The presentation of the upcoming Wii U Zelda game during last year’s E3 was a memorable one for Nintendo fans. As producer Eiji Aonuma snapped his fingers in the announcement video , the new overworld and style for the latest entry in the Zelda series was revealed, to great fanfare.
“Everyone has been imitating this (snaps fingers) (laughs). I was told by many people that it was “beautiful,” Aonuma told Famitsu , a Japanese video game magazine (via Crave Online ). “I thought about various ways to make the graphical style fit the vast new Zelda world; imitating the real world attached an important feeling of realism, and making it look different to the past [ Zelda titles], this was done by drawing inspiration from Japanese animations. Now, compared to what we showed you at E3, it has become something even more amazing.”
The influence from Japanese animation can definitely be seen in the E3 footage, and is not unlike the style of The Wind Waker , which also opted for the cel-shaded style–albeit a much different overall style.
Influences aside, Aonuma was not clear as to what graphical changes were made to the current build of the new Zelda game, and if the visual style was simply polished since E3 or overhauled to an extent. Apart from discussing the visuals, Aonuma also went so far as to comment on the scorpion-like creature we saw in the teaser, and how its existence in the game marks a departure from previous Zelda games.
“It’s an enemy which emits a laser while running, an enemy that moves with amazing speed; like this it can capture you while trying to escape on horseback, something not seen until now. In the Wii U version, we are trying to make people think ‘if an enemy like this comes out, how can I defeat it?’ and we showed a glimpse of this at E3. After all, I am changing various elements, following the theme of ‘changing the Zelda conventions.’”
An interesting comment, as practically every Zelda game in the past has had elements like this. When facing off against a boss, it is customary to look for creative ways to defeating it, so it’s a wonder how this aspect differs from previous games. It may be that enemies that pop up in the overworld will no longer be throw-away creatures you can simply avoid, but rather creatures you have to treat with as much care as a boss in order to defeat.
The game should show up in next year’s E3, though it is unclear if it will be available in playable form at that time. If you have yet to see the E3 footage for Zelda on the Wii U, check it out below!
Any thoughts on the upcoming Zelda for Wii U? If you have yet to purchase the system, will this be the one to do it for you?
[Image Credit: Nintendo]
