Aonuma demos A Link Between Worlds at New York Comic-Con

New York Comic-Con: The place where the most diverse city in the world shows its nerdy side! Residents of the Empire State wait all year for the massive event, featuring anything from comic books to card games, and of course, demos of soon to be released video games. With A Link Between Worlds just around the corner, it is no surprise that the show floor was absolutely abuzz with Zelda talk. Among all of the hustle, we Zelda fans were treated to an exciting demo showing off never-before-seen features of the new 3DS title!

Click the jump to see the footage!

The largest piece of information revealed is the new ability to upgrade items, allowed by what seems to be an ongoing sidequest through the game. A large octorok-like creature known as Mother Maiamai seems to want you to save her kin, the Maiamai. These strange collectible characters have become lost, and in return for finding them, their grateful mother will upgrade one of your regular items to a “Nice” item. The demo shows the Nice Bow, which fires three arrows at a time instead of the usual one. There is no ammo counter, meaning you can use unlimited arrows, so long as the purple gauge on the left side of the screen isn’t fully drained. The same is true for each of the games weapons, giving a lot of power to this new bar. Not only are prohibited from merging into walls when it has run out, but you may not use the hammer, bow or any other weapon you have bought or rented from Ravio. Despite how bothersome this sounds, the gauge refills extremely quickly, making it difficult to drain completely unless you are paying minimal attention to it.

The demo also shows that Lorule, the name of the new Dark World, allows for access to otherwise unreachable areas in Hyrule, utilizing Link’s merging ability to appear in strange places. For instance, a humorous clip shows him warping into the home of a “Stylish Woman,” who gives Link a Piece of Heart. Lastly, the video shows a the inside of what was once Sahasrahla’s house, and is now a puzzle of sorts. The puzzle emphasizes the 3D capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS, by making the puzzle far more difficult to complete without the added depth perception. The prize, a silver rupee, will certainly be useful for purchasing items along your journey!

Smaller features that should be noted from both the playable demo and this video are the return of Pegasus Boots, the inability to roll, the return of sword beams, and a new wand item that creates a pillar of fire. Playing the game for only about fifteen minutes, I found the controls smooth and the visuals beautiful. I can’t wait to see what other upgraded items can do, and I hope to see more A Link Between Worlds news as New York Comic-Con continues!