Zelda - The Bear and Badger

Blue Swirl

Shyam39 wrote:

Wind Waker HD vs Gamecube (note that the GC video is stretched).

The sky box in the HD version is all kinds of gorgeous.

Moot_Geeza

It was brave/short-sighted of Nintendo to reveal that Wind Waker was gimped to avoid missing a release date. Maybe it would have been better for them if they'd kept their cards closer to their chest, and I wonder if whoever disclosed the info in that interview (in Edge was it?) was given a slap on the wrist. The Tri-Force quest is my least favourite section of any Zelda game I've played, by a considerable distance. It took me six months to wearily motivate myself to go back and finish it, with Gamefaqs open, after I got there initially. Simply being known as a famously crap bit would give us forum-types less to moan about with the HD version.

[Deleted User]

I didn't actually know it was rushed until I played it. Even then I couldn't quite believe they'd done it, but I knew. Then I read it somewhere and still couldn't quite believe it.

Blue Swirl

I'm not sure that "gimped" is the correct word to use. Every game has sections that end up on the cutting room floor. Halo 2 wasn't "gimped" because the flame thrower and Mongoose were removed, only to end up in Halo 3.

[Deleted User]

Let's settle for "vandalized".

mistercrayon

Blue Swirl wrote:

I'm not sure that "gimped" is the correct word to use. Every game has sections that end up on the cutting room floor. Halo 2 wasn't "gimped" because the flame thrower and Mongoose were removed, only to end up in Halo 3.

Might not be an adequate term for halo, but for Zelda ww it is fairly accurate.

people complain about the Zelda formula but I think in this instance the deviation was not welcome for something which I think is as close to universally accepted as bad as you can get in such things.

igorgetmeabrain

I love WW, even with the rather disjointed final third of the game. The greatest shame about WW is that it garnered such a critical response for its bold and beautiful visual style and maritime setting, which caused a volt face with ensuing games, but which alone make it one of the original and absorbing games of the series. It encapsulated for me the perfect paradox that is Zelda; the purposeful (yet curiously detached) Link on his timeless (yet urgent) quest to save the world, against the curious and playful exploration that allows him to while away hours firing arrows at birds at Lake Hylia or scouring the seas for sunken treasure, whilst all around him evil threatens to engulf those he's tasked with saving. Never has Zelda been such a mindful and profoundly solitary experience as when Link takes to his boat and sails the ever-changing seas, for all the initial high-spirited swashbuckling. This, of all Zelda games, is one in which you can't afford to be in a hurry. I'm actually a little disappointed to hear that they've sped up the sailing.

[Deleted User]

Great post Igor.

I felt exactly the same playing WW.
I found the sailing to be really relaxing, to the point I would often sail past my intended location while I caught a good breeze, chasing whatever it was I could see in the distance.

I found the last Triforce piece OK but that may have been because I ad already mapped most of the squares while just exploring.

If I could find a proper reason to buy a WiiU I would download WW day one, but I can't justify a console for a HD update.

b0r1s

TBF, I played it, I completed it, but it's one I don't remember that well, or intervening years of drink have killed too many brain cells. Despite my initial reaction to the remake, it might persuade me to buy a Wii U.

retroking1981

b0r1s wrote:

TBF, I played it, I completed it, but it's one I don't remember that well, or intervening years of drink have killed too many brain cells. Despite my initial reaction to the remake, it might persuade me to buy a Wii U.

Haha, superb - Rings true for me. I can vividly remember games from the 90s, funny how legal drinking age has coincided with my drop in gaming time/memories.

Tempy

I could finish Wind Waker in under a day, except for that Triforce quest. It was a bit of a slog, but I never tired of sailing, and every undiscovered grid square was a new adventure in a way no other Zelda has ever come close to in my opinion. The ocean was just so evocative of endless secrets, even if they weren't quite endless.

Fentonizer

It's weird, when I look at the HD footage I think "this is barely different." Then I go back and look at Gamecube footage and I'm like "aagh!"

I remember Wind Waker in my head much more beautifully than on screen it would appear.

[Deleted User]

I dunno, it still looks pretty good on my big telly in SD. I thought the first half of WW was wonderful, which made the butchered last part all the more disappointing. Especially coming off the back of Ocarina (it's ready when it's ready, so just have some fucking patience) of Time.

Moot_Geeza

The boss beneath the dragon with his tail poking through the ceiling in Wind Waker is probably the greatest ever Zelda moment for me, after Ganon-in-the-paintings. I can't think of a boss I've been more impressed with since, in any game.

BtRnutlet

They best have the colour camera with you from the get go on the new version. Ever since I completed it first time round, I've been looking forward to playing through the game again with that from the start . Seconded on the great post Igor.

retroking1981

BtRnutlet wrote:

They best have the colour camera with you from the get go on the new version. Ever since I completed it first time round, I've been looking forward to playing through the game again with that from the start . Seconded on the great post Igor.

I hoped for the same regarding the Master Quest in the OoT 3DS remake, I was left dissapointed.

Kernowgaz

Is this going to be full price ?

If so I'll not bother , great game as it is but it's not worth £40

retroking1981

Yeah full price release. I think that new Wario game is a budget release.

Kernowgaz

retroking1981 wrote:

Yeah full price release. I think that new Wario game is a budget release.

Are they taking the piss ?

Ico and Sotc HD was £30 , how can they charge that much ?

retroking1981

Out and out I agree with you but weren't Ico&SotC just upscaled PS2 games whereas this is being made from the ground up for the Wii U? It's a genuine question as I'm not sure how much effort went into those PS3 HD Classics releases, I just get the impression that more time and effort is going into the WW.

Either way I do agree that it should be cheaper than a new release.

mistercrayon

The new look seems less charming to me. Its reduced starkness and contrast moves it towards more of what is generic about todays graphics over what made the wind waker thouroghly aesthetically astounding.

hylian_elf

@retro: whether they update the graphics from scratch or not is irrelevant I'd say. It's still an old game. £40 or so is stupid price.

[Deleted User]

Zelda: A Link between worlds gameplay, overworld looks to be 1:1 with ALTTPs':

[Deleted User]

Has analogue movement mind so should play different.

God I should really buy summin for my 3DS at some point, but what?
Screen is too small and XL too expensive.

[Deleted User]

Found this very cool Japanese documentary 'Zelda No Video' circa 2003.

Lots of interesting takes on the series, and I really like the way they let each game breathe and speak for itself without mediation - if that's not too pretentious - something I don't think you'd see if it was produced elsewhere.

retroking1981

Started Oracle of Ages for the first time (never had a GBC back in the day) this evening. Done the prologue and first dungeon, seems to be on par with Links Awakening so far which is a very good thing.

Between Ages/Seasons and the upcoming Link Between Worlds, WWHD has no chance of a purchase from me.

Blue Swirl

To be honest, I'll probably go for WWHD over LBW (I prefer the 3D titles to the top-down ones), but I'd like to do both at some point.

Talking of 3D, I got distracted away from Ocarina of Time Master Quest 3D ages ago but have just started working my way through it again. Still absolutely wonderful, and still the best game ever made, no matter what anyone says. Some of the puzzles in Master Quest can be a bit obtuse, but if you've played through OoT you'll still have all the requisite knowledge in your mental tool box.

For example,

Spoiler:

hylian_elf

Limited edition boxset of all the Prima Zelda guides, if there are any Zelda fanboys who want one.

mistercrayon

That seems like a cool set but I wish they'd taken the opportunity to do actually all of the games (lttp, loz, aol, la etc)

I mean all of the ds ones are not even main series, and the one game that needs a guide, majora, is missed out I think.

Vela

I think I missed the drama over TWW when it was first revealed. I remember in hindsight that people freaked out over the visual style, but my first experience with the game was seeing an in-store demo video which sold me on the game immediately.

10 years after release it is still, visually, standing alone as one remarkably different game in terms of visuals. Nothing comes close to capturing that kind of open adventure feeling, although perhaps I might be saying the same of Chrono Trigger had I played that first.

Genuinely excited to get a chance to play this again, although despite the new version looking lovely, it is one game that absolutely does not require a visual makeover. It is almost timeless, in an aesthetic sense.

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