Grave Gamer News & Views — wii u zelda

The Biggest, Most Ambitious Zelda Title Ever Coming to the Wii U in 2014?

According to Wii U Daily’s anonymous source (a repeat tipster that claims to be apart of Nintendo Japan’s operations), we won’t be seeing a next-gen Legend of Zelda until sometime in 2014.  Why such a long wait for the Wii U successor, especially after that fanciful tech demo that debuted at last year’s E3?

For one – despite how impressive it was to behold – that tech demo isn’t being used; it wasn’t even crafted by Wii U Zelda’s team.  Secondly, this new title (rumored to be on the drawing board as early as 2010) is a massive undertaking, pegged as the largest production in the company’s history comprising of a team of hundreds led by Skyward Sword’s director Eiji Aonuma.  Wii U Daily’s source calls it “a huge investment in money and manpower” adding that “this is Rockstar/GTA territory” in terms of scope.

There’s a bevvy of information on this unnamed Wii U Zelda to be had hereabouts, but I’ll laundry list the most prominent details:

• Wii U’s Zelda is humungous.  The source claims the game wouldn’t be possible if not for the console’s optical discs and their 25GB storage capacity.
• The game will feature roughly the same amount of dungeons as previous entries, but their size is awe inspiring.  One dungeon is described as literally a forest greater in length than Ocarina’s Hyrule Field.
• Taking into account the increased girth, some dungeons have been segmented.  These uber dungeons are said to take hours to complete.
• The title will of course play host to HD graphics “with the most advanced visual features Nintendo has ever made."  The game’s engine is being built from the ground up and actually utilizes a lot of third party tech for physics effects and rendering.
• However, it’s imperative to note that the designers are not going for realism in their visuals (like the "Just a Tech Demo” tech demo).  At Nintendo’s behest, Wii U Zelda will have a visual art style on par with Skyward Sword so as to stay true to the “core values of Zelda.”
• It may be dangerous, but you’re going to have to go it alone.  No form of multiplayer will be present in the game nor is the notion even being toyed around with.  There may be online functionality with Miiverse, but only as far as exchanging hints with friends.  The online component “is not a big priority” for the development staff at this point.
• Rather than being created with the Wii U’s GamePad in mind, the GamePad may have actually been molded with this particular Zelda in mind.  At least one major feature was brought to the controller only because the development team “figured out they could do something cool with it.”
• As such, the entire game revolves around the GamePad’s use, each dungeon supposedly offering a unique gameplay experience with the tablet controller.  “Every single feature in the controller is used to its full potential.”

The anonymous source goes on to promise Wii U Daily that this new Zelda packs one fantastic feature after another, predicting that its innovations will be copied for years to come.

It all sounds too good to be true, and what with rumors being rumors, that could exactly be the case here.  A magnificent, well told lie if nothing else.  But if this really is our first sneak peek at Nintendo’s grandest, most ambitious Legend of Zelda to date…It’s a crying shame for the Wii U that it’ll be another two years before this game makes the console an absolute must-have.