Legend of Zelda

Legend of Zelda
Introducing The Legend of "Cel-da." The full preview and more screens of Link's new GCN adventure.

September 06, 2001 - The Legend of Zelda for GameCube was by far the most impressive demonstration at August 2001's Space World show, both for technological reasons and as well as for pure shock value. The game was farther along than anyone could have imagined, and it had an entirely new look to it.

Link and his Hyrulian world have been completely transformed into an interactive cartoon. The core of the game is based on an extremely advanced toon-shading engine, and is embellished by luscious, silky smooth animations. This startled most of the press attending the show because at the last Space World Nintendo showed Link and gannondor battling in an environment with slick texture work and a somewhat realistic look. Many found themselves denying that it was actually the true Legend of Zelda, wondering if it was a remake of one of the older Zeldas. By the time Nintendo's 50-second trailer was over, though, most everybody's curiosity was piqued.

Features

Zelda totally reborn on Nintendo's GameCube console
New look employs extensive cel-shading techniques
Play as child Link
Explore expansive 3D worlds
Features advanced lighting effects
Fluid, Warner Bros.-style cartoony animation
Action and stealth elements
Advanced facial animation system
Scheduled for a 2002 release in Japan, no US date set
Dozens of details still unknown

A Legendary Demo
The trailer kicks off with a shot of a black, pig-like soldier, who is no doubt a minion of Ganon himself, bursting through a wooden door. The door warps outward exaggeratedly before it bursts, whereupon the soldier stands in a cloud of smoke. The scene cuts to young Link who has a distinctly narrow body and floppy yellow hair. He draws his sword to face the fiendish pig and the video simply displays "The Legend of Zelda" on a black background. In the middle of a forest Link battles another one of the pig creatures. The collision detection and physics seem spot-on. Link blocks a few hits with his shield and sparks fly into the air while he is pushed back slightly from the force of the hit. Snippets of scenes continue to demonstrate the child's exceptional fighting skills, showing him flipping over characters and rolling around them in mid-battle. Then late at night in a thick grassy field, bright yellow fireflies swarm the area as Link looks around in wonderment.

The stellar atmosphere gives way to more fighting and even sneaking. In a somewhat comical animation Link tiptoes past a hallway monitored by a guard with a lantern. The dynamic lighting on the lantern is later demonstrated when link peers around a corner to eye a guard close by. The guard is aggressively eyeing the room and as he swings his lantern it changes the tone of all his textures, even affecting a real-time shadow he casts on the ground. Everything climaxes as five guards chase Link down a hallway. His face displays a petrified look, but as he nears the end of the hallway he sees a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. His frightened, wide-eyed look quickly turns into a smirk as he realizes he can outwit the foolish guards. Jumping for the chandelier Link clutches on to it leaving himself hanging over a descending spiral staircase. As expected the guards run too far and plummet to the ground. Link pulls himself up on top of the chandelier, looks down at the foes he has tricked and winks into the camera. "2002" flashes across the screen teasing fans that can't stand to wait an entire year.

Cartoon vs. Reality
The new cartoon look of the game is receiving mixed receptions across the board. Some fans of the series are thrilled to see the franchise take such a unique new turn, while many others hate to see one of Nintendo's most mature games take a turn towards Toon Town. Visually speaking Zelda is using the GameCube unlike any other game out there. The console has unique toon-shading abilities that hardly any other GCN software has tapped into. The level of detail between the fluid animation and accurate cartoon style is indisputably remarkable. All the characters cast real-time shadows, objects feature dynamic lighting, the collision detection seems solid, and the art style as a whole is awesome.

However, on the other side of the coin many were hoping to see the realistic look demonstrated at Space World 2000. The battle between Link and Ganondorf had a crisp, pre-rendered look to it and an undeniably moody atmosphere. Had Nintendo taken this direction, the Legend of Zelda for GameCube would have probably been a lot like the Ocarina of Time -- only much prettier.

The question is, does cel-shading really lend Nintendo more opportunities to improve gameplay? Nintendo seems to think so, indicating the cartoon look lets them do things you just couldn't do in a realistically modeled universe. A few examples revolved around animations such as dropping jaws and stretching limbs. Of course, that's not exactly a step forward in gameplay so much as it is graphics. So, Nintendo has a lot to prove.

Outlook
Zelda looks to be one of the first titles to pit gamers in a convincing cartoon environment, complete with all the dazzling animations, particle effects, and exaggerated look one would expect. It still features a third-person perspective so it stands to reason it will still have the patented Z-trigger lock-on battle system and probably an evolved version of that. In the end the gameplay has always been Zelda's appeal and we think that will stick. The franchise has always done a good job of pushing its own limits, setting standards for others that follow in its wake.

Legend of Zelda for GameCube still without an official name will launch in late 2002. Franchise creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, promises that will be the case. In between now and then Nintendo will have to convince many fans that the cartoon world is a better choice. How and when it will do that we cannot tell you.

Be sure to check out the attached screenshots and movie.