Two Zelda games were show off at this years E3. The Wind Waker HD and A Link Between Worlds should be just what the doctor ordered to help Nintendo stay at the top of handheld gaming and help them in the home market.
Everyone knows that along with Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda will be used as the saving grace for Nintendo. Nintendo could be having tough times, like they are now, and then bring out a Zelda or Mario game, like they will be soon, and the company will have an increase in income. That last part has a wait and see approach but if we look at the past, Zelda games sell very well and Nintendo will regain its form. Two Zelda games were on the show floor at E3 this year and they didn’t disappoint so lets get right into it.
Nintendo plays off of the feeling of nostalgia more often now than they did in the past. However, that isn’t always a bad thing and this is one of those times. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker originally was released for the Game Cube. The Wii U version is in eye opening HD and looks fantastic. There was a side-by-side comparison shot with the Wii U version on one side and the Game Cube version on the other. You can tell how much better the Wii U version looks compared to the earlier version.
The touch screen controls for the Game Pad are put to good use for Zelda games, such as setting items in my inventory and playing the Wind Waker baton. Zelda games have used motion control for aiming weapons before and do so again in controlling the bow in Wind Waker. It took me a little bit to get back into the storyline because it had been such a long time between plays but once you do, like I’ve said before, you feel like you’ve played the game this way for a long time. I didn’t get to play the boss fight but I got to walk around the island and sneak up on pigs and throw them. It wouldn’t be a Zelda game without the option of animal abuse, right?
The game is pretty much the same as the Game Cube version except for a few differences. The Tingle Tuner was in the Game Cube version, that allowed for Game Cube/GBA interaction. The GBA can’t communicate with the Wii U so what was done was the Tingle Bottle was created. This item allows for Miiverse connectivity by having messages wash up on the shores of the beach in bottles. Should be interesting to see if other things, like the camera box, are given motion control or have the controls changed from the Game Cube version. All I know is, I’m happy that I can speed in the King of Red Lions now and a big cheer went up from the crowd at the Media event when it was revealed.
