GDC 07: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Trailer Impressions
A few short seconds of new footage of Nintendo's upcoming handheld adventure were enough to whet our appetites for more.
Hyrule Heroics
You could keep reading, or you could just go watch the trailer already.
We were fortunate to attend a Game Developers Conference session led by Zelda: Twilight Princess director Eiji Aonuma titled "Twilight Reflections in the Hourglass," in which the famous developer discussed the factors that led to the realistic visual style of the game, its move to the Wii, and the formulation of its motion-based controls. This led into a description of the multiplayer hide-and-seek mode we got to try out yesterday at the GDC show floor, and more importantly, a new trailer showing off just a bit of the single-player game to come.
The action in the trailer was basically the same as the previous footage shown of Phantom Hourglass, with no apparent indication whether the gameplay is still entirely controlled by the stylus (though we have to assume it is). There were more scenes of dungeon exploration and combat, as well as occasional sailing, as seen in the past. New elements included a "rub" minigame mechanic that kicked in when Link was clashing swords with an enemy or engaged in a pulling match with what looked like a boss character. This minigame had the player rubbing the stylus quickly back and forth in a predefined area as fast as possible. We also saw a giant snail of some kind that appeared to be a boss character, and the dungeon-crawling action was set against a piece of music from A Link to the Past (one that plays during the game's very first nighttime dungeon sojourn beneath the castle, for you hardcore nerds out there).
Phantom Hourglass is definitely sticking with the whimsical, cartoon-like style of Wind Waker, and there were a few brief up close cinematic sequences that showed it off even more. The models look a little rougher and blockier than in that GameCube game, as you'd expect, but the core aesthetic is fully evident despite the relative reduction in graphical detail. There wasn't enough of Phantom Hourglass shown to pick up any story details or much information about where the game will be set, but we've definitely seen enough to know that we're looking forward to playing the game, which is due to be released later this year. We'll do our best to bring you this new trailer when it's made available.
64 comments
I'm a huge zelda fan. I have all the zelda games, except the ones that only came out on gameboy. Anyway, I heard that Phantom Hourglass is supposed to take place immediately after the story of wind waker ends, because if you recall at the end of wind waker, Link and zelda just sail off into the distance, and i saw on a website dedicated to zelda games that this game is supposed to take place immediately after the end of wind waker. So thats cool. I dont have a DS, they never looked that much fun to me. THe only games id get on it wud be metroid, new super mario bros, and phantom hourglass. I dont think its worth it for 3 games. But man i really do want to play this game!!!!
For whatever the reason, I can't get into playing The Legend of Zelda Twillight Princess. But I see this trailer and I'm all hyped about it because I know there will be some extremely clever puzzles with the use of the stylus. A lot of people complained when they made Wind Waker and how the graphics doesn't look real. I love the way Nintendo presented Wind Waker. I've always found that cartoonish graphic, ones similar to the original Nintendo game and Graphics from A Link to the Past fits in with the whole Zelda series feel. That why I didn't like Twilight Princess as much. For the same reason, I didn't like Ocarina of Time that much either because they don't feature cartoon like graphics.
looks good.. havent played any zelda games, cuz ive alwys been a sony fan. but now that i hav a DS, L include this in my list :)
Still no new reports on the control interface. . . Unless it offers a mostly button-based alternative, I'll likely grab this sometime far after release. (Then again, I've put off getting Minish Cap for. . .however long its been around now. With so many great titles hitting shelves, I'm finding more difficulty than ever playing catch-up.)
This is gonna be the first game for the ds I have to own. New super mario was fun and all but this is much bigger. A complete 40? hour adventure on a handheld. and with touchscreen functions. That's badass.
Can't wait for this one, one more Zelda game to add to the list. Just started playing Link to the Past on my Wii! YAY!
Lookin pretty good... It's going to be an interesting twist to do battle with link via a stylus. I really like the idea of zelda style touch screen puzzles though!
The graphical style is probably a perfect fit for the DS hardware. I wouldn't worry about it being too much like Wind Waker, as far as gameplay goes.
So, is this Wind Waker 2 + touch controls? I hope there's not as much time spent in the boat getting places. That was my least favorite part of Wind Waker.
Suh-weet. I know a lot of people don't like almond-headed Link, but I enjoyed Wind Waker immensely. I think the visual style is great and I'm really looking forward to this game.
This game is gonna be great, I'm sure. But, if you are so worried about scratching your screen, buy a $5 screen protector. Sheesh!
i've still not seen enough to get really hyped about this game yet .. but being zelda, i'm sure it'll be great
I'm sure this is going to be a great game. I haven't ever played a Zelda game that wasn't any good. Hopefully that will remain true with the Phantom Hourglass.
not to mention he has an anime character as his pic...thats another indicator of a "nerd"- no offense.
skatrbub54, of course ur a nerd. everyone on this entire site are nerds. if anyone is obsessed with video games enough to get an account on this site their a nerd. and yeah this game looks beastly. I don't care about the stylus being used for so much. it does scratch up the screen, but i got used to it in starfox command. anyway the graphics look awesome, there hasn't been many 3D games out recently for the DS. and anything Zelda oriented rocks!
Well according to this video the graphics are gonna be amazing for the DS! They've actually moved up to game cube caliber for a portable Nintendo system!
I love me some Zelda, but if they make me scratch up my DS screen to move just for the sake of it, then this will be the first Zelda game I have ever decided to pass up. Sorry, using a touch screen for basic movement is obtrusive, less intuitive than the worst D pad, and sooooo self indulgent on Nintendo's part. Yes, the touch screen was a good idea, now get over it.
Hope the game is huge for a handheld Zelda game. Minish Cap's world just felt........lacking, by the time I got towards the end. Regardless, I am hyping this game to death, just like I did with Twilight Princess:P.
When I played this at E3, controlling link only with the stylus was really annoying because youre constantly having to drag the thing across the screen and it also gets in the way of your view. Attacking with it was fun though and being able to draw on your maps was awesome. Im also hoping theres more to multiplayer as that maze game was fun for the duration of the demo. Maybe the single player has gone into seclusion becuase theyre working on a less intrusive way to use the stylus but still have it be an important factor in the game. Zelda games are always awesome in the end so im sure theyre figuring something out...
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