Countdown to E3: Zelda’s History at E3 (5 Days to Go)

Only five days to go until the big E3 2011 folks. Our countdown continues, and having filled you in on Nintendo’s History at E3 yesterday, today we turn our attention to our site’s focus amongst all of the Nintendo news: The Legend of Zelda series. Today we take a look back at all of the moments Zelda has been featured at E3, from Ocarina of Time’s reveal in the 90s, to Twilight Princess’s triumphant debut, through to the mishaps of wireless interference in Skyward Sword’s debut in 2010.

The Legend of Zelda made its debut at E3 1997, where Ocarina of Time was revealed for the Nintendo 64. After the success of Super Mario 64, which Ocarina of Time was developed concurrently with, the new Zelda game turned heads, to say the least. It wasn’t until E3 1998 that the world got to see the final version of Ocarina of Time demonstrated, and as you’d expect from the greatest game ever – it stole the show.

E3 1999 saw the introduction of Ocarina’s sequel, Majora’s Mask, but it wasn’t until E3 2000 that it was fully demonstrated. It was well received at E3, as the highly anticipated sequel to Ocarina of Time, and we’d say that it was even better than the hype in the end. The Oracle duo was also mentioned briefly at E3 2000.

2001 was a quiet year for The Legend of Zelda at E3, but in 2002 things stepped up a notch. The Wind Waker was revealed to a fairly mixed reception, you know, all about the graphics. It did however take away the best Console Game award, amongst others at that E3, after the playable demos were experienced.

2002 also saw the announcement of the A Link to the Past port to the Game Boy Advance, with the new Four Swords title. The GBA’s linking capabilities with the GameCube were also demonstrated using The Wind Waker. 2003 saw Four Swords Adventure’s revealed to mixed emotions. After all, it was basically a Game Boy Advance Game on a home console.

The following year at E3, 2004, we saw the most triumphant moment in Zelda’s history as the first Twilight Princess trailer was shown to screaming fans, with Miyamoto appearing on stage with a Master Sword and Hylian Sheild. With the realistic graphics, it was a dream come true for many. Zelda fans got even more this year, with the announcement of The Minish Cap as well.

2005 and 2006 saw reappearances from Twilight Princess, and while the original reveal is a moment that will never again be matched, the hype only built for this title as more and more was revealed. 2006 also saw Zelda revolutionizing the DS, with the reveal of the game entirely controlled by touch – Phantom Hourglass. Phantom Hourglass also featured the following year in 2007.

E3 2008 was quiet on the Zelda front, except for Miyamoto letting slip that a new Zelda title for Wii was in development, during a private press conference. We would hear nothing about this Wii Zelda until E3 2009 where the famous realistic-looking artwork of Link with “Zordiana” was revealed. That was all however. Spirit Tracks, after its reveal at GDC, was also featured at E3 2009.

E3 2010 was a fantastic year for Zelda. The show kicked off with a Skyward Sword trailer, followed up by about 15 minutes of demonstrations from Miyamoto and Bill Trinen. Unfortunately it didn’t go so well due to some wireless interference, but on the show floor the game was praised for its 1 to 1 controls. Later in the conference we would also learn that Ocarina of Time 3D would be coming to the 3DS.

2010 was a great year for Zelda, and now we arrive at 2011. What can I say… stay tuned to Zelda Informer for full coverage of Zelda at E3 2011, as well as everything else Nintendo. Allso be on the look out for exclusive features leading up to, during, and after E3.