E3 06: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess First Look

LOS ANGELES--Nintendo announced today that the upcoming Legend of Zelda game, Twilight Princess, will ship in two different versions--one made for the Wii and one for the GameCube. Nintendo representatives showed off the Wii version of the game in action during their E3 press conference, giving specific details for the first time on how the game will work with the Wii controllers.

The player demonstrating Twilight Princess used both the remote and the "nunchuk" attachment to control the game. You can move by using the analog thumbstick on the nunchuk, while you will be able to switch between items on link using the plus pad on the remote. Targeting onscreen is handled by using the Z button on the nunchuk, which will bring up a sparkling fairy onscreen as a cursor. It seems like you'll be able to use the fairy as a secondary means of selecting items using the interface indicators onscreen. You'll use the remote to swing your sword, holding down the B button on the bottom of the remote unit. Aiming the bow will also be handled freely with the remote, with a visible cursor on the screen that will show you where you're aiming.

While showing off the bow, Nintendo revealed a new detail about the remote--a built-in speaker will be utilized while firing the bow. You'll hear the bow string stretch and go taut, and when you fire, you'll hear the sound of the arrow being released, and then the sound of the arrow striking the target will come out of the television speakers, simulating a dynamic soundscape. You can imagine other games using this feature to make the sound of gunshots come out of the remote speaker, for example.

Nintendo reps showed off a number of other interesting control options in the Wii version of Twilight Princess. Jabbing with the remote, for example, will let Link do a shield-bash move to stun enemies. The rumble feature will let you feel it when you connect with a shield bash. The pointer will also be used to aim and map out waypoints for your boomerang, which will have puzzle-solving applications in the game, as shown when the Nintendo reps hit several switches in succession to open up a doorway. We then got to see Link picking up a crate by using the A button on the remote. The demonstrator then flicked the nunchuk to throw the box, revealing that both the nunchuk and the remote have motion-sensing capabilities. This capability also applied to the sword play, as you can rotate the nunchuk to execute a spin attack, or stab down with the nunchuk to do Link's signature coup de grace move. Fishing with the controller will also be in the game, as you use the remote to cast and reel in fish with intuitive flick-and-pull moves.

The level used to demonstrate the game appeared to be some kind of dusty canyon or mining area with implike enemies. Delving deeper into the area revealed caverns with some lava, and a giant stone door with a lock on it, at which point the demonstration ended. We didn't get to see too much from a strict level or gameplay standpoint, but we were certainly impressed with our first concrete demonstrations of gameplay using the Nintendo Wii's unique controllers.