Left-Handed Option? Should There Be One...

[Jupiter]

IGN: In past Zelda games, people noticed that Link was obviously left-handed. And I know that all the Zelda games are stand-alones -- but in this particular game, will there be a lefty option for left-handed people?

Aonuma: It's interesting because people say "all you have to do is switch it." But in reality, it's really hard. You have to change all the models -- you have to make two of everything. So really you're making two complete games, one left-handed version and one right-handed version. We just can't do that. For Twilight Princess, what we did was just create a mirror -- we flipped everything. And if that worked I guess we could do it that way, but again having to create two games is not something we want to do. We just hope that people will play it right-handed.

Link

Thoughts?

 

[daogamer]

Well I'm not left handed so I'm not sure how it would feel... Just for the heck of it a couple days ago I was playing TP and switched around the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. It was really hard

 

[Linebeck1000]

I'm left-handed and I think it's alot easier to swing around a wii remote with my non-dominate hand than operate an analog stick with it. I once tried TP with the nunchuck in my right hand and... bleh. The analog stick has always been on the left with nintendo controllers. I'm sure the majority of the left handed people feel the same way, so I think Nintendo should be spending their time making the actual game as good as possible instead of putting in a "left handed" option.

 

[Rofang]

I'm left-handed, but my natural preference is to play right-handed. I did do a left-handed playthrough of TP once; it wasn't too hard to adjust, but then I'm not sure whether SS's 1:1 gameplay will make it more difficult to play opposite Link's on-screen handedness. I saw a video of some dude playing it left-handed at E3, and he didn't seem to be having too hard a time, for whatever that's worth.

 

[ancazur]

I play TP on Wii (the "righty" version) with my "sword" in my left hand. It's not impossible, but it's not like the interactions are that specific that it would be an issue. I'm a little concerned with SS, as the controls are much more involved (I'm trying to see myself using a right-handed bow, and already I'm confused).

The lefty thing was actually the first thing I thought of when viewing the demo - "How the heck will I play it?" I'm pretty inept with my right hand. I would hope they'd take this into consideration when designing the game, as they're obviously aware of it. But I've had issues in the past with right-handed games (EA Active, mostly) that I just can't do.

daogamer: It is easier being a lefty adapting to right-handed stuff than vice versa. Righties just aren't used to having to do it

 

[Zenox]

With such precise motion controls, there's no way the game would work well for left handed. And even Spirit Tracks had a right or left handed option (personally, I don't see why, almost all the controls are touched based, so the button controls are to be completely ignored, so who cares what hand they hold the stylus in?) So if they could do it there, they most certainly could to it here.

 

[ancazur]

^ Phantom Hourglass had that option, too, and I wondered the entire game why my dominant hand mattered. Unless there were things that would otherwise be hidden by my hand on the screen? Perhaps I'll try playing right-handed next time...

I think a Wii-based game would be a little more difficult to flip (like you said, it doesn't really make a difference with a stylus) but I don't think it's impossible.

 

[Fahxy]

Well, my best friend, Blackicecc on ZD, is a lefty but prefers to play the wii the righty way. I guess he's just used to having the analog stick in his left hand. It does seem time consuming to completely copy it completely just for the lefties in the world, who are less common than righties. If they were gonna choose which way to do it, righty makes sense.

 

[zack125]

Even though I'm right-handed, it will be great if lefties have the same option.

 

[Rytex]

I would normally say that they could do what they did in Twilight Princess and just make Link a right-handed person with no real 1:1 control, but they're using the Wii Motion-X + on it, thus making such an action impossible. The Link in the trailer looks right-handed, so I think that they're going to have a Reverse X-Axis option for leftys. Still, that leaves a problem of being too confusing, what with the lefty swinging right and Link's sword going left...
They do need to make both options availible.

 

[juanfeanor]

Well, I'm left-handed and I think that the option must exist. The mirror effect of TP was created to be more comfortable for the players of the Wii, but all the world was mirrored because Miyamoto didn't like the idea of Link being right handed. Link has always been left handed,, and I think that Miyamoto should make something similar this time, like switching only the hand of the swrod and shield. Something similar to the DS game, which only switch the ubication of the menu and all of that. Is not creating two games at all, I suppose, it's only making two versions of Link.

I haven't played Wii yet, so I don't know how it is hold the Wiimote on the right hand, but I think is important to have the option.

 

[ancazur]

We could solve this issue by making all the righties play left-handed

(I kid, I kid.)

 

[Mr.goji]

Why wouldn't there be a choice for lefties? Miyamoto is lefty so im sure that he made a lefty choice in the game. But I have one question, why do they need to make another version for lefties, can't you switch the controlers and be done with it?

 

[EternalNocturne]

I'm ambidextrous, but since classic controllers all have the Control Stick on the left side and all the other buttons on the right, it's hard for me to play Wii with the Wiimote in my left hand and the Nunchuk on my right... But I would still love it if they put in the left/right-handed option. I'd pick left-handed anyway, because it's so weird seeing that Link is a righty now. T_T

 

[Norisom]

They don't have to make two diffrent games just make two diffrent sprites. They didn't have to remake Wii Sports Resort for theleft handies!