The Legend of Zelda GC Preview
The Zelda series are simply incredible. They have changed the adventure/platforming genre and have continued to push gaming to new heights. It’s no wonder that Nintendo is going to have to work overtime and use every resource at their command to ensure that this game lives up to everyone’s expectations.
The brief technical demo that we saw fired the imaginations of everyone present who saw it. What was witnessed was a scene in which Gannondorf and Link were going head on in a battle with swords. This demo showed off a glimpse of what Nintendo Gamecube is capable of. The light off Link’s shield flashed with metallic brightness as it was repeatedly slashed by Ganonndorf, and shadows danced all along the back wall from lights placed irregularly among the room. It was truly a sight to behold, and one that will stay in my memory for years to come.
However, we are still left in the dark as to what the actual gameplay experience of Zelda will be like. There was no real time footage or a playable demo at E3, of course. Nintendo probably doesn’t want to spoil the experience of playing the game beforehand before you can buy it. One thing is for sure, though, and that is that Nintendo has way more power behind them this time around then with the Nintendo 64. This means that our main man, Shigeru Miyamotyo, can create a great game with few technical limitations.
Nintendo should take the path set by OoT, and not the path set by Majora’s Mask. I mean, Majora’s Mask was a great game, but it didn’t compare to OoT, which everyone seemed to like better. The time factor proved to be more of a common annoyance rather than a hindrance in gameplay, and the feel of the game just wasn’t the same as it had been with OoT.
What can we expect judging from Zelda and from the seemingly untapped power of Gamecube? A lot, that’s for sure. I can’t even begin to list off all of the improvements that we’ll see with the new Zelda graphic wise. Better wall texturization, larger dungeons, bigger bosses, and more hours in front of the screen are just some of the features will see in Zelda.
The Gamecube’s intuitive controller is also a plus factor. Nintendo now has the opportunity to add more gameplay features into the controller, and you will be able to do a a lot more from the controller rather than flipping through menu screens (aka, changing weapons).
What kind of direction is Zelda going to take? Will it become more of an adventure or more of an RPG? More of a fantasy or more of a reality based game? All these questions and no answers. One thing you can count on though, and that’s the fact that Nintendo will NOT screw this title up; they never do with their big franchise hits. Miyamotyo’s vision for Zelda can now be finally realized on the Gamecube, and when Zelda makes it’s appearance on the Gamecube, the whole world will be watching, and my prayers will have been answered.