The Legend of Zelda (2016 video game)

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda series logo
Developer(s) Nintendo EPD
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Producer(s) Eiji Aonuma
Series The Legend of Zelda
Platform(s) Wii U
Release date(s)
  • 2016
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

The Legend of Zelda (Japanese: ゼルダの伝説 Hepburn: Zeruda no Densetsu) is the working title of an upcoming action-adventure game in development by Nintendo for the Wii U home video game console. It is the nineteenth main installment in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series and the first original Zelda game developed with high-definition (HD) graphics. The game will feature an open world in which players can find different ways to approach areas.

Nintendo originally planned to release the game in 2015;[1] however, in March 2015, producer Eiji Aonuma stated that the company was no longer aiming for a launch that year.[2] In an interview at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé affirmed that the game would be released in 2016.[3][4]

Gameplay

The Legend of Zelda is an action-adventure game that takes place in a fully connected overworld, similar to the original The Legend of Zelda, with less emphasis on defined entrances and exits to dungeons. The game allows the player to have more freedom over previous titles, allowing them to decide their destination and method of travel.[5] The overworld can be traversed on foot or on Link's horse, Epona. Epona automatically avoids obstacles, allowing the player to concentrate on other tasks, such as shooting arrows. Link can leap off Epona and enter bullet time to better aim his bow at enemies.[6] The game world, said to be the largest one in any Zelda game, is as large as the Wii U's hardware can handle.[7]

The game supports data saved to the Wolf Link Amiibo, which will be released in a bundle with Twilight Princess HD.[8]

Development

In-game screenshot taken from the Nintendo Digital Event at E3 2014

On January 23, 2013, during a Nintendo Direct video stream, producer Eiji Aonuma stated that a new The Legend of Zelda game was in development for the Wii U, and that it would challenge some of the series' conventions, such as the requirement that players complete dungeons in a set order.[5] In Nintendo's Digital Event presented at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014, Aonuma revealed the first in-game footage, featuring high-definition visuals that incorporate cel shading, and said the title was scheduled for release in 2015.[9][10]

On March 27, 2015, Aonuma announced in a video that the game would be delayed, stating "... our priority is to make it the ultimate and most complete Zelda game", the team was no longer targeting a 2015 release window, and the title would likely not be shown at E3 2015.[2] At the convention in June of that year, Reggie Fils-Aimé, the president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, said in an interview that the game would be released in 2016.[3] Also during E3 2015, former Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development general manager Shigeru Miyamoto reaffirmed the title is still bound for the Wii U, despite the development of the "new dedicated gaming platform" known by the code name "NX".[11]

Aonuma has emphasized on numerous occasions the development team's focus on "rethinking the conventions of Zelda",[12][13] an idea that first prompted the change in the series' gameplay style to non-linear, open-world, and objective-based gameplay in 2013's A Link Between Worlds, reminiscent of the original The Legend of Zelda.[14] In an interview with Kotaku the week of E3 2014, Aonuma said one of the ways he wanted to alter the norms of Zelda was by reforming dungeons and puzzle solving, two major gameplay elements in the series.[15]

Despite numerous rumors that the game would not be released in 2016, the game was reconfirmed for 2016 during a Nintendo Direct presentation on November 12, 2015.[16]

Reception

Pre-release

Pre-release reception was positive after the game's reveal. Before the announcement of the delay, GameTrailers ranked the new Zelda title number one in its countdown of most-anticipated upcoming video games, citing its freedom of exploration and "design philosophy that both reinvents what a Zelda game can be while simultaneously bringing it back to its roots."[17] In the website's community poll, released a week later, The Legend of Zelda was the second most-anticipated game, beaten only by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.[18] After the title's delay into 2016, GameTrailers ranked the game at number ten on the 2016 edition of the list.[19] However, The Legend of Zelda was the third most-anticipated game of the year in the website's 2016 community poll, behind Persona 5 and Final Fantasy XV.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Otero, Jose (June 10, 2014). "E3 2014: The Legend of Zelda for Wii U First Details". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  2. 1 2 McWhertor, Michael (March 27, 2015). "The Legend of Zelda Wii U delayed beyond 2015, skipping E3". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Otero, Jose (June 17, 2015). "E3 2015: Why Nintendo Didn't Show Zelda Wii U". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ Kohler, Chris (July 29, 2015). "No, Nintendo Didn't Just Delay Wii U Zelda Again". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  5. 1 2 George, Richard (January 23, 2013). "New HD Zelda Revealed for Wii U". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ Sliva, Marty (December 5, 2014). "New Gameplay Shown From The Legend of Zelda Wii U". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  7. ↑ Pereira, Chris (February 17, 2015). "Zelda Wii U's Open World Is as Big as the System Can Handle". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  8. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (November 12, 2015). "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD coming to Wii U in 2016". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  9. ↑ Boxer, Steve (June 10, 2014). "Nintendo at E3: Zelda and Star Fox for Wii U a much-need shot in the arm". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (June 10, 2014). "New Legend of Zelda game for Wii U coming in 2015". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  11. ↑ Otero, Jose (June 16, 2015). "E3 2015: The Legend of Zelda Still Coming to Wii U". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  12. ↑ Narcisse, Evan (October 14, 2013). "The Man In Charge of Zelda Says He Wants to Keep Changing It". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  13. ↑ East, Thomas (January 23, 2013). "Zelda Wii U to rethink conventions of Zelda - will it be multiplayer?". Official Nintendo Magazine. Future plc. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  14. ↑ Smith, Carly (October 1, 2013). "Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Will Depart From Conventions". The Escapist. Defy Media. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  15. ↑ Schreier, Jason (June 13, 2014). "The New Zelda Might Not Have The Puzzles You Expect". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  16. ↑ Nintendo Direct - 11.12.2015. Nintendo (Nintendo). November 12, 2015. Event occurs at 3:21. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  17. ↑ GT Countdown - Top Ten Most Anticipated Games of 2015. GameTrailers (Defy Media). January 23, 2015. Event occurs at 7:57. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  18. ↑ GT Countdown - Community's Top Ten Most Anticipated Games of 2015. GameTrailers (Defy Media). January 31, 2015. Event occurs at 7:51. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  19. ↑ GT Countdown - Top Ten Anticipated Games of 2016. GameTrailers (Defy Media). January 22, 2016. Event occurs at 0:41. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  20. ↑ GT Countdown - Community's Top Ten Anticipated Games of 2016. GameTrailers (Defy Media). January 30, 2016. Event occurs at 8:10. Retrieved February 2, 2016.

External links

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