What We Know About Zelda Wii

With the recent announcement of a 2010 release, it came to my attention there were even some details I overlooked, so I think now is the perfect time to state what we know about the game to this point. I think you’ll be as surprised as I was.

Zelda Wii Has Been in Development Since Early 2006.

That means, if you do the math, that if the game did come out this year, it would make 5 years of development. If it comes out next year, then it would be 6. I know what your thinking, “But, Twilight Princess wasn’t even out yet!”. This news was broken in Game Informer magazine issue #165. In there, it states that surprisingly Zelda Wii has been in development for at least a year. That issue came out in January 2007. So it’s already official, it has had the longest development cycle since Ocarina of Time.

Shigeru Miyamoto Knows That Zelda Wii Will Need Some Really Big, Unique Ideas. The Zelda DS Team is Also Working on Zelda Wii.

We reported on this back in July of 2008, but to know the man behind Zelda realizes that the series is in need of some big ideas is a good sign that the game may actually take the next step we have been waiting for Zelda to take. It’s also interesting to note that the DS team is also working on it, meaning they have really put all of their resources into making this game. The only way this sort of news could be better is if we hear the music will be orchestrated. Of course, mum is the word on that.

Link is the oldest he has ever been, is in a new era as expected, and the story line progression is completely different than Twilight Princess. Also, the Missing Sword in the Art is of importance to the game in some way.

This was confirmed in an interview back around E3 2009.

Zelda Wii will use Motion Plus, containing a decent amount of movement for the player.

Miyamoto talked a lot back at E3 about wanting Motion Plus in Zelda Wii, and seeing how well it sold during the WiiSports Resort launch. Well, it’s gone really well. Miyamoto also confirmed himself that there will be a good amount of movement for the player rather recently.

Zelda Wii is different then all the titles before it, but is not radically different.

Eiji noted that Zelda Wii won’t be like any Zelda before it, and Miyamoto appeared to contrast it by saying it wont be radically different. I am not sure these quotes really go against each other. Zelda Wii will be different: it’s a true Wii Zelda. Meaning full blown motion controls, and possibly deeper storyline elements. Miyamoto, if I had to guess, was more or less confirming it is indeed still a Zelda game. I’ll have to put my hopes of blowing Ganon’s head off with a bazooka and jet skiing on Lake Hylia to bed for now.

Super Guide has been thought about for Zelda, at least by Miyamoto.

Really, the quote for this means next to nothing, other then noting that he has indeed thought about how it could work in a Zelda game. It’s just a nice talking point, but is most likely not really relevant to Zelda Wii.

Zelda Wii will be gorgeous for a Wii title.

Outside of the fact this game is being developed from the ground up for the Wii, already confirming it will look better then Twilight Princess, it appears that the crew is paying attention to what others have done with the system already. Monster Hunter 3 is a beautiful game really on any console, and the Zelda team took clear notice and had to rethink their own approach to graphics. Also in regards to this, a true graphical style was still up in the air last year, but presumably by now it has been chosen. It will not be cel-shading, however, it may be a new style we do not expect.

There Is A Possibility Of A Flight Mechanic

Really, this part is stretching it, but Eiji Aonuma was the one who brought It up, so naturally we simply can’t ignore it. There was a small flight portion in Twilight Princess, so I think it’s fair to keep an open mind on this one and not let it surprise you if it’s the case.

We Will Get a Trailer at E3 This Year, and The Game Will Be Released Somewhere This Year.

Pretty simple: Iwata stated that Zelda Wii will come out this year, and as such, it’s all but guaranteed a trailer will be at E3.

Ultimately, I think for all of this it will create a even better Zelda experience for us. Zelda will never be what each one of us wants it to be. It may never have a difficulty setting, super in-depth storylines, or a ever engrossing amount of things to do outside of the main quest. We may never get the Majora’s Mask experience again, or feel awed like we did with A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. What is for sure is that it will be an enjoyable experience. Still, I’ll never stop wanting a better Zelda, and I don’t think you should either. We’ll get what we get, and honestly I think Nintendo is giving us a title that will be beyond what any of us expected.