Fils-Aime Talks Spirit Tracks
Posted on April 01 2009 by Nathanial Rumphol-Janc
In an earlier news post, we mentioned Nintendo’s plans on making DSi-enhanced games where playing the game on the DSi would be required in order to get the full experience. At the time, it didn’t look as if Spirit Tracks was going to be one of those games, but a new interview with Reggie Fils-Aime might prove otherwise.
MTV Multiplayer sat down with Fils-Aime during the recent Game Developers Conference, and the Nintendo of America President dropped us some much needed information regarding a game we know next to nothing about.
MTV Multiplayer: “Zelda”? DSi-enhanced?
Fils-Aime: Wouldn’t that be nice?
Sure is ambiguous. We can’t know anything for sure, but would it really surprise anyone if this turned out to be true?
Other questions regarding Spirit Tracks were asked, as well:
MTV Multiplayer: Yeah. Now, when you guys were thinking of the subtitle for the new “Zelda” [“The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks”], did you start with my initials and go from there?
Fils-Aime: That was not the driver.
MTV Multiplayer: Ok. Because the “Halo 3” spin-off was originally “Halo 3: Recon.” They changed it to “Halo 3: ODST. And you guys? “The Legend of Zelda: ST”!
Fils-Aime: I have to say that, as we were doing all the naming, and working with NCL [Nintendo’s Japanese main office], we were not in the background saying, “It’s gotta be Stephen Totilo somehow!”
MTV Multiplayer: It should be. But that’s a tentative title, right? So people shouldn’t get too attached to it?
Fils-Aime: Correct.
MTV Multiplayer: Can people assume that this game puts a new 2009 “Zelda” game on or off the table, because maybe there can’t be more than on new “Zelda” for the year?
Fils-Aime: What we’ve done is we’ve announced a great “Zelda” game for the DS—one I’m looking forward to. But reading anything more into that would be a mistake.
MTV Multiplayer: Have you had a chance to play it yet?
Fils-Aime: I did play a little bit of “Spirit Tracks.”
MTV Multiplayer: How is it?
Fils-Aime: I love it.
MTV Multiplayer: How does it compare to you as a player?
Fils-Aime: I’ll tell you what I love about it. It takes some of the things I liked about “Phantom Hourglass” to the next level. Example: I thought tracking the path of the boomerang was nice in “Phantom Hourglass.” But the way you use [the stylus] to solve puzzles with “Spirit Tracks” is really provocative. I think the “Zelda” fan will really enjoy it… You do more in tracking and outlining. We showed it in the trailer. You move [an extra] character to a spot in order to unlock puzzles. I really like that. I think it adds a level of gameplay which, for me, hearkens back to some of the classic “Zelda” puzzles.
MTV Multiplayer: If you can have trains in the “Zelda” universe, can you have planes in the “Zelda” universe? How advanced is this universe?
Fils-Aime: [“Zelda franchise director] Mr. Aonuma must answer those questions. I cannot answer those questions.
Read the full interview here.
