Nintendo Power May 2011: Ocarina of Time 3DS

Posted on May 08 2011 by Mases Hagopian

How do you improve upon perfection? This is a question asked in the preview for Ocarina of Time 3D in the May 2011 issue of Nintendo Power. The magazine hit shelves on May 5th and I just received my copy in the mail a few days back. Inside of the issue we have tons of Legend of Zelda related material, starting right from the cover, where Ocarina of Time 3D is the featured cover title. There was a ton of information concerning the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and you can see it all after the jump. Additionally, Nintendo Power has continued The Greatest Moments of The Legend of Zelda series, this time looking at the Super Nintendo era, focusing particularly on the only full fledged Zelda title to release for the console, A Link to the Past. There were a few other minor Zelda references made throughout the magazine and it is all listed in this post, so be sure to jump on in to take a look at it all.

Ocarina of Time 3D is showcased in this issue of Nintendo Power, where 8 full pages are dedicated to Link’s 3D adventure. On these pages, you’ll find 25 screenshots of the game and a handful of old official art that is being reprinted for the games 3DS re-release. The 25 screenshots shown include a mixture of screens that we’ve already seen online, as well as a few brand new ones. However, all of the screen shots shown are of familiar places. You can see some of the shots in the preview scans below.

There are six pages of pure text devoted to Ocarina of Time 3D and part it just drools in nostalgia, talking about all of Ocarina of Time’s past glory, its influence on the adventure genre, and its re-releases on the GameCube and Virtual Console. After touching on the well known story of Ocarina of Time, the article dives into one of the biggest upgrades for the game, the improved graphics. Here is a tidbit of what was written concerning the game.

The most obvious enhancement is to the visuals; as good as the N64 version looked in its day, the Nintendo 3DS rendition looks exponentially better. Not only is the adventure presented in stereoscopic 3D, but virtually every texture is much cleaner and more detailed, and increased-polygon character models look significantly smoother, particularly their faces. Link himself looks magnificent, and even ancillary characters, such as the Kokiri villagers, feature notable improvements.

The article goes on to talk about the improvements of the visuals, including the reconstruction of many of the interior visuals of houses and shops. The article then turns to talking about the control, where it focuses a good deal of time on the new equipment screen, the gyro sensor, and the Circle Pad. The actual Ocarina item changes in this version of the game as it no longer is an equipped item. Instead, it has its own touch-screen button that allows you to activate it at almost any point.

The magazine also touches on The Peoples of Hyrule giving basic descriptions of the Kokiri, Zora, and the Gorons. This portion, along with many of the story elements described, clearly is written for the new generation of gamers who have never experienced Ocarina of Time. The magazine briefly takes you through Link’s journey as a child through Goron City and into Jabu-Jabu’s Belly. While it is brief in its description, it constantly references the enhanced visuals. The article finishes off by mentioning that the Master Quest will be included and even mentions additional features. It doesn’t give any more details on this, so we still aren’t exactly sure what or if any new material will be in the game. Either way, as the article ends with, Ocarina of Time 3D surely is shaping up to be the first must-have title for the Nintendo 3DS.

Despite all the focus on Ocarina of Time 3DS, this wasn’t the only Zelda feature in this months issue. The magazine has continued its The Greatest Moments of The Legend of Zelda, this time focusing on the Super NES era, and in particular, A Link to the Past. Six pages are dedicated to A Link to the Past, highlighting 12 of the greatest moments of the game. This includes the Stormy Beginning of the quest, pulling out the Master Sword for the first time, the tragic side story of the Flute Boy, and appearance of Ganon. Each of these 12 moments are accompanied by a paragraph description and a number of screen shots.

Some other minor Zelda (and non-Zelda) references found throughout the magazine include the following.

–A full page ad selling Ocarina’s from the website Songbird Ocarina’s.
–Chris Slate, Editor in Chief of Nintendo Power, talks about the remake of Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 3DS.
–Fans talk about the Legend of Zelda in the Pulse section of the magazine.
–Princess Zelda is voted the best significant other for Link in The Score, followed by Saria, Ilia, Tingle, Malon, Ruto, and Marin.
–Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are mentioned in the Warp Zone, for appearing on the cover 10 years ago in May 2001.
–Skyward Sword is listed in the Game Forecast with a release date listed simply as 2011.
–Skyward Sword is #1 for the Wii and Ocarina of Time 3D is #4 for the 3DS on the Readers’ Most Wanted.

A quick preview of some of the pages can be seen below. Remember, the new issue is now on store shelves. With Zelda set to be featured for several months, now is a perfect time to subscribe to Nintendo Power. (Really, it is dirt cheap at $19.99 a year or $34.99 for two years). Remember to stay to Zelda Dungeon for all the latest Ocarina of Time 3D news and media. Also, be sure to check back soon as Zelda Dungeon will get an exclusive hands on with Ocarina of Time 3D Monday evening.

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Posted on May 08 2011 by Mases Hagopian

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