Legend of Zelda Wii U Gameplay Demo

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If there's one single element of this game I'm not worried about it's the fucking music. Let Nintendo and Koji Kondo do their thing. Enya? LOL what is wrong with people?
 
If there's one single element of this game I'm not worried about it's the fucking music. Let Nintendo and Koji Kondo do their thing. Enya? LOL what is wrong with people?

No joke. I think an ambient overworld theme could work, but if they did that I'm sure it would fit with the franchise and game itself so... I wouldn't worry about it either way.
 
No joke. I think an ambient overworld theme could work, but if they did that I'm sure it would fit with the franchise and game itself so... I wouldn't worry about it either way.

I'd love an ambient overworld theme. Or just ambient pieces overall. Though Zelda is renowned for its melodic pieces.
 
I'd love an ambient overworld theme. Or just ambient pieces overall. Though Zelda is renowned for its melodic pieces.

The beautiful thing is that it can have both. Skyward had some ambient stuff but also melodic. You have so many situations and types of environments that not everything needs melodies per se. And that's where the frump comes in.
 
Same here. It kind of feels like that could happen after Wind Waker. Skyward would just do well with a resolution bump, but I think Twilight Princess would need to have more work beyond that done to it if it wants to look good in HD.

Yeah thats why I'm waiting (it's hard!), it should be a no brainer to remaster SS, but this is Nintendo after all :/ it and Mario Sunshine are the ones I feel like replaying atm, it hurts D:
 
Yeah, I'm just kidding around, that's a completely reasonable opinion to have.

Okay, is someone throwing shade on Groose's theme now? Really? I need to lie down.

I think people tend to romanticize older Zelda titles in broad strokes and forget how goofy they've been ever since Link's Awakening.
Zelda should be goofy and playful.

It's just SS's tone of frump really ruined the mood of the game for me. I can't listen to the soundtrack without skipping a good portion of the music.
 
Zelda should be goofy and playful.

It's just SS's tone of frump really ruined the mood of the game for me. I can't listen to the soundtrack without skipping a good portion of the music.

The use of this word through this thread has been one of the strangest I've ever seen. Do you know what the definition of "frump" or "frumpy" is? Because using it to describe Skyward Sword makes you look stupid.
 
The use of this word through this thread has been one of the strangest I've ever seen. Do you know what the definition of "frump" or "frumpy" is? Because using it to describe Skyward Sword makes you look stupid.

Should I look for a different adjective? It feels like the best word I could describe it with. Farty? Lousy? Campy/cheesy? Vaudeville? Overly theatrical? I don't know!

I just hope it's not a big part of Zelda U's soundtrack. I don't think it fits into the actual gameplay portions of the series.

adj. frump•i•er, frump•i•est.
dowdy, drab, and unattractive. unstylish and out of date.

EDIT: Tacky. Tacky was the word I was looking for. SS had a bit of what sounded like tacky Disney music.
 
Yeah, I'm just kidding around, that's a completely reasonable opinion to have.

Okay, is someone throwing shade on Groose's theme now? Really? I need to lie down.

I think people tend to romanticize older Zelda titles in broad strokes and forget how goofy they've been ever since Link's Awakening.

I didn't mean to come off as if I was actually arguing seriously or anything; basically I was just sorta semi-arguing with a joking nature thrown over that or something...in short I'm a dummy and forgot that the internet can't convey emotion well. :P But yeah all's cool, I know that you were just kidding. TP is my favorite game though.
 
remind me to never leave a drive-by comment about Skyward Sword again, LOL

I almost think people hate on SS just to hate on it. There's clearly some flaws (none of which bothered me) but music is just obviously not one of them.

why would I do this to a game I spent fifty bucks on

No, you can't do this. You can't just choose to dislike everything and make up stuff even if you don't like the game.

?????????????????????

Just speaking from what I remember, bro. I don't even consider the music to be the one of the game's lowest points, just disappointing. Let's see if your list below can jog my memory...

Groose's Theme
Loftwing Theme
Romance Theme
Fi's Theme
Ghirahim Battle
Bamboo Island
Koloktos Battle
The Sky
Earth Temple
Bug Island

Not to mention, ambient tracks have been part of the series since ALTTP. They're very prominent in OOT, MM, and TWW as well. Kondo has listed Phillip Glass as one of his influences for dungeon themes. Hajime Wakai carried on that tradition in TWW and SS as well. But to say that the songs are forgettable because they're ambient is to ignore the wealth of non-ambient tunes that are in both SS and TP.

The orchestrated themes you list here are certainly impressive (The Sky being particularly strong), but I can't say the same for most of the MIDI ones. I remember being really bothered by how they just reserved the orchestrata stuff for bosses/cutscenes and consequently we were left with relatively flat/boring stuff like the themes for Lanaryu Desert/Eldin Volcano. It's not horrendous or anything, I just can't be bothered to remember them.

The only exceptions I can think of are Groose's Theme (which you listed, and I actually dug several of the arrangements throughout), Skyloft, the very special dungeon theme I mention below to Dimmle, and...uh, Fi's Theme I guess but I'm instantly reminded of the worst Nintendo character ever created whenever I hear it soooo I guess that's out.

Ambience itself isn't the problem, but I felt TP/SS were so saturated with such low-key/average songs that never stuck to memory. When they get triumphant/bombastic, they're great, but they're far and few between, imo.

Thankfully Nagamatsu's work with ALBW has me feeling optimistic with this one musically, but we don't even know who's attached to this Zelda yet. We'll see.

Here is something you hear for an extended period of time in SS.

Lanayru Sand Sea

Try to keep from clawing at your eardrums.

My friends and I prefer the Lanaryu Mining Facility.

donkadonkadonkadonkadonkadonkadonakdondkadondkadonkadonkaDONKADONKADONKADONKADONKA on Skype for hours on end!
 
Should I look for a different adjective? It feels like the best word I could describe it with. Farty? Lousy? Campy/cheesy? Vaudeville? Overly theatrical? I don't know!

I just hope it's not a big part of Zelda U's soundtrack. I don't think it fits into the actual gameplay portions of the series.

adj. frump•i•er, frump•i•est.
dowdy, drab, and unattractive. unstylish and out of date.

EDIT: Tacky. Tacky was the word I was looking for. SS had a bit of what sounded like tacky Disney music.

I didn't mind SS's soundtrack and I enjoyed the game. But Zelda U is on a whole different level. I agree I want something else from it. More Ico less Disney.
 
Well, now that I've thoroughly PO'd everyone...

I'll say that the shining pieces of SS were very good. They reminded me of Okami. The Eastern influence is something I'd like to stay. As well as the Celtic stuff and the overall sound of ALBW's acoustic stuff was great as well.

I just want them to throw the frumpy horn sound away. And I want the soundtrack to stay away from sounding like a cartoon movie soundtrack like SS did at times. I don't think that fits the cinematic style of Zelda at all.
 
You can have atmosphere, and melody - it is not an either/or choice.

Majora's Mask uses the same melody, arranged differently, for the parts of it's overworld outside of Termina Field...

Ikana Canyon
Southern Swamp
Great Bay Coast
Snowhead Mountain

Termina Field


A Link Between Worlds does the same thing, but with it's Lorule Dungeon music. These have a melody, but are very atmospheric

Thieves Hideout
Ice Ruins
Desert Palace


If the overworld uses the same melody/harmony, but shifts in style and tone smoothly as you enter different regions, I think that would fit the vast world better than one single piece of music, or none at all.

You would still have some kind of visual transition for specific areas such as Kakariko Village, or Gerudo Desert - which should have their own melodies which play.
 
I kind of agree that SS's soundtrack has some really high highs and some low lows. And this is coming from somebody who really liked the game. The gulf between some of the orchestral songs and the midi is pretty large.
 
Well, now that I've thoroughly PO'd everyone...

I'll say that the shining pieces of SS were very good. They reminded me of Okami. The Eastern influence is something I'd like to stay. As well as the Celtic stuff and the overall sound of ALBW's acoustic stuff was great as well.

I just want them to throw the frumpy horn sound away. And I want the soundtrack to stay away from sounding like a cartoon movie soundtrack like SS did at times. I don't think that fits the cinematic style of Zelda at all.

I agree with you that their old midi needs to be thrown into a dumpster and set on fire. I'm not pissed off, you ended up explaining yourself pretty well.

My point was not that 100% of Skyward Sword's music is the best music ever. Just that saying TP and SS had largely ambient and therefore forgettable soundtracks is a very, very misplaced opinion. Plenty of melodic and non-melodic stuff all around.

Nor am I saying that future Zelda games need to continue the styles of those two games. I'm all for new stuff. The point is just that the series has constantly had great soundtracks, so there's nothing to worry about for the next Zelda.
 
You can have atmosphere, and melody - it is not an either/or choice.

Majora's Mask uses the same melody, arranged differently, for the parts of it's overworld outside of Termina Field...

Ikana Canyon
Southern Swamp
Great Bay Coast
Snowhead Mountain

Termina Field

Majora's mask 3D can not come soon enough. Newer graphics, possibly better framerate, fishing, and whatever improvements have been made will make me so happy.

AND WE'RE GETTING AN OPEN WORLD ZELDA GAME

Like, 2015... nnnngh. If smash bros had come out next year, nintendo would literally never be able to top 2015. We're getting a new canvas curse, a new yarn game, a new star fox, a remaster of one of the best zeldas, an open world zelda, and who knows what else. Like, all i'm saying, is I better not be hit by a bus in the next 365+ days. I will have died with tons of regrets.
 
Thought I'd point out something that maybe Nintendo doesn't get enough credit for in today's industry.

As we know, many games get presented to us every year. As we also know, many of these games are not indicitive of the final product - be it due to bugs or even complete visual overhauls/dips - where essentially we're given bullshots or CGI slices of gameplay, or we're given a rough idea of what the game is supposed to look like that it never lives up to (most Ubisoft games, possibly The Witcher 3, and really a lot of other games).

I've seen some complaints of emptiness or low draw distance/pop in in this Zelda footage. However, does any of us really feel like this isn't a positive visual representative of what the final product will be? It's just a trend I notice with Nintendo games. Setting bugs aside (they polish those out pretty well), they don't ever seem to lie to use about the visuals - in fact, for the most part their games actually improve and get better visuals by the time it releases, meaning what we saw last friday will probably look better by the time the game come sout.

I think this needs to be appreciated ab it more. I wish games would stop overpromising and instead, give us more realistic expectations, that way if they meet and exceed them, folks won't be crying about "wah, it's been downgraded and we were lied too!".

Zelda U may not look ideal, but at the end of the day, Nintendo also isn't pulling a fast one on us. My reaction when I saw the Uncharted 4 footage, Just Cause 3 images, is all "Yeah, looks great. I'll believe it when the game releases and proves it". Where as with Zelda U, I am all "yup, game looks pretty good, but will look better when it comes out". Isn't this a positive thing?
 
Man just reading "Fi's theme" plays the entite song in my head, especially the version during the ending of the game. I get chills all over again. SS ost was the best after OoT.

"Gate of time" tho... So damn good!
 
Man just reading "Fi's theme" plays the entite song in my head, especially the version during the ending of the game. I get chills all over again. SS ost was the best after OoT.

"Gate of time" tho... So damn good!

I love Fi's theme, Gate of Time, Isle of Song, Bamboo Island, Stalfos Miniboss and the Koloktos battle music. Demise's battle theme was nice too.

And probably a few others. Overall, the soundtrack for the main content of the game was severely lacking. I was expecting the Mario Galaxy soundtrack and I got...something a bit underwhelming.

Anyways, back to Zelda U: Does the battle music change when Link vaults off his horse or was that a coincidence? I hope there's more than one battle theme. :S

Thought I'd point out something that maybe Nintendo doesn't get enough credit for in today's industry.

As we know, many games get presented to us every year. As we also know, many of these games are not indicitive of the final product - be it due to bugs or even complete visual overhauls/dips - where essentially we're given bullshots or CGI slices of gameplay, or we're given a rough idea of what the game is supposed to look like that it never lives up to (most Ubisoft games, possibly The Witcher 3, and really a lot of other games).

I've seen some complaints of emptiness or low draw distance/pop in in this Zelda footage. However, does any of us really feel like this isn't a positive visual representative of what the final product will be? It's just a trend I notice with Nintendo games. Setting bugs aside (they polish those out pretty well), they don't ever seem to lie to use about the visuals - in fact, for the most part their games actually improve and get better visuals by the time it releases, meaning what we saw last friday will probably look better by the time the game come sout.

I think this needs to be appreciated ab it more. I wish games would stop overpromising and instead, give us more realistic expectations, that way if they meet and exceed them, folks won't be crying about "wah, it's been downgraded and we were lied too!".

Zelda U may not look ideal, but at the end of the day, Nintendo also isn't pulling a fast one on us. My reaction when I saw the Uncharted 4 footage, Just Cause 3 images, is all "Yeah, looks great. I'll believe it when the game releases and proves it". Where as with Zelda U, I am all "yup, game looks pretty good, but will look better when it comes out". Isn't this a positive thing?

Good and bad. Bad market wise, because trailers and CG are much more appealing to the masses...because quite frankly, the theatrics are more entertaining than watching gameplay most of the time. It's easier to GET a trailer, compared to a gameplay presentation.

The good news is that when people see Zelda, they don't care. The brand is so powerful, that they could show us claymation Zelda and we'd still be foaming at the mouth. Simply because people trust Nintendo to make amazing titles.

I have strong concerns after SS and the DS Zeldas. ALBW was an okay apology, but my trust is still not fully there. I won't be hyped until I'm more convinced that Nintendo has learned something from trying to give Zelda "broad/casual" appeal.
 
I wonder if that battle theme is really the normal battle theme..

I mean, in the SS demo, the Levias battle theme played while fighting common enemies
 
Should I look for a different adjective? It feels like the best word I could describe it with. Farty? Lousy? Campy/cheesy? Vaudeville? Overly theatrical? I don't know!

I just hope it's not a big part of Zelda U's soundtrack. I don't think it fits into the actual gameplay portions of the series.

adj. frump•i•er, frump•i•est.
dowdy, drab, and unattractive. unstylish and out of date.

EDIT: Tacky. Tacky was the word I was looking for. SS had a bit of what sounded like tacky Disney music.

Tacky makes much more sense.

I like the idea of using "farty" instead LOL
 
All this OST talk has me thinking of Spirit Tracks.

So am I the only person that loves the hell out of that game? I thought it was a great Zelda game with one of the best soundtracks. It's the only game besides WW that absolutely nailed the partner character. I really don't understand why it gets so much shit.
 
I have strong concerns after SS and the DS Zeldas. ALBW was an okay apology, but my trust is still not fully there. I won't be hyped until I'm more convinced that Nintendo has learned something from trying to give Zelda "broad/casual" appeal.
They're making a game for a system with a pathetic install base. I don't think they're worried about casual appeal - almost every effort on the Wii U is aimed at appealing to the die hard fans who were the only ones to show up.
 
All this OST talk has me thinking of Spirit Tracks.

So am I the only person that loves the hell out of that game? I thought it was a great Zelda game with one of the best soundtracks. It's the only game besides WW that absolutely nailed the partner character. I really don't understand why it gets so much shit.

I strongly, strongly enjoyed Spirit Tracks. It had a ton of personality. Like with SS, I understand the reasons why people didn't like it, but it's a really clever game with fun characters, stellar music, and some dungeons that were better than they had any right to be. It also has a really good set of final battles.

I'm aware of the flaws in most Zelda games, but I can't really say I strongly disliked any of them. Phantom Hourglass is probably the weakest one, although I barely consider Zelda 2 a Zelda game.

I guess I just don't play Zelda games for the same reasons other people do. I grew up with ALTTP, so it's not like I'm looking for anything particularly cinematic. I also don't consider any Zelda very hard, so difficulty isn't high up on my priorities. I've enjoyed games with wide open spaces and condensed linear progression, so that's not really it either. I just like the pacing of Zelda, and even at its worst, it still manages to nail the incredibly satisfying balance between doing stuff in dungeons and doing stuff out of dungeons. I like having the option to do either, but never feeling like one takes too long or that there's too many options. Really, there's not one specific thing I'm looking for, so I'm constantly amused with how the developers manage to continue conventions while still trying new stuff. I'm down for anything.

If anything, I probably measure my enjoyment of Zelda games by how much I liked the dungeons, first and foremost. Games with less/weaker dungeons are less memorable to me.

The only game that gave me a weird, bad aftertaste was ALBW. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but as someone who grew up playing ALTTP upwards of 30 times, the game was immensely familiar and I kept trying to compare the two, which didn't work well in ALBW's favor. I liked the no-nonsense, dungeons/overworld, less story approach with the top down mechanics, but I would have preferred it if they had gone with something very new rather than sticking so close to ALTTP's trappings. My indifference stems more from my experience with ALTTP than it does with the game itself.
 
All this OST talk has me thinking of Spirit Tracks.

So am I the only person that loves the hell out of that game? I thought it was a great Zelda game with one of the best soundtracks. It's the only game besides WW that absolutely nailed the partner character. I really don't understand why it gets so much shit.
Spirit tracks is fucking fantastic, it easily my favorite handheld Zelda. Some of those deugeon put albw to shame
 
All this OST talk has me thinking of Spirit Tracks.

So am I the only person that loves the hell out of that game? I thought it was a great Zelda game with one of the best soundtracks. It's the only game besides WW that absolutely nailed the partner character. I really don't understand why it gets so much shit.

I liked it a lot. Lots of charm, great soundtrack, clever puzzles. And good positive character development for Princess Zelda. (Oddly feminists feeling title because of the huge bump in female handheld players.)

It was great, but the pacing was god awful. Go to town, go on train, get stuck, go back to town, talk a lot, go back on train, go to new town, talk a bunch, go back to the other town again with new information...@____@

That said, I enjoyed the story, music and pacing a lot more than Skyward Sword.
 
People mention Galaxy, but outside of a few songs I find it really boring. Well might be Just me then.
But we are getting way too off topic here people.
Soooo isn't it weird that the battle song just start when he does the jump attack thing? Probably because the beginning is not ready yet.
 
All this OST talk has me thinking of Spirit Tracks.

So am I the only person that loves the hell out of that game? I thought it was a great Zelda game with one of the best soundtracks. It's the only game besides WW that absolutely nailed the partner character. I really don't understand why it gets so much shit.

I loved ST, a lot more than PH, which while charming was a little agrivating with the Ocean Temple, the only thing I didn't like was the overworld, though the train was a little cool, and the controls, as again much like with PH I didn't much care for a touchsceen only Zelda. Anyways, I loved STs story and characters and everything, it was a great game despite the fact that I only played it once.
 
All this OST talk has me thinking of Spirit Tracks.

So am I the only person that loves the hell out of that game? I thought it was a great Zelda game with one of the best soundtracks. It's the only game besides WW that absolutely nailed the partner character. I really don't understand why it gets so much shit.
I really like it, the overworld sucks, but the dungeons are phenomenal, the controls are great, the soundtrack is fantastic and the characters are pretty good too.
 
Zero²;142876450 said:
People mention Galaxy, but outside of a few songs I find it really boring. Well might be Just me then.
But we are getting way too off topic here people.
Soooo isn't it weird that the battle song just start when he does the jump attack thing? Probably because the beginning is not ready yet.

I asked the same question...It might be too early to speculate. :0

One thing I really like about Mario Galaxy and Spirit Tracks: The tempo of most songs matches up with Mario's feet and Link's chugga-chugga.

I want to hear the music sync to Epona's gallop! That would be glorious! :D
 
Those were fantastic, were they live recordings? They sounded more "real" to me than the rest of the games music

Most of them were recorded with live instruments, and some were with added synth. It doesn't have to be a full orchestra to be impressive and fitting. Listen to the Kirby's Epic Yarn soundtrack.
 
Zero²;142876450 said:
Soooo isn't it weird that the battle song just start when he does the jump attack thing? Probably because the beginning is not ready yet.

I love it to imagine it like this in the final version, given that the battle theme is likely a placeholder:

Enemies appear, but Overworld theme still plays
Link leaps from his horse, during that slo-mo time the overworld theme gets turned down and muffled. Gets a few shots before he finally lands
Link lands, takes his sword, overworld theme is gone now, epic battle theme begins.

I can't really describe it well, but it sounds really great in my head. It would be awesome at least.
 
Nice to see some love for ST. I've always felt that PH was sort of a test bed for a much stronger game and ST is THAT game. It was Nintendo building upon what was promised.

It kind of bums me out that games like SS and ST are going to go ignored as time goes on because of Nintendo's constant need for hardware reinvention and the tepid receptions those games received. I feel like those games were on the verge of charting a new course for the series, but since touch controls and motion controls are on their way out, we'll probably never anything like them again.

Even though I loved ALBW, it did kind of feel like Nintendo was going to back to the well. It didn't feel as daring. It felt a bit too familiar. I don't want to see Zelda doing so many callbacks.
 
I love it to imagine it like this in the final version, given that the battle theme is likely a placeholder:

Enemies appear, but Overworld theme still plays
Link leaps from his horse, during that slo-mo time the overworld theme gets turned down and muffled. Gets a few shots before he finally lands
Link lands, takes his sword, overworld theme is gone now, epic battle theme begins.

I can't really describe it well, but it sounds really great in my head. It would be awesome at least.

That sounds good.

On the topic of epic battle music, I hope they don't only have one battle theme this time around.

TP's theme got obnoxious when it often starts for something like a single Keese on the other side of a room. And then SS's was so boring because all the music cut out just so they could play light percussion.

Can we please get a dynamic theme this time? Doesn't have to be super complex but just enough to keep it fresh.
 
tbh, I've never been fond of the generic enemy "battle music" in any 3D Zelda. It's always been pitifully boring. I've always felt the "epic overworld" music serves as a better backdrop. Maybe slide in some dynamic changes in tempo, etc. to add some mood.
 
tbh, I've never been fond of the generic enemy "battle music" in any 3D Zelda. It's always been pitifully boring. I've always felt the "epic overworld" music serves as a better backdrop. Maybe slide in some dynamic changes in tempo, etc. to add some mood.

I actually agree with this. I have a feeling they're going to continue on this trend, though.
 
tbh, I've never been fond of the generic enemy "battle music" in any 3D Zelda. It's always been pitifully boring. I've always felt the "epic overworld" music serves as a better backdrop. Maybe slide in some dynamic changes in tempo, etc. to add some mood.

Yeah. It would be even better just to add a layer of variation to each main track, but I have a feeling that would be too much work.
 
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