, but what they showed already seemed massive

Why did the zoom out button disappear then? I think that's the whole map, but considering how much time it was supposedly taking to get to that point, it could take well over an hour to traverse from one end to the other, again, going off of what little we can guess about the time it was taking them to get to their destination and scaling that with the points on the map.

 

[BriGuy]

I love the way Wii U games look. This, Mario 3D, Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8... they're all so vibrant and full of life. They may not boast the graphical prowess of the newer systems, but they're stuffed to the gills with charm.

 

[Mango The Magician]

So, some thoughts.

-Magic Meter appears to be back.
-Map size surprised me, doubly so that there appears to be an ocean, and maybe an ice area! yay!
-The hood is cool, but please don't skip on the green tunic, it''s part of Link's design.
-I don't think that was Epona, partly because of the way it looks and also because of the fact that Aonuma just called it "a horse" which I have mixed feelings about. I mean Epona not being in the game is fine I guess, but I mean I don't really see why they'ed need to skip out on her.

 

[Schnozberry]

I would actually love the Housers to sit down and explain how their new GTA plays because all of those games control like total shit.

Have we ever seen a gameplay demo from Rockstar a year out from release of a game? I'm not trying to be cute. I'm just wondering aloud if there are games in franchises as heralded as Zelda that have taken the risk of showing actual gameplay a year from release to be hyper analyzed by denizens of message boards. I mean, imagine if we saw AC:Unity a year from release. What a bloodbath that would have been.

 

[videogamephilosopher]

I watched the initial reveal again and what stands out was how vibrant and lively it was.
Maybe having the actual gameplay on an additional screen made it a lot more muted than it needed to be. Nintendo showed post a video with just the Zelda gameplay and the commentary with subtitles at the bottom.

 

[Elios83]

Honestly the game looks early and it shows that Nintendo isn't really confident with the open world genre. Still I think it will be amazing eventually, although 2015 seems unrealistic considering the basic state the game is in right now.

 

[olimpia84]

Even those that were excited or impressed by what was shown have to admit that it was probably one of the worst ways to present one of their biggest titles on WiiU.

Yeah, a 30 second CGI trailer would have been much better.

 

[VanWinkle]

That excited me BEYOND WORDS.

 

[Papercuts]

I never expected to pair this thread title with "meh". Whole bunch of nothing, and cutting around to contextless areas to talk about distance traveled doesn't work.

And gyro aiming blows.

 

[Tookay]

It's regressing. Fantastic.

By bringing back a sense of adventure?

SS made me realize that a "dense" overworld killed the immersion. There was nothing separating the dungeons from the non-dungeons.

There needs to be a rhythm to the gameplay. They're not going to tout an open world and have it be meaningless. ALBW showed renewed purpose on this front.

 

[MormaPope]

"Are you sure this will be out in 2015?"

"Yes. The team is hard at work on it."

That part.

That...could be said by any development team regarding any game. It could very well come out next year, but I doubt it.

They outright said that the game will be released next year.

I know.

 

[Draconian]

Of course bro, nobody is implying there won't be "more to do." There were insects and animals and fruits and stuff in Twilight Princess overworld, but it was still a barren, empty thing that was completely uninteresting to travel around.

Once again I want to emphasize Twilight Princess is one of my favorite Zelda games, but I did feel the overworld was a true low point of the game.

Similarly this trailer focused on traveling around the overworld and how HUGE it is, but frankly it looked quite boring as he did it because it was so empty. I love Zelda games, my individual reasons are for 1. Dungeons, 2. Bosses, 3. Puzzles. Exploration is another drive, but there has to be a good reason to want to go out there.

That's why my favorite Zelda overworlds are usually condensed, like say the Link to the Past overworld or the Minish Cap overworld. Smaller, but every part of the world had something substantial to do and some meaningful application of Link's skill.

In this game they talk with such pride about just letting Epona go and not having to touch anything (like Shadow of the Colossus in that way, it's the right way for horse controls frankly), and kept mentioning how BIG the distances were (five minutes to get there, etc), but the actual content of the traveling and what they were traveling through was... well, nothing. It was empty fields of grass and birch trees. With like a black horse that ran aside them at one point.

It's a snippet, but that's my concern... that while I will love everything else in the game, the overworld will hold it back in some way.

The amount of times they cut away in this video leads me to believe they really wanted to show as little as possible, while actually showing the game. It'd be one thing if they showed a continuous demo of Aonuma going all the way to the waypoint he set, but that's not what they did.

 

[Jarmel]

Me too, I like having space to just ride that horse, listen to the music, and enjoy the view. The pace of Zelda and the tone is unlike anything else. I think it looks great I just can't wait to get in and start exploring.

Exactly. Sort of a relaxing adventure game.

 

[PooBone]

I don't need 300 dungeons. I don't need Skyrim or DA: Inquisition. 10-12 dungeons would probably be perfect if they're thought out and labyrinthine like in the good games of yore.

 

[PhoenixDawn]

Let me be one of five people to mourn the loss of motion+ controls and combat

Maybe they'll take the combat in a different direction, but I have a feeling that we're just going right back to button mashing. Slo-mo horse hopping is totally not a thing that will feel ridiculous after the third or fourth try.

Hurray for next gen evolution

There might still be a tiiiiny chance that there are motion controls considering Link is right handed yet. Unless they're actually sticking with making him right handed canon rather than a weird change just to fit with motion controls for most players.

 

[Pocky4Th3Win]

Oh just thought something, have they said if you can take dungeons in any order or are they still required to be visited in a specific order? If the latter then who cares if it's open world if your progress is still limited/controlled.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I like the artstyle a lot, and in games like these, that goes a long way.

It definitely does. And Nintendo has shown they can make a game look beautiful by art style alone so I doubt I'll notice the graphical difference between Wii U and other consoles.

 

[Nickle]

I think the game is going to be delayed until early 2016, unless the game only lacks polish because they had to build the entire world before doing anything else. However, I think it will look much better by the time it is released.

 

[B-Dubs]

All I know is that they focused on showing me big empty landscapes that I've played a thousand times before in other open world sandbox fantasy games.

So this didn't win me over. But I won't jump to conclusions.

It's still got at least six months of development left to go through so I'm not too worried about the emptiness. All they really showed off here was the slow-mo and horse AI, along with some assurances that they know how an open-world game of this size is supposed to work (the markers).

I think the game is going to be delayed until early 2016, unless the game only lacks polish because they had to build the entire world before doing anything else. However, I think it will look much better by the time it is released.

This is probably the case. Nintendo is pretty notorious of not doing any polish until everything else is already locked in.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

I'm curious (and I know I will get shit for this) but with a map and land that huge, and so much verticality (as Aounma made it a point to mention, so you know it's a focus) does Link need a jump button (never played SS so if it has one shoot me)? Wonder how they will deal with that. On the one extreme is AssCreed style where the character just automaticlaly climbs everything, which I've never been a fan of, on the other side I'm not so sure how the classic 3D Zelda controls and movements translate over to a map that's not quite as flat as we are used to.

 

[kuroneko0509]

Can I be a Nintendo MVP too?

lol

 

[Kinsei]

This is quintessential Zelda.

I'm pretty sure Miyamoto knows what Zelda is.

I'm sure he does, but that doesn't mean I have to agree. Sakamoto knows what Metroid is and look at what he did.

 

[sevenchaos]

So the only footage we have of the game is off screen footage from across a room? Seems odd

The choice of off-screen footage was both disappointing and appropriate. Nintendo's goal was to show off the scale. Mission accomplished.

 

[serenewarfare]

This wasn't even a real walkthrough. All we saw was just snippets of gameplay. There's really not much to discuss or dig through.

I just mean in general. Too much of game reveals these days are the best thing ever or terrible. I know this is just internet mentality and won't change, but it bothers me.

 

[Not]

OUT OF FRIGGIN NOWHERE

WHAT

that video-- I need to see better quality. Looked pretty unremarkable

 

[Easy_D]

That huge fucking world just cries out for a flying mount. Loftwings pls.

 

[Prototype]

Agree with the empty looking world, when they said there was a dense forest coming up I saw like, where?

Edit.
So gonna get it tho.

 

[Kai Dracon]

I suppose I've finally gotten too old to care about trailers and vertical slices; I don't want to be sold the "dream" anymore.

I'm much more interested by honest development videos and scenes of what a game actually looks like when you are sitting there screwing around. If GTA was revealed in a dev video and someone was just running around shooting a few bad guys, experimenting with cars, and taking a cruise, guess what: that's reality. That's what most people are going to be doing most of the time when playing Grand Theft Auto.

Yet so many people become more and more jaded, wondering why nearly every big game brutally disappoints them after months of drooling over carefully arranged beauty shots and highly edited, artificially set-up "gameplay" trailers.

 

[WrenchNinja]

I'm curious (and I know I will get shit for this) but with a map and land that huge, and so much verticality (as Aounma made it a point to mention, so you know it's a focus) does Link need a jump button (never played SS so if it has one shoot me)?

Skyward Sword does not have a jump button.

 

[GuessMyUserName]

This is Super Mario 3D World all over again. Nintendo introduces core design concepts, internet freaks out that nothing happened.

Yes, open-world gaming isn't new. Showing it in Zelda U in this case though is more about separating Zelda from past Zelda titles.

 

[Discomurf]

direct feed (from the show) video is up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypR03D1nISA&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDV5D1fdNSCKNNMRtMCutjhe&index=4

 

[Mentok]

Zelda, Starfox and X coming out in 2015?! Ok....now I'm getting a Wii U.

 

[Nibel]

Surprise, unfinished game looks unfinished.

Dat arrow time tho